The following list summarizes the key features supported on Horizon Linux desktops.

Note: Where applicable, the following entries identify the subset of Linux distributions that support a given feature. For the complete list of Linux distributions supported for Horizon Agent, see System Requirements For Horizon Agent for Linux.
Active Directory Integration
Instant-cloned desktops running the following Linux distributions can perform an offline domain join with Active Directory using PowerBroker Identity Services Open (PBISO).
  • Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04
  • SLED/SLES 12.x SP3
  • SLES 12.x SP5
See the PowerBroker Identity Services Open (PBISO) Authentication section in Integrating Linux Desktops with Active Directory for more information.
Instant-cloned desktops running the following Linux distributions can perform an offline domain join with Active Directory using Samba.
  • Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04
  • RHEL 7.x and 8.x
Audio-in
Audio input redirection from a client host to a remote Linux desktop is supported. This feature is not based on the USB redirection function. If you want this feature enabled, you must select it during installation. You must select the system default audio in device "PulseAudio server (local)" in your application for the audio input. This feature is supported on the following Linux distributions.
  • Ubuntu 16.04 with MATE or Gnome Flashback (Metacity) desktop environment
  • Ubuntu 18.04 with MATE or Gnome Ubuntu desktop environment
  • RHEL 7.x with KDE or Gnome desktop environment
  • RHEL 8.x with Gnome desktop environment
  • SLED/SLES 12.x SP3
  • SLES 12.x SP5
Audio-out
Audio output redirection is supported. This feature is enabled by default. To disable this feature, you must set the RemoteDisplay.allowAudio option to false. When accessed using Chrome and Firefox browsers, VMWare Horizon HTML Access provides audio-out support for Linux desktops.
Automated Full-Clone Desktop Pool
You can create automated full-clone desktop pools of single-session Linux desktops.
Client Drive Redirection
When you enable the Client Drive Redirection (CDR) feature, your local system's shared folders and drives become available for you to access. You use the tsclient folder that is located in your home directory in the remote Linux desktop. To use this feature, you must install the CDR components.
Clipboard Redirection
With the clipboard redirection feature, you can copy and paste a rich text or a plain text between a client host and a remote Linux desktop. You can set the copy/paste direction and the maximum text size using Horizon Agent options. This feature is enabled by default. You can disable it during installation.
FIPS 140-2 Mode
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 mode, although not yet validated with the NIST Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP), is available for supported Linux desktops. FIPS mode is not supported on desktops running CentOS.

Horizon Agent for Linux implements cryptographic modules that are designed for FIPS 140-2 compliance. These modules were validated in operational environments listed in CMVP certificate #2839 and #2866, and were ported to this platform. However, the CAVP and CMVP testing requirement to include the new operational environments in VMware's NIST CAVP and CMVP certificates remains to be completed on the product roadmap.

Note: The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol version 1.2 is required to support FIPS 140-2 mode.
Help Desk Tool
Horizon Help Desk Tool is a Web application that you can use to troubleshoot Linux desktop sessions. You can use Horizon Help Desk Tool to get the status of Horizon user sessions and to perform troubleshooting and maintenance operations. See Using Horizon Help Desk Tool in Horizon Console.
Horizon Smart Policies
You can use VMware Dynamic Environment Manager to create Horizon Smart Policies that control the behavior of the USB redirection, clipboard redirection, and client drive redirection features on specific remote Linux desktops. See Using Smart Policies.
H.264 Encoder

H.264 can improve the Blast Extreme performance for a Horizon desktop, especially under a low-bandwidth network. If the client system has H.264 disabled, Blast Extreme automatically falls back to JPEG/PNG encoding.

The H.264 encoder includes both hardware H.264 support and software encoder support. The hardware H.264 support has the following requirements.
  • The vGPU is configured with an NVIDIA graphics card.
  • The NVIDIA driver 384 series or later is installed in the NVIDIA graphics card.

When the system meets the preceding requirements, Horizon Agent for Linux uses the hardware H.264 encoder. Otherwise, the software H.264 encoder is used.

Instant-Clone Floating Desktop Pool
You can create instant-clone floating desktop pools of single-session Linux desktops. This feature is not supported on systems running CentOS.

For more information, see Create an Instant-Clone Floating Desktop Pool for Linux.

K Desktop Environment
The K Desktop Environment (KDE) is supported on the following Linux distributions.
  • RHEL/CentOS 7.x
  • Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04
Keyboard Layout and Locale Synchronization
This feature specifies whether to synchronize a client's system locale and current keyboard layout with the Linux desktops. When this setting is enabled or not configured, synchronization is allowed. When this setting is disabled, synchronization is not allowed.

This feature is supported only for Horizon Client for Windows, and only for the English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese locales.

