Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware Horizon 6 6.1.1
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
2 VMware, Inc.
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
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©
2017 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
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Contents
Seing Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops 5
1
Installing and Conguring Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops 7
Features of a Horizon 6 for Linux Desktop 7
System Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux 8
Create a Virtual Machine and Install Linux 10
Prepare a Linux Guest Operating System for Remote Desktop Deployment 10
Install View Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine 12
Create a Desktop Pool That Contains Linux Virtual Machines 14
2
Conguring Linux Machines for vDGA 17
Congure RHEL 6.6 for vDGA 17
3
Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops 23
Overview of Bulk Deployment of Linux Desktops 23
Create a Virtual Machine Template for Cloning Linux Desktop Machines 24
Input File for the Sample PowerCLI Scripts to Deploy Linux Desktops 25
Sample PowerCLI Script to Clone Linux Desktop Machines 25
Sample PowerCLI Script to Install View Agent on Linux Desktops 29
Sample PowerCLI Script to Uninstall View Agent on Linux Desktops 32
Sample PowerCLI Script to Perform Operations on Linux Desktop Machines 35
4
Administering Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops 39
Uninstalling and Reinstalling Horizon 6 for Linux Machines 39
Congure Lossless PNG Images on Linux Desktops 42
Suppress the vSphere Console Display of a Linux Desktop 42
Congure a Left-handed Mouse on Ubuntu Desktops 42
How to Perform Power Operations on Linux Desktops from vSphere 42
Gather Information About Horizon 6 for Linux Software 43
Troubleshooting Horizon 6 for Linux 43
Index 49
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Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
4 VMware, Inc.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
The Seing Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops document provides information about seing up a Linux virtual
machine for use as a VMware Horizon 6™ desktop, including preparing the Linux guest operating system,
installing View Agent on the virtual machine, and conguring the machine in View Administrator for use in
a Horizon 6 deployment.
Intended Audience
This information is intended for anyone who wants to congure and use remote desktops that run on Linux
guest operating systems. The information is wrien for experienced Linux system administrators who are
familiar with virtual machine technology and datacenter operations.
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Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
6 VMware, Inc.
Installing and Configuring Horizon 6
for Linux Desktops 1
To set up a Linux virtual machine as a remote desktop in a Horizon 6 environment, you must prepare the
Linux guest operating system, install View Agent on the virtual machine, and congure the machine in
View Administrator.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“Features of a Horizon 6 for Linux Desktop,” on page 7
n
“System Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux,” on page 8
n
“Create a Virtual Machine and Install Linux,” on page 10
n
“Prepare a Linux Guest Operating System for Remote Desktop Deployment,” on page 10
n
“Install View Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine,” on page 12
n
“Create a Desktop Pool That Contains Linux Virtual Machines,” on page 14
Features of a Horizon 6 for Linux Desktop
After you set up a Linux guest operating system for use as a remote desktop, entitled users can launch VDI
desktop sessions on the single-user Linux machine just as they do on a Windows machine.
Linux desktops provide features such as audio out, multiple monitors, and autot.
Certain limitations apply to this release of View Agent for Linux:
n
Single Sign-on (SSO) is not supported. After logging in to Horizon 6 and launching the remote desktop,
the user must log in to the Linux guest operating system.
n
Automated provisioning and other features that are provided only with automated desktop pools are
not supported. For example, the refresh on logo operation is not available.
n
Local devices cannot be used on the remote desktop. For example, USB redirection, virtual printing,
location-based printing, clipboard redirection, Real-Time Audio-Video, and smart cards are not
supported.
n
HTML Access is not supported.
N When a security server is used, port 5443 must be open in the internal rewall to allow trac
between the security server and the Linux desktop.
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System Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux
Horizon 6 for Linux must meet certain operating system, Horizon 6, and vSphere platform requirements.
Supported Linux Operating Systems for View Agent
The following table lists the Linux operating systems that are supported on virtual machines in a desktop
pool.
Table 1‑1. Supported Linux Operating Systems for View Agent
Linux Distribution Architecture
Ubuntu 12.04 x86 and x64
RHEL 6.6 x86 and x64
CentOS 6.6 x86 and x64
NeoKylin 6, NeoKylin 6 Update 1 x86 and x64
N NeoKylin is supported on a Tech Preview basis.
Other Linux distributions have not been certied to support View Agent, but the View Agent software does
not prevent you from using them. You are welcome to try out uncertied distributions. For example, the
distributions RHEL 6.5, CentOS 6.5, RHEL 7, Ubuntu 14.04, and UbuntuKylin 14.04 are likely to work.
However, uncertied distributions might not function as fully as supported ones, and VMware cannot
guarantee that problems in uncertied distributions will be resolved. For example, performance on Ubuntu
14.04 is poor unless Compiz is disabled.
Required Platform and Horizon 6 Software Versions
To install and use Horizon 6 for Linux, your deployment must meet certain vSphere platform, Horizon 6,
and client requirements.
vSphere platform
version
vSphere 5.5 U2, vSphere 6.0, or a later release
vSphere 6.0 or a later release is required to support virtual machines that use
vDGA on NVIDIA GRID graphics cards.
Horizon environment
Horizon 6 version 6.1.1 or a later release
Horizon Client software
Horizon Client 3.4 for Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X
Zero clients and mobile clients are not supported
Recommended Video Memory (vRAM) Settings
When you create a Linux virtual machine in vSphere Client, congure the vRAM size as shown in the
following table. Set the vRAM size that is recommended for the number and resolution of the monitors that
you congure for the virtual machine.
These vRAM sizes are the minimum recommendations. If more resources are available on the virtual
machine, set the vRAM to larger values for improved video performance.
C Horizon 6 does not automatically congure the vRAM seings on Linux virtual machines, as
happens on Windows virtual machines. You must congure the vRAM seings manually in vSphere Client.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
8 VMware, Inc.
Table 1‑2. Recommended vRAM Settings for Linux Guest Operating Systems
vRAM Size
Number of
Monitors Maximum Resolution
10 MB 1 1600x1200 or 1680x1050
12 MB 1 1920x1440
16 MB 1 2560x1600
32 MB 2 2048x1536 or 2560x1600
48 MB 3 2048x1536
64 MB 3 2560x1600
64 MB 4 2048x1536
128 MB 4 2560x1600
RHEL and CentOS only support this conguration on vSphere 5.5.
To support this conguration on Ubuntu, you must recompile the kernel.
For NeoKylin, this conguration is not supported.
N To connect to a RHEL 6.6 or CentOS 6.6 desktop with multiple monitors, you must specify the
number of displays correctly. For information about how to specify the number of displays, see “Create a
Virtual Machine and Install Linux,” on page 10. You must also edit the vmx le and append the following
lines:
svga.maxWidth="10240"
svga.maxHeight="2048"
If these seings are not added, only one monitor displays the desktop. The others display a black screen.
If you encounter an autot issue with the recommended seings, you can specify a larger vRAM size.
vSphere Client permits a maximum vRAM size of 128 MB. If your specied size exceeds 128 MB, you must
modify the vmx le manually. The following example species a vRAM size of 256 MB:
svga.vramSize = "268435456"
Recommended vCPU and Shared Memory Settings to Support Multiple
Monitors
To improve desktop performance with multiple monitors, congure at least two vCPUs for a Linux virtual
machine.
Also make sure that the virtual machine has adequate shared memory to support multiple monitors.
Determine the current maximum shared memory size (shmmax) with the following command:
sysctl -a | grep shm
If shared memory is small, increase the maximum size with the following command:
sysctl -w "kernel.shmmax=65536000"
Recommended vCPU Settings for Video Playback
For a Linux virtual machine that is not using vDGA graphics, video playback on high-resolution monitors
might be uneven if too few vCPUs are congured. Congure additional vCPUs, such as four vCPUs, to
improve the performance of video playback.
Chapter 1 Installing and Configuring Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
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Create a Virtual Machine and Install Linux
You create a new virtual machine in vCenter Server for each remote desktop that is deployed in Horizon 6.
You must install your Linux distribution on the virtual machine.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that your deployment meets the requirements for supporting Linux desktops. See “System
Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux,” on page 8.
n
Familiarize yourself with the steps for creating virtual machines in vCenter Server and installing guest
operating systems. See "Creating and Preparing Virtual Machines" in the Seing Up Desktop and
Application Pools in View document.
n
Familiarize yourself with the recommended video memory (vRAM) values for the monitors you will
use with the virtual machine. See “System Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux,” on page 8.
Procedure
1 In vSphere Web Client or vSphere Client, create a new virtual machine.
2 Congure custom conguration options.
a Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit .
b Specify the number of vCPUs and the vMemory size.
For recommended values, follow the guidelines in the installation guide for your Linux
distribution.
For example, Ubuntu 12.04 recommends conguring 2048 MB for vMemory and 2 vCPUs.
c Select Video card and specify the number of displays and the total video memory (vRAM).
For recommended values, follow the guidelines in System Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux. Do
not use the Video Memory Calculator.
3 Power on the virtual machine and install the Linux distribution.
4 Congure the virtual machine as a gnome desktop environment.
KDE has not been certied to support View Agent, although basic connections and the use of audio and
video work well on some distributions such as Kubuntu.
5 Ensure that the system hostname is resolvable.
Prepare a Linux Guest Operating System for Remote Desktop
Deployment
You must perform certain tasks to prepare a Linux guest operating system for use as a desktop in a Horizon
6 deployment.
