You must specify machine and desktop pool settings when you configure automated pools that contain full virtual machines, linked-clone desktop pools, manual desktop pools, and instant-clone desktop pools. Not all settings apply to all types of desktop pools.

Table 1. Desktop Pool Setting Descriptions
Setting Options
State
  • Enabled. After being created, the desktop pool is enabled and ready for immediate use.
  • Disabled. After being created, the desktop pool is disabled and unavailable for use, and provisioning is stopped for the pool. This is an appropriate setting if you want to conduct post deployment activities such as testing or other forms of baseline maintenance.

    When this state is in effect, remote desktops are unavailable for use.

Connection Server restrictions
  • None. The desktop pool can be accessed by any Connection Server instance.
  • With tags. Select one or more Connection Server tags to make the desktop pool accessible only to Connection Server instances that have those tags. You can use the check boxes to select multiple tags.

If you intend to provide access to your desktops through VMware Identity Manager, and you configure Connection Server restrictions, the VMware Identity Manager app might display desktops to users when those desktops are actually restricted. VMware Identity Manager users will be unable to launch these desktops.

Category Folder

Specifies the name of the category folder that contains a Start menu shortcut for the desktop pool entitlement on Windows client devices. For more information, see Configuring Shortcuts for Entitled Pools.

Session Types You can create application pools based on desktop pools by selecting the supported session type for the desktop pool:
  • Desktop. Only desktops are supported.
  • Application. Only applications are supported.
  • Desktop and Application. Both desktop and applications are supported.
Remote machine power policy Determines how a virtual machine behaves when the user logs off of the associated desktop.

For descriptions of the power-policy options, see Power Policies for Desktop Pools.

For more information about how power policies affect automated pools, see Setting Power Policies for Desktop Pools.

Not applicable to instant-clone desktop pools. Instant clones are always powered on.

Automatically logoff after disconnect
  • Immediately. Users are logged off as soon as they disconnect.
  • Never. Users are never logged off.
  • After. The time after which users are logged off when they disconnect. Type the duration in minutes.

    The log off time applies to future disconnections. If a desktop session was already disconnected when you set a log off time, the log off duration for that user starts when you set the log off time, not when the session was originally disconnected. For example, if you set this value to five minutes, and a session was disconnected 10 minutes earlier, Horizon 7 will log off that session five minutes after you set the value.

Allow users to reset/restart their machines Allow users to reset or restart their own desktops.
Allow user to initiate separate desktop sessions from different client devices When this setting is selected, a user connecting to the same desktop pool from different client devices will get different desktop sessions. The user can only reconnect to an existing session from the client device where that session was initiated. When this setting is not selected, the user will be reconnected to his or her existing session no matter which client device is used.
Note: Multi-session is not supported for applications running on desktop pools, so this setting is not applicable for applications created from a desktop pool.
Delete machine after logoff Select whether to delete floating-assignment, full virtual machines.
  • No. Virtual machines remain in the desktop pool after users log off.
  • Yes. Virtual machines are powered off and deleted as soon as users log off.

For instant-clone desktops, the machine is always deleted and recreated after logoff.

Delete or refresh machine on logoff Select whether to delete, refresh, or leave alone floating-assignment, linked-clone virtual machines.
  • Never. Virtual machines remain in the pool and are not refreshed after users log off.
  • Delete immediately. Virtual machines are powered off and deleted as soon as users log off. When users log off, virtual machines immediately go into a Deleting state.
  • Refresh immediately. Virtual machines are refreshed as soon as users log off. When users log off, virtual machines immediately go into maintenance mode to prevent other users from logging in as the refresh operation begins.

For instant-clone desktops, the machine is always deleted and recreated after logoff.

Refresh OS disk after logoff Select whether and when to refresh the OS disks for dedicated-assignment, linked-clone virtual machines.
  • Never. The OS disk is never refreshed.
  • Always. The OS disk is refreshed every time the user logs off.
  • Every. The OS disk is refreshed at regular intervals of a specified number of days. Type the number of days.

    The number of days is counted from the last refresh, or from the initial provisioning if no refresh has occurred yet. For example, if the specified value is 3 days, and three days have passed since the last refresh, the machine is refreshed after the user logs off.

  • At. The OS disk is refreshed when its current size reaches a specified percentage of its maximum allowable size. The maximum size of a linked clone's OS disk is the size of the replica's OS disk. Type the percentage at which refresh operations occur.

    With the At option, the size of the linked clone's OS disk in the datastore is compared to its maximum allowable size. This disk-utilization percentage does not reflect disk usage that you might see inside the machine's guest operating system.

When you refresh the OS disks in a linked-clone pool with dedicated assignment, the View Composer persistent disks are not affected.

For instant-clone desktops, the machine is always deleted and recreated after logoff.

Default display protocol Select the display protocol that you want Connection Server to use to communicate with clients.
VMware Blast
The VMware Blast Extreme protocol is built on the H.264 protocol and supports the broadest range of client devices, including smart phones, tablets, ultra-low-cost PCs, and Macs, across any network. This protocol consumes the least CPU resources and so provides longer battery life on mobile devices.
PCoIP
PCoIP is supported as the display protocol for virtual and physical machines that have Teradici hardware. PCoIP provides an optimized PC experience for the delivery of images, audio, and video content for a wide range of users on the LAN or across the WAN.
Microsoft RDP
Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) uses RDP to transmit data. RDP is a multichannel protocol that allows a user to connect to a computer remotely.
Allow users to choose protocol Allow users to override the default display protocol for their desktops by using Horizon Client.
3D Renderer You can select whether to enable 3D graphics rendering if your pool comprises Windows 7 or later desktops. You can configure the 3D Renderer to use software rendering or hardware rendering based on physical GPU graphics cards installed on ESXi 5.1 or later hosts.

