2V0-51.23 VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Questions and Answers

In VMware Horizon, predefined roles such as Inventory Administrators and Desktop Pool Administrators are designed to provide granular access control within the Horizon Console. Inventory Administrators typically have permissions related to managing the overall inventory of virtual desktops and applications, whereas Desktop Pool Administrators are specifically focused on managing and configuring desktop pools, including their settings, assignments, and provisioning.

When configuring a virtual machine to use an NVIDIA graphics card, issues such as the VM not starting can occur if there is no suitable host available that meets the requirements for 3D graphics, or if not all memory required by the 3D graphics card has been reserved for the VM. Ensuring that the host has the necessary 3D graphics capabilities and that the VM is configured with reserved memory can resolve these issues.

Thin Clients and Zero Clients have the lowest cost of ownership and are easier to manage due to their minimalistic design, which lacks a full operating system, resulting in fewer components that require updates. These clients are designed for remote desktop services like VMware Horizon, where the computing work is done on the server side, making firmware updates and monitoring simpler and more centralized.

Writable Volumes are user-specific virtual disks that store user-installed applications, data, and settings. App Volumes is a real-time application delivery system that uses Writable Volumes to deliver applications that are not multi-user aware. However, sometimes it might be necessary to prevent App Volumes from persisting specific data between sessions, such as temporary files, application updates, or registry keys. To do this, administrators can specify exclusions for Writable Volumes in a policy file called snapvol.cfg.

The snapvol.cfg file is a text file that contains policy settings for App Volumes. These settings determine which files and registry keys are captured or excluded by App Volumes. The snapvol.cfg file can be customized by administrators to suit different needs and scenarios. The snapvol.cfg file can be applied to both application packages and Writable Volumes.

To specify exclusions for Writable Volumes, administrators can use the following keywords in the snapvol.cfg file:

• exclude_uwv_file: This keyword excludes a file or folder path from being persisted on a Writable Volume. For example, exclude_uwv_file=\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++ excludes the folder location of Notepad++ from being overwritten during an update.
• exclude_uwv_reg: This keyword excludes a registry key or value from being persisted on a Writable Volume. For example, exclude_uwv_reg=\REGISTRY\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Notepad++ excludes the registry location of Notepad++ from being overwritten during an update.

The snapvol.cfg file must be uploaded to the Writable Volume by using the Update Writable Volumes feature in App Volumes Manager. The exclusions will take effect after the user logs off and logs back in to the desktop.

The other options are not valid files for specifying exclusions for Writable Volumes:

• config.ini: This file is used to configure the App Volumes agent settings, such as the App Volumes Manager address, the logging level, and the SSL certificate validation.
• svservice.log: This file is used to record the App Volumes agent log messages, such as the agent status, the package attachment, and the error messages.
• json.cfg: This file does not exist in App Volumes.

References: Writable Volume Exclusions, Policy Files (snapvol.cfg) in App Volumes, and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

Integrating a Linux OS-based desktop into Active Directory can be achieved using Winbind for domain joining and authentication, Windows Domain Join through tools like Samba, and System Security Services Daemon (SSSD) for LDAP authentication against Active Directory. These methods enable Linux desktops to participate in a Windows-centric environment, allowing for centralized authentication and management.

RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) supports two-factor authentication and can be integrated with VMware Horizon to secure administrative access to the Horizon Console. RADIUS servers authenticate users based on a combination of something they know (a password) and something they have (a token or mobile app-generated code), providing an added layer of security for administrative logins.

To deploy a RDS desktop pool with the new standard of Windows Server 2019, the steps should be ordered as follows:

• Prepare the Windows Server 2019 golden image. This is the first step because you'll need a prepared OS image to base your RDS desktop pool on.
• Add an Automated Farm. Once your golden image is ready, you can set up an automated farm for the RDS desktop pool.
• Add a RDS desktop pool. Using the automated farm and the prepared golden image, you can now add the RDS desktop pool.
• Entitle AD users and/or groups. With the RDS desktop pool in place, the next step is to give Active Directory (AD) users and groups the necessary entitlements to access the desktops.
• Launch Horizon Client and verify access to RDS desktop. As the final verification step, launch the Horizon Client to ensure that you can access the newly created RDS desktop pool and that everything is functioning as expected.

