Omnissa Horizon 2503: Master Virtual Desktop

219 thoughts on “Omnissa Horizon 2503: Master Virtual Desktop”

1. Greetings Carl,
   We have this issue When they open Microsoft Outlooks Application they start the redirection process, get booted over to the Proxy Server since its apart of a 365 instance and then type in their email. They get a Smartcard Prompt “This Card is ready for use.” but no prompt for selecting certificates, nor a pin prompt and are unable to authenticate through to validate their identity to the backend.

   When I looked under features installed in reg edit I found smartcard = local but smartcardsingleTS= absent, could that be the problem? How enable smartcartsingleTS?

   Can older version of the agent work to get this issue fixed. What would be the agent version?

   Thank you,

   Reply

   1. Hi Yossef,
      I have the same problem, everything smartcard authentication works except MS Teams and Office 365 activation. I can select a certificate, but it does not accept it and shows me the selection of reader devices again.
      No problem via Web Teams or Office 365 Web.
      What I can say, however, is that I don’t have the problem on my GOLD VDI image with agent version 8.8.
      Have you found out anything else?

      I have already tried this, without success:
      To revert to the legacy CryptoAPI standard, change the HKLM\Software\Omnissa\Horizon\Agent\Configuration\UseCryptoAPI registry key value to true.

      Greetings Patrick

      Reply

      1. Hi Patrick,
         it doesn’ t seem that there is a fix for this issue yet.

         Reply

      2. Hi Patrick,
         could you please explain what do you mean by “is that I don’t have the problem on my GOLD VDI image with agent version 8.8”?

         Reply

         1. I opened a ticket with Omnissa, they will release a new agent soon. To fix this issue.

            Reply

         2. Hello Yossef,

            I meant to say that the error does not occur when Horizon Agent 8.8 is installed on the golden image.
            I even downgraded my Windows 11 pool from Horizon Agent 8.12 to 8.8.
            The problem no longer occurs, but this is not a permanent solution.

            Reply

   2. I ran into this issue using 8.14 and Omnissa put out a 2412 version of the agent with the fix. I haven’t tested this agent yet. What I am currently using that works on my production pool is Server 2412 with Agent 2306.

      Name: Omnissa-Horizon-Agent-x86_64-2412-8.14.0-15477331442.exe
      Size: 245.2 MiB
      Expires: July 08, 2025
      Download: https://sftp.omnissa.com/download?domain=omnissa&id=25cb51fcb0e2432cb6c5d3f2eba9067a-f7fc43964f16407bbc8dc098019bfd68

      Reply

2. when i try to login office 365 on vm, windows security window doesn’t recognize my smart card, however when i login to 365 web version, the vm can recognize my smartcard and let me login.

   when i looked in the regkey features installed, i found smarcard =local, but smartcardsingleTS = absent. for me it looks like the agent can’t see the driver for the 90meter

   Reply

3. Are you back to LSI SAS for disk type and not parvirtual anymore?

   Reply

   1. I’m not convinced there’s much performance difference. Use whatever your corporate standard is.

      Reply

4. Good Morning Carl,

   Working through an issue with some peers on a VDI Installation they’ve done. The team recently performed an upgrade groing from Horizon 7 to Horizon 8, They’re using Microsoft 365 with Smartcard Authentication.

   Link below references a very similar issue that they are experiencing
   Reference link : https://www.reddit.com/r/VMwareHorizon/comments/1f8xnr9/help_horizon_8_upgrade_smartcard_pki/

   Smartcard Passthrough is working, Authentication through Horizon View is functioning and they make it through the UAGs no problem, once logged in FSLogic is functioning fine from what i can gather.

   When they open Microsoft Outlooks Application they start the redirection process, get booted over to the Proxy Server since its apart of a 365 instance and then type in their email. They get a Smartcard Prompt “This Card is ready for use.” but no prompt for selecting certificates, nor a pin prompt and are unable to authenticate through to validate their identity to the backend.

   ”
   Hey guys so here I am almost 3 months later and we figured it out. I don’t have the link BUT VMWARE put out a new keystone creation script in 2021. It does not show up on google and a coworker literally just dug it up in a KB but we essentially just redid everything and created the keystore with the new script and we’re in business. May the odds be ever in your favor o7.