Before a Linux guest operating system can be managed by Horizon 6, the machine must be able to
communicate with the other machines in the environment. You must congure the Linux machine to be
resolvable through DNS. Otherwise, View Agent cannot be registered as a machine source and the machine
cannot be added to a desktop pool.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that a new virtual machine was created in vCenter Server and your Linux distribution was
installed on the machine
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
10 VMware, Inc.
n
Familiarize yourself with the steps for mounting and installing VMware Tools on a Linux virtual
machine. See "Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Linux Virtual Machine" in the vSphere
Virtual Machine Administration document.
n
Familiarize yourself with the steps for conguring your Linux machine to be resolvable through DNS.
These steps vary for the dierent Linux distributions and releases. For instructions, consult the
documentation for your Linux distribution and release.
n
Familiarize yourself with the required JRE version for your Linux distribution. See “Required JRE
Versions for Linux Guest Operating Systems,” on page 12.
Procedure
1 In vSphere Web Client or vSphere Client, mount the VMware Tools virtual disk on the guest operating
system.
2 Right-click the VMware Tools installer le, VMwareTools.x.x.x-xxxx.tar.gz, click Extract to, and select
the desktop for your Linux distribution.
The vmware-tools-distrib folder is extracted to the desktop.
3 In the virtual machine, log in to the guest operating system and root and open a terminal window.
4 Uncompress the VMware Tools tar installer le.
For example:
tar zxpf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-x.x.x-yyyy.tar.gz
5 Run the installer and congure VMware Tools.
The command might vary slightly in dierent Linux distributions. For example:
cd vmware-tools-distrib
sudo ./vmware-install.pl -d
Usually, the vmware-config-tools.pl conguration le runs after the installer le nishes running.
6 Congure the Linux machine to be resolvable through DNS.
7 Ensure that the View Connection Server instances in the pod can be resolved through DNS.
8 If your deployment uses a Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 Active Directory (AD)
server, enable reversible password encryption.
a On the AD server, open AD users and computers.
b Right-click the View Admin account, or create a new Linux View Agent account, and select
Properties.
c Select the Account tab.
d In Account options, select the Store password using reversible encryption seing.
e Reset the View Admin password.
Chapter 1 Installing and Configuring Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
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9 If the Linux virtual machine is not connected to the Internet, manually download and install the
required JRE version before you install View Agent.
You do not have to take this step if the machine is connected to the Internet. In this case, the View Agent
installer automatically downloads the JRE to the machine.
If necessary, take the following steps to install the JRE:
Linux Distribution Description
Ubuntu 12.04
Open a terminal window and run the following commands.
a
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:webupd8team/java
b
sudo apt-get update
c
sudo apt-get -y install oracle-java7-installer
RHEL 6.6
CentOS 6.6
NeoKylin 6
a Download jre-7u79-linux-i586.rpm or jre-7u79-linux-x64.rpm from
hp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jre7-
downloads-1880261.html
b
Install the rpm: sudo rpm -i jre-7u79-linux-i586.rpm or sudo
rpm -i jre-7u79-linux-x64.rpm
After installing VMware Tools, if you upgrade the Linux kernel, VMware Tools might stop running. To
resolve the problem, see hp://kb.vmware.com/kb/2050592.
Required JRE Versions for Linux Guest Operating Systems
View Agent requires certain JRE versions to be installed on Linux guest operating systems. When you install
View Agent on a Linux virtual machine, the installer downloads the required JRE if it is not already present
on the machine.
If the Linux virtual machine is not connected to the Internet, you must manually download the required JRE
before you install View Agent.
View Agent for Linux supports JRE version 1.7.x. Version 1.8 is not supported.
I Make sure that the JRE version is patched to include the latest security updates. You must use
Update 75 or later to address the SKIP-TLS security vulnerabilities.
Table 1‑3. JRE Versions Required by View Agent on Linux Distributions
Linux Distribution JRE Version
Ubuntu 12.04 Oracle Java 1.7.0_80
RHEL 6.6 Oracle jre-7u79 (1.7.0_79)
CentOS 6.6 Oracle jre-7u79 (1.7.0_79)
Neokylin Oracle jre-7u79 (1.7.0_79)
Install View Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine
You must install View Agent on a Linux virtual machine before you can deploy the machine as a remote
desktop.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that the Linux guest operating system is prepared for desktop use. See “Prepare a Linux Guest
Operating System for Remote Desktop Deployment,” on page 10.
n
Familiarize yourself with the View Agent installer script for Linux. See “install_viewagent.sh Command
Usage and Options,” on page 14.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
12 VMware, Inc.
n
Verify that the View Connection Server administrative user that you provide with the installation
command has the Agent Registration Administrators or Administrators role in View Administrator.
Specically, the Register Agent privilege is required to register View Agent with View Connection
Server. Agent Registration Administrators is a restricted role that provides this minimum privilege.
Procedure
1 Download the View Agent for Linux installer le from the VMware download site at
hps://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads.
Under Desktop & End-User Computing, select the VMware Horizon 6 download, which includes the
View Agent for Linux installer.
The installer lename is VMware-viewagent-linux-x86_64-y.y.y-xxxxxxx.tar for 64-bit Linux or VMware-
viewagent-linux-y.y.y-xxxxxxx.tar for 34-bit Linux, where y.y.y is the version number and xxxxxxx is the
build number.
2 Unpack the tarball for your Linux distribution on the guest operating system.
For example:
tar -xvf <View Agent tar ball>
3 Navigate to the tar ball folder.
4 Run the install_viewagent.sh script to install View Agent.
For example:
sudo ./install_viewagent.sh -b mybroker.mydomain.com -d mydomain.com -u administrator -p
password
The -b parameter species the View Connection Server instance to which the Linux machine is
registered. You can use an FQDN or IP address with the -b parameter.
The -d, -u, and -p parameters specify the domain, user name, and password of the View administrator
user. In the password, be sure to escape special characters such as $. For example: ab\$cdef
If you do not type the -p parameter with the command, you are prompted to provide the password
after you enter the command. When you type the password at the prompt, the text is hidden.
By default, the hostname of the Linux machine is used to register the machine. You can specify a
dierent machine name with the -n parameter.
5 Restart or log out of the guest operating system.
This step ensures that the graphics UI changes congured by View Agent take eect on the machine.
The install_viewagent.sh script installs the View Agent software on the Linux virtual machine. The script
registers the machine with View Connection Server.
The viewagent service is started on the Linux virtual machine. You can verify that the service is started by
running the #service viewagent status command.
If an Agent Registration Failed message appears, see “Troubleshooting View Agent Registration Failure
for a Linux Machine,” on page 44.
If another View Agent issue occurs, see “Troubleshooting Horizon 6 for Linux,” on page 43.
Chapter 1 Installing and Configuring Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
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install_viewagent.sh Command Usage and Options
The install_viewagent.sh script installs View Agent on a Linux guest operating system.
Use the following form of the install_viewagent.sh script in a command window in the gnome desktop
environment.
install_viewagent.sh command_option argument [command_option argument] . . .
The install_viewagent.sh script includes mandatory and optional parameters.
Table 1‑4. install_viewagent.sh Mandatory Parameters
Mandatory Parameter Description
-b FQDN or IP address of the View Connection Server instance. For example:
mybroker.mydomain.com or 192.0.2.10
-d Domain name of the View Connection Server instance administrator user. For example:
mydomain.com
-u
User name of the View Connection Server administrator user. For example: myadmin
The user must have the Agent Registration Administrators or Administrators role in View
Administrator. Specically, the Register Agent privilege is required to register View Agent
with View Connection Server. Agent Registration Administrators is a restricted role that
provides this minimum privilege.
Table 1‑5. install_viewagent.sh Password Parameter
Optional Parameter
(Required Information) Description
-p Password for the View Connection Server administrator user.
You do not have to type the -p parameter at the command line if you do not want to expose
the password in text. If you type the install_viewagent.sh command without the -p
parameter, you are prompted to enter the password. When you type the password at the
prompt, the text is hidden.
You must provide the password, either with the -p parameter or at the prompt.
If the password contains a special character such as $ within the shell in which the installer is
executed, make sure the special character is escaped. For example: ab\$cdef
Table 1‑6. install_viewagent.sh Optional Parameter
Optional Parameter Description
-n Machine name that is registered to View Connection Server. By default, the View Agent
installer uses the host name. You can specify your own name.
Create a Desktop Pool That Contains Linux Virtual Machines
To congure Linux virtual machines for use as remote desktops, you create a manual desktop pool and add
the Linux machines to the pool.
When you create the desktop pool, add only Linux virtual machines to the pool. If the pool contains both
Windows and Linux guest operating systems, the pool is treated as a Windows pool, and you will be unable
to connect to the Linux desktops.
When you entitle users to Linux machines in the desktop pool, as a best practice, make sure that the users do
not have administrative privileges in the Linux guest operating system. An admin user in Linux can open a
terminal window and invoke commands such as shutdown, which powers o the virtual machine. The
vCenter Server administrator must power on the machine again. Entitling non-admin Linux users ensures
that you do not have to manage these power operations manually.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
14 VMware, Inc.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that View Agent is installed on the Linux guest operating systems. See “Install View Agent on a
Linux Virtual Machine,” on page 12.
n
Verify that the Linux virtual machines are registered in View Connection Server. In View Administrator,
select View  > Registered Machines and select the Others tab. Verify that each machine's
state is Available.