So, the sequential order is: Prepare the Windows Server 2019 golden image -> Add an Automated Farm -> Add a RDS desktop pool -> Entitle AD users and/or groups -> Launch Horizon Client and verify access to RDS desktop.

In VMware Horizon, the Pre-Launch feature allows for the initiation of applications immediately after user authentication, reducing the launch time of frequently used applications. By editing the application pool settings and enabling the Pre-Launch option, administrators can improve user experience by having critical applications ready as soon as the authentication process is completed.

VMware vCenter Server is the central management component for ESXi servers, allowing administrators to manage multiple ESXi hosts and virtual machines (VMs) from a single console. It provides essential management capabilities, including resource allocation, performance monitoring, and centralized access control, making it the cornerstone for managing a VMware virtualized infrastructure.

C:\Users\Waqas Shahid\Desktop\Mudassir\Untitled.jpg

To enable a virtual machine to power on with a PCI graphics accelerator, such as a GPU, attached to it, the administrator needs to reserve all guest memory for that virtual machine. This is because PCI devices require direct memory access (DMA) to function properly, and memory overcommitment can interfere with DMA operations. Reserving all guest memory ensures that no memory swapping or ballooning occurs on the virtual machine, and that the memory address space is contiguous and available for DMA56.

The other options are not required or valid because:

• Enabling Video Card 3D Graphics is not necessary for using a PCI graphics accelerator. This option is for using software-accelerated graphics or virtual shared graphics acceleration (vSGA) on a virtual machine7.
• Setting Memory Shares to High does not guarantee that all guest memory will be reserved. Memory shares only affect how memory resources are distributed among competing virtual machines when there is memory contention on the host. Memory shares do not prevent memory overcommitment or swapping.
• Disabling CPU Hot Plug does not affect the use of a PCI graphics accelerator. CPU Hot Plug allows adding or removing virtual CPUs from a powered-on virtual machine. It has no relation to PCI devices or DMA operations.

References := 5: VMware vSphere 7 Documentation: Add a PCI Device to a Virtual Machine 6: VMware Knowledge Base: Enabling DirectPath I/O causes virtual machines to fail to power on (1010789) 7: VMware Workstation Pro Documentation: Prepare a Virtual Machine to Use Accelerated 3D Graphics : VMware vSphere Resource Management Documentation: Memory Resource Management : VMware vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Documentation: Hot Add Memory and CPU Resources

The issue described indicates that the Horizon Connection Server is incorrectly handling traffic that should be directed to the Unified Access Gateway (UAG) and then to the VDI desktops. Disabling the Tunnel and Gateways settings on the Horizon Connection Server forces the UAG to handle the Blast traffic directly, ensuring that the connections are made to the VDI desktops' IP addresses, thus resolving the black screen and disconnection issue.

C:\Users\Waqas Shahid\Desktop\Mudassir\Untitled.jpg

• SAML -> Connects the client to Workspace ONE Access
• Certificate Authority -> Issues certificates for vrm and Enrollment Server
• Connection Server -> Connects vrm to Active Directory
• Enrollment Server -> Connects Workspace ONE Access to vrm

You can find more information about the Simple True 5SO Architecture in the VMware Horizon 8.x Professional source documents or study guide1. This architecture is a simplified version of the True SSO Architecture, which allows users to log in to their virtual desktops and applications without entering credentials multiple times. The Simple True 5SO Architecture uses Workspace ONE Access as the identity provider, which authenticates users with SAML and issues SAML assertions. The Enrollment Server then uses the SAML assertions to request short-lived certificates from the Certificate Authority, which are used to authenticate users to the Connection Server. The Connection Server then connects users to their virtual desktops and applications through vrm, which is integrated with Active Directory2.

References:

• VMware Horizon 8.x Professional
• Simple True SSO Architecture

The following is the correct answer for the drag and drop question:

• Administrator -> Performs all desktop, session, and pool-related operation.
• Inventory Administrator -> Performs all administrative functions and applies to an Access Group.
• Local Administrator -> No rights to manage Cloud Pod or the Global Data Layer.