   P.S.A. We’ve had a ticket up with OMNESSA this whole time. They still haven’t figured this out. 😅” This is what was posted on the Reddit page, Im not certain what the 2021 Keystone Creation Script is but definitely interested and was wondering if you might be able to provide some insight on the above issue, or on this script.

   The team did recreate the Keystore following this process “https://kb.omnissa.com/s/article/2013044?lang=en_US” but it was a no joy.

   Reply

   1. Did you ever figure out the solution to this issue? We’re having the same problem with the Microsoft 365 apps. Users can get in just fine, but once they try to smart card authenticate with the apps, they get the same symptoms described above.

      Reply

   2. We have the same issue with office 365. We can’t find a fix. I rebuilt the image 2 times without firewall or antivirus as a test, still won’t work. The solution you are referring is for login to the server. The issue is we login ok to the server and the vm but we can’t login to office because it doesn’t prompt for pin.

      Reply

5. Hi guys, someone can share a golden image ready to deploy? So we can save part of the config.

   Thanks

   Reply

6. Recent upgrade to 2312.1 (8.12.1) because ESB is good for a single admin show. Does anyone know where an admin could get the JSON file (Omnissa-Horizon-Agent-x86_64-yymm-y.y.y-xxxxxxxx-metadata.json) for Horizon Agent 2312.1 (8.12.1) to support Auto Upgrade Horizon Agent?
   Alternatively, does anyone have the URL appropriate for 2312.1/8.12.1 Agent? Only version 2312/8.12.0 is available here: https://softwareupdate.omnissa.com/horizoncloud-v2-agents/packages/Horizon-Enterprise-Agent/.

   Reply

7. Hi Carl,

   We are using digital signatures to sign documents in Horizon, smartcards are available with USB Readers. USB and Smartcard Redirection options are enabled in Horizon Agent and everything is working fine but noticeably slower than outside VDI (4-5 seconds per document versus 0,8-0,9 second).

   Is there anything we could check and configure to optimize the process of signing documents and possibly make it work faster? Any clues?

   Reply

8. Hi Carl.

   Do you recommend to apply Microsoft Security baseline GPO on instant clone vm’s OU ? Whats the best pratice ?

   Reply

9. Hello Carl,

   We have stumped against an issue with Win11 24H2 image where we have created it using the WinPE ISO with no vTPM as according to Omnissa document and it’s been working fine in our UAT environment. We cloned that working image to shared storage and registered new VM in production environment but then we couldn’t boot the image. It keeps going quickly through the Preparing to Repair and then cycles all the time. When migrated back to UAT environment it works fine. We have attempted to create new image in the production exactly the same and when booting with WinPE ISO and Win24H2 ISo it does exactly the same.

   Both prod and UAT vCenters are 8U3, the same Horizon version and VMtools. It almost seems like there is a difference in vCenters but can’t think of any. Have you ever stumbled against something like it?

   Reply

10. Hi. Do you know how I can install Quick Assist onto Windows 11 and get it to apply to all users desktops? With Windows 10, it was embedded into the OS under Accessories. We use FSLogix as our profile solution on non-persistent desktops. I can download it from the Store to the Gold Image and it shows on that as fine, but once I finalise and send out to the Pools, it doesn’t show on the users desktops. We have the Store disabled for users.

    Reply

    1. Google search shows several threads and websites with instructions to install it for all users.

       Reply

11. Is there a way to install a Microsoft Store app (Microsoft To Do, Windows Media Player) on the VM image machine so that it propagates to all the VM’s built from that image? Looks like the basic install goes to the AppData folder for the logged in user, thus it won’t get pushed out to the VM’s from the image. Thanks.

    Reply

    1. Best option is to rebuild Windows but don’t remove the apps.

       Another option is to Google search for legacy/classic versions of those apps that are not Store based.

       Otherwise use Add-AppxProvisionedPackage to install it to the machine and then create a logon script to run Add-AppxPackage during every user logon.

