Lab 20: Install the Horizon Agent for Linux and create a desktop pool

In this lab you will install the Horizon Agent for Linux using the Easy Install Setup method. You will then create an automated Linux desktop pool and test access to it. A VM has been prepared for you with Linux already installed.

You will complete the following tasks:

  1. Login in to the vCenter admin console.
  2. Power on the Linux golden image VM and copy the Horizon Agent installer to it.
  3. Login to the Linux VM using PuTTY and extract the Horizon Agent files.
  4. Install the Horizon Agents using the Easy Install tool.
  5. Take a vSphere snapshot of the VM.
  6. Create an automated desktop pool.
  7. Monitor the desktop pool creation.
  8. Entitle users to the desktop pool.
  9. Test user access to the desktop pool.
Expand or collapse content Task 1: Login in to the vCenter admin console
  1. Open the vCenter server admin console.
    • On your ControlCenter desktop, open the a new tab in the Google Chrome browser.
    • Click the bookmark on the bookmark bar for vcenter-01
  2. Login in the vCenter admin console.
Expand or collapse content Task 2: Power on the Linux golden image VM and copy the Horizon Agent installer to it

Power on the Linux VM, and then to copy the Horizon Agent installer file to it.

  1. Locate the golden image VM in the vCenter inventory.
    • Browse to and select the VM LinuxGolden-01a.
  2. Power on the VM.
    • From the Actions top menu, select Power On (green arrow).
  3. Note the IP Address that is assigned.
    • Look for the IP Address field in the Virtual Machine Details pane.
    • This may take a few minutes to populate as the VM powers on.
  4. Minimize your Chrome browser

In the lab you will use WinSCP to connect to the Linux machine and copy the installer file to it.

  1. Launch WinSCP on your ControlCenter.
    • Use the Search function in the Windows taskbar to find the WinSCP app.
    • Launch the WinSCP client.
  2. Add a New Site to WinSCP (This is your Linux golden image VM).
    • Click on New Site in the Login dialog box.
    • Host name: Enter your Linux golden image IP address.
    • Username: omni
    • Password: Pa$$w0rd
  1. Login to a SCP session to your Linux golden image VM.
    • Click Login.
    • Click Accept in the Warning dialog that is displayed.

In WinSCP, the left-hand pane represents the local machine (ControlCenter) and the right-hand pane represents the connected machine (your Linux golden image VM).

  1. Locate the local copy of the Horizon Agent installer file.
    • Use the WinSCP left-hand pane to select S: resources (labfiler) from the drive dropdown.
    • Double-click on Software to open that folder.
    • Double-click on Horizon_2512.
  1. Copy the Horizon Agent installer file.
    • In the left-hand pane select the file Omnissa-horizonagent-linux-x86_64-2512-8.17.0-xx.tar.gz
    • Drag the file to the Downloads folder in the right-hand pane.
  1. Close WinSCP.
Expand or collapse content Task 3: Login to the Linux VM using PuTTY and extract the Horizon Agent files

Use Putty to remote to the Linux VM, locate the Horizon Agent file you copied, and extract its contents.

  1. Launch PuTTY and connect to your Linux golden image VM.
    • Run the PuTTY application from the ControlCenter desktop icon.
    • Host name: Enter your Linux golden image IP address.
    • Click Open.
    • Click Accept in the PuTTY Security Warning dialog that is displayed.
  2. Login to your Linux golden image VM.
    • At the login as: prompt, enter omni as the username.
    • password: Pa$$w0rd
  3. Change to the Downloads folder and list the contents.
    • Type the following command and press Enter.
cd /home/omni/Downloads/
  • Type the following command and press Enter (this lists the contents of the folder).
ls -l

In Linux you can use the tab key to help auto complete when typing commands.

  1. Extract the files from the Horizon Agent bundle file.
    • Type the following command and press Enter.
tar -zxvf Omnissa-horizonagent-linux-x86_64-2512-8.17.0-20250894398.tar.gz
  1. List the contents of the Download folder.
    • Type the following command and press Enter.
ls -l
  1. Change into the folder created when you extracted the Horizon Agent files.
    • Type the following command and press Enter.
 cd Omnissa-horizonagent-linux-x86_64-2503-8.17.0-20250894398/

You have copied the Horizon Agent installation file to the Linux VM and extracted them. The Horizon Agent files are are now ready for you to proceed with the installation.

Expand or collapse content Task 4: Install the Horizon Agent for Linux using the easy setup tool

In this task, you will use the easy install feature in expert mode to install the Horizon Agent on Linux.