Procedure
1 In View Administrator, add a manual desktop pool.
Select Catalog > Desktop Pools > Add .
2 Select Manual Desktop Pool.
3 Select either dedicated or oating user assignments for the machines in the desktop pool.
4 On the Machine Source page, select Other Sources.
5 On the Add Machines page, select the Linux virtual machines that you congured and complete the
Add Desktop Pool wizard.
Do not change the Remote Display Protocol seings. These seings have no eect on Linux desktops.
Also, the end user cannot choose the display protocol.
I Add Linux virtual machines only. If you add Windows virtual machines, the Linux
desktops in the pool will be unavailable.
6 Entitle users to the machines in the desktop pool.
In View Administrator, select the desktop pool, select Entitlements > Add entitlement, and add users
or groups.
As a best practice, make sure that the users do not have administrative privileges in the Linux guest
operating system.
The Linux virtual machines are ready to be used as remote desktops in a Horizon 6 deployment.
Chapter 1 Installing and Configuring Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 15
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
16 VMware, Inc.
Configuring Linux Machines for
vDGA 2
You can congure Horizon 6 for Linux virtual machines to use Virtual Dedicated Graphics Acceleration
(vDGA) on NVIDIA GRID graphics cards that are installed on ESXi hosts.
Shared GPU hardware acceleration (NVIDIA GRID vGPU) is not supported in Horizon 6 for Linux.
The Autot feature and multiple monitors are supported on Linux desktops that are congured to use
vDGA.
The steps to congure a Linux guest operating system for vDGA vary depending on the Linux distribution.
Configure RHEL 6.6 for vDGA
You can set up an RHEL 6.6 guest operating system so that a Horizon 6 for Linux desktop can take
advantage of vDGA capabilities on the ESXi host.
Procedure
1 Enable DirectPath I/O for NVIDIA GRID GPUs on a Host on page 17
Before you congure a Linux virtual machine to use vDGA, you must make the NVIDIA GRID GPU
PCI devices available for DirectPath I/O passthrough on the ESXi host.
2 Add a vDGA Pass-Through Device to a RHEL 6.6 Virtual Machine on page 18
To congure a RHEL 6.6 virtual machine to use vDGA, you must add the PCI device to the virtual
machine. With this step, the physical device on the ESXi host can be passed through for use on the
virtual machine.
3 Install an NVIDIA GRID Driver on RHEL 6.6 on page 19
To install an NVIDIA GRID driver on a RHEL 6.6 virtual machine, you must disable the default
NVIDIA driver, download the NVIDIA GRID drivers, and congure the PCI device on the virtual
machine.
Enable DirectPath I/O for NVIDIA GRID GPUs on a Host
Before you congure a Linux virtual machine to use vDGA, you must make the NVIDIA GRID GPU PCI
devices available for DirectPath I/O passthrough on the ESXi host.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that vSphere 6.0 or a later release is installed in your environment.
n
Verify that the NVIDIA GRID K1 or K2 graphics cards are installed on the ESXi host.
Procedure
1 In the vSphere Web Client, browse to the ESXi host.
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17
2 Click the Manage tab and click .
3 In the Hardware section, click PCI Devices.
4 To enable DirectPath I/O passthrough for the NVIDIA GRID GPUs, click Edit.
Icon Description
Green icon
The PCI device is active and can be enabled.
Orange icon
The state of the device has changed. You must reboot the host before you
can use the device.
5 Select the NVIDIA GRID GPUs and click OK.
The PCI devices are added to the table, DirectPath I/O PCI Devices Available to VMs.
6 Reboot the host to make the PCI devices available for use by the Linux virtual machines.
Add a vDGA Pass-Through Device to a RHEL 6.6 Virtual Machine
To congure a RHEL 6.6 virtual machine to use vDGA, you must add the PCI device to the virtual machine.
With this step, the physical device on the ESXi host can be passed through for use on the virtual machine.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that the Linux virtual machine is prepared for use as a desktop, View Agent is installed, and the
machine is deployed in a desktop pool. See Chapter 1, “Installing and Conguring Horizon 6 for Linux
Desktops,” on page 7.
n
Verify that the NVIDIA GRID GPU PCI device was made available for DirectPath I/O pass-through on
the host. See “Enable DirectPath I/O for NVIDIA GRID GPUs on a Host,” on page 17.
Procedure
1 Power o the virtual machine. and log in to the RHEL 6.6 guest operating system as a local user
congured with sudo rights.
2 In vSphere Web Client, select the virtual machine and, under the VM Hardware tab, click Edit .
3 In the New device menu, select PCI Device.
Note that the Shared PCI Device option is not supported on Linux desktops.
4 Click Add and select the PCI device from the drop-down menu.
5 Click Reserve all memory and click OK.
You must reserve all virtual machine memory to enable the GPU to support vDGA.
6 Power on the virtual machine and open vSphere console to connect to the machine.
7 Verify that the NVIDIA GRID device is passed through to the virtual machine.
Open a terminal window and run the following command:
lspci | grep NVIDIA
The XX:00.0 VGA-compatible controller is displayed. For example:
NVIDIA Corporation GK104GL [GRID K2]
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
18 VMware, Inc.
Install an NVIDIA GRID Driver on RHEL 6.6
To install an NVIDIA GRID driver on a RHEL 6.6 virtual machine, you must disable the default NVIDIA
driver, download the NVIDIA GRID drivers, and congure the PCI device on the virtual machine.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that the PCI device was added to the RHEL 6.6 virtual machine. See “Add a vDGA Pass-Through
Device to a RHEL 6.6 Virtual Machine,” on page 18.
Procedure
1 Disable and blacklist the default NVIDIA Nouveau driver.
You must take this step before you can install the NVIDIA GRID driver.
a Edit the grub.conf le.
sudo vi /boot/grub/grub.conf
b Add the rdblacklist=nouveau line at the end of the kernel options.
c Edit the blacklist.conf le.
sudo vi /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
d Add the following line anywhere in the blacklist.conf le.
blacklist nouveau
2 Restart the virtual machine.
The display has a changed look and feel.
3 (Optional) Verify that the Nouveau driver is disabled.
/sbin/lsmod | grep nouveau
If the grep search does not return any results, the Nouveau driver is disabled.
4 Download the NVIDIA drivers from the NVIDIA Driver Downloads site.
Select the appropriate driver version from the drop-down menus.
Option Description
Product Type
GRID
Product Series
GRID Series
Product
Select the version (such as GRID K2) that is installed on the ESXi host.
Operating System
Linux 64-bit or Linux 32-bit
5 Open a remote terminal to the virtual machine, or switch to a text console by typing Ctrl-Alt-F2, log in
as root, and run the init 3 command to disable X Windows.
6 Install additional components that are required for the NVIDIA driver.
sudo yum install gcc-c++
sudo yum install kernel-devel
sudo yum install kernel-headers
7 Add an executable ag to the NVIDIA driver package.
chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-346.47.run
Chapter 2 Configuring Linux Machines for vDGA
VMware, Inc. 19
8 Determine the kernel version that is running.
uname -r
The kernel version is displayed. For example:
2.6.<kernel version>
9 Start the NVIDIA installer with a ag pointing to the kernel source location.
For example:
sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-346.47.run --kernel-source-
path=/usr/src/kernels/2.6.<kernel version>
10 Accept the NVIDIA software license agreement and select Yes to automatically update the X
conguration seings.
11 Run the lspci | grep NVIDIA command to identify the PCI device ID of the NVIDIA GRID graphics
card.
The terminal window displays the PCI device ID.
For example:
13:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK104GL [GRID K2]
The 13:00.0 is the PCI device ID. These digits are displayed in hex.
I In Step 14, you must convert this value from hex to decimal.
12 Link the edid.bin le to the /etc/X11 directory.
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/vmware/viewagent/resources/X11/edid.bin /etc/X11/edid.bin
13 Edit the xorg.conf le to congure the PCI device ID.
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf
14 Add the BusID and Option lines to the Section "Device" section for the driver "NVIDIA".
Add these lines:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Device0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
BusID "PCI:X:X:X"
Option "IgnoreDisplayDevices" "CRT-0"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0, DFP-1, DFP-2, DFP-3"
Option "CustomEDID" "DFP-0:/etc/X11/edid.bin; DFP-1:/etc/X11/edid.bin;
DFP-2:/etc/X11/edid.bin; DFP-3:/etc/X11/edid.bin"
Option "ModeValidation" "DFP-0: NoVesaModes,NoPredefinedModes,
NoMaxSizeCheck,NoEDIDModes,NoXserverModes,NoEdidMaxPClkCheck,NoHorizSyncCheck,
AllowNonEdidModes; DFP-1: NoVesaModes,NoPredefinedModes,NoMaxSizeCheck,NoEDIDModes,
NoXserverModes,NoEdidMaxPClkCheck,NoHorizSyncCheck,AllowNonEdidModes; DFP-2: NoVesaModes,
NoPredefinedModes,NoMaxSizeCheck,NoEDIDModes,NoXserverModes,NoEdidMaxPClkCheck,
NoHorizSyncCheck,AllowNonEdidModes; DFP-3: NoVesaModes,NoPredefinedModes,NoMaxSizeCheck,
NoEDIDModes,NoXserverModes,NoEdidMaxPClkCheck,NoHorizSyncCheck,AllowNonEdidModes"
EndSection
In the BusID line, the X:X:X digits are the PCI device ID, as displayed by the lspci command and
converted from hex to decimal.
