General
VMware Horizon is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution developed by VMware that provides secure access to virtualized desktops and applications from any device.
The software was first released in 2007 and has since been used by many organizations for remote access and the delivery of virtualized desktops and applications.
VMware Horizon has many features, including support for a variety of operating systems, disaster recovery, automated provisioning, and scalability. The software also integrates with other VMware products, such as VMware App Volumes (Acquired by VMware in 2014 from CloudVolumes) and VMware Dynamic Environment Manager (Acquired by VMware in 2015 from Immidio), to provide a complete virtual desktop management solution.
Overall, VMware Horizon is an excellent virtual desktop solution that provides organizations with secure remote access, automated provisioning, and scalability. The continual updates to the software also ensure that organizations always have access to the latest virtual desktop technology.
In this post, we will look at the history of VMware Horizon, the licensing, and the main VMware Horizon components.
In the following parts of this series of blog posts, I will go into more detail regarding the preparation of the environment and the prerequisites, installation & configuration of the different components that make up a basic on-prem VMware Horizon solution.
History
The VDI journey of VMware started in 2007 when VMware acquired a company called Propero. Propero developed a connection broker which later became the VMware Horizon Connection Server.
Up to this date there are still references to Propero in the internal VMware Horizon ADAM database (pae-xxx, where “pae” stands for “Propero Application Environment”)
The first VDI product VMware launched was VDM (Virtual Desktop Manager). The product went through several name changes:
2007: VMware VDM
2008: VMware View
2013: VMware Horizon View
2014: VMware Horizon (with View)
2016: VMware Horizon
The current version is VMware Horizon View 8 2212, where 2212 refers to the date (YYMM) when the release became available.
With each major and minor version, VMware introduced more features, different logos, different licensing possibilities, and more interoperability with other products (e.g VMware Dynamic Environment Manager, VMware App Volumes, …)
Licensing
There are a lot of different licensing options available for VMware Horizon, which makes it sometimes very difficult to choose the correct licensing type an organization requires. On top of this, there are frequent updates to the type of licenses available and the features available within each license type.
To give you an idea of the complexity of the VMware Horizon licenses: I got my hands on the complete OCT 2022 VMware product pricelist. When I filter out only “VMware Horizon On Prem” licenses from the total amount of 17307 SKUs available in the pricelist, there are still 1247 different SKUs available.
So, it is crucial to understand the different options you have to make the correct choice. I have seen instances, where the VMware sales “over-sold” the customer and therefore are spending too much money on licenses they do not need or use.
I’ll try to explain in my own words what choices you should make to define the correct VMware Horizon On-Prem license for your organization.
Once you made this choice, you can contact your local VMware sales representative to exactly define the license type and amount you require.
Choice 1: Perpetual, Subscription, Term-based licenses
The first choice to make is for which period you want to buy the software for.
- Perpetual licenses are a one-time fee, with no recurring charges or additional fees. It allows the user the software until the end of times
- Annual subscriptions are one-year subscription periods and are renewable at the end of each year. It allows to use the software for one year
- Term-based subscriptions are a monthly fee, with no up-front cost or long-term commitments. It allows to use the software for the term-period
Choice 2: Concurrent Connection User (CCU) versus Named User (NU)
The second choice to make is for how many users you want to buy the software.
Here you need to make a distinction between Concurrent Connection Users (CCU) and Named User (NU).
- Concurrent Connection User (CCU) is defined as the number of powered-on VMs which have a connected virtual desktop or application session at the same time. In this model, licenses are owned by organizations, not individual users
- Named User (NU) is defined as the number of different users that can use the software
The price of a Named User (NU) license is +/- 60% of the price of a Concurrent Connection User (CCU) license. Therefore, the general rule of thumb to follow here is that if you have more than +/ 60% of all your users working at the same time, you are better off with using Named User (NU) licenses. If you have less than +/- 60% of all your users working at the same time, you are better off with Concurrent Connection User (CCU) licenses.
