Horizon 8 provides two licensing usage models, one for named connected users and one for concurrent connected users (CCU). VMware Horizon counts the named connected users and concurrent connected users in your environment, regardless of your product license edition or usage model agreement.
For the named connected users model, Horizon 8 counts the number of unique users that have access to the Horizon 8 environment, and access is determined by entitlement. The specific count increase varies by individual AD user or AD groups.
- If an admin entitles 50 users to a pool of desktops, then the NU count goes up by 50 immediately, even if none of them have logged in yet.
- If an admin entitles an AD group of 100 unique users to a pool, then the NU count goes up by 1 immediately. When users log into their desktop, NU count goes up for every net new user who logs in. Over time, assuming all 100 unique users have logged into their desktops at least once, the total NU count as a result of this entitlement and pool would be 101. Note that Horizon 8 always counts AD group as 1 NU because Horizon 8 uses SID to track users and AD groups have their own unique SID that is indistinguishable from the SID of individual users.
- If a named user is entitled to multiple single-user desktops, published desktops, and published applications, the user is counted once. When a user logs in, Horizon 8 will only increment the NU count if that user has not been counted previously as part of any entitlement (whether individual or AD group).
- Horizon 8 always includes an extra named user count for the administrator, so even if you have no active users or desktops/apps in your environment, Horizon 8 will show 1 NU count.
Concurrent connected users are counted in the following way:
- For single-user desktops (i.e. virtual desktop), each connected desktop session is counted as 1 CCU. If a concurrently connected user runs multiple single-user desktops simultaneously, each connected desktop session is counted separately as 1 CCU.
- For published desktop and application usage (i.e. RDSH desktops or applications), Horizon 8 counts by concurrently connected user. If a concurrently connected user runs multiple published desktop sessions and applications, the user is counted only once, even if different published desktops or applications are hosted on different RDS hosts or if the user connects from difference end point devices and Horizon Clients.
- If a concurrently connected user runs a single-user desktop and additional published desktops and applications, the user is counted only once.
Concurrent Connected Users Example
This example table displays how
Horizon 8 counts CCUs.
| Scenario | Current | Highest |
|---|---|---|
| You install and deploy a Horizon 8 pod in your environment. You enter your license key in the pod but have not yet created any virtual desktop pools or application farms. | 0 | 0 |
| You create a pool of 10 desktops. You entitle User 1 to the pool. The user has not logged in yet. | 0 | 0 |
| User 1 has launched a virtual desktop. | 1 | 1 |
| You have entitled User 2 to the pool of desktops. User 2 logs in. | 2 | 2 |
| Both User 1 and User 2 log off of from their desktops. | 0 | 2 |
| You create a farm of RDS published desktops and entitle User 3 and User 4 to published desktops. Only User 3 logs in to a published desktop. | 1 | 2 |
| Now User 4 logs into a published desktop as well. | 2 | 2 |
| You create a new RDS app farm with some applications and entitle all users (User 1, 2, 3 and 4) to the farm. User 3 launches an application from his Horizon Client (in addition to his RDS published desktop session). | 2 | 2 |
| User 3 launched another application from a different client machine. Now User 3 has one RDSH desktop and two applications running. | 2 | 2 |
| User4 has an existing RDSH desktop session and now he launches an application. | 2 | 2 |
| Both User 3 and User 4 log off of all their open sessions. | 0 | 2 |
| User 1 logs into a virtual desktop again. | 1 | 2 |
| The administrator creates a new pool and entitles User 1 to the pool. User 1 launches a virtual desktop in the new pool (while still logged into the previously launched virtual desktop). Both desktops are launched from the same Horizon Client running on the same Windows laptop. | 2 | 2 |
| The administrator entitles User 1 to the RDS published desktops and apps. User 1 launches a published desktop. | 2 | 2 |
| User 1 launches the application Paint from his Horizon Client. | 2 | 2 |
| User 1 launches application Snipping Tool from his virtual desktop, | 2 | 2 |
| The administrator creates a third pool of virtual desktops and entitles User 1 to that pool. User 1 logs into a new desktop in the 3rd pool from a Horizon Client running on the same Windows laptop (he’s still logged into the previous two virtual desktops). | 3 | 3 |
| Admin creates a 4th pool of virtual desktops and entitles User 1 to that pool. User 1 logs into a new desktop in that 4th pool from a different device (separate machine that has Horizon Linux Client). Note that he’s still logged into the previous three virtual desktops. | 4 | 4 |
