You can download and run an RPM (.rpm) installer for Horizon Client from the VMware Downloads page. To upgrade Horizon Client, you first uninstall the existing version from the client system and then run the installer for the new version.

Note: The RPM installer and bundle installer conflict with each other, and you must choose only one installer type. Horizon Client does not support mixed installations that involve using both the RPM installer and the bundle installer on the same client system.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that the client system runs a supported operating system. See System Requirements for Linux Client Systems.
  • Verify that you have root access on the client system.
  • Verify that VMware Workstation is not installed on the client system.
  • If you plan to use the RDP display protocol to connect to a remote desktop, verify that you have the appropriate RDP client installed. See System Requirements for Linux Client Systems.
  • If you are using a thin client, confirm that libgtk 3.14 or later is installed on the system. If needed, obtain version 3.14 or later of the libgtk library and install it on the thin-client system.

Limitations of the RPM Installer

The following limitations apply to the RPM installer:

  • This release of the installer supports the installation of core client features only. The remote experience features described in Feature Options for the Linux Client Installer are not supported
  • You must use the default installation path encoded in the installer. Custom installation paths are not supported.

Installation Procedure

The RPM installer installs the core client features, which allow you to connect to remote desktops and applications.

The RPM installer file is digitally signed. To verify the signature, you must download and install the VMware public key.

Note: The download site also publishes a checksum value for the download. The checksum is published in two common forms. Verifying the checksum verifies that the file contents that you downloaded are the same as the contents that were posted. It does not verify the digital signature.

If you install the public key on the system where you plan to install Horizon Client, the verification happens as part of the installation or upgrade. You can also manually verify the signature before you begin the installation or upgrade procedure, then use the verified file for all installations or upgrades.

  1. On the Linux client system, create a directory to store the VMware public key package.
  2. Use a web browser to navigate to https://packages.vmware.com/tools/keys, and download the VMWARE-PACKAGING-GPG-RSA-KEY.pub key package.
  3. Open a Terminal window and navigate to the directory that contains the VMware public key package.
  4. Install the public key package.
    sudo rpm --import VMWARE-PACKAGING-GPG-RSA-KEY.pub
  5. Download the Horizon Client RPM installer file from the Horizon Client Product Downloads page at http://www.vmware.com/go/viewclients.

    The name of the file is VMware-Horizon-Client-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyy.x64.rpm.

    In the installer filename, YYMM represents the marketing version number, x.x.x represents the internal version number, and yyyyyyy represents the build number.

  6. In the Terminal window, navigate to the directory that contains the installer file.
  7. Run the command to start the installer. For example:
    sudo rpm -i VMware-Horizon-Client-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyy.x64.rpm

After the installation is finished, start Horizon Client and verify that you can log in to the correct virtual desktop. See Connect to a Remote Desktop or Published Application.