VMware Horizon: Install, Configure, Manage

This five-day, hands-on course gives you the skills to deliver virtual desktops and applications through a single virtual desktop infrastructure platform. This course builds your skills in installing, configuring, and managing VMware Horizon© 7 through a combination of lecture and hands-on labs. You will learn how to configure and deploy pools of virtual machines, how to manage access and security of the machines, and how to provide a customized desktop environment to end users.

By the end of the course, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

• Identify VMware Horizon components
• Install and configure View Connection Server
• Install and configure virtual desktops
• Configure and manage VMware Horizon©_ Client systems
• Configure and manage pools of physical and virtual machines
• Configure and manage automated pools of full virtual machines
• Configure and manage pools of linked-clone desktops
• Configure and manage automated pools of instant clones
• Configure and manage Remote Desktop Services (RDS) pools of desktops and applications
• Use Horizon Administrator to configure the VMware Horizon environment
• Configure secure access to virtual desktops
• Use VMware User Environment Manager to manage user personalization and application configurations
• Describe steps to deploy profile management
• Use VMware App Volumes to provision and manage applications
• Manage the performance and scalability of a VMware Horizon deployment
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Module 1: Course Introduction

• Review course goals
• Review course objectives
• Review the course outline
• Find additional resources after this course

Module 2: Introduction to VMware Horizon

• Recognize the features and benefits of VMware Horizon
• Identify the major function of each VMware Horizon component
• Define a use case for your virtual desktop and application infrastructure

Module 3:  View Connection Server

• Identify the VMware vSphere©_ requirements for a connection server
• Describe the network and firewall configurations for View Connection Server
• License VMware Horizon components
• Configure View Connection Server

Module 4 VMware Horizon Pools and Desktops

• Outline the process and choices in setting up VMware Horizon 7 virtual machines
• Compare the remote display protocols that are available in VMware Horizon
• List the ports that must be opened in the machine’s firewall for VMware Horizon operations
• Outline the configuration choices when installing Horizon Agent
• Identify the steps to set up a template for desktop pool deployment
• Describe how information on the Users and Groups page can be used to control and monitor View users
• Explain the hierarchy of global policies, pool-level policies, and user-level policies
• List the View Group Policy administrative (ADM) template files

Module 5: Horizon Client Options

• Describe the requirements for a Horizon Client installation
• Explain USB redirection and options
• Describe the power states for desktops
• Define and compare a thin client with a system running Horizon Client
• Discuss the benefits of Virtual Printing
• Explain the Virtual Printing architecture
• Describe the configuration options for Virtual Printing
• Explain the location-based printing feature

Module 6: Creating Automated Pools of Full Virtual Machines

• Recognize how an automated pool operates
• Compare dedicated-assignment and floating-assignment pools
• Outline the steps to create an automated pool
• Examine the entitlement of desktops in automated pools

Module 7: Creating and Managing Linked-Clone Desktops

• Describe the VMware linked-clone technology
• Explain why both a parent virtual machine and a snapshot must be used to create linked clones
• Outline the system requirements for View Composer
• Describe the relationship between a persistent disk and the system disk
• Outline the steps necessary to set up an automated desktop pool that uses linked clones
• Compare the purpose of the parent and the replica virtual machines
• Compare the linked-clone management operations
• Describe the management operations for persistent disks

Module 8: Creating and Managing Instant-Clone Pools

• Identify the advantages of instant clones
• Distinguish View Composer clones from instant clones
• Identify the requirements of instant clones
• Describe the types of instant-clone virtual machines
• Explain how folders are used to delegate pool administration
• Outline the steps to set up an automated pool that uses instant clones

Customers attending this course should have, at a minimum, the following VMware infrastructure skills:

• Use VMware vSphere©_ Web Client to view the state of virtual machines, datastores, and networks
• Open a virtual machine console on VMware vCenter Server©_ and access the guest operating system
• Create snapshots of virtual machines
• Configure guest customization specifications
• Modify virtual machine properties
• Convert a virtual machine into a template
• Deploy a virtual machine from a template

Attendees should also have the following Microsoft Windows system administration experience:

• Configure Active Directory services, including DNS, DHCP, and time synchronization
• Restrict users’ activities by implementing Group Policy objects
• Configure Windows systems to allow Remote Desktop Connections
• Build an ODBC connection to an SQL Server database

Technical personnel who work in the IT departments of end-customer companies and people who are responsible for the delivery of remote or virtual desktop services.