To enable this feature, you must select PCoIP, VMware Blast, or RDP as the protocol and enable the Allow users to choose protocol setting (select Yes). If the default display protocol is RDP and you disable the Allow users to choose protocol setting (select No), the 3D rendering option is disabled.

With the hardware-based 3D Renderer options, users can take advantage of graphics applications for design, modeling, and multimedia. With the software 3D Renderer option, users can take advantage of graphics enhancements in less demanding applications such as AERO, Microsoft Office, and Google Earth. For system requirements, see Configuring 3D Rendering for Desktops.

If your Horizon 7 deployment does not run on vSphere 5.0 or later, this setting is not available and is inactive in Horizon Administrator.

When you select this feature, if you select the Automatic, Software, or Hardware option, you can configure the amount of VRAM that is assigned to machines in the pool. The maximum number of monitors is 2 and the maximum resolution is 1920 x 1200.

If you select Manage using vSphere Client, or NVIDIA GRID vGPU, you must configure the amount of 3D memory and the number of monitors in vCenter Server. You can select at most four monitors for your machines that are used as remote desktops, depending on the monitor resolution.

Note: When you configure or edit this setting, you must power off existing virtual machines, verify that the machines are reconfigured in vCenter Server, and power on the machines to cause the new setting to take effect. Restarting a virtual machine does not cause the new setting to take effect.

For more information, see Configuring 3D Rendering for Desktops, 3D Renderer Options. and Best Practices for Configuring 3D Rendering.

For instant-clone desktop pools, NVIDIA GRID vGPU is the only 3D Renderer option available.

Max number of monitors If you select PCoIP or VMware Blast as the display protocol, you can select the Maximum number of monitors on which users can display the desktop.

You can select up to four monitors.

When the 3D Renderer setting is not selected, the Max number of monitors setting affects the amount of VRAM that is assigned to machines in the pool. When you increase the number of monitors, more memory is consumed on the associated ESXi hosts.

When the 3D Renderer setting is not selected, up to three monitors are supported at 3840 x 2160 resolution on a Windows 7 guest operating system with Aero disabled. For other operating systems, or for Windows 7 with Aero enabled, one monitor is supported at 3840 x 2160 resolution.

When the 3D Renderer setting is selected, one monitor is supported at 3840 x 2160 resolution. Multiple monitors are best supported at a lower resolution. Select fewer monitors if you select a higher resolution.

Note: You must power off and on existing virtual machines for this setting to take effect. Restarting a virtual machine does not cause the setting to take effect.
Max resolution of any one monitor If you select PCoIP or VMware Blast as the display protocol, you should specify the Maximum resolution of any one monitor.

The Maximum resolution of any one monitor is set to 1920 x 1200 pixels by default, but you can configure this value.

When the 3D Renderer setting is not selected, the Max resolution of any one monitor setting affects the amount of VRAM that is assigned to machines in the pool. When you increase the resolution, more memory is consumed on the associated ESXi hosts.

When the 3D Renderer setting is not selected, up to three monitors are supported at 3840 x 2160 resolution on a Windows 7 guest operating system with Aero disabled. For other operating systems, or for Windows 7 with Aero enabled, one monitor is supported at 3840 x 2160 resolution.

When the 3D Renderer setting is selected, one monitor is supported at 3840 x 2160 resolution. Multiple monitors are best supported at a lower resolution. Select fewer monitors if you select a higher resolution.

Note: You must power off and on existing virtual machines for this setting to take effect. Restarting a virtual machine does not cause the setting to take effect.
HTML Access Select Enabled to allow users to connect to remote desktops from within their Web browsers.

When a user logs in through the VMware Horizon Web portal page or the VMware Identity Manager app and selects a remote desktop, the HTML Access agent enables the user to connect to the desktop over HTTPS. The desktop is displayed in the user's browser. Other display protocols, such as PCoIP or RDP, are not used. Horizon Client software does not have to be installed on the client devices.

To use HTML Access, you must install HTML Access in your Horizon 7 deployment. For more information, see Using HTML Access, available from https://www.vmware.com/support/viewclients/doc/viewclients_pubs.html.

To use HTML Access with VMware Identity Manager, you must pair Connection Server with a SAML Authentication server, as described in the Horizon 7 Administration document. VMware Identity Manager must be installed and configured for use with Connection Server.

Allow Session Collaboration Select Enabled to allow users of the pool to invite other users to join their remote desktop sessions. Session owners and session collaborators must use the VMware Blast display protocol.
Override global Mirage settings To specify the same Mirage server for all desktop pools, use the global Horizon 7 configuration setting rather than this pool-specific setting.

Not available to instant-clone desktop pools.

Mirage Server configuration Allows you to specify the URL of a Mirage server, using the format mirage://server-name:port or mirages://server-name:port. Here server-name is the fully qualified domain name. If you do not specify the port number, the default port number 8000 is used.

Specifying the Mirage server in Horizon Administrator is an alternative to specifying the Mirage server when installing the Mirage client. To find out which versions of Mirage support having the server specified in Horizon Administrator, see the Mirage documentation, at https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/mirage_pubs.html.

Not available to instant-clone desktop pools.