Building an RDSH Farm in Horizon: A Step-by-Step Guide
In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of creating an RDSH (Remote Desktop Session Host) farm in Horizon 8 (2212), with a focus on the new feature “Published Apps On Demand”. This feature allows users to access published applications on demand, without the need for a dedicated application server.
Prerequisites:
Before we begin, there are a few prerequisites you need to be aware of:
1. You need an RDSH server with Horizon installed.
2. It is recommended to have the DEM (Desktop and Application Management) and App Volumes Agent installed as well.
3. Create a snapshot of your VM before proceeding, as this is required for cloning.
Creating an RDSH Farm:
To create an RDSH farm, follow these steps:
1. Open the Horizon management console and navigate to Farms.
2. Click “Add” to start creating a new farm.
3. Leave the “Automated Farm” setting on default, and click “Next”.
4. Select your vCenter Server and click “Next”.
5. Leave the “Storage Optimization” settings as default, as we don’t use vSAN in our lab. Click “Next”.
6. Enter a Farm ID and specify any additional settings if desired. For this blog, we will leave these settings default. Click “Next”.
7. Choose a Naming Pattern and select the maximum number of machines you want to create in your farm. Click “Next”.
8. Specify the VM and snapshot of the VM you have created. Select the location where you want the cloned VMs to land. Click “Next”.
9. Select your Instant Clone Domain Account and the OU where the computer objects need to be created. Click “Next”.
10. Review your selected settings, then click “Submit” to start the cloning process.
Monitoring the Cloning Process:
After submitting your settings, you can monitor the progress by selecting your farm. When the cloning process is successfully finished, the state should be “Published”.
Navigating to the RDS Hosts Tab:
To see the hosts you’ve created, navigate to the “RDS Hosts” tab in the Horizon management console.
Conclusion:
In this blog post, we have demonstrated how to create an RDSH farm in Horizon 8 (2212) with the new feature “Published Apps On Demand”. We have also covered the prerequisites and the step-by-step process for creating a farm. We hope this guide has been informative and helpful for you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
About the Author:
Hi, my name is Age Roskam, and I work as a Consultant at ITQ. Over the last decade, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and experience in the field of End User Computing, and in recent years, also in the world of Cyber Security. Since 2018, I’ve been awarded the VMware vExpert status every year. In 2020, I received the honor to be part of the first vExpert EUC subprogram, and in addition to that, I’m part of the vExpert Security subprogram since 2021. When I’m offline, I enjoy family, sports, and grilling on my BBQs.