  1. Create an empty config file (this can be used later to rerun the command in case of failure).
    • In your PuTTy session, type the following command and press Enter.
touch config.txt
  1. Start the Horizon Agent installation using the Easy Install method.
    • Enter the following command and press Enter.
sudo ./easyinstall_viewagent.sh -l expert -f config.txt
  • [sudo] password for omni: Pa$$w0rd
  1. Enter the DNS server information (1)
    • 192.168.110.10
  2. Enter the host name (2)
    • linuxgolden-01a
  3. Enter the NTP server information (3)
    • Leave blank and press Enter.
  4. Select to join active directory (4)
    • Press Enter.

Note when the option is in CAPS, that is the default answer. Therefore not necessary to enter Y.

  1. Enter the domain FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) (5)
    • omnissatraining.com

Best practice is to enter the domain FQDN in lower case

  1. Input the user name used to join domain (6)
    • administrator
  2. Input the user name used to join domain (7)
    • Pa$$w0rd

The password is not displayed when typed, so type carefully.

  1. Input the computer OU DN to join (8)
    • OU=HorizonComputers,OU=Horizon,DC=omnissatraining,DC=com

This canonical name is case sensitive

  1. Review the summary of the inputs and proceed with phase 1 of the installation.
    • Review the inputs.
    • Press Enter on Do you agree with the inputs above? [Y/n]

Note Y is in CAPS therefore Yes is the default answer.

  1. All the required dependencies will now be installed and configured.
    • Phase 1 deploys the dependencies, sets the hostname configuration, and performs a domain join.
  2. Accept the Omnissa General Terms to proceed with the installation.
    • Press the TAB button to select the Accept option, and press Enter.

The following prompts allow you to choose which features of the Horizon Agent are enabled.

  • A capital Y indicates that Yes is the default response.
  • A capital N indicates that No is the default response.
  1. Input whether to install the agent in managed mode (1).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects Yes, to install in managed mode.
  2. Input whether to support multiple sessions (2).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support multiple sessions.
  3. Input whether to support webcam redirection (3).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support webcam redirection.
  4. Input whether to support audio input redirection (4).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support audio input redirection.
  5. Input whether to support USB redirection (5).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support USB redirection.
  6. Input whether to support IPv6 network (6).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support IPv6 network.
  7. Input whether to disable single-session application pools (7).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to support single-session application pools.
  8. Input whether to support FIPS (8).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support FIPS.
  9. Input whether to support smartcard redirection (9).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support smartcard redirection.
  10. Input whether to support client drive redirection (10).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects Yes, to support client drive redirection.
  11. Input whether to support clipboard redirection(11).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects Yes, to support clipboard redirection.
  12. Input whether to support printer redirection (12).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects Yes, to support printer redirection.
  13. Input whether to support URL redirection (13).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support URL redirection.
  14. Input whether to disable the Omnissa Greeter (14).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not disable the Omnissa Greeter.
  15. Input whether to support single sign on(15).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects Yes, to support single sign on.
  16. Input whether to support True SSO (16).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not support True SSO.
  17. Input the preferred self signed cert subject DN (17).
    • Leave blank and press Enter.
  18. Input the preferred JMS SSL keystore password (18)
    • Leave blank and press Enter.
  19. Input whether to restart after installation (19).
    • Press Enter.
    • This selects No, to not restart after installation.
  20. Review the summary of the inputs and proceed with phase 2 of the installation.
    • Review the inputs.
    • Press Enter on Do you agree with the inputs above? [Y/n].
    • Monitor the installation and wait until it completes before moving onto the next step.
  1. Reboot Linux.
    • Enter the following command and press Enter.
sudo reboot
  1. Close PuTTY.
    • Click OK on PuTTY error dialog that displays.
    • Close the PuTTY application.
Expand or collapse content Task 5: Take a vSphere VM snapshot

Now that you have updated your Linux golden image, take a VM snapshot in preparation for using it to create a Horizon desktop pool.

  1. Open the vCenter server admin console.
    • On your ControlCenter desktop, open the Google Chrome browser.
    • Switch to the tab for vSphere (vcenter-01)

If you need to reopen or login to vCenter, follow the instructions in task 1.