Predefined Administrator Roles (vmware.com)

The predefined administrator roles in Horizon console are designed to provide different levels of access and control over the Horizon environment. Each role has a set of privileges that grant the ability to perform specific actions or view certain information. You can assign these roles to users or groups on the root access group, which gives them access to all inventory objects in the system, or on a specific access group or federation access group, which limits their scope to the objects within that group. You cannot modify the predefined roles, but you can create custom roles by selecting individual privileges.

The Administrator role is the most powerful role in Horizon console. It allows the user to perform all administrative operations, including creating and managing desktop pools, sessions, farms, applications, global settings, and other administrators. In a Cloud Pod Architecture environment, this role also enables the user to configure and manage a pod federation and manage remote pod sessions. The Administrator role on the root access group is equivalent to a super user role, as it gives full access to everything in the system. Therefore, you should assign this role to a limited number of users.

The Inventory Administrator role is similar to the Administrator role, but it applies only to an access group. This means that the user can perform all administrative functions on the inventory objects that belong to that access group, such as desktop pools, farms, applications, and sessions. However, the user cannot manage global settings or other administrators. This role is useful for delegating administration of specific resources to different users or groups.

The Local Administrator role is a restricted version of the Inventory Administrator role. It applies only to an access group and does not grant any rights to manage Cloud Pod Architecture features or the Global Data Layer. This means that the user can only manage local inventory objects within that access group, such as desktop pools, farms, applications, and sessions. This role is suitable for administrators who do not need to access or modify global settings or cross-pod resources.

The Help Desk Administrator role is a specialized role that allows the user to perform desktop and application actions for troubleshooting and support purposes. These actions include shutting down, resetting, restarting, logging off, disconnecting, and sending messages to users’ desktops or applications. The user can also perform remote assistance actions such as ending processes or viewing system information for a user’s desktop or application. The user cannot create or modify any inventory objects or settings with this role.

References :=

Some possible references are:

• Predefined Administrator Roles
• Assigning Administrator Roles
• Understanding Roles and Privileges

If the Horizon Console does not display the health status of configured Unified Access Gateways (UAGs), it could be due to improper firewall configuration blocking traffic on port 443, which is essential for secure communication. Additionally, a discrepancy between the system name in UAG and the name entered in the Horizon Console can also prevent the console from correctly retrieving and displaying the UAG's health status.

Collaboration is a feature that allows users to invite other users to join an existing Windows or Linux remote desktop session with both screen sharing and audio out features enabled. A remote desktop session that is shared in this way is called a collaborative session. The user that shares a session with another user is called the session owner, and the user that joins a shared session is called a session collaborator. A Horizon administrator must enable the Session Collaboration feature for the desktop pool or farm that contains the remote desktops that support collaboration.

One of the requirements to enable Session Collaboration is to use the VMware Blast display protocol for the remote desktops. VMware Blast is a protocol that provides high-performance, high-quality graphics and multimedia delivery over LAN or WAN networks. VMware Blast supports Session Collaboration by allowing multiple users to view and interact with the same remote desktop session simultaneously. Other display protocols, such as PCoIP or RDP, do not support Session Collaboration and will not allow users to share or join collaborative sessions.

Therefore, to enable Session Collaboration in the VMware Horizon environment, the administrator needs to use the BLAST protocol as a requirement. References: Configuring Session Collaboration, Sharing Remote Desktop Sessions, and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

To join two standalone Horizon pods in a Cloud Pod Architecture (CPA) deployment, the administrator needs to perform the following steps:

• On one pod, initialize the CPA. This step creates a pod federation and enables global data replication among all pods in the federation. The pod that initializes the CPA becomes the first pod in the federation67.
• On the second pod, join the CPA. This step adds an existing standalone pod to an existing pod federation. The pod that joins the CPA inherits the global data from the federation89.
• On one pod, create Global Entitlements, and add local pools from each pod. This step allows users to access desktops or applications from any pod in the federation based on their entitlements and load-balancing policies .

The other options are not correct or complete because:

• Initializing the CPA on both pods is not necessary or possible. Only one pod can initialize the CPA and create a pod federation. The other pods must join an existing pod federation68.
• Syncing the CPA on the second pod is not a valid step. Syncing is a process that occurs automatically among all pods in a pod federation to ensure data consistency and availability.
• Creating Cloud Entitlements is not a valid term. The correct term is Global Entitlements, which are used in CPA to entitle users to desktops or applications across multiple pods.