For example, the lspci command might display the PCI device ID as 13:00.0, which is in hex.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
20 VMware, Inc.
For the BusID value, convert the hex to decimal:
BusID "PCI:19:0:0"
The Option lines are required to support the use of multiple monitors with vDGA.
Use colons (:) as separators in the xorg.conf le.
15 Restart the virtual machine.
The View Agent startup script initializes the X server and display topology.
You can no longer view the virtual machine display in the vSphere console.
16 From Horizon Client, connect to the Linux desktop.
17 In the Linux desktop session, verify that the NVIDIA GRID driver is installed.
Open a terminal window and run the glxinfo | grep NVIDIA command.
The NVIDIA driver output is displayed. For example:
[root]# glxinfo | grep NVIDIA
server glx vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
client glx vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL version string: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 346.47
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.50 NVIDIA
The user can access the NVIDIA GRID graphics capabilities on the remote desktop.
After installing the NVIDIA driver, if you upgrade the Linux kernel, View Agent might not be able to
communicate with View Connection Server. To resolve the problem, reinstall the NVIDIA driver.
Chapter 2 Configuring Linux Machines for vDGA
VMware, Inc. 21
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
22 VMware, Inc.
Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for
Linux Desktops 3
With View Administrator, you can create a pool of Windows, but not Linux, desktop machines
automatically. With vSphere PowerCLI, you can develop scripts that automate the deployment of a pool of
Linux desktop machines.
The sample scripts that are provided are for illustration purposes only. VMware does not accept
responsibility for issues that might arise when you use and enhance the sample scripts.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“Overview of Bulk Deployment of Linux Desktops,” on page 23
n
“Create a Virtual Machine Template for Cloning Linux Desktop Machines,” on page 24
n
“Input File for the Sample PowerCLI Scripts to Deploy Linux Desktops,” on page 25
n
“Sample PowerCLI Script to Clone Linux Desktop Machines,” on page 25
n
“Sample PowerCLI Script to Install View Agent on Linux Desktops,” on page 29
n
“Sample PowerCLI Script to Uninstall View Agent on Linux Desktops,” on page 32
n
“Sample PowerCLI Script to Perform Operations on Linux Desktop Machines,” on page 35
Overview of Bulk Deployment of Linux Desktops
Deploying Linux desktops involve several steps. If you plan to deploy more than a few desktops, you can
automate some of the steps by using PowerCLI scripts.
For more information about vSphere PowerCLI, see
hps://www.vmware.com/support/developer/PowerCLI.
The process of bulk deploying a pool of Linux desktops involves the following steps:
1 Create a virtual machine template.
See “Create a Virtual Machine Template for Cloning Linux Desktop Machines,” on page 24.
2 Create a guest customization specication.
See "Create a Customization Specication for Linux in the vSphere Web Client" in the vSphere Virtual
Machine Administration document. When you create the specication, make sure that you specify the
following seings correctly.
Setting Value
Target Virtual Machine OS Linux
Computer Name Use the virtual machine name.
VMware, Inc. 23
Setting Value
Network Seings Use standard network seings.
Primary DNS Specify a valid address.
3 Clone virtual machines.
For a sample script, see “Sample PowerCLI Script to Clone Linux Desktop Machines,” on page 25.
4 Install View Agent in virtual machines.
For a sample script, see “Sample PowerCLI Script to Install View Agent on Linux Desktops,” on
page 29.
5 Create a desktop pool.
See “Create a Desktop Pool That Contains Linux Virtual Machines,” on page 14.
Occasionally, you might need to uninstall View Agent on the Linux virtual machines. For example, you want
to install a dierent version of View agent. For a sample script to uninstall view agent on virtual machines,
see “Sample PowerCLI Script to Uninstall View Agent on Linux Desktops,” on page 32.
For a sample script that performs operations such as power-on or power-o on virtual machines, see
“Sample PowerCLI Script to Perform Operations on Linux Desktop Machines,” on page 35.
Create a Virtual Machine Template for Cloning Linux Desktop
Machines
Before you perform virtual machine cloning, you must create a virtual machine template that the clones are
based on.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that your deployment meets the requirements for supporting Linux desktops. See “System
Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux,” on page 8.
n
Familiarize yourself with the steps for creating virtual machines in vCenter Server and installing guest
operating systems. See "Creating and Preparing Virtual Machines" in the Seing Up Desktop and
Application Pools in View document.
n
Familiarize yourself with the recommended video memory (vRAM) values for the monitors you will
use with the virtual machine. See “System Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux,” on page 8.
n
Familiarize yourself with the supported JRE versions. See “System Requirements for Horizon 6 for
Linux,” on page 8.
Procedure
1 In vSphere Web Client or vSphere Client, create a new virtual machine.
2 Congure custom conguration options.
a Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit .
b Specify the number of vCPUs and the vMemory size.
For recommended values, follow the guidelines in the installation guide for your Linux
distribution.
For example, Ubuntu 12.04 recommends conguring 2048 MB for vMemory and 2 vCPUs.
c Select Video card and specify the number of displays and the total video memory (vRAM).
For recommended values, follow the guidelines in System Requirements for Horizon 6 for Linux. Do
not use the Video Memory Calculator.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
24 VMware, Inc.
3 Power on the virtual machine and install the Linux distribution.
4 Create a user with root privileges, for example, ViewUser. This user is used to install and uninstall View
Agent only.
5 Edit /etc/sudoers and add the line ViewUser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL.
With this line in /etc/sudoers, no password is required to run sudo as ViewUser. When you run the
sample script to install View Agent that is provided in this chapter, you specify ViewUser as an input.
6 If the Linux distribution is RHEL, CentOS, or NeoKylin, edit /etc/sudoers and comment out the lines
Defaults requiretty and Defaults !visiblepw.
7 Install VMware Tools.
8 Install a supported version of JRE.
9 Shut down the virtual machine and create a snapshot.
Input File for the Sample PowerCLI Scripts to Deploy Linux Desktops
The sample PowerCLI scripts to deploy Linux desktops read one input le that contains information about
the desktop machines.
The input le is of type csv and contains the following information:
n
Desktop virtual machine name
n
Parent virtual machine name
n
Guest customization specication
n
Datastore where the cloned desktop machine resides
n
ESXi server that hosts the desktop machine
n
Parent virtual machine's snapshot that is used for cloning
n
Flag that indicates whether to delete the desktop virtual machine if it exists
The following example shows what the input le may contain.
VMName,Parentvm,CustomSpec,Datastore,Host,FromSnapshot,DeleteIfPresent
linux-001,Ubuntu1204x64,linuxagent,datastore1,10.117.44.172,snapshot1,TRUE
linux-002,Ubuntu1204x64,linuxagent,datastore1,10.117.44.172,snapshot1,TRUE
linux-003,Ubuntu1204x64,linuxagent,datastore1,10.117.44.172,snapshot1,TRUE
linux-004,Ubuntu1204x64,linuxagent,datastore1,10.117.44.172,snapshot1,TRUE
linux-005,Ubuntu1204x64,linuxagent,datastore1,10.117.44.172,snapshot1,TRUE
The sample scripts assume that the name of this input le is CloneVMs.csv and that the le is located in the
same folder as the scripts.
Sample PowerCLI Script to Clone Linux Desktop Machines
You can customize and use the following sample script to clone any number of virtual machines.
To copy and paste the script content without page breaks, use the HTML version of this topic, available from
the Horizon 6 documentation page at hps://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html.
Script Input
This script reads one input le, which is described in “Input File for the Sample PowerCLI Scripts to Deploy
Linux Desktops,” on page 25. This script also interactively asks for the following information:
n
IP address of the vCenter Server
Chapter 3 Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 25
n
Administrator login name for the vCenter Server
n
Administrator password for the vCenter Server
n
Clone type, which can be linked or full
n
Whether to disable vSphere VM console
Script Content
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Create Clones from a Master VM
.DESCRIPTION
The Tool supports creation of Full clone and linked clone from Master VM
The parent VM is required for the linked-clone to work and the parent VMs file cannot be renamed
or Moved
.NOTES
#>
#------------ Functions --------------------------
function IsVMExists ($VMExists)
{
Write-Host "Checking if the VM $VMExists already Exists"
[bool]$Exists = $false
#Get all VMS and check if the VMs is already present in VC
$listvm = Get-vm
foreach ($lvm in $listvm)
{
if($VMExists -eq $lvm.Name )
{
$Exists = $true
}
}
return $Exists
}
function Disable_VM_Console($VMToDisableConsole)
{
$vmConfigSpec = New-Object VMware.Vim.VirtualMachineConfigSpec
$extra = New-Object VMware.Vim.optionvalue
$extra.Key="RemoteDisplay.maxConnections"
$extra.Value="0"
$vmConfigSpec.extraconfig += $extra
$vm = Get-VM $VMToDisableConsole | Get-View
$vm.ReconfigVM($vmConfigSpec)
}
function Delete_VM($VMToDelete)
{
Write-Host "Deleting VM $VMToDelete"
Get-VM $VMToDelete | where { $_.PowerState –eq "PoweredOn" } | Stop-VM –confirm:$false