       Reply

    2. Hey Larry,

       We are preparing for a full cutover to Windows 11 in our VDI environment and for the past few years we had manually removed all UWP apps and replaced essential ones with the old Windows 10 style apps manually. That solution has aged really poorly. Coincidentally, I now managed our entire Intune environment and Company Portal rollout with Hybrid AzureAD + Co-management along with VDI.

       The best way forward to manage core default UWP apps in both environments is to leverage Winget. We use a remediation script in Intune to ensure every corporate device has Winget, required VClibs and Company Portal (Desktop App Installer). This is the way forward both physical and virtual for anything 22H2 and newer.

       Here is what I recommend:

       Step 1
       Use James Rankin’s approach to pull all UWP apps out of your image during initial cleanup or via OS Optimization Tool.

       Step 2
       Run a script to ensure the base image has Winget, VCLibs and Desktop App Installer. Here is one of ours:
       ————————————————————————————————————-
       # Function to install winget
       function Install-Winget {
       $wingetInstallerUrl = “https://aka.ms/getwinget”
       $wingetInstallerPath = “$env:TEMP\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle”

       # Download the winget installer
       Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $wingetInstallerUrl -OutFile $wingetInstallerPath

       # Install winget
       Add-AppxPackage -Path $wingetInstallerPath

       # Wait for winget to be installed
       Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
       }

       # Function to install VCLibs
       function Install-VCLibs {
       $vclibsUrl = “https://aka.ms/Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx”
       $vclibsPath = “$env:TEMP\Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx”

       # Download the VCLibs package
       Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $vclibsUrl -OutFile $vclibsPath

       # Install VCLibs
       Add-AppxPackage -Path $vclibsPath

       # Wait for VCLibs to be installed
       Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
       }

       # Check if winget is installed
       if (-not (Get-Command winget -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
       Install-Winget
       } else {
       Write-Output “Winget is already installed.”
       }

       # Check if required VCLibs are installed
       $vclibsInstalled = Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00.UWPDesktop -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

       if (-not $vclibsInstalled) {
       Install-VCLibs
       } else {
       Write-Output “VCLibs are already installed.”
       }

       # Verify VCLibs installation
       $wingetInstalled = (Get-Command winget -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Source
       $vclibsInstalled = Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00.UWPDesktop -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

       #—SETS THE 64BIT INSTALL PATH OF WINGET FOR SYSTEM CONTEXT—#
       $ResolveWingetPath = Resolve-Path “C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_*_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe”
       if ($ResolveWingetPath){
       $WingetPath = $ResolveWingetPath[-1].Path
       }

       #COMPANY PORTAL
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9WZDNCRFJ3PZ –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       # Verify installation
       if (Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.CompanyPortal) {
       Write-Output “Company Portal installed successfully.”
       } else {
       Write-Output “Company Portal installation failed.”
       exit 1
       }
       ———————————————————————————————————-

       Step 3
       Use a script to install the exact UWP apps you want system-wide on all of your golden images and/or physical images. There is a catch here, you need to use the correct script and parameters to force a path for system installs using Winget otherwise when running as admin and in system context it is not aware of Winget.

       To get fancy you can look into Winget Auto-Updater (WAU) and use a whitelist to update/manage only the applications you’ve listed below in your install script. There’s also UniGetUI (formerly WingetUI). Microsoft has built-in GPOs for the Desktop App Installer that let you specific where you can install apps from i.e. MSStore, Winget or even your own Winget repo (Wingetty). It is a bit of a rabbit hole but you should rip the bandaid off and either move to Winget or look at a paid service.

       Here is an example of our Winget UWP baseline app install script, these all install as the system and are available for all users. I would highly recommend you keep it simple in VDI and only use core Windows UWP apps or apps that will track user data via Microsoft Accounts (like Clock for focus mode sessions and To Do for task lists), managing UWP profiles is a disaster otherwise:

       ———————————————————————————————————————–
       #—INSTALLS, UPDATES OR REPAIRS NUGET AND WINGET—#
       Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -Force | Out-Null
       Install-Module -Name Microsoft.WinGet.Client -Force -Repository PSGallery | Out-Null
       Repair-WinGetPackageManager

       #—SETS THE 64BIT INSTALL PATH OF WINGET FOR SYSTEM CONTEXT—#
       $ResolveWingetPath = Resolve-Path “C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_*_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe”
       if ($ResolveWingetPath){
       $WingetPath = $ResolveWingetPath[-1].Path
       }

