Create a Manual Desktop Pool for Linux

You can create a manual desktop pool for Linux virtual machines.

The following procedure provides guidelines for configuring the mandatory settings for a Linux-based manual desktop pool. For more information about creating manual desktop pools, see the Windows Desktops and Applications in Horizon document.

Prerequisites

• Verify that Horizon Agent is installed on the Linux guest operating systems. See Install Horizon Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine.
• Verify that VMware vCenter Server is added to Horizon Connection Server.

Procedure

1. In Horizon Console, add a manual desktop pool.
   Select Inventory > Desktops > Add.
   Note: Do not create Windows and Linux virtual machines in the same desktop pool.
2. Select Manual Desktop Pool.
3. Select virtual machines that are either managed or unmanaged by vCenter Server and click Next.
4. Select either dedicated or floating user assignments for the machines in the desktop pool and click Next.
5. Follow the prompts in the wizard to create the pool.
   On the Desktop Pool Settings page, set the following options.

   Option	Description
   Default display protocol	VMware Blast
   Allow users to choose protocol	No
   3D Renderer	Manage using vSphere Client for 2D desktop and NVIDIA GRID vGPU for 3D desktop
   Session Types	You can enable the VM Hosted Applications feature by selecting the supported session type for the desktop pool: Desktop. Select this option to use the pool as a regular desktop pool. All the virtual machines in the pool can only be used to host desktops. Application. Select this option to use all the virtual machines in the pool to host applications. Desktop and Application. When this option is selected, the virtual machine in the pool can either host a regular desktop session or host an application session. The first connection to the particular virtual machine will determine the session type of the virtual machine. For more information about the VM Hosted Applications feature, see the technical marketing white paper "Best Practices for Published Applications and Desktops in VMware Horizon and VMware Horizon Apps" available at https://techzone.vmware.com.

   Note: The pool settings are mandatory. Else, you might fail to connect to the desktop and get a protocol error or a black screen.
6. After creating the desktop pool, entitle users to the machines in the desktop pool. In Horizon Console, select the desktop pool, select Entitlements > Add entitlement, and add users or groups.

Results

The Linux virtual machines are ready to be used as remote desktops or application hosts in a Horizon 8 deployment.