Get-VM $VMToDelete | Remove-VM –DeleteFromDisk –confirm:$false
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
26 VMware, Inc.
}
#------------------------- Main Script ---------------
$vcAddress = Read-Host 'Your vCenter address'
$vcAdmin = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user name'
$vcPassword = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user password' -AsSecureString
$vcPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($vcPassword))
$cloneType = Read-Host 'Clone Type ("linked" or "full") '
$disableVMConsole = Read-Host 'Disable vSphere VM Console ("yes" or "no", recommend "yes") '
$csvFile = '.\CloneVMs.csv'
# Check that user passed only linked or full clone
if (($CloneType.length >0) -and ($CloneType -ne "linked" -or $CloneType -ne "full"))
{
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "Clone type supports only 'linked' or 'full' (case
sensitive)"
exit
}
if (($disableVMConsole.length >0) -and ($disableVMConsole -ne "yes" -or $disableVMConsole -ne
"no"))
{
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "Disable vSphere VM Console supports only 'yes' or 'no'
(case sensitive)"
exit
}
#check if file exists
if (!(Test-Path $csvFile))
{
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "CSV File $CSVFile not found"
exit
}
# Connect to the VC (Parameterize VC)
#Write-Host "DisConnecting Previous Connections"
#Disconnect-VIServer * -Confirm:$false -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Write-Host "Connecting to VC $vcAddress"
Connect-VIServer $vcAddress -ErrorAction Stop -user $vcAdmin -password $vcPassword
#Read input CSV file
$csvData = Import-CSV $csvFile
#$csvData = Import-CSV $csvFile -
header("VMName","Parentvm","CustomSpec","Datastore","Host","FromSnapshot","DeleteIfPresent")
foreach ($line in $csvData)
{
$destVMName=$line.VMName
$srcVM = $line.Parentvm
$cSpec = $line.CustomSpec
$targetDSName = $line.Datastore
$destHost = $line.Host
$srcSnapshot = $line.FromSnapshot
Chapter 3 Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 27
$deleteExisting = $line.DeleteIfPresent
if (IsVMExists ($destVMName))
{
Write-Host "VM $destVMName Already Exists in VC $vcAddress"
if($deleteExisting -eq "TRUE")
{
Delete_VM ($destVMName)
}
else
{
Write-Host "Skip clone for $destVMName"
continue
}
}
$vm = get-vm $srcvm -ErrorAction Stop | get-view -ErrorAction Stop
$cloneSpec = new-object VMware.VIM.VirtualMachineCloneSpec
$cloneSpec.Location = new-object VMware.VIM.VirtualMachineRelocateSpec
if ($CloneType -eq "linked")
{
$cloneSpec.Location.DiskMoveType =
[VMware.VIM.VirtualMachineRelocateDiskMoveOptions]::createNewChildDiskBacking
}
Write-Host "Using Datastore $targetDSName"
$newDS = Get-Datastore $targetDSName | Get-View
$CloneSpec.Location.Datastore = $newDS.summary.Datastore
Set-VM -vm $srcVM -snapshot (Get-Snapshot -vm $srcVM -Name $srcSnapshot) -confirm:$false
$cloneSpec.Snapshot = $vm.Snapshot.CurrentSnapshot
$cloneSpec.Location.Host = (get-vmhost -Name $destHost).Extensiondata.MoRef
$CloneSpec.Location.Pool = (Get-ResourcePool -Name Resources -Location (Get-VMHost -Name
$destHost)).Extensiondata.MoRef
# Start the Clone task using the above parameters
$task = $vm.CloneVM_Task($vm.parent, $destVMName, $cloneSpec)
# Get the task object
$task = Get-Task | where { $_.id -eq $task }
#Wait for the taks to Complete
Wait-Task -Task $task
$newvm = Get-vm $destVMName
$customSpec = Get-OSCustomizationSpec $cSpec
Set-vm -OSCustomizationSpec $cSpec -vm $newvm -confirm:$false
if ($disableVMConsole -eq "yes")
{
Disable_VM_Console($destVMName)
}
# Start the VM
Start-VM $newvm
}
Disconnect-VIServer $vcAddress -Confirm:$false
exit
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
28 VMware, Inc.
Script Execution
The following messages are from an execution of the script:
PowerCLI C:\scripts> .\CloneVMs.ps1
Your vCenter address: 10.117.44.17
Your vCenter admin user name: administrator
Your vCenter admin user password: *******
Clone Type<"linked" or "Full"> : linked
Disable vSphere VM Console ("yes" or "no", recommend "yes") : yes
The time that the cloning process takes depends on the number of desktop machines and can range from
several minutes to a number of hours. To verify that the process is complete, from vSphere client, make sure
that the last desktop virtual machine is powered on and VMware Tools is running.
Sample PowerCLI Script to Install View Agent on Linux Desktops
You can customize and use the following sample script to install View Agent on any number of Linux
desktop machines.
Before you run the script, make sure that View Agent is not already installed on the desktop machines.
To copy and paste the script content without page breaks, use the HTML version of this topic, available from
the Horizon 6 documentation page at hps://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html.
Script Input
This script reads one input le, which is described in “Input File for the Sample PowerCLI Scripts to Deploy
Linux Desktops,” on page 25. This script also interactively asks for the following information:
n
IP address of the vCenter Server
n
Administrator login name for the vCenter Server
n
Administrator password for the vCenter Server
n
Administrator login name for the ESXi host
n
Administrator password for the ESXi host
n
User login name for the Linux guest operating system
n
User password for the Linux guest operating system
n
View Agent tar ball path
n
IP address of View Connection Server
n
Administrator login name for View Connection Server
n
Administrator password for View Connection Server
n
Domain name of the View Connection Server administrator
Script Content
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Create Clones from a Master VM
.DESCRIPTION
The Tool is to upload the Linux Agent installer tar ball to desktination VM and do installation
Chapter 3 Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 29
.NOTES
#>
#--------------------- Handle input ------------------
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$vcAddress = Read-Host 'Your vCenter address'
$vcAdmin = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user name'
$vcPassword = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user password' -AsSecureString
$vcPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($vcPassword))
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$hostAdmin = Read-Host 'Your ESXi host admin user name, such as root'
$hostPassword = Read-Host 'Your ESXi admin user password' -AsSecureString
$hostPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($hostPassword))
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$guestUser = Read-Host 'Your VM guest OS user name'
$guestPassword = Read-Host 'Your VM guest OS user password' -AsSecureString
$guestPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($guestPassword))
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$agentInstaller = Read-Host 'Type the View Agent tar ball path. Please take care the installer
arch'
#$csvFile = Read-Host 'Csv File '
$csvFile = '.\CloneVMs.csv'
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$brokerAddress = Read-Host 'Type the View Connection Server address'
$brokerAdminName = Read-Host 'Type the View Connection Server Admin user name'
"Please type the View Connection Server Admin user password."
"Plase note that special character in password may not work with the script"
$brokerAdminPassword = Read-Host 'Your broker admin password' -AsSecureString
$brokerAdminPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($brokerAdminPassword))
$domainName = Read-Host 'Type the View Connection Server Admin user domain name'
#check if file exists
if (!(Test-Path $agentInstaller))
{
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "installer File not found"
exit
}
#check if file exists
if (!(Test-Path $csvFile))
{
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "CSV File not found"
exit
}
"-----------------------------------------------------"
#----------------- Functions --------------------------
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
30 VMware, Inc.
function RunCmdInVM($VMName, $cmd)
{
Write-Host "Run cmd '$cmd' in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestpwd -Confirm:$false -ScriptText $cmd -ScriptType Bash
}
function UploadFileTovM($VMName, $localFile, $destFolder)
{
Write-Host "Upload File '$localFile' to '$destFolder' of VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Copy-VMGuestFile -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestpwd -Confirm:$false -LocalToGuest -Destination $destFolder -
Source $localFile
}
#------------------- Main ------------------------------
#Read input CSV file
Disconnect-VIServer $vcAddress -Confirm:$false
#Connect-VIServer $vcAddress -ErrorAction Stop -user $vcAdmin -password $vcPassword
Connect-VIServer $vcAddress -user $vcAdmin -password $vcPassword
$csvData = Import-CSV $csvFile
$destFolder = "/home/$guestUser/"
foreach ($line in $csvData)
{
$VMName = $line.VMName
$cmd = "rm -rf VMware-viewagent-linux-*"
Write-Host "Run cmd '$cmd' in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -ScriptType Bash -ScriptText $cmd
#Upload installer tar ball to Linux VM
Write-Host "Upload File '$agentInstaller' to '$destFolder' of VM '$VMName' with user
'$guestUser'"
Copy-VMGuestFile -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -LocalToGuest -Destination $destFolder -
Source $agentInstaller
$cmd = "tar -xvf VMware-viewagent-linux-*.tar"
Write-Host "Run cmd '$cmd' in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -ScriptType Bash -ScriptText $cmd
$cmd = "sudo hostname $VMName"
Write-Host "Run cmd '$cmd' in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -ScriptType Bash -ScriptText $cmd
$cmd = "cd VMware-viewagent-linux-* && ./install_viewagent.sh -n $VMName -b $brokerAddress -
d $domainName -u $brokerAdminName -p $brokerAdminPassword"
Write-Host "Run install cmd in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -ScriptType Bash -ScriptText $cmd
Chapter 3 Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 31
}
Disconnect-VIServer $vcAddress -Confirm:$false
exit
Script Execution
The following messages are from an execution of the script:
PowerCLI C:\scripts> .\InstallAgent.ps1
Your vCenter address: 10.117.44.17
Your vCenter admin user name: administrator
Your vCenter admin user password: *******
--------------------------------------------------
Your ESXi host admin user name, such as root: root
Your ESXi host admin user password: *******
--------------------------------------------------
Your VM guest OS user name: ViewUser
Your VM guest OS user password: *******
--------------------------------------------------
Type the View Agent tar ball path. Please take care of the installer arch: .\VMware-viewagent-
linux-x86_64-1.0-1234567.tar
--------------------------------------------------
Type the View Connection Server address: 10.117.45.93
Type the View Connection Server Admin user name: viewadmin
Please type the View Connection Server Admin user password.