       #—APPLICATION INSTALL LIST—#
       #APP INSTALLER
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install Microsoft.AppInstaller –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #WINGET-AUTOUPDATE INSTALLER
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install Romanitho.Winget-AutoUpdate –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #COMPANY PORTAL
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9WZDNCRFJ3PZ –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #WINDOWS CALCULATOR
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9WZDNCRFHVN5 –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #WINDOWS NOTEPAD
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9MSMLRH6LZF3 –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #WINDOWS CLOCK
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9WZDNCRFJ3PR –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9WZDNCRFJ3PT –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #PAINT
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9PCFS5B6T72H –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #MICROSOFT PHOTOS
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9WZDNCRFJBH4 –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #QUICK ASSIST
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9P7BP5VNWKX5 –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #SNIPPING TOOL
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9MZ95KL8MR0L –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”

       #MICROSOFT TO DO: LISTS, TASKS & REMINDERS
       $config
       cd $wingetpath
       cmd.exe /c “winget.exe install 9NBLGGH5R558 –scope machine –accept-package-agreements –accept-source-agreements –silent –force”
       ———————————————————————————————————————

       Reply

12. Hello Carl,

    Thank you for your Horizon efforts and work. Can you assist in clarifying a few steps pertaining to persistent GI preparation? Do you perform Sysprep Generalize OOBE for your persistent GI images using OSOT? I generally use customization file for persistent GI(SID, Join Domain, etc…). My GI is always in a non-joined state. Primary reason for asking, Win 11 24H2 is being problematic when adding vTPM and using VMware customization process. Upon customization attempt, device boots to “Recovery” – winload.efi. (Also, I get 24H2 if new off the press….)

    Reply

    1. I let vCenter run sysprep (customization) for me. Or Horizon Console dedicated pools can run sysprep (customization) for me.

       There are different opinions on whether the template machine should be domain-joined or not. For Instant Clones, I always join so that GPOs are applied before the Instant Clones boot. However, with full clones, they have plenty of time to receive and persist the GPO settings.

       Reply

       1. Have you had/seen any issues with the combination of sysprep(customization) and adding vTPM when cloning from Win11 24H2 GI template? Looking at the Setuperr.log(Sysprep log file) we see following output…Customization attempt device boots into recovery mode. Any thoughts appreciated!

          2024-11-13 08:16:51, Error pGetUninstallInterfaceCommon: Failed loading the setupplatform, hr = 0x80070490[gle=0x00000003]
          2024-11-13 08:18:04, Error SYSPRP BCD: BiUpdateEfiEntry failed c000000d
          2024-11-13 08:18:04, Error SYSPRP BCD: BiExportBcdObjects failed c000000d
          2024-11-13 08:18:04, Error SYSPRP BCD: BiExportStoreAlterationsToEfi failed c000000d
          2024-11-13 08:18:04, Error SYSPRP BCD: Failed to export alterations to firmware. Status: c000000d

          Reply

          1. I’m getting this same error 🙁
             I only have one pool using persistent clones (this SYSPREP is my only option from the golden template) and figured out how to fix it on the clone itself.. at the winload.efi error power it off, mount the Windows 11 24H2 iso to a virtual DVD drive (add one if needed) and set EFI boot to go to the boot menu, boot to the disc pressing any key and go through the prompts to get to the advanced mode where you can go down to a command prompt.
             There you follow these steps, essentially: https://www.niallbrady.com/2021/09/26/fixing-total-identified-windows-installations-0/
             Bootrec /fixmbr
             Bootrec /fixboot (Note: If this fails with access denied try BOOTSECT /NT60 SYS and then issue the command again)
             Then diskpart to give the system volume a drive letter (select volume and then use the assign command), exit that, change disks to that drive and goto EFI\Microsoft\Boot and delete or rename the BCD file there.
             Then you can issue this command to rebuild it:
             Bootrec /rebuildbcd
             –entering a for all detected OSs (should only be the one in most cases)
             Once that’s successful use diskpart to select that volume and issue the remove command to unassign the drive letter and exit. Finally reboot with: wpeutil reboot
             For me Horizon would finally see the clone go from Customizing status to Available after the next couple of automated reboots.

