Create a Manual Linux Desktop Pool

You can create a manual desktop pool that provisions desktops from VMware vSphere virtual machines.

Prerequisites

• Verify that VMware vCenter Server is added to Horizon Connection Server.
• Prepare the machines to deliver remote desktop access. In a manual pool, you must prepare each machine individually. See Preparing a Linux Virtual Machine for Desktop Deployment.
• Verify that Horizon Agent is installed on each machine. See Install Horizon Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine.
• Gather the configuration information required to create the pool. See Worksheet for Creating a Manual Linux Desktop Pool.

Procedure

1. In Horizon Console, add a manual desktop pool.
   Select Inventory > Desktops > Add.
   Note: Do not include 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.

   Option	Description
   vCenter Server virtual machines	vSphere virtual machines that are managed by vCenter Server. Select the vCenter Server on which the virtual machines reside.
   Other Sources	Virtual machines that are not managed by vCenter Server.

   When you add vCenter Server virtual machines to the manual desktop pool, VMware Horizon 8 ensures that a spare machine is powered on so that users can connect to it. The spare machine is powered on regardless of which power policy is in effect for the desktop pool.
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.
   The following table describes the minimum required settings on the Desktop Pool Settings page that you must configure for the pool. These settings are mandatory. If you do not configure these settings, users might fail to connect to the desktop and get a protocol error or a blank screen.

   To configure additional settings, use the configuration information you gathered in the Worksheet for Creating a Manual Linux Desktop Pool. You can go directly back to any wizard page by clicking the page name in the navigation pane.

   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.

6. Wait until all the Linux virtual machines in the desktop pool become available.
   In Horizon Console, you can view the machines as they are added to the pool by selecting Inventory > Desktops.

What to do next

Entitle users to access the pool. See "Entitling Users and Groups" in Horizon 8 Administration on the VMware Horizon Documentation portal.