With the Windows OS Optimization Tool for VMware Horizon, you can optimize the guest operating system on virtual machines that you use for creating instant-clone desktop pools or full-clone desktop pools. The optimization is applicable to Horizon 7, Horizon 8, and Horizon Cloud Service.

Windows was designed for physical hardware, specifically desktops, to be accessed by one user at a time. Many of its settings are unnecessary or even detrimental in a virtual environment. By optimizing the Windows operating systems, you can eliminate unnecessary settings and disable appropriate features to improve performance.

For example, Windows animations use significant CPU resources which decreases the number of desktops that you can host per physical server. Consequently, this function increases the amount of system hardware that you need in a VM. Windows animations also do not perform well when accessed remotely, especially when connecting over a slow WAN or Internet connection. As a result, features such as animations impair the end-user experience.

Optimization provides the following benefits for virtual desktops:
  • improves performance
  • increases density by boosting the number of virtual desktops that can be hosted per vSphere server, thereby reducing infrastructure costs
  • improves end-user experience
  • reduces end-user support incidents

Optimizing provides the following benefits for RDS hosts:

  • increases hosted desktop and application performance
  • reduces the amount of system resources that each RDS host requires
  • increases the density and number of RDS hosts that can be hosted
  • increases the number of users that can be supported per RDS host
  • improves the end-user hosted desktop and application experience
  • reduces system support incidents

You run the OS Optimization Tool on the VM after you install the required apps on it. The OS Optimization Tool analyzes the base image and displays current values for properties based on the selected template. You can select the properties that you want to apply to the image during optimization. You then generalize the image by running the sysprep tool with an unattend answer file. The last step is to finalize the image by cleaning it up.

flow

You can either use the OS Optimization Tool UI to optimize the image or run the tool from the command line.

Windows Versions Supported

The OS Optimization Tool is compatible with the following Windows versions:
  • Windows 11
  • Windows 10
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019