VMHVICM7.10 – VMware Horizon 7: Install, Configure, Manage v7.10

1. Course Introduction

• Introductions and course logistics
• Course objectives

2. Introduction to VMware Horizon

• Recognize the features and benefits of VMware Horizon
• Describe the conceptual and logical architecture of VMware Horizon
• Define a use case for your virtual desktop and application infrastructure
• Convert customer requirements to use case attributes

3. Horizon View Connection Server

• Recognize VMware Horizon reference architecture
• Identify the recommended system requirements for View Connection Server
• Identify the recommended virtualization requirements for a View Connection Server instance
• Access Horizon Manager
• License VMware Horizon components
• Outline the steps for the initial configuration of View Connection Server
• Describe the capabilities that Horizon Administrator provides for monitoring the health of a VMware Horizon deployment
• Use the dashboard to quickly focus on the details of a problem
• Access the settings and status of a pool
• Access the settings and status of a specific machine and the resources controlled by vCenter Server that the VM uses
• Identify the benefits of using the VMware Horizon Help Desk tool

4. VMware Horizon Desktops

• Outline the process and choices to set up VMware Horizon VMs
• Assign vCPUs and RAM
• Create Windows VMs
• Configure ESXi host virtual switches
• Optimize the performance of VMs
• Compare the remote display protocols that are available in VMware Horizon
• Outline the steps to enable a machine for remote access from VMware Horizon® Client™
• Describe BLAST
• Describe the purpose of Horizon Agent
• List the steps to prepare a VM before installing Horizon Agent
• Outline the configuration choices when installing Horizon Agent
• Use the Horizon Skype for Business Virtualization Pack

5. VMware Horizon Pools

• Identify the steps to set up a template for desktop pool deployment
• List the steps to add desktops to the View Connection Server inventory
• Define user entitlement
• Describe how information found on the Users and Groups page is used to control and monitor VMware Horizon users
• Explain the hierarchy of global, pool-level, and user-level policies
• List the VMware Horizon Group Policy ADMX files

6. VMware Horizon Client Options

• Describe the requirements for a Horizon Client installation on a Windows system
• Explain USB redirection and options
• Describe the shared folders option
• Describe the different clients and their benefits
• Discuss the benefits of the Virtual Printing feature
• Explain the architecture of the Virtual Printing feature
• List the steps to install the Virtual Printing feature
• Configure the Virtual Printing feature
• Discuss the benefits of the location-based printing feature
• Identify use cases where location-based printing is desirable
• List the client system parameters that can be used to assign a printer

7. Creating Automated Desktop Pools

• Describe how an automated pool operates
• Compare dedicated-assignment and floating-assignment pools
• Outline the steps to create an automated pool

8. Configuring and Managing Linked-Clone Desktop Pools

• Describe VMware linked-clone technology
• Explain why both a parent VM and a snapshot must be used to create linked clones
• Outline the system requirements for View Composer
• Describe the relationship between a vCenter Server instance and a View Composer instance
• Identify the View Composer objects in a vCenter Server inventory
• Describe the preparation required for installing View Composer
• Outline the steps to install View Composer
• Outline the necessary steps to set up an automated desktop pool that uses linked clones
• Compare the purpose of parent and replica VMs
• Describe the additional steps that are required for linked clones that are not necessary for other automated pools
• Discuss the merits of using tiered storage for replica and linked clones
• Compare the benefits of vSAN and tiered storage
• Compare the recompose, refresh, and rebalance management operations for linked clones
• Describe the management operations for persistent disks

9. Creating and Managing Instant-Clone Desktop Pools

• Describe instant clones
• List the advantages of instant clones
• Differentiate between View Composer linked clones and instant clones
• Describe the different types of instant-clone VMs
• Recognize the use of folders in delegating pool administration
• Explain how instant clones work
• Describe instant clone desktop pools
• Determine the requirements for an instant-clone desktop pool
• Identify the steps used to create an instant clone
• Set up an automated pool of instant clones
• Enable instant clones and authorize a VMware Horizon administrator account for use by ClonePrep
• Update the image of an instant-clone desktop pool using the push image operation