Please note that special character in password may not work with the script
Your broker admin password: *******
Type the View Connection Server Admin user domain name: domain1
After the script completes, you can log in to View Administrator and view the Linux desktop machines by
navigating to View  > Registered Machines and clicking the Others tab.
Sample PowerCLI Script to Uninstall View Agent on Linux Desktops
You can customize and use the following sample script to uninstall View Agent on any number of Linux
desktop machines so that you can install another View Agent build. The script does not remove the desktop
machines from View Connection Server.
To copy and paste the script content without page breaks, use the HTML version of this topic, available from
the Horizon 6 documentation page at hps://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html.
Script Input
This script reads one input le, which is described in “Input File for the Sample PowerCLI Scripts to Deploy
Linux Desktops,” on page 25. This script also interactively asks for the following information:
n
IP address of the vCenter Server
n
Administrator login name for the vCenter Server
n
Administrator password for the vCenter Server
n
Administrator login name for the ESXi host
n
Administrator password for the ESXi host
n
User login name for the Linux guest operating system
n
User password for the Linux guest operating system
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
32 VMware, Inc.
Script Content
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Create Clones from a Master VM
.DESCRIPTION
The Tool is to uninstall the Linux Agent from desktination VM
.NOTES
#>
#------------------- Handle input --------------------
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$vcAddress = Read-Host 'Your vCenter address'
$vcAdmin = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user name'
$vcPassword = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user password' -AsSecureString
$vcPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($vcPassword))
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$hostAdmin = Read-Host 'Your ESXi host admin user name, such as root'
$hostPassword = Read-Host 'Your ESXi admin user password' -AsSecureString
$hostPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($hostPassword))
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$guestUser = Read-Host 'Your VM guest OS user name'
$guestPassword = Read-Host 'Your VM guest OS user password' -AsSecureString
$guestPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($guestPassword))
"-----------------------------------------------------"
#$csvFile = Read-Host 'Csv File '
$csvFile = '.\CloneVMs.csv'
#check if file exists
if (!(Test-Path $csvFile))
{
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "CSV File not found"
exit
}
"-----------------------------------------------------"
#------------------- Functions ------------------------
function RunCmdInVM($VMName, $cmd)
{
Write-Host "Run cmd '$cmd' in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestpwd -Confirm:$false -ScriptText $cmd -ScriptType Bash
}
function UploadFileTovM($VMName, $localFile, $destFolder)
{
Chapter 3 Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 33
Write-Host "Upload File '$localFile' to '$destFolder' of VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Copy-VMGuestFile -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestpwd -Confirm:$false -LocalToGuest -Destination $destFolder -
Source $localFile
}
#--------------------- Main --------------------------
#Read input CSV file
Disconnect-VIServer $vcAddress -Confirm:$false
#Connect-VIServer $vcAddress -ErrorAction Stop -user $vcAdmin -password $vcPassword
Connect-VIServer $vcAddress -user $vcAdmin -password $vcPassword
$csvData = Import-CSV $csvFile
foreach ($line in $csvData)
{
$VMName = $line.VMName
$cmd = "sudo /usr/lib/vmware/viewagent/bin/uninstall_viewagent.sh"
Write-Host "Run uninstall cmd in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -ScriptType Bash -ScriptText $cmd
$cmd = "sudo rm -rf /var/log/vmware/*"
Write-Host "Run cmd '$cmd' in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -ScriptType Bash -ScriptText $cmd
$cmd = "sudo rm -rf /tmp/vmware-root"
Write-Host "Run cmd '$cmd' in VM '$VMName' with user '$guestUser'"
Invoke-VMScript -HostUser $hostAdmin -HostPassword $hostPassword -VM $VMName -GuestUser
$guestUser -GuestPassword $guestPassword -Confirm:$false -ScriptType Bash -ScriptText
$cmd
}
Disconnect-VIServer $vcAddress -Confirm:$false
exit
Script Execution
The following screen messages show a sample execution of the script:
PowerCLI C:\scripts> .\UninstallAgent.ps1
Your vCenter address: 10.117.44.17
Your vCenter admin user name: administrator
Your vCenter admin user password: *******
--------------------------------------------------
Your ESXi host admin user name, such as root: root
Your ESXi host admin user password: *******
--------------------------------------------------
Your VM guest OS user name: ViewUser
Your VM guest OS user password: *******
After the script completes, View Agent no longer runs on the desktop machines, but the machines and the
desktop pool are not removed from View Connection Server. You can run the View Agent installation script
to install a dierent View Agent build and the same desktop pool and desktop machines will be available.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
34 VMware, Inc.
Sample PowerCLI Script to Perform Operations on Linux Desktop
Machines
You can customize and use the following sample script to perform operations on any number of Linux
desktop machines.
To copy and paste the script content without page breaks, use the HTML version of this topic, available from
the Horizon 6 documentation page at hps://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html.
Script Input
This script reads one input le, which is described in “Input File for the Sample PowerCLI Scripts to Deploy
Linux Desktops,” on page 25. This script also interactively asks for the following information:
n
IP address of the vCenter Server
n
Administrator login name for the vCenter Server
n
Administrator password for the vCenter Server
n
Action to perform, which can be power-on, power-o, shut down guest, restart machine, or delete
virtual machine
Script Content
<#
.DESCRIPTION
The Tool supports:
1. Power off VMs
2. Power on VMs
3. Shutdown VMs
4. Restart VMs
5. Restart VM guest
6. Delete VMs from Disk
.NOTES
#>
#--------------------- Functions --------------------
function IsVMExists ($VMExists)
{
Write-Host "Checking if the VM $VMExists Exists"
[bool]$Exists = $false
#Get all VMS and check if the VMs is already present in VC
$listvm = Get-vm
foreach ($lvm in $listvm)
{
if($VMExists -eq $lvm.Name )
{
$Exists = $true
Write-Host "$VMExists is Exist"
}
}
return $Exists
}
Chapter 3 Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 35
function Delete_VM($VMToDelete)
{
Write-Host "Deleting VM $VMToDelete"
Get-VM $VMToDelete | where { $_.PowerState –eq "PoweredOn" } | Stop-VM –confirm:$false
Get-VM $VMToDelete | Remove-VM –DeleteFromDisk –confirm:$false
}
#------------------ Handle input ---------------------
"-----------------------------------------------------"
$vcAddress = Read-Host 'Your vCenter address'
$vcAdmin = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user name'
$vcPassword = Read-Host 'Your vCenter admin user password' -AsSecureString
$vcPassword =
[Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStrin
gToBSTR($vcPassword))
"-----------------------------------------------------"
#$csvFile = Read-Host 'Csv File '
$action = Read-Host 'Select action: 1). Power On 2). Power Off 3) Shutdown VM Guest 4). Restart
VM 5). Restart VM Guest 6). Delete VM'
$sleepTime = Read-Host 'Wait time (seconds) between each VM'
"-----------------------------------------------------"
switch ($action)
{
1
{
"Your selection is 1). Power On"
}
2
{
"Your selection is 2). Power Off"
}
3
{
"Your selection is 3) Shutdown"
}
4
{
"Your selection is 4). Restart VM"
}
5
{
"Your selection is 5). Restart VM Guest"
}
6
{
"Your selection is 6). Delete VM"
}
default
{
"Invalid selection for action: $action"
exit
}
}
$csvFile = '.\CloneVMs.csv'
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
36 VMware, Inc.
#check if file exists
if (!(Test-Path $csvFile))
{
write-host -ForeGroundColor Red "CSV File not found"
exit
}
"-----------------------------------------------------"
#--------------------- Main --------------------------
#Read input CSV file
Disconnect-VIServer $vcAddress -Confirm:$false
#Connect-VIServer $vcAddress -ErrorAction Stop -user $vcAdmin -password $vcPassword
Connect-VIServer $vcAddress -user $vcAdmin -password $vcPassword
$csvData = Import-CSV $csvFile
foreach ($line in $csvData)
{
$VMName = $line.VMName
switch ($action)
{
1
{
Get-VM $VMName | Start-VM -Confirm:$false
}
2
{
Get-VM $VMName | Stop-VM -Confirm:$false
}
3
{
Get-VM $VMName | Shutdown-VMGuest -Confirm:$false
}
4
{
Get-VM $VMName | Restart-VM -Confirm:$false
}
5
{
Get-VM $VMName | Restart-VMGuest -Confirm:$false
}
6
{
if (IsVMExists ($VMName))
{
Delete_VM ($VMName)
}
}
default{}
}
Start-Sleep -s $sleepTime
}
Disconnect-VIServer $vcAddress -Confirm:$false
exit
Chapter 3 Bulk Deployment of Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 37
Script Execution
The following messages are from an execution of the script:
PowerCLI C:\scripts> .\InstallAgent.ps1
Your vCenter address: 10.117.44.17
Your vCenter admin user name: administrator
Your vCenter admin user password: *******
--------------------------------------------------
Select action: 1). Power On 2). Power Off 3) Shutdown VM Guest 4). Restart VM 5). Restart VM
Guest 6). Delete VM: 1
Wait time (seconds) between each VM: 20
For the operations power on, reatart VM, and restart VM guest, specify a wait time between virtual
machines of at least 20 seconds to avoid a boot storm situation, which might cause some operations to fail.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
38 VMware, Inc.
Administering Horizon 6 for Linux
Desktops 4
After you deploy Horizon 6 for Linux desktops, you can manage, uninstall, and troubleshoot the virtual
machines in your deployment.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“Uninstalling and Reinstalling Horizon 6 for Linux Machines,” on page 39
n
“Congure Lossless PNG Images on Linux Desktops,” on page 42
n
“Suppress the vSphere Console Display of a Linux Desktop,” on page 42
n
“Congure a Left-handed Mouse on Ubuntu Desktops,” on page 42
n
“How to Perform Power Operations on Linux Desktops from vSphere,” on page 42
n
“Gather Information About Horizon 6 for Linux Software,” on page 43
n
“Troubleshooting Horizon 6 for Linux,” on page 43
Uninstalling and Reinstalling Horizon 6 for Linux Machines
To uninstall Horizon 6 for Linux on a virtual machine, you must remove the unmanaged machine from the
desktop pool, remove the registered machine from View, uninstall View Agent, and remove conguration
les. You can reinstall Horizon 6 for Linux by running the View Agent installation script.
