Install Horizon Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine

You must install Horizon Agent on a Linux virtual machine before you can deploy the machine as a remote desktop.

Caution: If you intend to use NVIDIA GRID vGPU, you must configure 3D graphics features on the Linux virtual machine before you install Horizon Agent. If you install Horizon Agent first, required parameters in the xorg.conf file are overwritten, and the 3D graphics features do not work.

See Configure Supported Linux Distributions for vGPU. Install Horizon Agent after the 3D graphics configuration is completed.

For 2D graphics configuration, you can install Horizon Agent after you complete the steps in Prepare a Linux Machine for Remote Desktop Deployment.

Prerequisites

• Verify that the Linux guest operating system is prepared for desktop use. See Prepare a Linux Machine for Remote Desktop Deployment.
• Familiarize yourself with the Horizon Agent installer script for Linux. See install_viewagent.sh Command-Line Options.

Procedure

1. Download the Horizon Agent for Linux installer file from the VMware download site at https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads.
   Navigate to the download page for the current release of VMware Horizon. In the product downloads list, find the installer file for Horizon Agent for 64-bit Linux systems.

   The installer filename is VMware-horizonagent-linux-x86_64-y.y.y-xxxxxxx.tar.gz for 64-bit Linux where y.y.y is the version number and xxxxxxx is the build number.

2. Unpack the tarball for your Linux distribution.
   For example:

   tar -xzvf VMware-horizonagent-linux-x86_64-y.y.y-xxxxxxx.tar.gz

3. Navigate to the tarball folder.
4. Run the install_viewagent.sh script as a superuser.
   See install_viewagent.sh Command-Line Options for a list of the optional parameters available for this script.
   For example:

   sudo ./install_viewagent.sh -A yes

5. Type Yes to accept the EULA if you run install_viewagent.sh without specifying the -A parameter.
   The installer does not run unless you accept the EULA.
6. Restart the Linux virtual machine for the changes to take effect.

Results

After installation, the viewagent service is started. Verify that the service is started using sudo service viewagent status.

What to do next

Deploy the virtual machine in a desktop pool. See Create a Manual Desktop Pool for Linux.