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Certificate
This is to certify that Mr. Rajesh Para of NOV 09 batch has satisfactorily completed
the Thesis entitled, Desktop As A Service (DAAS) Implementation using VMware
View 4.5 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of M.Tech in
Advanced Information Technology with specialization in Networking &
Telecommunications.
Signature of HOD
Date:.
Place:
Date: ________________
Examiners
_________________
_________________
__________________
Acknowledgement
I express my deep sense of gratitude to my mentor, Mr. Sujith Jose (Operations and
Tech. Consultant, Allied Digital), for the adroit guidance, profound interest,
constructive suggestions, critical evaluations and perceptual encouragement during the
conduct of investigation and the preparation of manuscript. I shall remain grateful to him
for the same forever.
It is profound pleasure to express my deep sense of gratitude to our Internal guide
(International Institute of Information Technology) Prof. Balaram Saha for her support,
profound interest, suggestions in the fruitful completion of this project
It is profound pleasure to express my deep sense of gratitude to our Prof. Ravindra
Joshi (HOD, Department of Networking & Telecommunication) for his support,
profound interest, suggestions in the fruitful completion of this project
No appropriate words could be traced in the present lexicon to express my sublime
obeisance to those who helped me directly or indirectly to make this project successful.
Rajesh Para
Declaration
Date:
Place: I2IT, Pune
Rajesh Para
(MTECHTC)
105344385
ABSTRACT
Many companies have turned to virtualization technologies for their servers and in their
data centers to simplify administration and to reduce management chores and operating
costs while maintaining reliability and safeguarding against disasters. Seeing the
significant benefits virtualization delivers in those environments, companies are now
looking to apply the same technology to their desktop computers.
The idea behind what is called a Desktop As A Service (DAAS) is to run desktop
operating systems and applications inside virtual machines that reside on servers in the
data center. Desktop operating systems inside virtual machines are also referred to as
virtual desktops. Users access the virtual desktops and applications from a desktop PC
client or thin client using a remote display protocol and get almost the full features as if
the applications were loaded on their local systems, with the difference being that the
applications are centrally managed.
On top of all of these issues that make desktop management so challenging to reduse
effort involved in managing desktops in several aspects, for example data security, user
management, disaster recovery and many DAAS is the solution.
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Fig.2.1. shows the relationship between the major components of a VMware View deployment.
Page No
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Fig.3.6. Selecting vCenter server mode from linked mode or standalone mode
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Fig.3.8. Adding new data center to the vCenter server through vSphere Client
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Fig.4.1: welcome to the Installation wizard for VMware View connection server
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Fig.4.4. Error message that shows view connection server require a static IP
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Fig.6.2. opening a console of the Desktop on which view agent is going to be installed
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Fig.9.3. Choosing the respective pool from the list of pools that are assigned to user
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER
Page No
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.4.2. Convenience
1.4.3. Manageability
1.5.1. Usability
1.5.2. Security
1.5.4. Scalability
Chapter 2
Defining A Use Case
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12
12
Chapter 3
vCenter Server
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Chapter 4
View Connection Server
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Chapter 5
View Composer
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Chapter 6
View Agent
6.1. Step by Step Installation of View Agent
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36
Chapter 7
Creating The Linked Clone Desktop Pool
7.1. Creating a linked clone desktop pool in view Administrator
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39
Chapter 8
View Client
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Chapter 9
Connecting to the VMware vView Virtual Desktops
9.1. Entitling The Users to Pool
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50
12
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Conclusion
54
References
55
13
14
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Introduction to the Virtualization
Theres a new wind of change in the IT industry today. Its called virtualization.
Virtualization is the process of implementing multiple operating systems on the same
set of physical hardware to better utilize the hardware. The great advantage of this is
that you can take a physical server that is running at 10 percent utilization and
transform it into one running at 60 to 80 percent utilization by loading it up with
multiple virtual machines. Companies with strong plans to implement virtualized
computing
virtualization in place. Operating system runs directly on top of the hardware, including the
CPU, memory, NIC, and disk. In this case, the operating system and hardware are tightly
coupled, and applications often interfere with each other. Given the boundary of the
physical machine, expensive resources cannot be shared and often are underutilized.