n
Remove an Unmanaged Machine from a Manual Desktop Pool on page 39
You can reduce the size of a manual desktop pool by removing unmanaged machines from the pool.
n
Remove Registered Machines from View on page 40
If you do not plan to use a registered machine again, you can remove it from View.
n
Uninstall View Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine on page 40
To uninstall View Agent on a Linux virtual machine, you use the uninstall_viewagent.sh script. You
also must remove the Horizon 6 for Linux conguration les from the machine.
n
Reinstall View Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine on page 41
You use dierent approaches to reinstall View Agent on a Linux virtual machine, depending on
whether you use an existing Horizon 6 for Linux conguration or reinstall with a fresh conguration.
Remove an Unmanaged Machine from a Manual Desktop Pool
You can reduce the size of a manual desktop pool by removing unmanaged machines from the pool.
Procedure
1 In View Administrator, select Catalog > Desktop Pools.
VMware, Inc.
39
2 Double-click the pool ID of the manual pool.
3 Select the Inventory tab.
4 Select the unmanaged machines to remove.
5 Click Remove.
6 If users are logged in to the unmanaged machine-based desktops, choose whether to terminate the
sessions or let the sessions remain active.
Option Description
Leave active
Active sessions remain until the user logs o. View Connection Server
does not keep track of these sessions.
Terminate
Active sessions end immediately.
7 Click OK.
The unmanaged machines are removed from the pool.
Remove Registered Machines from View
If you do not plan to use a registered machine again, you can remove it from View.
There are two types of registered machines in View: RDS Hosts and Others. Unmanaged machines are in the
Others category. Unmanaged machines include physical computers and virtual machines that are not
managed by vCenter Server, including Horizon 6 for Linux virtual machines. They are used to form manual
desktop pools that do not contain vCenter Server virtual machines.
After you remove a registered machine, it becomes unavailable in View. To make the machine available
again, you must reinstall View Agent.
Prerequisites
Verify that the registered machines that you want to remove are not being used in any desktop pool.
Procedure
1 In View Administrator, select View  > Registered Machines.
2 Click the Others tab.
3 Select one or more machines and click Remove.
You can select only machines that are not being used by a desktop pool.
4 Click OK to conrm.
Uninstall View Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine
To uninstall View Agent on a Linux virtual machine, you use the uninstall_viewagent.sh script. You also
must remove the Horizon 6 for Linux conguration les from the machine.
Prerequisites
n
Verify that the machine was removed from the desktop pool and from Horizon 6 . See “Remove an
Unmanaged Machine from a Manual Desktop Pool,” on page 39 and “Remove Registered Machines
from View,” on page 40.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
40 VMware, Inc.
Procedure
1 Open a terminal window on the virtual machine and run the View Agent uninstall script.
For example:
sudo /usr/lib/vmware/viewagent/bin/uninstall_viewagent.sh
The script stops View Agent processes, deletes the View Agent service, and deletes the View Agent
installation directory, /usr/lib/vmware/viewagent.
2 Manually delete the Horizon 6 for Linux conguration les, located in the /etc/vmware/ directory.
If you intend to reinstall View Agent (for example, to upgrade to a later View Agent version), you do
not have to delete these conguration les.
delete /etc/vmware/viewagent-machine.cfg
delete /etc/vmware/viewagent-config.txt
delete /etc/vmware/jms
delete /etc/vmware/ssl
Reinstall View Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine
You use dierent approaches to reinstall View Agent on a Linux virtual machine, depending on whether
you use an existing Horizon 6 for Linux conguration or reinstall with a fresh conguration.
You can reinstall View Agent with an existing conguration if the Horizon 6 for Linux conguration les are
present on the virtual machine and the machine is registered in View Connection Server.
If either the conguration les were removed from the machine or the registered machine name was
removed from View Connection Server, you must ensure that both the local conguration les and the
registered machine name in View Connection Server are removed. You can then perform a fresh installation
of View Agent with a new conguration.
Prerequisites
n
Verify whether the Horizon 6 for Linux conguration les are present on the machine.
/etc/vmware/viewagent-machine.cfg
/etc/vmware/viewagent-config.txt
/etc/vmware/jms
/etc/vmware/ssl
n
Verify whether the Linux virtual machine is registered in View Connection Server. In View
Administrator, select View  > Registered Machines and select the Others tab.
n
If the conguration les and registered machine name were removed, familiarize yourself with the
steps for performing a fresh installation of View Agent. See “Install View Agent on a Linux Virtual
Machine,” on page 12.
Procedure
n
To reinstall with an existing Horizon 6 for Linux conguration, you can run the View Agent installation
script without parameters.
sudo ./install_viewagent.sh
The View Agent installer reuses the existing conguration les and machine registration in View
Connection Server. The installer does not register the machine again.
n
To reinstall with a new Horizon 6 for Linux conguration, run the View Agent installation script with
the required parameters.
The installation steps are the same as those in a fresh installation. The installer registers the machine
with View Connection Server.
Chapter 4 Administering Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 41
Configure Lossless PNG Images on Linux Desktops
Graphic applications, especially graphic design applications, require pixel-exact rendering of images in the
client display of a Linux desktop. You can congure a lossless PNG mode for images and video playback
that are generated on a Linux desktop and rendered on the client device.
By default, the lossless PNG mode is disabled.
Procedure
1 On the Linux remote desktop, edit the /etc/vmware/config le.
2 Add the following line to enable the lossless PNG mode.
RemoteDisplay.alwaysLossless=TRUE
Suppress the vSphere Console Display of a Linux Desktop
When a user connects to a Linux desktop, the desktop can also be displayed in the vSphere console for the
Linux virtual machine. You can congure Linux virtual machines to ensure that the vSphere console is blank
when users connect to their desktops.
Procedure
u
On the ESXi host, add the following line to the Linux virtual machine's vmx le.
RemoteDisplay.maxConnections = "0"
The vSphere console display remains blank even when you connect to the virtual machine when the
user is logged out of the desktop.
Configure a Left-handed Mouse on Ubuntu Desktops
Ubuntu does not support a left-handed mouse by default. You can congure an Ubuntu desktop to support
a left-handed mouse.
Procedure
1 On the Linux remote desktop, edit the /etc/vmware/config le.
2 Add the following line to enable a left-handed mouse.
mksVNCServer.useUInputButtonMapping=TRUE
How to Perform Power Operations on Linux Desktops from vSphere
Occasionally, it might be necessary to perform power operations on Linux desktops from vSphere.
Do not use the operations Power  or Reset because they might cause a loss of data or View Agent might
not restart properly. Instead, use the operations Shut Down Guest or Restart Guest.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
42 VMware, Inc.
Gather Information About Horizon 6 for Linux Software
To help manage and troubleshoot the Horizon 6 for Linux software, you can gather information about a
View Agent installation on a Linux virtual machine.
Procedure
n
Identify the View Agent version that is running on a Linux machine.
Run the following command:
cat /usr/lib/vmware/viewagent/Product.txt
The output displays the View Agent version. For example:
VMware-viewagent-linux-x.x-yyyyyyy
where x.x is the product version and yyyyyyy is the build number.
n
Gather information about View Agent software.
Files Location
View Agent installation directory
/usr/lib/vmware/viewagent
Logs
/var/log/vmware/
View Agent configuration
/etc/vmware/viewagent-config.txt
Machine configuration
/etc/vmware/viewagent-machine.cfg
n
Stop, start, or restart the View Agent service.
A View Agent service with these operations is provided on the Linux distributions. For example, on
Ubuntu 12.04, you can run the following command:
sudo service viewagent <stop/start/restart>
Troubleshooting Horizon 6 for Linux
You can take steps to diagnose and resolve problems that you encounter when you install and congure
Horizon 6 for Linux desktops.
n
Collect Diagnostic Information for a Horizon 6 for Linux Machine on page 44
You can collect diagnostic information to help VMware Technical Support diagnose and resolve issues
with a Horizon 6 for Linux machine. You create a Data Collection Tool (DCT) bundle that gathers the
machine's conguration information and logs into a compressed tarball.
n
Troubleshooting View Agent Registration Failure for a Linux Machine on page 44
The View Agent installer fails to register a Linux virtual machine with View Connection Server.
n
Troubleshooting an Unreachable View Agent on a Linux Machine on page 45
View Connection Server cannot communicate with View Agent on a Linux virtual machine.
n
Troubleshooting View Agent on a Linux Machine That Is Not Responding on page 46
View Agent that is installed on a Linux virtual machine is not responding.
n
Conguring the Linux Firewall to Allow Incoming TCP Connections on page 47
To allow users to connect to their Linux desktops, the desktops must be able to accept incoming TCP
connections from Horizon Client devices, security server, and View Connection Server.