References := 6: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Initialize Cloud Pod Architecture 7: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Understanding Cloud Pod Architecture in Horizon 8 8: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Join a Pod to an Existing Pod Federation 9: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Understanding Cloud Pod Architecture in Horizon 8 : VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Create a Global Entitlement : VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Understanding Global Entitlements in Cloud Pod Architecture : VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Understanding Cloud Pod Architecture in Horizon 8

The minimal level of Horizon Console access that the IT support center would need to help with Horizon desktop user issues is the Help Desk Administrators role. This role allows the IT support center to view and troubleshoot user sessions, reset user passwords, send messages to users, and perform other help desk tasks. The Help Desk Administrators role can be assigned to users or groups on any access group that contains the desktop pools or farms that the IT support center needs to support.

The other options are not the minimal level of Horizon Console access for this scenario:

• Local Administrators: This role allows full administration rights on a specific access group and its sub-access groups. This role can perform all the tasks of the Help Desk Administrators role, as well as create, edit, and delete desktop pools, farms, applications, entitlements, and other objects. This role is more than what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.
• Global Help Desk Administrators: This role allows full administration rights on all access groups in the Horizon environment. This role can perform all the tasks of the Local Administrators role, as well as create, edit, and delete access groups and global entitlements. This role is more than what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.
• Inventory Administrators: This role allows limited administration rights on a specific access group and its sub-access groups. This role can view and manage desktop pools, farms, applications, entitlements, and other objects, but cannot create or delete them. This role can also perform some help desk tasks, such as viewing user sessions and sending messages to users, but cannot reset user passwords or troubleshoot sessions. This role is not sufficient for what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.
• Administrators: This role allows full administration rights on all access groups in the Horizon environment, as well as global settings, licensing, roles and permissions, events configuration, and other system-wide settings. This role can perform all the tasks of the other roles, as well as configure and manage the Horizon infrastructure. This role is more than what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.

References: Understanding Permissions and Access Groups and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

The two options that are available for the administrator to make the shortcut available to all desktop pool users, while minimizing ongoing administrative effort, before updating the desktop pool golden image are:

• Copy the shortcut to c:\users\Public\Desktop. This option will place the shortcut in the public desktop folder, which is shared by all users who log on to the same computer. The public desktop folder is normally a hidden folder, so the administrator needs to enable the option to show hidden files and folders in File Explorer1. This option does not require any additional software or configuration, but it will only work for the existing desktops in the pool. If new desktops are added or refreshed, the shortcut will not be copied automatically.
• Configure a Shortcut with DEM (Dynamic Environment Manager). This option will use the DEM console to create a shortcut configuration that will apply the shortcut to the user’s desktop during logon2. The administrator needs to install and configure DEM on the Horizon environment, and create a configuration share and a profile archive share for storing the DEM settings3. This option requires more initial setup, but it will work for any desktop in the pool, regardless of whether it is new or refreshed. It also allows more flexibility and control over the shortcut properties and conditions.

The other options are not valid or feasible because:

• Copying the shortcut during user provisioning to a non-writeable App Volume will not work because App Volumes are used to deliver applications, not shortcuts. App Volumes are virtual disks that are attached to the virtual machines at runtime, and they contain application files, registry entries, and settings4. Copying a shortcut to an App Volume will not make it appear on the user’s desktop.
• Copying the shortcut to the Windows Default Domain Controller Policy will not work because this policy is used to configure settings for domain controllers, not desktops. The Default Domain Controller Policy is a Group Policy Object (GPO) that is linked to the Domain Controllers organizational unit (OU) in Active Directory, and it contains security settings that are applied to all domain controllers in the domain5. Copying a shortcut to this policy will not affect any desktops in the Horizon environment.
• Configuring a Shortcut with Horizon View Client will not work because Horizon View Client is used to connect to remote desktops and applications, not to create shortcuts. Horizon View Client is a software application that runs on various devices and platforms, and it allows users to access their virtual desktops and applications through a secure connection6. Configuring a shortcut with Horizon View Client will not make it appear on the user’s desktop.