Now lets look at a virtualized system. The operating system is detached from physical
hardware and is running on a virtual machine. Multiple operating systems can be installed
and run simultaneously on the same machine.
Virtualization is an architecture that allows you to run multiple operating systems
simultaneously on a single computer. Each copy of an operating system is installed on its
own virtual machine
The VMware View client is a native Windows client and provides access to the View
infrastructure. The client is also available for the Macintosh and the Linux platform as
open source. The VMware View agent runs in the virtual desktop and can be currently
hosted in Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. It provides a management point
for the View Connection Manager. The View Connection Server (also known as the View
Manager) can run in either Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 (as either a virtual machine
or a physical machine). It provides brokering services to the end user accessing the View
infrastructure from the View client. It also provides management services to the View
16
administrator. An optional VMware View Security Serve is installed in the DMZ. This is
a hardened installation of the VMware View Connection Server and provides access for
users connecting to the View infrastructure from the public Internet. Finally, an optional
VMware View Transfer Server provides the ability to transfer desktop virtual machines to
authorized VMware View clients. The VMware View environment runs on top of the
VMware vSphere infrastructure, which provides the virtualization services necessary to
deliver the virtual desktop. The management of vSphere is accomplished via VMware
vCenter, which provides a single pane of glass for setting up, monitoring and managing
the virtual infrastructure. Management of the VMware View environment is
accomplished through the View Connection/management Server.
home computer.
3. Data backups can be scheduled without considering when end users' systems
6. Virtual desktops can also connect to back-end physical systems and Windows
1.4.2 Convenience
The unified management console is built for scalability on Adobe Flex, so that even the
largest View deployments can be efficiently managed from a single View Manager
interface. Wizards and dashboards enhance the workflow and facilitate drilling down to
see details or change settings.
1.4.3. Manageability
Provisioning desktops for end users is a quick process. No one is required to install
applications one by one on each end user's physical PC. End users connect to a virtual
desktop complete with applications. End users can access their same virtual desktop from
various devices at various locations. Using VMware vSphere to host virtual desktops
provides the following benefits:
1. Administration tasks and management chores are reduced.
2. Administrators can patch and upgrade applications and operating systems without
touching a user's physical PC.
3. Storage management is simplified. Using VMware vSphere, you can virtualize
volumes and file systems to avoid managing separate storage devices.
Windows Vista in a virtual machine and use that virtual machine on a PC that is not
Vista-enabled. Virtual desktops run on PCs, Macs, thin clients, and PCs that have been
repurposed as thin clients.
1.5.1. Usability
The following features provide a familiar experience for the end user:
1. Print from a virtual desktop to any local or networked printer that is defined on
the client device, or use the location-based printing feature to map to printers that
are physically near the client system. The virtual printer feature solves
compatibility issues and does not require you to install additional print drivers in a
virtual machine.
2. Use multiple monitors. With PCoIP multiple-monitor support, you can adjust the
display resolution and rotation separately for each monitor.
3. Access USB devices and other peripherals that are connected to the local device
that displays your virtual desktop.
1.5.2. Security
VMware View offers the following security features, among others:
1. Use RSA SecurID two-factor authentication or smart cards to log in.
2. Use SSL tunneling to ensure that all connections are completely encrypted.
3. Use VMware High Availability to host desktops and to ensure automatic failover.
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1.5.4. Scalability
Scalability features depend on the VMware virtualization platform to manage both
desktops and servers:
1.
2. Configure View Connection Server to broker connections between end users and
the virtual desktops that they are authorized to access Use View Composer to
quickly create desktop images that share virtual disks with a master image.
3. Using linked clones in this way conserves disk space and simplifies the
management of patches and updates to the operating system.
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CHAPTER 2
DEFINING A USE CASE
2.1.Use Case
The design process for customer based on VMware View 4.5 begins with the definition of
a use case. In this scenario, assume an environment that is based in one location.