10. VMware Horizon Authentication and Certificates

• Compare the authentication options that View Connection Server supports
• Explain the purpose of roles and privileges in VMware Horizon
• Explain how folders are used to delegate pool administration
• Describe a permission and its components
• Outline the steps to create a Horizon administrator
• List the management options for permissions and folders
• Outline the steps to create a custom role
• List some of the best practices for configuring Horizon Administrator
• Describe the purpose of using TLS certificates for VMware Horizon
• Outline the benefits of using TLS certificates signed by a CA
• Outline the steps to set up TLS certificates

11. Managing VMware Horizon Security

• Compare tunnels and direct connections for client access to desktops
• Identify the benefits of using Unified Access Gateway in the DMZ
• Identify the tunnel endpoints when the security gateway is not used
• Describe a direct connection in a VMware Horizon environment
• List the advantages of direct connections
• Describe how direct connections are enabled
• Discuss the benefits of using VMware Unified Access Gateway™
• List the two-factor authentication options that are supported by Unified Access Gateway
• Describe the situations in which you might deploy Unified Access Gateway with one, two, or three network interfaces

12. Profile Management Using User Environment Manager

• Identify the VMware Dynamic Environment Manager functional areas and their benefits
• Prepare infrastructure for VMware Dynamic Environment Manager
• Outline the steps that are required to install and configure VMware Dynamic Environment Manager components
• Manage user personalization and application configurations using the VMware Dynamic Environment Manager management console and application profiler
• Outline the VMware Horizon Smart Policies available when using VMware Dynamic Environment Manager in the Horizon environment

13. Creating RDS Desktop and Application Pools 

• Explain the difference between an RDS desktop pool and an automated pool
• Access a single application by using the RDS application pool
• Compare and contrast an RD Sessions Host pool, a farm, and an application pool
• Create an RDS desktop pool and an application pool
• Identify the load-balancing options for Remote Desktop Session Hosts (6.2)
• Use View Composer linked-clone technology to automate the build out of RDSH farms
• Use instant-clone technology to automate the build out of RDSH farms
• Describe the default load-balancing procedure for RDSHs in a farm
• Describe the alternative load-balancing feature for RDSHs that optimizes placement of sessions
• Explain how load values and load preferences are used by View Connection Server to make placement decisions for new sessions
• Explain how anti-affinity rules affect session placement decisions
• Identify the hardware, software, and network requirements for all integrated components.

14. Provisioning and Managing Application Using App Volumes

• Explain how App Volumes works
• Identify the features and benefits of App Volumes
• Identify the interface elements of App Volumes
• Install and configure App Volumes

15. Just-in-Time Management Platform and VMware Horizon

• Identify the benefits of Just-in-Time Management Platform (JMP)
• List the JMP and Horizon 7 components
• Install and configure a JMP server
• Identify App Volumes deployment considerations
• Identify VMware Dynamic Environment Manager deployment considerations

16. Command-Line Tools and Backup Options

• Describe key View Connection Server features that are available as command-line options with the vdmadmin command
• Explain the purpose of kiosk mode for client systems and how it is configured
• Explain why you limit the domains that View Connection Server displays to users as they attempt to authenticate
• Identify the log locations for each VMware Horizon component
• Collect Horizon Client and Horizon Agent log files
• Describe the backup options for VMware Horizon databases
• Explain the potential problems related to not synchronizing databases
• Outline solutions to handle orphaned linked clones

17. VMware Horizon Performance and Scalability

• Describe the purpose of a replica connection server
• Compare a replica server to a standard connection server
• Explain how multiple View Connection Server instances in a pod maintain synchronization
• List several best practices for multiserver deployment in a pod
• Describe how a load-balancing capability might improve VMware Horizon performance
• Describe the benefits of the Cloud Pod Architecture feature for large-scale VMware Horizon deployments
• Establish a session with a desktop machine in a different pod by logging in to a local View Connection Server instance
• Compare the purpose of the global LDAP instance and the local LDAP instance
• Describe the purpose of interpod communication and the View Interpod API (VIPA)
• Create global entitlements for accessing Horizon Desktops