You must install Horizon Agent on virtual machines that are managed by vCenter Server so that Connection Server can communicate with them. Install Horizon Agent on all virtual machines that you use as templates for full-clone desktop pools and golden images for instant-clone desktops.

To install Horizon Agent on multiple Windows virtual machines without having to respond to wizard prompts, you can install Horizon Agent silently.

The Horizon Agent software cannot coexist on the same virtual or physical machine with other Horizon software components, including Connection Server. It can coexist with Horizon Client.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that you have prepared Active Directory. See the Horizon 8 Installation and Upgrade document.
  • Prepare the guest operating system for remote desktop deployment. See Prepare a Guest Operating System for Remote Desktop Deployment.
  • To use a Windows Server virtual machine as a single-session virtual desktop (rather than as an RDS host), perform the steps described in Prepare Windows Server Operating Systems for Desktop Use. To use a Windows Server virtual machine as an RDS host, see Prepare Windows Server Operating Systems for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Host Use in the Windows Desktops and Applications in Horizon 8 document.
  • If the machine has the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package installed, verify that the version of the package is 2005 SP1 or later. If the package version is 2005 or earlier, you can either upgrade or uninstall the package.
  • Download the Horizon Agent installer file from the VMware product page at http://www.vmware.com/go/downloadview.
  • Verify that you have administrative rights on the virtual machine.
  • Familiarize yourself with the Horizon Agent custom setup options. See Horizon Agent Custom Setup Options.
  • Familiarize yourself with the TCP ports that the Horizon Agent installation program opens on the firewall. See the Horizon Overview and Deployment Planning document for more information.
  • Verify that you have a minimum of 2 CPUs to install or upgrade Horizon Agent from versions 7.x or later.

Procedure

  1. To start the Horizon Agent installation program, double-click the installer file.
    The installer filename is VMware-Horizon-Agent-x86-YYMM-y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe, where YYMM is the marketing version number, y.y.y is the internal version number, and xxxxxx is the build number.
  2. Accept the VMware license terms.
  3. If you install Horizon Agent on a Windows Server machine on which the Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) role is not installed, the Horizon Agent installer prompts you to install Horizon Agent in RDS mode or Desktop mode. If the RDSH role is already installed on the system, by default the Horizon Agent installer will install Horizon Agent in RDS mode.
    • If you select RDS mode, the installer will install the Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) role and/or the Desktop Experience role and prompt you to restart the system. After the roles are installed and the system is restarted, launch the installer again to continue installing Horizon Agent in RDS mode.
    • If you select Desktop mode, the installer will install Horizon Agent as a single-user virtual desktop where published desktop features will not be available.
  4. Select the Internet Protocol (IP) version, IPv4 or IPv6.
    You must install all Horizon 8 components with the same IP version.
  5. Select whether to enable or disable FIPS mode.
    This option is available only if FIPS mode is enabled in Windows.
  6. Select your custom setup options.
    By default, VMware Horizon Instant Clone Agent is enabled.
  7. Accept or change the destination folder.
  8. Follow the prompts in the Horizon Agent installation program and finish the installation.
    Note: If you did not enable Remote Desktop support during guest operating system preparation, the Horizon Agent installation program prompts you to enable it. If you do not enable Remote Desktop support during Horizon Agent installation, you must enable it manually after the installation is finished.
  9. If you selected the USB redirection option, restart the virtual machine to enable USB support.
    In addition, the Found New Hardware wizard might start. Follow the prompts in the wizard to configure the hardware before you restart the virtual machine.

What to do next

If the virtual machine has multiple NICs, configure the subnet that Horizon Agent uses. See Configure a Virtual Machine with Multiple NICs for Horizon Agent.