Employees or users will access the virtual Infrastructure from the VMware View client,
which will be installed in either a Windows desktop or provided through a certified end
client device such as a thin terminal device. The assumption is that this environment is
limited to 10 to 30 end-user-devices. Scaling beyond this size will require a rearchitecture of the ESX/ESXi environment. For instance, we assume that all user and
management traffic flows over a single 1Gb link. This, and other assumptions, may
change in a real-world deployment.
VMware View leverages a concept of Desktop Pools, which are logical containers that
represent a unique use case. In this case, the use case is a small employee environment.
Desktop type, access mode, user experience, performance and application set will be
characterized in the Desktop Pool. Use cases align to Desktop Pools. An important
question to consider is whether a particular use case requires a stateful or stateless
desktop image. Stateless architectures have significant advantages such as being easier to
support, enabling View Composer-based management and reducing storage costs.
Stateful desktop images require traditional image management techniques. They are
created by assigning a dedicated pool of full virtual machines. In this scenario, we will
deploy stateless desktop images by utilizing VMware View Composer and leverage
floating assignment pools of linked clone virtual machines. Please note that the
21
Fig.2.1. shows the relationship between the major components of a VMware View deployment.
22
23
Inside the corporate firewall, you install and configure a group of two or more View
Connection Server instances. Their configuration data is stored in an embedded LDAP
directory and is replicated among members of the group. Outside the corporate firewall,
in the DMZ, you can install and configure View Connection Server as a security server.
Security servers in the DMZ communicate with View Connection Servers inside the
corporate firewall. Security servers offer a subset of functionality and are not required to
be in an Active Directory domain. You install View Connection Server in a Windows
Server 2003 or 2008 server, preferably on a VMware virtual machine.
View Client with Local Mode (formerly called Offline Desktop) is a version of View
Client that has been extended to allow end users to download virtual machines and use
them on their local systems regardless of whether they have a network connection.
Features differ according to which View Client you use. This guide focuses on View
Client for Windows and View Client for Mac. The following types of clients are not
described in detail in this guide:
1. View Client for Linux, available only through certified partners.
24
machines. View Composer can then create a pool of linked clones from a specified parent
virtual machine. This strategy reduces storage costs by up to 90 percent. Each linked
clone acts like an independent desktop, with a unique host name and IP address, yet the
linked clone requires significantly less storage because it shares a base image with the
parent. Because linked-clone desktop pools share a base image, you can quickly deploy
updates and patches by updating only the parent virtual machine. End users' settings,
data, and applications are not affected. As of View 4.5, you can also use linked-clone
technology for View desktops that you download and check out to use on local systems.
Offline Desktop). Several operations use View Transfer Server to send data between the
View desktop in vCenter Server and the corresponding local desktop on the client system.
When a user checks in or checks out a desktop, View Manager authorizes and manages
the operation. View Transfer Server transfers the files between the datacenter and the
local desktop.
1. View Transfer Server synchronizes local desktops with the corresponding
desktops in the datacenter by replicating user-generated changes to the datacenter.
Replications occur at intervals that you specify in local-mode policies. You can
also initiate replications in View Administrator. You can set a policy that allows
users to initiate replications from their local desktops.
2. View Transfer Server keeps local desktops up-to-date by distributing common
system data from the datacenter to local clients. View Transfer Server downloads
View Composer base images from the image repository to local desktops.
3. If a local computer is corrupted or lost, View Transfer Server can provision the
local desktop and recover the user data by downloading the data and system
image to the local desktop.
NOTE: Before beginning the installation off all view components we assume that a
dedicated active directory domain controller is installed on any one of 64-bit or 32-bit
windows 2003 or windows 2008 r2 operating system.
IMPORTANT: No other view components should be installed on this active directory
server
Summary
The use case is defined and also introduced all components that make VMware view 4.5
environment and described them briefly
27
CHAPTER 3
vCENTER SERVER
3.1. Gathering Prerequisites
The installation of the vCenter Server is covered in detail in the ESXi Installable and
vCenter Server Setup Guide. The manual is available for download on the VMware
support site located at: http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs. You can follow the ESXi
Installation manual for detailed step-by-step instructions, can be found below.
