After logging in to a server, you can connect to the remote desktops and published applications that you are authorized to use.

Before you have end users access their remote desktops and applications, test that you can connect to a remote desktop or application from a client device. You must specify a server and supply credentials for your user account.

Prerequisites

  • Obtain login credentials, such as a user name and password, RSA SecurID user name and passcode, RADIUS authentication credentials, or smart card personal identification number (PIN).
  • Obtain the NETBIOS domain name for logging in. For example, you might use mycompany rather than mycompany.com.
  • Perform the administrative tasks described in Preparing Connection Server for Horizon Client.
  • If you are outside the corporate network and require a VPN connection to access remote desktops and published applications, verify that the client device is set up to use a VPN connection and turn on that connection.
  • Verify that you have the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server that provides access to the remote desktop or published application. Underscores (_) are not supported in server names. If the port is not 443, you also need the port number.
  • If you plan to use the RDP display protocol to connect to a remote desktop, verify that the AllowDirectRDP agent group policy setting is enabled. For information, see the Configuring Remote Desktop Features in Horizon document.

Procedure

  1. Either open a terminal window and enter vmware-view or search the applications for VMware Horizon Client, and double-click the icon.
  2. Connect to a server.
    Option Action
    Connect to a new server

    Double-click the + Add Server button, or click New Server on the menu bar, enter the name of a server, and click Connect.

    Connect to an existing server Double-click the server icon, or right-click the server icon and select Connect.
    Connections between Horizon Client and the server always use TLS. The default port for TLS connections is 443. If the server is not configured to use the default port, use the format servername:port, for example, view.company.com:1443.
    You might see a message that you must confirm before the login dialog box appears.
  3. If you are prompted for RSA SecurID credentials or RADIUS authentication credentials, enter the credentials and click Login.
  4. If you are prompted for a user name and password, supply Active Directory credentials.
    1. Type the user name and password of a user who is entitled to use at least one desktop or application pool.

      If the Domain drop-down menu is disabled, you must type the user name as domain\username or [email protected].

    2. (Optional) Select a domain value from the Domain drop-down menu.
    3. Click Login.
  5. (Optional) To configure display settings for a remote desktop, right-click the remote desktop icon and select Settings.
    Option Action
    Select a display protocol If a Horizon administrator has allowed it, use the Connect Via drop-down menu to select the display protocol.
    Select a display layout Use the Display drop-down menu to select a window size or to use multiple monitors.
  6. (Optional) To mark the remote desktop or published application as a favorite, right-click the remote desktop or published application icon and select Mark as Favorite from the context menu that appears.

    A star icon appears in the upper-right corner of the remote desktop or published application name. The next time you log in, you can click the Show Favorites button to find this application or desktop quickly.

  7. Double-click a remote desktop or application to connect.
    If you are connecting to a session-based remote desktop, which is hosted on a Microsoft RDS host, and if the desktop is already set to use a different display protocol, you cannot connect immediately. You are prompted to either use the protocol that is set or have the system log you off the remote operating system so that a connection can be made with the protocol you selected.

Results

After you are connected, the client window appears.

If authentication to Connection Server fails or if the client cannot connect to the remote desktop or application, perform the following tasks:

  • Verify that the security certificate for Connection Server is working properly. If it is not, in Horizon Console, you might also see that Horizon Agent on desktops is unreachable. These symptoms indicate additional connection problems caused by certificate problems.
  • Verify that the tags set on the Connection Server instance allow connections from this user. See the Setting Up Published Desktops and Applications in Horizon document.
  • Verify that the user is entitled to access this desktop or application. See the Setting Up Published Desktops and Applications in Horizon or Setting Up Virtual Desktops in Horizon document.
  • If you are using the RDP display protocol to connect to a remote desktop, verify that the remote operating system allows remote desktop connections.