             Interesting that this is a virtual TPM issue…
             I’m unsure how Omnissa (or Broadcom) could fix this if it’s more of a Windows thing. The answer files are coming right from vCenter but it’s Horizon Admin that tries to add the vTPM.

             Reply

             1. This continues to be a problem in 2503, by the way. Just finished upgrading my last golden’s agent to it and it was this one template used for full persistent clones. Tested it by deleting a spare and during the recreation I still had to baby sit the clone and fix this boot issue (tho once done it worked fine). I’ve opened a case. My prior one was never resolved and they just said go speak with Broadcom or Microsoft tho none of them will help given it’s HORIZON that injects the vTPM onto the image and M$ won’t support a use case where Windows 11 was hacked to be installed without TPM lol. Fingers crossed they’ll help now that everything is fully branded Omnissa and it’s still an issue.

             2. Also got winload.efi error after updating Window 11 to 26100.4351 version. This update doing something with TMP and I have to install it with some tricks.
                For me solution was to disable Secure Boot on template. VM Options → Boot Option → Secure Boot.

13. hi,
    for many years we’ve used DEM with AppV integration.
    In the new versions of the soft there’s still no mention about MSIX / MSIX AppAttach.
    Does anyone know if this will be implemented?

    rgds

    Reply

    1. Apps Volumes supports it – https://techzone.omnissa.com/resource/application-packaging-and-delivery-msix-application#additional-resources

       Reply

    2. Hey Igor,

       I’d recommend you ditch the MSIX model. It’s from the older implementation of the Store for Business and for a user-based approach to app installs.
       Microsoft is finally moving towards new store system installs and Win32 apps.

       We erroneously converted all of our corporate apps from VDI and Software Center to MSIX last year and it really came back to bite us.

       In a corporate environment, especially VDI, you should use all MSI (not MSIX) installers where possible and use Win32 apps as System Installs and targeting Devices in Intune/Company Portal.

       User-based MSIX installs are a potential management nightmare waiting to happen. You cannot easily target them when they are in the user-context for remediations, it also means each user on a shared device (in our sector, government, essentially every machine is shared) has to reinstall the same app. It also means that dated versions of apps won’t update until the user profile is either removed or the user logs in again. This is less of an issue for VDI but for Co-management/Intune it is a mess.

       I’d highly recommend you look into the Intune Training reboot series with this video in particular for why you should build and deploy apps using the recommendations above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkTF-5co2Qs

       Unfortunately, these days we are more and more at the whims of Microsoft. To make matters worse, their documentation and best practices seem to be 5 years behind the actual state of things. If the resource has been published more than a year ago, don’t trust it!

       Reply

14. Hello, I am trying to understand how FSLogix masking works and how I know what applications are being masked from a horizon instant clone desktop. Is there a way to find where all masked applications are listed?

    Do the FSLogix Rules indicate which applications are masked?

    And just to confirm FSLogix masking prevents applications from appearing the Horizon desktop. Is that correct?

    Reply

    1. Yes. The rules are deployed to C:\Program Files\FSLogix\Apps\Rules. I’m not sure if you can open them using the Rules Editor.

       Reply

15. Hi Carl,
    Would you be willing to do a segment on Vmware appvol replication between 2 stand alone instances of Horizon with Vsan storage. Most documentation is always referring to using a non attachable NFS share for the replication on Multi site setup. There really isn’t any excellent documentation out there.

    Thanks

    Reply

16. Hello Carl,

    Can you please update the download link for the VMware OS Optimization Tool? Your current link is not valid any more.
    Thanks and thank you for your great articles!

    Regards,
    Hong

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the suggestion. The download links should be updated now.

       Reply

17. I’m having an issue where certain user-based domain-level group policies, such as drive mappings, are more often than not failing to apply on my instant clones. We’ve been banging our head against the walls and can’t figure it out. The error in the logs is “A logon request contained an invalid logon type value.”, and it mentions the domain controller. Almost like the DC (we have many) doesn’t like something about the user logon and won’t let it process GPOs that involve that (intermittently). Does anyone have any clue what might be going on here?