Chapter 4 Administering Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 43
Collect Diagnostic Information for a Horizon 6 for Linux Machine
You can collect diagnostic information to help VMware Technical Support diagnose and resolve issues with
a Horizon 6 for Linux machine. You create a Data Collection Tool (DCT) bundle that gathers the machine's
conguration information and logs into a compressed tarball.
Procedure
1 Log in to the Linux virtual machine as a user with the required privileges.
2 Open a command prompt and run the dct-debug.sh script.
sudo /usr/lib/vmware/viewagent/bin/dct-debug.sh
The script generates a tarball that contains the DCT bundle. For example:
ubuntu-12-vdm-sdct-20150201-0606-agent.tgz
The tarball is generated in the directory from which the script was executed (the current working directory).
Troubleshooting View Agent Registration Failure for a Linux Machine
The View Agent installer fails to register a Linux virtual machine with View Connection Server.
Problem
When you install View Agent on a Linux virtual machine, the Agent Registration Failed error is
displayed.
Cause
The View Agent installer might fail to register a Linux machine with View Connection Server for the
following reasons:
n
The View Connection Server FQDN, domain name, user name, or password that was provided during
View Agent installation was incorrect.
n
The View administrator user does not have the Agent Registration Administrators or Administrators
role in View Administrator. Specically, the Register Agent privilege is required to register View Agent
with View Connection Server. Agent Registration Administrators is a restricted role that provides this
minimum privilege.
n
The View administrator password contains a special character, such as $, that was not escaped with a
backslash.
n
Reversible password encryption was not enabled on the Windows Server 2012 or 2012 R2 Active
Directory (AD) server.
Solution
1 Verify that you have the correct View Connection Server FQDN, domain name, user name, and
password.
2 Verify that the View administrator user has the privileges to allow View Agent registration.
a In View Administrator, select View  > Administrators.
b In the Administrators and Groups tab, select the View administrator user that you provided during
View Agent installation.
c Verify that the user has the Agent Registration Administrators or Administrators role.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
44 VMware, Inc.
3 If the View administrator password includes a special character, escape the special character with a
backslash.
For example: ab\$cdef
4 On the Linux guest operating system, open the View Agent registration log.
/usr/lib/vmware/viewagent/viewagent-registration.log
5 If the View Agent registration log reports LDAP errors, and a message asks if reversible password
encryption was enabled on a Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 Active Directory (AD)
server, enable reversible password encryption.
a On the AD server, open AD users and computers.
b Right-click the View Admin account, or create a new Linux View Agent account, and select
Properties.
c Select the Account tab.
d In Account options, select the Store password using reversible encryption seing.
e Reset the View Admin password.
6 Install View Agent on the Linux virtual machine again.
Troubleshooting an Unreachable View Agent on a Linux Machine
View Connection Server cannot communicate with View Agent on a Linux virtual machine.
Problem
In View Administrator, the Linux virtual machine is displayed as Agent Unreachable. This problem occurs
after View Agent was installed and the View Agent service started successfully on the Linux machine.
Cause
One cause might be that the Linux machine cannot resolve the FQDNs of the View Connection Server
instances.
After installation, View Agent stores a list of FQDNs of the View Connection Server instances in
the /etc/vmware/viewagent-machine.cfg conguration le. View Agent uses FQDNs even if you specify an
IP address of a View Connection Server instance with the -b parameter during the View Agent installation.
A second cause might be that the hostname of the Linux machine itself cannot be resolved.
Solution
1 On the Linux machine, open the View Agent log le.
/usr/lib/vmware/viewagent/viewagent-debug.log
2 Look for messages that indicate the hostname of the View Connection Server instance cannot be
resolved.
For example:
2015-01-31T09:21:33.516Z DEBUG <JMS Handler for:svohraUb12x6> [JmsManager]
Using connection broker sm-15q1-broker.myDomain.com
2015-01-31T09:21:33.518Z DEBUG <JMS Handler for:svohraUb12x6> [JmsManager]
Unable to resolve hostname for sm-15q1-broker.myDomain.com
3 Make sure the DNS service is congured properly on the Linux machine.
The steps for conguring DNS vary depending on the Linux distribution and release. For instructions,
consult the documentation for your Linux distribution.
Chapter 4 Administering Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 45
As a workaround, you can manually add the View Connection Server FQDNs to the /etc/hosts le on
the Linux machine. However, this method is not recommended for production use. The proper solution
is to congure the DNS service so that the Linux machine can resolve the View Connection Server
FQDNs.
After you take these steps, ping the View Connection Server hostnames to verify that they can be
resolved. For example:
ping sm-15q1-broker.myDomain.com
4 If the problem continues, make sure that the system hostname of the Linux machine is resolvable.
For example, on CentOS you might take the following steps:
a Open a terminal window and run the hostname command.
The machine's hostname is displayed.
b Open the etc/hosts le and add the hostname.
su
nano /etc/hosts
# Add the hostname:
127.0.0.1 <your hostname>
c Ping the hostname to verify that it can be resolved.
ping <your hostname>
N If you specify the DNS server on the Linux machine by manually editing the /etc/resolv.conf le,
the seing might become lost in some Linux distributions. The seing is preserved if you specify the DNS
server in the /etc/hosts le. For complete instructions for conguring DNS and the hostname, consult the
documentation for your Linux distribution and release.
Troubleshooting View Agent on a Linux Machine That Is Not Responding
View Agent that is installed on a Linux virtual machine is not responding.
Problem
The Horizon 6 for Linux desktop is not accessible, and View Agent is not responding.
Cause
The View Agent service might not be running, or the X session might not be active on the Linux machine.
Solution
1 On the Linux virtual machine, open a terminal window and stop and restart the View Agent service.
sudo service viewagent <stop/start/restart>
2 Verify that the X session is active.
ps –A | grep X
3 Install the X11 Simple VNC server on the virtual machine and verify that the X session is active over
VNC.
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
46 VMware, Inc.
Configuring the Linux Firewall to Allow Incoming TCP Connections
To allow users to connect to their Linux desktops, the desktops must be able to accept incoming TCP
connections from Horizon Client devices, security server, and View Connection Server.
On Ubuntu and Kylin distributions, the iptables rewall is congured by default with an input policy of
ACCEPT.
On RHEL and CentOS distributions, where possible, the View Agent installer script congures the iptables
rewall with an input policy of ACCEPT.
Make sure that iptables on a RHEL or CentOS guest operating system has an input policy of ACCEPT for
new connections from the Blast port, 5443.
When the BSG is enabled, client connections are directed from a Horizon Client device through the BSG on a
security server or View Connection Server to the Linux desktop. When the BSG is not enabled, connections
are made directly from the Horizon Client device to the Linux desktop.
Chapter 4 Administering Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
VMware, Inc. 47
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
48 VMware, Inc.
Index
B
bulk deployment
create a virtual machine template for
cloning 24
input file for sample scripts 25
overview 23
D
desktop pool creation, Linux virtual machines 14
F
firewalls, Linux desktops 47
G
glossary 5
H
Horizon 6 for Linux
bulk deployment 23
gathering information 43
reinstalling 41
troubleshooting View Agent that is not
responding 46
uninstalling 40
Horizon for Linux
reinstalling 39
uninstalling 39
I
install_viewagent.sh, command usage and
options 14
intended audience 5
J
JREs, required for View Agent on Linux 12
L
left-handed mouse, Ubuntu desktops 42
Linux installation
troubleshooting 43
View Agent fails to register 44
View Agent is unreachable 45
Linux systems
adding to desktop pools 14
administering 39
collecting diagnostic information 44
configuring the firewall 47
desktop features 7
desktops 5
preparing for desktop use 10
setting up for use as desktops 7
vSphere console display 42
lossless PNG display, Linux desktops 42
N
NVIDIA GRID driver, installing on RHEL 6.6 19
P
physical computers, removing from a pool 39
power operations from vSphere, Linux
desktops 42
R
registered machines
removing 40
removing from View 40
removing registered machines 40
RHEL, configuring for vDGA 17
S
sample script
to clone desktop machines 25
to install View Agent 29
to perform operations on VMs 35
to uninstall View Agent 32
sample scripts, input file 25
U
unmanaged machines, removing from a pool 39
V
vDGA
adding PCI device to a Linux machine 18
enabling DirectPath I/O on a host 17
vDGA (Virtual Dedicated Graphics Acceleration)
for Linux machines 17
for RHEL 6.6 17
View Agent
installing on a Linux virtual machine 12
Linux installation command options 14
Linux operating system requirements 8
reinstalling on a Linux machine 41
uninstalling on a Linux machine 40
virtual machines, creating for Linux desktops 10
VMware Tools, configuring on a Linux guest 10
vSphere console, suppress display 42
VMware, Inc. 49
Setting Up Horizon 6 for Linux Desktops
50 VMware, Inc.