  1. Locate the golden image VM in the vCenter inventory.
    • Browse to and select the VM LinuxGolden-01a.
    • Make sure that the VM has fully powered on after the last task restarted it.
  2. Shut down the VM.
    • From the Actions top menu, select Shut Down Guest OS (red square).
    • Click YES, in the Confirm Guest Shut Down dialog window.
    • Wait until the Power Status shows Powered Off.
  3. Take a new snapshot of the Linux golden image.
    • Select the Snapshots tab.
    • Click on TAKE SNAPSHOT.
    • In the Name field, enter Agent2512.
    • Optionally enter a Description.
    • Note that the two check box options will be clear and you cannot select them. This is expected as the VM is powered off.
    • Click CREATE.
  4. Confirm that the Snapshot was created.
    • You should now see a new entry (Agent2512) displayed in the Snapshot tree for the VM.

Best practice is to minimize the number and levels of snapshots that a golden image VM has. Too many can slow down the publishing process of the image.

Expand or collapse content Task 6: Create a Linux based desktop pool
  1. Open the Horizon admin console for horizon-01a.
    • On your ControlCenter desktop, open the Google Chrome browser.
    • Click the bookmark on the bookmark bar for horizon-01a
    • This will connect you to the Horizon administrator console at https://Horizon-01a.omnissatraining.com
  2. Login to the Horizon admin console.
    • Username: administrator
    • Password: Pa$$w0rd
    • Domain: OmnissaTraining
  3. Start the new desktop pool wizard.
    • Navigate to Inventory > Desktops.
    • Click ADD.
  4. On the Type screen:
    • Ensure that Automated Desktop Pool is selected.
    • Click NEXT.
  5. On the vCenter Server screen:
    • Ensure that the Instant Clone option is selected.
    • Ensure that vcenter01.omnissatraining.com is selected.
    • Click NEXT.

There is only one vCenter Server registered with your Horizon pod, so only one will be displayed.

  1. On the User Assignment screen:
    • Select Floating assignment.
    • Click NEXT.
  2. On the Storage Policy Management screen:
    • Leave the default selections and click NEXT.
  3. On the Desktop Pool Identification screen:
    • ID: Linux_INST
    • Display name: Linux INST
    • Click NEXT.
  4. On the Provisioning Settings screen:
    • In the Virtual Machine Naming section, enter a Naming Pattern of LinuxINST-
    • In the Provisioning Machines section ensure that All Machine Up-Front is selected.
    • In the Desktop Pool Sizing change the Maximum Machines to 2.
    • Click NEXT.

In the next step you select the golden image VM and snapshot to use, You then select the vSphere folder, cluster, resource pool, datastore, and network to use to host the clones.

  1. On the vCenter Settings screen:
    • Golden Image in vCenter: Click Browse, select LinuxGolden-01a, and click SUBMIT.
    • Snapshot: Click Browse, select the Snapshot Agent2512, and click SUBMIT.
    • VM Folder Location: Click Browse, select Discovered virtual machine, and click SUBMIT.
    • Cluster: Click Browse, select Cluster 1, and click SUBMIT.
    • Resource Pool: Click Browse, select Cluster1, and click SUBMIT.
    • Datastores: Click Browse, select Datastore1, and click SUBMIT.
    • Network: Leave the default selection of Golden Image's network configuration selected.
    • VM Compute Profile Settings: Keep default values.
    • Click NEXT.
  2. On the Desktop Pool Settings screen:
    • Change Logoff After Disconnect to Immediately.
    • Leave all other settings as the defaults and click NEXT.
  3. On the Remote Display Settings screen:
    • Leave all settings as the defaults and click NEXT.

On the guest customization screen you select pre-defined credentials to use to join the clones to the domain and choose a suitable OU to locate the computer objects in AD. You can also select which of the two customization methods to use: ClonePrep or SysPrep.

  1. On the Guest Customization screen:
    • Domain: Confirm the default selection of omnissatraining.com(administrator).
    • AD Container: Click Browse, select the OU=HorizonComputers,OU=Horizon, and click SUBMIT.
    • Site Name: Ensure the default of Connection Server's default site is selected.
    • Ensure that Use ClonePrep is selected.
    • Click NEXT.
  2. On the Ready to Complete screen:
    • Review the settings and selections you have made.
    • Click SUBMIT.

The pool creation process will start.

Expand or collapse content Task 7: Monitor the desktop pool creation

In this task you will monitor the desktop pool creation process and view the VM objects created.

You can monitor progress both within vCenter, to see the VM cloning and provisioning process, and also within the Horizon admin console, to see the image publishing and then the clone customization. You can switch between the two consoles to see processes from both perspectives.