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_esxi_i_vc_setup_guide.pdf
3.2.Database Requirements
vCenter Server requires databases to store and organize server data. You do not need to
install a new database server for the vCenter Server installation to work. You can point
the installation program to use any existing supported database (IBM DB2, Oracle, or
Microsoft SQL Server). For information about supported databases see the vSphere
Compatibility Matrix at http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Note that for the purposes of this installation we can use the bundled Microsoft SQL
Server 2005 Express database. This should be sufficient for the purposes of the POC. The
database though should be upgraded for a production environment. Unless you are
planning to use the bundled SQL Server 2005 Express database, have a supported
database created. The detailed steps and prerequisites for installing the vCenter Server are
found in Chapter 2 and Chapter 10 of the ESXi Installable and vCenter Server Setup
Guide.
NOTE: The system you use for the installation of vCenter Server must belong to a
28
domain and not simply a workgroup, and should have a static IP address. The IP address
must have a valid DNS registration that resolves properly from all managed hosts.
Compatibility
Matrix
found
on
the
support
website:
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs
already run. You will see the following GUI. The name of the vCenter image at the time
of publication is VMware-VIMSetup-all-4.1.0-29021.iso. The name will change with the
next release of patching.
2. Select the first option, vCenter Server. After selecting the appropriate language option,
select Next several times and agree to the license terms. You will see the following
display asking for the Windows user name, organization and license key. You can safely
omit the licensee key in this step since the installer will use an evaluation key, which will
last 60 days. You can enter a permanent key at a later date.
30
3. Choose either an existing database or have the installer place a SQL Server 2005
Express instance on the local machine. In our case, well choose the latter. This Express
database is appropriate for small-scale deployments only (maximum of 5 ESXi hosts and
50 virtual machines)
4. You can run the vCenter Server Service as either a user-specified account in the
domain or the default SYSTEM account. Well use the default SYSTEM account.
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5. Next, choose the folder where you wish to install vCenter Server. Well select the
default
6. When asked if vCenter Server should be standalone or join a vCenter Server group,
select Create a standalone VMware vCenter Server instance.
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Fig.3.6. Selecting vCenter server mode from linked mode or standalone mode
7. The next display shows the default ports that vCenter Server utilizes. We will use the
defaults.
When the installation is complete you can view the vCenter Server Manager through the
vSphere Client. The vSphere client can be loaded from the same iso that delivered the
vCenter Server Manager or downloaded from the vCenter Server Manager web server.
33
Simply point your browser to the IP address of the vCenter Server Manager and hit the
Download vSphere Client URL. Next you will need to add the ESXi host to the vCenter
Server. This is done by bringing up the vSphere Client and logging into the vCenter
Server Manager. First, add a new datacenter. Select the vCenter Server Manager in the
selection pane in the upper left hand part of your vSphere Client display after youve
brought up the client and logged into the vCenter Server. Now right mouse button and
select New Datacenter. In our case, well name our datacenter View.
Fig.3.8. Adding new data center to the vCenter server through vSphere Client
Once the display is presented, select the Hosts tab. Then click the right mouse button and
select Add Host. Enter the host name or the IP address of the ESXi server and the
credentials to log into the server.
34
Once vCenter Server has the ESXi host connected successfully it will look like the
following in the vSphere Client
Summary
Installation of Vcenter server is completed and added a host to it successfully. Next step
is the installation of view conection server.
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CHAPTER 4
VIEW CONNECTION SERVER
4.1. Preparing for View 4.5 Connection server Installation
There are several VMware documents that will be referenced in this document. The first
is the VMware View 4.5 Evaluators Guide. A detailed manual for the installation of View
4.5 Manager and Composer can be found in the View 4.5 Installation guide at:
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/view45_installation_guide.pdf.
The purpose of this VMware View 4.5 Installation guide is to provide step-by-step
instructions for installing and configuring View 4.5 for the environment. If there are any
questions or issues that come up during the installation, please consult the authoritative
VMware
View
4.5
Installation
Guide
from
the
following
link
36
http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/entdesk/view.