    Reply

18. Just a quick question. We are running Windows 10 desktops. In device manager under display adapters it shows Nvidia GRID T4-1B, the VMware Horizon Indirect Display driver and the Microsoft Basic Display adapter. My question is should the Microsoft Basic Display driver be there or just the Nvidia and the VMware Horizon indirect…

    Reply

19. Any thoughts on Teams 2.0 and Outlook addin?

    We install it (after generalize, or it won’t work at all) with the teamsbootstrapper.exe -p command.

    Users have access to the New Teams, but the Outlook (old Outlook, not the new one) addin is not working.

    We tried the tricks from MS https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/new-teams-vdi-requirements-deploy#teams-meeting-add-in but without success..

    Anyone with a solution? We are running FSLogix Hotfix 4.

    Reply

    1. We are in the same situation, no response from MS…
       We are ending up, as temporary solution, to manual copy the plugin files in the user profile folder, using a login script.

       Reply

       1. if you do the step to remove all store apps, it removes MS teams. You need to allow the MS store and all its app during the osot tool for it to work. Im still running into issue with perfomance on win11

          Reply

    2. https://detechnischejongens.nl/2024/02/08/dont-delay-upgrade-classic-teams-to-new-teams-in-your-vdi-multisession-environment-before-june-30th/

       Reply

20. Wow this guide is better then what VMWare provides.

    I do have one issue though and I believe optimization tools have caused it.

    About 50% of the time or less a random user after login will not have internet access with Microsoft Office apps. Outlook will not work. Edge will work but can’t sign in. Error 404. Any idea on this? Its driving me nuts.
    Really wish there was a perfect template for optimization.

    Reply

21. Hi, do you still need to uninstall the agent if you upgrade tools ? Vmware said you no longer need to do this. is that not the case anymore ?

    Reply

    1. See https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2078739

       Reply

       1. Yup, that’s the article I read as well, I am correct: Starting with Horizon 2111, the VMware Indirect Display Driver (IDD) is the default graphics display driver and the VMware SVGA driver is not bundled as part of the Horizon Agent installer. This provides less dependency between specific VMware Horizon and VMware Tools versions going forward

          Reply

22. Hello Carl,

    Do you know the problem with Win11 and the lag in the taskbar?
    After optimizing and rolling out the image with VMware.
    Did you know of a workaround or solution?

    Thank you

    Reply

23. Hi Carl,

    Great article! I’ve read a lot of your articles for VMware Horizon, trying to get the idea of it, as I’m new to this!
    I have an important question for me, about horizon vdis activation.
    We have KMS key, I’ve setup KMS server role, but still not sure how to use it.
    How should I point Horizon VDIs to get activate through KMS server?
    And since I read about Active Directory activation, how can this be done?
    Any help appreciate!

    Thank you

    Reply

    1. For AD-based activation, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/volume-activation/activate-using-active-directory-based-activation-client

       For KMS Server, Windows machines will use DNS to find the KMS Server and automatically activate. But there are minimum thresholds that must be crossed first. AD-based activation doesn’t have these threasholds.

       Reply

24. Hi Carl,
    when I use an instant clone dedicated desktop, when restoring the guest operating system, the client keeps customizing the operating system, and finally reports a custom timeout. During the removal operation, the client can complete the provisioning normally. I have skipped the windows permission check, can you help me?

    Reply

25. Hi Carl,

    I want to ask you about MAK activation for Horizon 2312.
    Every time we will recompose, MAK count will add +1? How it will work?
    And KMS counter will not do the same?
    Do you have any activation guidelines link I can read?

    Thank you

    Reply

    1. Here is Horizon’s MAK documentation – https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Horizon/2312/virtual-desktops/GUID-488FF47B-96F4-4F28-836C-6041D8B3745C.html#activating-windows-with-multiple-activation-key-mak-1

       I prefer Active Directory-based activation – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/volume-activation/activate-using-active-directory-based-activation-client

       Reply

       1. Thank you!
          Can AD activation to be only for horizon vdis? We also have users not working on horizon, i dont want to mess up everything

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          1. It applies to all domain-joined machines.

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