To prepare for a deployment of Linux remote desktops, start by using vSphere Client to create a virtual machine (VM) in vCenter Server. Then install your Linux distribution on the VM.
You can create a VM in vSphere from scratch or by cloning an existing VM. This procedure describes creating a VM from scratch.
Prerequisites
- Verify that your deployment meets the requirements for supporting Linux desktops. See System Requirements for Horizon Agent for Linux.
- Familiarize yourself with the video memory (vRAM) settings requirements for the monitors you plan to use with the VM. See System Requirements for Horizon Agent for Linux.
- Familiarize yourself with the custom configuration parameters for VMs. See Virtual Machine Custom Configuration Parameters.
- Verify that an ISO image file of the guest Linux distribution is in a datastore on your ESXi server.
Note: When selecting a guest Linux distribution, consider the following limitations for instant-clone desktop pools and multi-session hosts.
Horizon Agent for Linux only supports instant-clone desktop pools created from virtual machines running the following operating systems:
- Ubuntu 18.04/20.04/22.04
- Debian 10.x/11.x
- RHEL 7.9/8.x/9.x
- CentOS 7.9
- SLED/SLES 15.x
Only virtual machines running RHEL Workstation 7.9/8.x/9.x, Ubuntu 18.04/20.04/22.04, or Debian 10.x/11.x can support multi-session published desktop pools and single-session or multi-session application pools.
Procedure
- Log in to vSphere Client.
- Right-click any inventory object that is a valid main object of a VM, such as a data center, folder, cluster, resource pool, or host, and select New Virtual Machine.
- Select Create a new virtual machine and click Next.
- Follow the prompts to specify the VM custom options.
- Specify the number of vCPUs and the vMemory size. For the required settings, refer to the following guidelines.
- If you are preparing the VM for deployment as a single-session virtual desktop pool, follow the guidelines in the installation guide for your Linux distribution.
For example, Ubuntu 18.04 specifies configuring 2048 MB for vMemory and 2 vCPUs.
- If you are preparing the VM to serve as a multi-session host for a published desktop or application pool, specify at least 8 vCPUs and 40 GB of vMemory.
Important: A minimum of 8 vCPUs and 40 GB of vMemory is required to support up to 50 user sessions per published desktop or published application.
- On the Customize hardware page, select Virtual Hardware to configure hardware settings.
- Click Add New Device and select a CD/DVD drive. Set the media type to use an ISO image file, select the ISO image file of the guest Linux distribution that you placed in a datastore on your ESXi server. Then select Connect at power on.
- On the Customize hardware page, select VM Options to configure VM settings.
- (Optional) In the Boot Options, set Boot Delay to 10,000 milliseconds.
You can set the boot delay to easily access the VM's BIOS on boot and modify the system settings. After you modify the system settings, you can reboot the boot delay.
- Click Finish to create the VM.
- Power on the VM and install the Linux distribution from the ISO image that you specified earlier.
- In vSphere Client, right-click the virtual machine, select Power, and select Power On to start the virtual machine.
Because you configured the CD/DVD drive to point to the ISO image of the guest distribution and to connect at power on, the guest distribution installation process begins automatically.
- Click the Console tab and follow the instructions in the guest distribution installers.
- Configure the desktop environment to use for the specific Linux distribution.
- Ensure that the VM hostname is resolvable to 127.0.0.1.