  1. Open the vCenter server admin console
    • On your ControlCenter desktop, switch to the vSphere tab in the Google Chrome browser.
    • If you need to reconnect or re-login, follow the instructions in task 1.
  2. Review and monitor Recent Tasks in vCenter.
    • View the Recent Tasks section at the bottom.
    • Check the task completion progress.

There will be several tasks reported in vCenter Recent Tasks, including folder creation, cloning of the golden image to create a cp-template, the creation of a cp-replica, and the creation of the clones.

  1. Open the Horizon admin console.
    • On your ControlCenter desktop, switch to the Connection Server admin console tab in the Google Chrome browser.
    • If you need to reconnect or re-login, follow the instructions in task 1.
  2. Verify the pool status from Horizon admin console.
    • Navigate to Inventory > Desktops
    • Click on the pool with ID Linux-INST
  3. Monitor the image publishing in the Horizon admin console.
    • Review the image publishing status in the vCenter Server section of the desktop pool details.
    • You can refresh the page using the circular arrow in the top-right.
  4. View the clones status in the Horizon admin console.
    • Select the Machines tab for the desktop pool.
    • Once image publishing has completed, you should see two entries, LinuxINST-1 and LinuxINST-2.
    • Scroll to the right and check the Status. Once the clones are ready, this should display Available.

The clones may initially display another status, such as Customizing. Use the circular arrow in the top-right to refresh the page.

  1. View the virtual machines in the vCenter admin console.
    • On your ControlCenter desktop, switch to the vSphere tab in the Google Chrome browser.
    • Locate the two new VMs machines LinuxINST-1 and LinuxINST-2
    • Confirm that the VMs are Powered On.
Expand or collapse content Task 8: Entitle users to the desktop pool

Entitlement of users and groups can also be done during pool creation by select the Entitle Users After Adding Pool check box on the Ready to Complete screen of the wizard.

  1. View the details of a desktop pool
    • In the Horizon admin console navigate to Inventory > Desktops
    • Click on the entry with an ID of Linux-INST.
  2. Start the entitlement wizard.
    • Click on the Entitlements button, and select Add Entitlements.
  3. Select the Users and Groups to entitle.
    • Click ADD.
    • In the row Name/User Name enter horizon in the right-hand box, and click FIND.
    • Tick the box for the row Horizon-Students that is displayed, and click OK.
  4. Close the entitlement wizard.
    • Click OK.

You can add multiple entries for different users and groups to an entitlement.

Expand or collapse content Task 9: Test the Linux desktop pool

You should always test access and behavior of a desktop pool before giving users access to it.

  1. Launch the Omnissa Horizon Client.
    • From the ControlCenter desktop, double click the Omnissa Horizon Client.

Depending on which other labs you have already completed, you may have to add a new server entry to the client for your new Horizon 8 pod.

If you have already added it to the Horizon Client, just double-click the horizon-01a,omnissatraining.com tile to connect.

  1. Add a new Horizon 8 Pod to the Horizon Client.

In this lab, you will use the Connection Server FQDN. In a production deployment of a pod with multiple Connection Servers the load balancer virtual IP address or name would be used instead of an individual Connection Server address.

  1. Login and authenticate with an assigned user from the Horizon-Students group.
    • Username: Student1
    • Password : Pa$$w0rd
    • Click Login.
  2. Once logged in, you will see a tile for the entitled desktop pool Linux INST.
  3. Launch the virtual desktop.
    • Click on the 3 dots on the pool tile for Linux INST and click Launch.
    • Alternatively you can double-click on the tile.
  4. Confirm successful desktop launch.
    • Ensure the virtual desktop opens successfully and the user is logged into the Linux desktop.
    • Verify that the desktop is functioning properly and the user can interact with the environment (login, desktop display, basic functionality).
  5. Monitor the user session from the Horizon admin console.
    • Switch back to the ControlCenter desktop and the Horizon admin console tab in the Google Chrome browser.
    • Navigate to Inventory  desktops  Linux-INST.
    • Select the Machines tab.
    • On one of the desktops you will see a Connected User (omnissatraining\student1)
    • Scroll to the right and check the Status. The same machine clone should display Connected.
  6. Logout of the virtual desktop.
    • Switch back to the Horizon Client session for Linux INST.
    • Click on the power icon in the top right and then click the power icon that appears in the panel.
    • Click Log Out...
    • Confirm by clicking the Log Out button.
  1. Close the Omnissa Horizon Client.

This concludes this lab.

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