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Fig.4.1: welcome to the Installation wizard for VMware View connection server
3. After accepting the defaults for the agreements, accept the default install folder or
change it as appropriate and click next.
4. Since this is the first View Manager installation, select the Standard Server build (As
we are installing the first connection server we need to select standard server.)
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5. If you receive the following message, follow the directions indicated and change the IP
from DHCP to a static IP. Youll need to start the View Manager installation again after
the change
Fig.4.4. Error message that shows view connection server require a static IP
6. You will see the following window as the installation makes progress:
7. If you are installing on a Windows 2008 Server you will see the following window.
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8. When the View 4.5 Manager installation is complete click on finish to exit the
installation wizard
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1. Log in to the View administrative interface by pointing your web browser to the IP
address followed by /admin (for example, http://192.168.0.201/admin). Login using the
credentials of a domain administrator.
2. Select Product Licensing and Usage on the left-hand part of the display and select the
Edit License button. Enter the VMware View 4.5 License Key and click OK. As noted
above, an evaluation key can be requested from the VMware website
https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/?p=default
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3. Add the vCenter Server to the View Manager. Select View Configuration -> Servers in
the left hand selection window. Then select Add in the right result pane. Enter the vCenter
Server address, user name and password. Select OK.
Summary
The vCenter server is installed on a dedicated server successfully. An host is added to the
vCenter server for the centralized management. The vCenter instance is added to the view
administrator. So that the managed virtual machines which are under vCenter server can
be used to create a desktop pool and can be assigned to the user. A view composer
instance can also be added to this vCenter server to create linked clones of master virtual
machine template.
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CHAPTER 5
VIEW COMPOSER
For the purposes of this environment, will be deploying linked-clone desktops from a
single desktop image. View Composer provides this capability and has a few
requirements. Namely, a SQL database must reside on or be available to the vCenter
Server instance that will be integrated with the View Manager. If an SQL databases
already exists for vCenter Server, View Composer can use that existing database instance.
If not, View Composer can use the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express instance provided
with vCenter for quick proof of concept deployment. In actual production, we
recommend that you have a standalone SQL server instance that can also be used later for
logging the VMware View event database. This SQL Server Express database should be
upgraded if the View system is going into production use. The VMware hypervisor, ESX
or ESXi must be vSphere 4 or later to take advantage of View Composer.
VMware View utilizes Microsoft Active Directory for user authentication and
management. Windows 2000 AD, Windows 2003 AD, and Windows 2008 AD are
supported. Again, ensure that the View Manager system is joined to an Active Directory
domain. Since users will be authenticated against Active Directory, the View Manager
domain should have proper trust agreements in place to authenticate the lab users You
may want to consider (although its not required) creating an Active Directory
organizational unit (OU) specifically for your View desktops. An OU is a subdivision in
Active Directory that contains users, groups, computers, or other OUs. This capability
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allows group policies to be applied uniquely to the virtual desktops. GPOs can be
managed via the Group Policy module for PowerShell (including in Windows Server
2008 or with Microsofts Remote Server Administration Tools).
1. Create a new Active Directory Organizational Unit that will store all of your lab linked
clone desktops. Open Active Directory Users and Computers (run dsa.msc) and create the
new OU. For the purposes of this lab, it is named the new OU lab linked clones.
2. Create a user account in Active Directory for the View Composer. This user should
have the following capabilities to the OU just created: Delete Computer Objects, Create
Computer Objects, Write All Properties, Read Permissions, Read All Properties, and List
Contents. The account permissions should apply to all child objects in the linked clone
OU. We will use the user name Composer.
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3. Log in into vCenter and create a new folder to hold the lab linked clone desktops
(right-click on your datacenter object -> New Folder). If vCenter is not installed yet, see
Appendix B and complete the installation of vCenter.
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2. Now that the database exists, you must configure an ODBC connection to the
Composer server. On the vCenter Server, select Start -> Administrative Tools -> Data
Source (ODBC). Select System DSN tab. Click Add and select SQL Native Client from
the list and click finish.
3. Complete the form. In this case well use the name ViewComposer to describe the
ODBC DSN and specify the virtual server hostname in the server field drop down box.
