VMware Horizon core infrastructure requirements
There are a number of requirements to consider even before the infrastructure needs of the virtual desktops themselves are considered. These include, but are not limited to:
Operating system requirements for both vSphere and Horizon components
Database requirements for vCenter Server, Horizon Composer, and Horizon Connection Server
Required Microsoft infrastructure services and components
Tip
The online VMware Compatibility Guide (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php) and Product Interoperability Matrix (http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/sim/interop_matrix.php) maintain an up-to-date listing of supported operating systems, hardware platforms, and product compatibility for all VMware products.
Microsoft infrastructure requirements
VMware Horizon requires Microsoft Active Directory to support the virtual desktop infrastructure. VMware Horizon supports all AD domain functional levels starting with Windows 2003 and up to Windows 2012 R2.
Horizon also requires Domain Name System (DNS) servers that can resolve requests for the standard Microsoft Active Directory Service Record (SRV) and Resource Record (RR) DNS entries. Microsoft domain-integrated DNS servers typically store these DNS entries by default. Incomplete or inaccurate DNS entries can lead to issues with tasks, such as virtual desktop deployment and user authentication.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers are required in the Horizon environment to provide Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to the virtual desktops. In situations where the virtual desktops cannot self-register the IP addresses they have been assigned, the DHCP server should be configured to register the entries with a DNS server that is accessible by the Horizon Connection Server.
Operating system requirements
The following table shows which 64-bit, non-Core Microsoft Windows Server OSs are supported for the each of the different software packages that comprise a Horizon infrastructure. App Volumes host OS requirements will be outlined separately in Chapter 9, Implementing VMware App Volumes.
Operating System |
vCenter Server 6.0 U1 (Windows-based) |
Horizon Connection Server, Security Server, and Composer |
Windows Server 2008 SP2 |
Supported |
Not supported |
Windows 2008 R2 (No SP) |
Supported |
Not supported |
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 |
Supported |
Supported |
Windows Server 2012 |
Supported |
Not supported |
Windows Server 2012 R2 |
Supported |
Supported |
While VMware vCenter and the different Horizon servers support a number of different Windows OSs, it is recommended to use the newest supported version to ensure that the servers will not be impacted by any changes in OS support by Microsoft. Additionally, you never know when vSphere or Horizon itself will end support for older OSs, which would impact your ability to perform in-place upgrades.
As Horizon Composer supports only Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or 2012 R2, any Horizon installation that plans on deploying linked clone desktops, and installing Composer directly on the vCenter Server, will need to choose that specific version of Windows. Refer to the VMware document View Installation (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html) for updated information about which Windows OSs are supported.
Database requirements
The following list shows which database types are supported for the core components of a Horizon infrastructure, which includes the Horizon Connection Server, Horizon Composer, and vCenter Server. Unless otherwise noted, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the specified database platform are supported. Database platforms that support some, but not all, of the components will not be listed. App Volumes database requirements will be outlined separately in Chapter 9, Implementing VMware App Volumes.
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (Standard and Enterprise, through SP1)
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Express, Standard, and Enterprise; SP2)
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (Express, Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter; SP2, SP3)
Oracle 12c (Release 1, up to 12.1.0.2)
For VMware Horizon, visit the product installation guide (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html) for updated information on which databases are supported. For VMware vCenter, refer to the Product Interoperability Matrix (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php) for updated information, or to quickly verify if the databases listed in the Horizon documentation are also supported by vCenter.
vCenter Server requirements
VMware Horizon supports multiple versions of vSphere. The purchase of Horizon licenses entitles users to use the latest supported version of both vSphere and vCenter Servers, although support is maintained for some older versions due to restrictions that some organizations may be under.
The following versions of vSphere are supported by VMware Horizon:
vSphere 6.0 (Update 1 or later is required to support the latest Horizon features; Update 2 is required to support VSAN 6.2)
vSphere 5.5 (Update 3b or later recommended; SSLv3 must be re-enabled as described in VMware KB article 2139396) (https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2139396)
vSphere 5.1 (Update 2 with Express Patch 5 or later recommended)
vSphere 5.0 (Update 3 or later)
Consult the VMware Product Interoperability Matrix for an updated list of the supported versions of vSphere and vCenter Servers. Supporting earlier versions of vSphere and vCenter Servers is important for customers who are already running earlier versions of either software platform, and cannot, or will not, upgrade for some reason. Even with this support, it is recommended to use dedicated ESXi servers and vCenter Servers for your Horizon environment to ensure that all the latest Horizon features are supported.
There are multiple Horizon features that are supported only if certain other prerequisites are met. Some examples of these vSphere version dependent features are:
vSphere 6 is required to use VMware VSAN, or Windows 10 as a desktop OS
Prior to vSphere 6, the vCenter Server Appliance could not support the maximum number of desktops that can be deployed in a single Horizon Pod
Some virtual desktop graphics acceleration technologies such as NVDIA GRID Tesla processor-based server cards (http://www.nvidia.com/object/grid-technology.html) require vSphere 6
A complete list of Horizon features that require specific versions of vSphere or vCenter Server may be found in VMware document View Installation (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html) or the View Release Notes (http://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/horizon-7-view/horizon-70-view-release-notes.html) that accompany each release of the Horizon platform.
Horizon Agent supported operating systems
The VMware Horizon Agent supports multiple versions of the Microsoft Windows desktop operating system and Microsoft Windows (RDS) Server. The following table outlines which Windows OSs are currently supported.
Windows OS Version |
Product Edition |
Service Pack |
Notes |
Windows 10 (32-bit or 64-bit) |
Enterprise |
None |
Instant Clones supported |
Windows 8.1 (32-bit or 64-bit) |
Enterprise or Professional |
Latest update |
Instant Clones not supported |
Windows 8 (32-bit or 64-bit) |
Enterprise or Professional |
None |
Instant Clones not supported |
Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) |
Enterprise or Professional |
SP1 |
Instant Clones supported |
Windows 2012 R2 (64-bit) |
Standard or Datacenter |
Latest update |
When used as RDS host |
Windows 2012 R2 (64-bit) |
Datacenter |
Latest update |
When used as desktop |
Windows 2012 (64-bit) |
Standard or Datacenter |
None |
Can be used as RDS host only |
Windows 2008 R2 (64-bit) |
Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter |
SP1 |
When used as RDS host |
Windows 2008 R2 (64-bit) |
Datacenter |
SP1 |
When used as desktop |
To obtain current information about which desktop operating systems and Microsoft RDS servers are supported, please refer to the online VMware Product Interoperability Matrix.