Before you install RDS on your Windows VM there are some prerequisites that must be met. The VM should not be used for any other purpose in the Horizon 7 environment. If you are running IPv4 you have the option to use Windows 2008 R2 SP1 (Standard/Enterprise/Datacenter), Windows 2012 R2 (Standard/Datacenter), or Windows Server 2016. as your operating system. If you are using IPv6 you must use Windows 2008 R2 SP1 (Standard/Enterprise/Datacenter), or Windows 2012 R2 (Standard/Datacenter). For a list of Horizon features you have, based on the operating system you choose, please consult the VMware Support Matrix for the Horizon Agent.
Note: The RDS host (RDSH) can be a physical machine or a VM. However, the Blast display protocol does not operate on a single-user physical computer.
Horizon 7 does not support the Microsoft Aero Theme. A Group Policy Object (GPO) must be defined to enforce the Windows Classic theme.
Note: In a production environment, this policy should be defined as a domain GPO that applies to the OU, where your users exist. For the purposes of this lab, we are defining the policy on a local GPO that resides on the VM that will be used as the RDSH.
- Click on Console1
- Click on Yes to access the User Access Control dialog box
- Click on the arrow to expand the Local Computer Policy
- Click on User Configuration
- Click on Administrative Templates
- Select Control Panel
- Click on Personalization
- Select Force a specific visual style or force Windows Classic
- Click on Enabled
- Click on OK
- Click on the X to close the group policy window
- Click on Yes to save the Microsoft Management Console settings
To avoid having the application appear to freeze when the power savings mode starts, the display power mode option should be set to never.
- Right click on the Start button
- Click on Control Panel
- Click on Hardware
- Select Power Options
- Click on Choose when to turn off the display
- Click on Change setting that are currently unavailable
- Set turn off the display to Never
- Select Save Changes
- Click on the X to close the Power Options window