Click on Next.
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You can specify either Windows NT authentication (for a local SQL server as in our
specific case) or SQL Server authentication (if you are using a remote instance of SQL
Server).
4. Click Next. Change the default database to the name of the View Composer database
from the dropdown list.
Ensure you have both Use ANSI quoted identifiers enabled and Use ANSI nulls,
paddings and warnings enabled as well.
5. Select Next and then Finish. Select the Test Data Source to verify that the connection is
established properly. Dont proceed until the test completes successfully.
47
NOTE: If you will be using an Oracle 11g or 10g Database for View Composer instead of
SQL, please see the View Installation Guide for details on the setup.
Now that the View Composer database and View Composer DSN are configured, you can
move on to the installation of the View Composer service on the vCenter Server.
2. Accept the End User Agreement by clicking Next and accept the terms. For our case,
well install the Composer in the default directory by clicking Next. Select the DSN for
the View Composer database that you provided in the Microsoft or Oracle ODBC Data
Source Administrator Wizard. In our case, well use View Composer. If you have not
already created a DSN for the View Composer database, click on ODBC DSN Setup to
configure a name now.
48
3. Accept the default SOAP Port and click Next. Either provide an SSL certificate or
select the radio button to create a default SSL certificate. Click Install and Finish to
complete the Composer service installation.
It will be important to ensure that the vSphere environment has enough CPU, memory,
and I/O resources to host the desktops that you require. It is a best practice to use the
vSphere client to monitor those resources. There are several other important practices to
follow. Stagger the run times of the antivirus software. Also ensure that the Dynamic
Name Service (DNS) is operating correctly and that the desktop virtual machine names
can be resolved in DNS. To test DNS operation, ping the Active Directory and View
Connection Servers by name.
49
Well now configure that same user in the View Manager. In the View Manager
administration window (http://<IP_ADDRESS_OF_VIEW_MGR>/admin) select View
Configuration->Servers. In the vCenter Servers panel, select the vCenter Server already
configured. Now click Edit. Enable the View Composer. View Manager now attempts to
communicate with the View Composer service running on the vCenter Server.
Summary
View composer instance is installed in the vCenter server successfully. And also it is
added to the vCenter server details under view administrator. Hence it is possible to
create linked clones of a managed virtual machine.
50
CHAPTER 6
VIEW AGENT
The View Agent component assists with session management, single sign-on, and device
redirection. You must install View Agent on all virtual machines, physical systems, and
terminal servers that will be managed by View Manager. Refer the following table for the
list of supported operating systems for the view agent installation
51
2) Check the box labeled Use Windows session credentials. Click Login.
3) From the left column of the VI Client interface, select the Parent Windows7 VM
named W7 and open console.
Fig.6.2. opening a console of the Desktop on which view agent is going to be installed
4) In the console select VM from the tool bar, click Guest and click the Send
Ctrl+Alt+Del option.
5) Login as administrator
6) Run the VMware-viewagent-4.5.0-274035.exe from the desktop. When prompted
52
8) Accept the End User Patent Agreement and then click Next.
9) Under custom setup leave the options default. Click Next to continue.
10) Click Install to begin the installation. You will see several screens flash by in the
background as the various components are installed.
11) If you have any warnings about drivers, please click Continue Anyway.
12) Click Finish when the wizard completes and reboot the desktop
53
Summary
The view agent is installed on a desktop which means the desktop is ready to assign a
user or to create a linked clone desktop pool.
CHAPTER 7
CREATING THE LINKED CLONE DESKTOP POOL
Now that you have created the Parent virtual machine, and configured VMware View to
use the Composer user, we will next create a pool of linked clones.
54
2. Virtual desktop users can either have dedicated or floating desktops. Dedicated means
that each time a user logs in they will get the same virtual machine. Floating provides the
end user with a random desktop from the pool. In our use case, the lab environment, we
will assign desktops to lab users randomly so we will use the Floating user assignment.