References:

• How to make a desktop shortcut available for all users in Windows 101
• VMware Dynamic Environment Manager (DEM) 2306 – Carl Stalhood2
• VMware Tech Zone Antivirus Considerations in a VMware Horizon Environment: exclusions for Horizon View, App Volumes, User Environment Manager, ThinApp3
• App Volumes Overview
• Default Domain Controller Policy5
• VMware Horizon Clients Documentation6

Single sign-on (SSO) is a feature that allows users to log in to Horizon Client once and launch remote desktops and applications without being prompted for credentials again. SSO is enabled by default and can be configured in the Global Settings of Horizon Administrator. One of the settings is SSO Timeout, which determines how long the user’s credentials are cached before they expire. If the SSO Timeout is too short, users might be frequently asked for credentials when opening additional apps. To resolve this issue, the administrator can increase the SSO Timeout value or set it to -1, which means that no SSO timeout limit is set. References: Global Settings for Client Sessions in Horizon Console and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Horizon-7/7.13/horizon-console-administration/GUID-E2A7CA32-193D-43D9-B08E-DD20CAE9CA28.html

VMware Horizon Agent for Linux is a software component that enables Linux machines to be used as remote desktops or published applications in a Horizon environment. Horizon Agent for Linux supports several features that enhance the user experience and manageability of Linux desktops and applications, such as USB redirection, display protocol PCoIP, multiple-session mode, single sign-on, smart card authentication, and 3D graphics34. However, Horizon Agent for Linux does not support location based printing or session collaboration features that are available for Windows machines5. Also, Horizon Agent for Linux does not require installation registration as it automatically registers with the Connection Server when the viewagent service is started6. References := 3: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Horizon Agent for Linux 4: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Features Supported by Horizon Agent for Linux 5: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Features Not Supported by Horizon Agent for Linux 6: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Install Horizon Agent on a Linux Machine

Application Profiler is a tool that analyzes the registry and file system locations where the settings for a particular application are stored, and creates a Flex configuration file for use with Dynamic Environment Manager. Application Profiler is installed using VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Enterprise Setup Wizard and explicitly selecting local drive installation1. This option allows you to install Application Profiler on a separate machine from the Dynamic Environment Manager Agent or Management Console. Alternatively, you can install Application Profiler on the same machine as the Dynamic Environment Manager Agent or Management Console, by selecting network share installation1.

VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Agent and the Application Profiler can be installed on the same machine, but it is not recommended. This is because the Dynamic Environment Manager Agent might interfere with the profiling process by applying settings to the application being profiled1. Therefore, it is best to use a clean system for profiling applications.

Application Profiler is not installed automatically when installing VMware Dynamic Environment Manager FlexEngine or Management Console. FlexEngine is the component that applies the user environment settings during logon, logoff, and session reconnect or disconnect events2. Management Console is the component that allows you to configure and manage the user environment settings2. Neither of these components requires Application Profiler to function. Application Profiler is an optional tool that helps you create Flex configuration files for applications that are not included in the predefined settings library1. References:

• VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Overview2
• Using Application Profiler1

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VMware Horizon is designed to deliver a virtual desktop and application infrastructure, providing IT with a modern, streamlined approach to deliver, protect, and manage Windows and Linux virtual desktops and applications while containing costs and ensuring that end users can work anytime, anywhere, on any device. Horizon 8 supports flexible hybrid and multi-cloud deployment options and offers an optimized experience with unified communication and collaboration tools. The VMware Blast Extreme Protocol, included with Horizon 8, is a dynamic display protocol that delivers an immersive, feature-rich user experience across devices, locations, media, and network connections​​.

VMware Workspace ONE UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) is crucial for ensuring that end-user devices comply with an organization's IT policies. It manages and secures endpoints like smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, streamlining operational tasks for IT while ensuring corporate data security.

VMware Workspace ONE Access facilitates secure and simplified access to enterprise applications, providing single sign-on capabilities and conditional access based on user authentication. This ensures that users can access the resources they need efficiently while maintaining the security of the organization's data and applications.

References:

• For more information on VMware Horizon 8 and its capabilities, you can refer to VMware's official documentation and resources available at techzone.vmware.com, which provides a comprehensive overview of Horizon 8, including its architecture, components, and deployment scenarios​​​​​​.
• Detailed insights into VMware Workspace ONE UEM and Workspace ONE Access can be found within VMware's product documentation and techzone resources, which offer guidance on implementing and managing these solutions as part of the Anywhere Workspace ecosystem​​.