Upgrade RDS Hosts That Provide Session-Based Desktops

On RDS hosts with Windows Server 2012 R2 or later, you can upgrade the Horizon Agent software and edit pool settings so that the RDS host can provide remote desktops and remote Windows-based applications.

Prerequisites

• Verify that at least one Horizon Connection Server instance in the replicated group has been upgraded. Connection Server must be upgraded first so that the secure JMS pairing mechanism can work with Horizon Agent.
• Verify that the RDS host currently hosting remote desktops is running a supported version of Windows Server operating systems. If you do not have a supported Windows Server operating system, you must do a fresh installation rather than an upgrade. For a list of supported operating systems, see Requirements and Considerations for Horizon Agent.
• Verify that the RDS Host role is installed in the operating system. See the procedure called "Install Remote Desktop Services" in the Windows Desktops and Applications in Horizon 8 document.
• Familiarize yourself with the procedure for running the Horizon Agent installer. See the procedure called "Install Horizon Agent on a Remote Desktop Services Host," in Windows Desktops and Applications in Horizon 8, available by clicking the Help button in Horizon Console.
• Verify that you have logged off from all remote desktops and remote applications.
• Verify that you have a domain user account with administrative privileges on the hosts that you use to run the installer and perform the upgrade.

Procedure

1. In Horizon Console, edit the desktop pool settings for the pool to disable the pool.
   Go to Inventory > Desktops, select the pool, and click Edit.
2. On the RDS host, download and run the installer for the new version of Horizon Agent.
   You can download the installer from the VMware Web site.
3. In Horizon Console, edit the farm settings and set the default display protocol to PCoIP or VMware Blast.
   Go to Inventory > Farms, select the farm, and click Edit.

   You can also use a setting that allows the end user to choose the protocol. To use remote applications, the protocol must be PCoIP or VMware Blast. Remote applications are not supported with RDP.

4. In Horizon Console, edit the desktop pool settings for the pool to enable the pool.

Results

This host can now provide remote applications in addition to remote desktops. In Horizon Console, if you go to Inventory > Desktops, you see that the type of pool is RDS Desktop Pool. If you go to Inventory > Farms, you see a farm ID in the list that corresponds to the pool ID.