Virtual machines can be deployed as either full virtual machines created from a vCenter
Server template or as Composer linked clones. We will be using Composer linked clones
because they share the same base image (Parent) and therefore use significantly less
storage space. The user profile can be redirected to persistent disks that will be unaffected
55
3. After hitting Next, specify the attributes of the Pool. Provide a name for the pool,
display name (which the users will see when they connect to the View Manager from the
View client), the View Folder (which can be used for organizing the pool and delegating
administration and a description to be shown in the Summary tab for the View
Administrator.)
4. Now specify the pool settings. These settings are detailed in the VMware View 4.5
Administrator Guide. For our purposes we will set the automatic logoff after disconnect
to 60 minutes. Hit the Next button.
56
5. The following configuration screen gives you the option to redirect disposable files
such as page files and temp files to a Non-persistent disk. This non-persistent disk will
be deleted automatically when a user session ends. We will use the default 4096 MB
value. Hit the Next button.
6. The next screen provides the ability to assign names to the virtual desktops. Enable the
basic settings of Enable Provisioning and Stop provisioning on error. We have set the
naming convention to include two digits (01, 02, .) beginning with LinkedClone--. The
size of the pool is also specified here. In our case, we are setting up 10 desktops. These
57
desktops can be provisioned whenever they are needed (on demand) or up-front. Up-front
will ensure the desktops are ready when the users log in. Also note the number of spare
desktops (which refers to the spare powered-on desktops). We will set the number to the
maximum pool size to ensure that the desktops are all available immediately for the lab
users.
`
7. The next screen is used to specify the default Parent image. Hit Browse and select the
Parent virtual machine prepared earlier. Next specify the virtual machine folder in
vCenter Server that you wish to place the desktop virtual machines within. Select the
ESXi host (or Cluster) and the vCenter Server resource pool you wish to use. And finally,
select the datastore you wish to place the new Desktop virtual machines within.
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8. The next screen allows you to specify which Active Directory Container to place the
virtual machines within. You can also specify whether you wish to use either Microsofts
Sysprep or QuickPrep for preparing the virtual machines for lab use. As the name
implies, QuickPrep is designed to work efficiently with View Composer and is generally
faster than Microsoft Sysprep. Sysprep generates a unique SID and QuickPrep does not.
Note that SysPrep is only supported on vSphere 4.1. You can also specify the use of a
different datastore for the View Composer replica disks (Parent virtual machine). This is
accomplished under the datastores browse button. If you have a high speed datastore
such as a Solid State Drive or fast LUN you wish to use, this would be appropriate to host
the Parent virtual machine. The View 4.5 reference architecture provides more
information on how to optimize View 4.5 deployments by utilizing tiered storage. The
image below provides a snapshot of the screen. For the lab deployment, consider using
the stateless or non-persistent desktops and have linked clone replica stored in a solid
state drive (SSD).
The Replica is the Parent image that the linked clones use as their base image. It
considered a best practice to place this Parent image on a high-speed datastore such as a
solid state drive on the ESXi server. If a higher speed datastore is not an option, then
dont select the Use different datastore for View Composer replica disks.
9. The next screen lets you set the guest customization options. Specify the domain and
AD container you wish to add the View desktops into. You can use the default OU
(CN=Computers) or utilize the OU created earlier to contain the lab virtual desktops. You
can also specify whether you want to use QuickPrep (with optional power-off and postsynchronization scripts) or Microsofts Sysprep. If you choose to use Sysprep, follow the
directions in the VMware ESXi Administrators guide. For the purposes of our lab, we
will choose to use QuickPrep.
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10. Finally, the last screen summarizes the options selected. Hit Finish after reviewing the
selections.
The View Manager will now begin to create the lab pool. You can watch the pool virtual
machines being created by bringing up the vCenter client. Look under Inventory ->
virtual machines and Templates and note the tasks in the lower part of the screen. Note
also that the View Manager is in charge of creating and destroying the desktop virtual
machines. DONT create or destroy the desktop virtual machines from within vCenter.
The entire lifecycle of the desktop virtual machines will be handled by VMware View
Manager.
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NOTE: If you find errors with the customization process, see the VMware Knowledge
Base article found online at: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1026999
Now that the pool is being created, the next step is to entitle lab users to access the
desktop virtual machines. This is done from within the View Administrator interface.
