You can create an automated full-clone desktop pool based on a Windows or Linux virtual machine (VM) template that you select. VMware Horizon 8 dynamically deploys the desktops, creating a new virtual machine in vCenter Server for each desktop.

Prerequisites

  • Prepare a virtual machine template that Horizon 8 will use to create the machines. Horizon Agent must be installed on the template. See Creating and Preparing a Virtual Machine for Cloning.

    You create virtual machine templates in vSphere Client. You can create a virtual machine template from a previously configured virtual machine, or you can convert a previously configured virtual machine to a virtual machine template.

    For information on using vSphere Client to create virtual machine templates, see the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration guide on the VMware vSphere Documentation portal.

  • For a Windows machine, if you intend to use a customization specification, make sure that the specifications are accurate. In vSphere Client, deploy and customize a virtual machine from your template using the customization specification. Fully test the resulting virtual machine, including DHCP and authentication.

  • Verify that you have a sufficient number of ports on the ESXi virtual switch that is used for the virtual machines that are used as remote desktops. The default value might not be sufficient if you create large desktop pools. The number of virtual switch ports on the ESXi host must equal or exceed the number of virtual machines multiplied by the number of virtual NICs per virtual machine.

  • Verify that vCenter Server is added to Horizon Connection Server.
  • Verify that you have prepared the virtual machine for cloning. See .Creating and Preparing a Virtual Machine for Cloning.
  • The following requirements apply to Linux machines:
    • If you use the Winbind solution to join the Linux virtual machine to Active Directory, you must finish configuring the Winbind solution in the virtual machine template.
    • If you use the Winbind solution, you must run the domain join command on the virtual machine. Include the command in a shell script and specify the script path to the Horizon Agent option RunOnceScript in /etc/vmware/viewagent-custom.conf. For more information, see Edit Configuration Files on a Linux Desktop.
    • Create a guest customization specification.

      See "Create a Customization Specification for Linux" in vSphere Virtual Machine Administration on the VMware vSphere Documentation portal. Fully test the capabilities of the virtual machine created using the specification, including DHCP and authentication.

      When you create the specification, make sure that you specify the following settings correctly.

      Setting Value
      Target Virtual Machine OS Linux
      Computer Name Use the virtual machine name.
      Domain Specify the domain of the Horizon 8 environment.
      Network Settings Use standard network settings.
      Primary DNS Specify a valid address.
      Note: To create a guest customization specification for a Debian machine in vSphere 7.0, follow the steps described in VMware Knowledge Base (KB) article 85845. For more information on the Guest OS Customization Support Matrix, see http://partnerweb.vmware.com/programs/guestOS/guest-os-customization-matrix.pdf.
  • Gather the configuration information you must provide to create the pool. See Worksheet for Creating an Automated Full-Clone Desktop Pool.
  • If you intend to provide access to your desktops and applications through VMware Workspace ONE Access, verify that you create the desktop and application pools as a user who has the Administrators role on the root access group in Horizon Console. If you give the user the Administrators role on an access group other than the root access group, VMware Workspace ONE Access will not recognize the SAML authenticator you configure in Horizon 8, and you cannot configure the pool in VMware Workspace ONE Access.

Procedure

  1. In Horizon Console, select Inventory > Desktops.
  2. Click Add.
  3. Select Automated Desktop Pool and click Next.
  4. Select Full Virtual Machines, select the vCenter Server instance, and click Next.
  5. Follow the prompts to create the pool.
    Use the configuration information you gathered in the worksheet. You can go directly back to any wizard page by clicking the page name in the navigation pane.

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.