VMware Horizon 8 : Deploy and Manage plus App Volumes Fast Track

The VMware Horizon 8 : Deploy and Manage plus App Volumes Fast Track course is a comprehensive program designed to equip learners with the knowledge and skills needed to deploy, manage, and maintain a VMware Horizon environment with App Volumes. This course covers key topics such as the architecture of VMware Horizon, Virtual desktop and application infrastructure, vSphere integration, Desktop pool creation, and the management of various Horizon components.Participants will learn to create optimized virtual machines for Windows and Linux, manage agents, configure client options, and handle security aspects like authentication and certificates. The course also dives into advanced features such as Instant-clone technology, RDS desktops, Application pools, performance, scalability, and the use of App Volumes for application management.By the end of the course, learners will have a solid understanding of how to monitor and secure a VMware Horizon environment, manage user profiles and applications with Dynamic Environment Manager, and leverage Workspace ONE Access for enhanced virtual application management. This training is crucial for IT professionals looking to implement and oversee virtual desktop infrastructures effectively.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Recognize the features and benefits of VMware Horizon.

• Define a use case for your virtual desktop and application infrastructure.

• Use vSphere to create VMs to be used as desktops for VMware Horizon.

• Create and optimize Windows VMs to create VMware Horizon desktops.

• Install and configure Horizon Agent on a VMware Horizon desktop.

• Configure, manage, and entitle desktop pools of full VMs.

• Configure and manage VMware Horizon Client systems and connect them to a VMware Horizon desktop.

• Configure, manage, and entitle pools of instant-clone desktops.

• Create and use Remote Desktop Services (RDS) desktops and application pools.

• Monitor the VMware Horizon environment using the Horizon console Dashboard and Horizon Help Desk Tool.

• Identify Horizon Connection Server installation, architecture, and requirements.

• Describe authentication and certificate options for a Horizon environment.

• Recognize the integration process and benefits of Workspace ONE Access with Horizon 8.

• Compare the remote display protocols available in VMware Horizon.

• Describe the 3D rendering options available in Horizon 8.

• Discuss scalability options in Horizon 8.

• Describe different security options for the Horizon environment.

• Identify components of Application and Profile Management in VMware Horizon.

• Describe the benefits of Application and Profile Management in VMware Horizon.

• Explain the features and functions of App Volumes and Dynamic Environment Manager.

• Create and update Application Packages.

• Create and deploy Writable Volumes.

• Install and configure Dynamic Environment Manager.

• Manage application configurations, user environment settings, and personalization settings.

• Explain VMware Horizon Smart Policies available in Dynamic Environment Manager.

Who Can Benefit

• Operators, administrators, and architects responsible for the creation, maintenance, and delivery of remote and virtual desktop services.

• Individuals involved in the implementation, support, and administration of an organization’s end-user computing infrastructure.

Prerequisites

Customers attending this course should possess:

• VMware vSphere® 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 OS.

  • Create snapshots of virtual machines.

  • Configure guest customization specifications.

  • Modify virtual machine properties.

  • Convert a virtual machine into a template and deploy a VM from a template.

• Microsoft Windows System Administration Experience:

  • Configure Active Directory services, including DNS, DHCP, and time synchronization.

  • Restrict user activities through Group Policy objects.

  • Enable Remote Desktop Connections on Windows systems.

  • Build an ODBC connection to an SQL Server database.

Course Outline:

1. Course Introduction

• Introductions and course logistics

• Course objectives

2. Introduction to VMware Horizon

• Features and benefits of VMware Horizon

• Conceptual and logical architecture of Horizon

3. Introduction to Use Cases

• Converting customer requirements into use-case attributes

• Defining a use case for virtual desktop and application infrastructure

4. vSphere for VMware Horizon

• Basic virtualization concepts

• Using VMware vSphere® Client™ to access vCenter Server and VMware ESXi™ hosts

• Creating, provisioning, and removing virtual machines

5. VMware Horizon Desktops

• Creating Windows and Linux virtual machines using vSphere

• Optimizing and preparing VMs for Horizon desktop setup

6. VMware Horizon Agent

• Configuration choices for installing Horizon Agent on Windows and Linux VMs

• Creating a golden image for Windows and Linux Horizon desktops

7. VMware Horizon Pools

• Steps to set up a template for desktop pool deployment

• Adding desktops to the VMware Horizon® Connection Server™ inventory

• Comparing dedicated-assignment and floating-assignment pools

• Steps to create an automated pool

• Defining user entitlement

• Hierarchy of global, pool-level, and user-level policies

8. VMware Horizon Client Options

• Description of different clients and their benefits

• Accessing Horizon desktops using various clients and HTML

• Configuring integrated printing, USB redirection, and shared folders

• Configuring session collaboration and media optimization for Microsoft Teams

9. Creating and Managing Instant-Clone Desktops

• Advantages of instant clones

• Provisioning technology for instant clone desktop pools

• Setting up an automated pool of instant clones

• Pushing updated images to instant clone desktop pools

10. Creating RDS Desktop and Application Pools

• Differences between RDS desktop pools and automated pools

• RDS session host pool, farm, and application pool comparison

• Creating RDS desktop and application pools

• Accessing RDS desktops and applications from Horizon Client

• Automating RDSH farms with instant clone technology

• Load-balancing configuration for RDSHs on a farm

11. Monitoring VMware Horizon

• Monitoring the status of Horizon components with the Horizon Administrator console

• Desktop session monitoring using the HelpDesk tool

• Performance monitoring of remote desktops with Horizon Performance Tracker

12. Horizon Connection Server

• Overview of VMware Horizon reference architecture

• Supported features of Horizon Connection Server

• Recommended system requirements for Horizon Connection Server

• Configuring Horizon event database

• Initial configuration steps for Horizon Connection Server

• Discussing the importance of the AD LDS database for Horizon Connection Server installation

13. Authentication and Certificates

• Comparison of authentication options supported by Horizon Connection Server

• Smartcard authentication options for Horizon Connection Server

• Steps to create Horizon administrators and custom roles

• Roles available in a Horizon environment

• Importance of certificates for Horizon Connection Server

• Installing and configuring certificates for Horizon Connection Server

• Installing and configuring True SSO in a Horizon environment

14. Workspace ONE Access and Virtual Application Management

• Features and benefits of Workspace ONE Access

• Overview of Workspace ONE Access console features

• Identity and access management in Workspace ONE Access

• Directory integration in Workspace ONE Access

• Deploying virtual applications with Workspace services

15. Horizon Protocols

• Comparison of remote display protocols available in VMware Horizon

• Overview of BLAST and its codecs

• Summary of BLAST Codec options and ideal applications for each

• Common configurations for BLAST and PCoIP ADMX GPO

16. Graphics Cards

• 3D rendering options available in Horizon 8

• Comparison of vSGA and vDGA

• Steps to configure graphics cards in a Horizon environment

17. Horizon Scalability

• Purpose of a replica connection server

• Synchronization of multiple Horizon Connection Server instances in a pod

• Steps to configure graphics cards in a Horizon environment

• Load balancer configuration in a Horizon environment

• Horizon Cloud Pod Architecture: LDAP replication and VIPA

• Scalability options for Horizon Cloud Pod Architecture

18. Horizon Security

• Concepts relevant to secure Horizon connections

• Methods to restrict Horizon connections

• Benefits of using Unified Access Gateway

• Supported two-factor authentication options by Unified Access Gateway

• Unified Access Gateway firewall rules

• Deployment considerations for Unified Access Gateway instances with varying network interfaces