When you enable Soft 3D, the ESXi host uses software 3D graphics rendering.

If a GPU graphics card is installed on the ESXi host, this pool will not use it. Horizon 8 does not control or configure 3D rendering settings because they are all set in the golden image VM using vSphere Client.

To enable Soft 3D in the golden image VM:

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, 3D Render field, select Software.
  2. Configure Number of displays, Total video memory, and 3D memory for the instant-clones to inherit from the golden image.
  3. Take a snapshot of the golden image.
  4. In Horizon Console, when you create an instant-clone pool, select this golden image and snapshot.

Results

Horizon 8 automatically displays Manage Using vSphere Client in the 3D Render field. Instant-clones inherit the settings configured in the vSphere Client for the golden image.