Lossless PNG
Images and videos that are generated on a desktop are rendered on the client device in a pixel-exact manner.
Manual Desktop Pool
When configuring a manual desktop pool of single-session Linux desktops, you can choose from the following options for machine source:
  • Managed Virtual Machine - Machine source of the vCenter virtual machine. A managed virtual machine is supported for new and upgrade deployments.
  • Unmanaged Virtual Machine - Machine source of other sources. An unmanaged virtual machine is only supported when the upgrade is from an unmanaged virtual machine deployment.
Note: To ensure the best possible performance, do not use an unmanaged virtual machine.
MATE Desktop Environment
The MATE Desktop Environment is supported on the following Linux distributions.
  • Ubuntu 16.04
  • Ubuntu 18.04
Multiple Monitors

vGPU desktop supports a maximum resolution of 2560x1600 on four monitors configured in any arrangement.

2D desktop on VMware vSphere® 6.0 or later supports the following maximum resolutions:

  • 2560x1600 on three monitors configured in any arrangement
  • 2048x1536 on four monitors configured in any arrangement
  • 2560x1600 on four monitors configured as follows:
    • Two monitors arranged on the bottom and two monitors arranged on the top
    • Four monitors stacked vertically on top of one another.

      The 2560x1600 resolution is not supported on four monitors arranged side by side.

Note: To use the multiple monitors feature, verify that the desktop is running a supported desktop environment as described in Supported Desktop Environments.
Network Intelligence Support for VMware Blast

The Network Intelligence transport is supported for VMware Blast. This feature is enabled by default.

When User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is enabled, Blast establishes both Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and UDP connections. Based on the current network conditions, Blast dynamically selects one of the transports for transmitting data to provide the best user experience. For example, in a local area network, TCP performs better than UDP, and so Blast selects TCP to transport data. Similarly, in a wide area network (WAN), UDP performance is better than TCP and Blast selects the UDP transport in that environment.

If one of the inline components used does not support UDP, Blast establishes a TCP connection only. For example, if your connection is using the Blast Security Gateway component of the Horizon Connection Server, only a TCP connection is established. Even if both client and agent enabled UDP, the connection uses TCP because Blast Security Gateway does not support UDP. If users are connecting from outside the corporate network, the UDP component requires VMware Unified Access Gateway, which supports UDP.

Use the following information to establish a UDP-based Blast connection.
  • If the client connects to a Linux desktop directly, enable UDP in both the client and agent. UDP is enabled by default in both the client and agent.
  • If the client connects to a Linux desktop using Unified Access Gateway, enable UDP in the client, agent, and Unified Access Gateway.
Published Desktop and Application Pools
You can create published desktop and application pools based on manual or automated instant-clone farms of multi-session Linux host machines. Each published desktop or application can support multiple user sessions at the same time.

Only virtual machines running RHEL Workstation 7.8, 8.1, or 8.2 or Ubuntu 18.04 can be configured as multi-session hosts for published desktops and published applications. vGPU capabilities are not supported for published applications.

For more information, see Setting Up Linux Published Desktops and Applications for Multi-Session Use.

Session Collaboration
With the Session Collaboration feature, users can invite other users to join an existing remote Linux desktop session, or you can join a collaborative session when you receive an invitation from another user. This feature is supported only on desktops with the following Linux distributions installed.
  • Ubuntu 18.04 with Gnome desktop environment
  • RHEL 7.5 with Gnome Classic or KDE desktop environment
  • RHEL 7.6 or later with Gnome Classic desktop environment
  • RHEL 8.x with Gnome Classic desktop environment
Single Sign-on
You can configure Active Directory single sign-on (SSO) for Linux desktops.
Smart Card Redirection
Smart card redirection enables users to authenticate into Linux desktops using a smart card reader connected to the local client system. This feature is not supported on desktops running CentOS.

This feature supports Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards and Common Access Cards (CAC). For more information, see Setting Up Smart Card Redirection.

True SSO Support
You can configure the True SSO feature on Linux desktops.

For more information, see Setting Up True SSO for Linux Desktops.

USB Redirection
The USB Redirection feature gives you access to locally attached USB devices from remote Linux desktops. You must install the USB Redirection components and USB VHCI driver kernel module to use the USB feature. Ensure that you have been granted sufficient privileges to use the USB device that you want to redirect.
3Dconnexion Mouse
To begin using your 3Dconnexion mouse, you must install the appropriate device driver and pair the mouse using the Connect USB Device menu on your Linux desktop.
3D Graphics
The vGPU graphics feature is supported on the Linux distributions and NVIDIA graphics cards listed in the NVIDIA documentation.
Note: For information about the NVIDIA graphics cards and Linux distributions that support vGPU capabilities, see https://docs.nvidia.com/grid/latest/product-support-matrix/index.html.

Limitations of Linux Desktops

Linux desktops have the following limitations:

  • Location-based printing and Real-Time Video are not supported.
  • The VMware HTML Access file transfer feature is not supported.

Additional limitations apply to multi-session published desktops and published applications. For more information, see Considerations for Linux Farms, Published Desktops, and Published Applications.