In my experience, the majority of organizations are best suited for CCU licenses.
Choice 3: Standard, Advanced and Enterprise editions
Each edition includes different components. The main type of licenses and their differences are the following.
- Horizon Apps Standard:
- Published Applications
- Session-based desktops
- VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Advanced
- Horizon Apps Advanced:
- Published Applications
- Session-based desktops
- VMware App Volumes
- VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Advanced
- Horizon Standard:
- Windows VDIs
- VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Standard
- Horizon Advanced:
- Published Applications
- Session-based desktops
- Windows VDIs
- VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Standard
- Horizon Enterprise:
- Published Applications
- Session-based desktops
- Windows VDIs
- Linux VDIs
- VMware App Volumes
- VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Advanced
There are more options/features available than the ones described above, but the above ones are the most common ones.
See also VMware Horizon Perpetual Feature Comparison
Choice 4: Support & Subscription
There are two support & Subscription options:
- Standard Support & Subscription
- Support: 10 hrs per day, 5 days per week support
- Subscription: allows you to update/upgrade to future versions of the product
- Production Support & Subscription
- Support: 24 hrs per day, 7 days per week support
- Subscription: allows you to update/upgrade to future versions of the product/li>
The price difference between Production Support & Subscription and Standard Support & Subscription is about 19%.
Main Server Components
A VMware Horizon On-Prem solution comprises of several server components. I will discuss in this series of blog posts the most common ones that you need to get started.
VMware Horizon Unified Access Gateway
The VMware Unified Access Gateway is used for providing remote users secure access to Horizon virtual desktops and applications. VMware Unified Access Gateway is a linux-based appliance, designed to be internet facing, located in a DMZ zone.
VMware Horizon Connection Server
The VMware Horizon Connection Server is the main component of the Horizon solution. The software acts as a broker for client connections. Horizon Connection Server authenticates users through Windows Active Directory and directs the request to the appropriate virtual machine, physical PC, or Microsoft RDS Host.
The VMware Horizon Connection Server also provides the management console of a VMware Horizon environment.
VMware Dynamic User Environment
The VMware Dynamic User Environment offers a robust solution for profile management through dynamic policy configuration. It combines the ease of managing application and personal settings with providing end users, a personalized desktop experience across any virtual, physical, and cloud-based Windows desktop environment.
VMware App Volumes
VMware App Volumes is a real-time application delivery system that enterprises can use to dynamically deliver and manage applications. Applications are packaged and delivered by attaching a standard VMDK or VHD file to a virtual machine. You can centrally manage the applications with App Volumes Manager, a web-based interface that is integrated with Microsoft Active Directory and VMware vSphere.
Administrators can assign, update, or remove applications to be delivered at the next user login without the need to modify the desktops or disrupt users while they are working.
Main Client Components
VMware Horizon View Agent
The VMware Horizon Agent is a software service that is installed on all guest virtual machines, physical systems, or terminal servers to allow them to be managed by VMware Horizon. The agent provides features such as connection monitoring, Virtual Printing, USB support, and single sign-on.
VMware Dynamic User Environment Agent
The VMware Dynamic User Environment Agent is a software service that is installed on virtual or physical machines, so the policies defined in the VMware Dynamic User Environment Console are deployed.
VMware App Volumes Agent
The VMware App Volume Agent is a software service that is installed on all Windows desktops, where users receive AppStack volumes and writable volume assignment. The App Volumes agent runs as a service and utilizes a filter driver to handle application calls and file system redirects to AppStack and writable volume VMDKs. Windows desktops do not have to be members of the domain on which the VMware App Volumes Manager server resides.
What’s next
In the following parts of this series of blog posts, I will go into more detail regarding the preparation of the environment and the pre-requisites, installation & configuration of the different components that make up a basic on-prem VMware Horizon solution.
Try out free VMware Backups here
Follow our Twitter and Facebook feeds for new releases, updates, insightful posts and more.