You can check on the status of the newly created desktops by going to the View
Administrator interface and selecting Inventory -> Desktops. The desktop name, pool ID,
DNS name, host and so forth are presented here. Note in particular the Desktop Status. It
will read Available when View is ready to present the desktop to the end user.
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Summary
A linked clone desktop pool has been created and entitled to a user. The final step is to
connect the users to the newly created virtual desktop. This connection is accomplished
via the VMware View Client. This client is supported on a number of end user devices
such as zero clients, laptops, desktops, thin clients, and other mobile devices.
CHAPTER 8
VIEW CLIENT
8.1. About view client
Users run View Client to connect to their View desktops. You must install View Client or
View Client with Local Mode on a supported operating system. Table 8.1 lists the
Microsoft Windows operating systems supported for View Client. For information about
operating systems supported by other View Clients, such as View Client for the Mac and
View Client for iPad, Go to
https://www.vmware.com/support/viewclients/doc/viewclients_pubs.html.
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IMPORTANT: View Client with Local Mode is supported only on Windows systems
and only on physical computers. In addition, to use this feature, your VMware license
must include View Client with Local Mode
Table 8.1. View Client Operating System Support for Windows-Based Clients
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Summary
Hence we completed the installation of view client by running this we are able to connect
the pool by providing the credentials in the login screen.
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CHAPTER 9
CONNECTING TO THE VMWARE VIEW VIRTUAL
DESKTOPS
The final step is to connect the users to the newly created virtual desktop, which is
accomplished via the VMware View Client. This client is supported on a number of enduser-devices such as laptops, desktops, thin clients and others. We will start by testing the
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connection from a Windows PC or laptop. Download the VMware View Client onto the
end-user-access point and begin the installation. There are several types of the View
Client. The larger View client image supports the ability of checking out the desktop
virtual machine. Install the smaller image, which instead simply provides access to the
lab desktops. Once the VMware View Client is installed, run the client. Point the client to
the Fully Qualified Domain Name or IP address of the View Manager. Enter the login
credentials of the entitled lab user. Hit OK. Now select the Pool ID.
Now that the pool is being created, the next step is to entitle lab users to access the
desktop virtual machines. This is done from within the View Administrator interface.
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You can check on the status of the newly created desktops by going to the View
Administrator interface and selecting Inventory -> Desktops. The desktop name, pool ID,
DNS name, host and so forth are presented here.
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Fig.9.3. Choosing the respective pool from the list of pools that are assaigned to user
You should now be attached to the virtual desktop. If you move your mouse to the top of
the screen you should see the Options menu available. Note there are several options to
disconnect. You can disconnect or disconnect with logoff. Disconnecting from the
desktop will leave the state of the desktop in place. Disconnecting with logoff will both
disconnect the user from the virtual desktop as well as logoff the user from the session as
well. There is a Connect USB Device menu pane at the top of the frame as well. This will
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allow the user to connect various USB devices to the virtual desktop.
Summary
By this chapter we accomplished our main aim and the implementation of Desktop As A
Service (DAAS) is accomplished successfully using VMware view 4.5
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CONCLUSION
To accomplish Desktop As A Service, a new or existing active directory domain
controller is installed and joined all required servers and desktops to the domain. For the
centralised management of the virtual infrastructure vCenter server is installed in a
dedicated virtual windows server. To act as a broker between the user machine, which is
called client, and the desktop that is assaigned to user, a connection server is installed. It
acts as a broker. To implement linked clones we installed view composer inside the
vCenter server.
Successfully implementing and integrating all the above componets the main aim of the
project, which is delivering a centralised, secured, and managed desktop to the employee.
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REFERENCES
1. Chris McCain and Rawlinson Rivera Mastering VMware Infrastrusture 3
2. http://www.vmware.com/virtualization/
3. http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_esxi_i_vc_setup_guide.pdf
4. http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
5. http://www.vmware.com/pdf/view45_installation_guide.pdf.
6. http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/entdesk/view
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKYHdUj3O5s
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