Introduction to Virtual Desktops in Horizon

With Horizon, you can create desktop pools that include thousands of virtual desktops. You can deploy desktops that run on virtual machines (VMs) or manage access to desktops that run on non-vSphere machines or physical machines. Create one VM as a golden image, and Horizon can generate a pool of virtual desktops from that image. The golden image is also known as a base image.

Creating Desktop Pools in Horizon

VMware Horizon uses desktop pools as its basis of centralized management. In Horizon, you create pools of virtual machines and select settings that give all the machines in a pool a common desktop definition. Horizon can then deliver the desktops to end users via Horizon Clients.

We can create a desktop pool from one of the following sources:

• A virtual machine that runs on a virtualization platform other than vCenter Server, but that supports Horizon Agent.
• Physical desktop PC.
• A virtual machine that is hosted on an ESXi host and managed by a vCenter Server.
• A session-based desktop on an RDS host.

We can create the following types of desktop pools:

• Automated
  • This type of desktop pool uses a vCenter Server VM template or snapshot to create a pool of identical virtual machines.
  • You can create these automated desktop pools:
    • Instant Clone
    • Full Clone
• Manual
  • Manual desktop pools are a collection of existing vCenter Server VMs, physical computers, or non-vCenter virtual machines.

Creating Desktop Pools for Specific Types of Workers

The fundamental question to consider is whether a certain type of user needs a persistent desktop or a non-persistent desktop. Whether you use persistent or non-persistent desktops depends on the specific type of worker.

Persistent Desktop

Persistent desktops have data in the operating system image itself that must be preserved, maintained, and backed up.

Non-Persistent Desktops

Non-persistent desktops are stateless images that are identical to one another. They are primarily used by users who do not need to install or preserve their own applications.

We can also specify how users are assigned desktops in a pool:

Dedicated Assignment

Each user is assigned a particular virtual desktop and returns to the same desktop at each login. Dedicated assignment pools require a one-to-one desktop-to-user relationship.

Floating Assignment

Using floating-assignment pools also allows you to create a pool of desktops that can be used by shifts of users.