Non-Persistent Horizon View Desktops With Liquidware Labs Profile Unity Part 1: Requirements and Design
I have had the opportunity to work with testing VMware Horizon View and Liquidware Labs Profile Unity product to help achieve non-persistent virtual desktops that give the end user a persistent feel. I am going to start a blog series about my experience and opinions of working with the two technologies working together. This blog will assume that a Horizon View environment is setup and will not cover any configuration of building the Horizon View environment unless it is related to Profile Unity configuration.
What is Liquidware Labs Profile Unity with FlexApp:
Profile Unity with FlexApp is a User Environment Management and Application Layering software for both virtual and Physical desktops. Profile Unity will work with Citrix XenDesktop, Xenapp, VMware Horizon View, and Physical Desktops. Profile Unity provides context aware settings for user and policy management. Profile Unity FlexApp layering technology provides both user installed applications (UIA) and corporate or department installed applications (DIA).
Profile Unity and FlexApp Software Requirements:
The below requirements are pulled from the Liquidware Labs Installation & Configuration Guide that can be located here.
Management Console Requirements:
Flex App Packaging Console Requirements:
The FlexApp Packaging Console has an additional bit-level requirement. The bit-level of the operating system on which you package applications with the FlexApp Packaging Console needs to match the operating system of the desktop to which you deploy applications. If you are packaging applications to be used in a 32-bit environment, you must use the Packaging Console on a 32-bit OS. If you are packaging applications to be used in a 64-bit environment, you must use the Packaging Console on a 64-bit OS.
Client Requirements:
The ProfileUnity Client is dependent on a Microsoft domain infrastructure. Machines running the
ProfileUnity Client must be members of the domain. Any client machines making use of ProfileUnity’s FlexApp features must have Windows 7 or higher installed. The clients can be deployed as physical desktops or as either persistent or non-persistent virtual desktops.
Flex Disk Requirements:
FlexDisk is a VMDK distribution technology that can be used with ProfileUnity’s FlexApp and ProfileDisk features as an alternative to using VHDs with these features. Generally, VHDs have less overhead and will work great for many organizations while VMDKs may be faster and more stable than VHDs in certain environments. The ProfileUnity FlexDisk technology requires the following for installation:
Testing Design:
Below is a list of the hardware and software configuration i will be using to complete this guide.
VMware Horizon Environment Version 7.0.2
What is Liquidware Labs Profile Unity with FlexApp:
Profile Unity with FlexApp is a User Environment Management and Application Layering software for both virtual and Physical desktops. Profile Unity will work with Citrix XenDesktop, Xenapp, VMware Horizon View, and Physical Desktops. Profile Unity provides context aware settings for user and policy management. Profile Unity FlexApp layering technology provides both user installed applications (UIA) and corporate or department installed applications (DIA).
Profile Unity and FlexApp Software Requirements:
The below requirements are pulled from the Liquidware Labs Installation & Configuration Guide that can be located here.
Management Console Requirements:
Component and port number
|
Description
|
Supported OS
|
Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2 / 2012 / 2012 R2 / 2016 64-bit
Note: Limited support for installing on Windows 7/8.1/10 is available. However, clustering and AD automation are not available on these platforms.
|
Additional Software
|
- .NET Framework 4.5.2
- Erlang OPT
- Rabbit MQ
- MongoDB
*All software listed here included in installer
|
Supported Browsers
|
Chrome 22.x, Firefox 12.x, and Internet Explorer 9.x or higher versions of these browsers. If you are using Internet Explorer 9, disable enhanced security.
|
CPU Requirements
|
2 CPUs 1 GHz or faster
|
Memory Requirements
|
4 GB
|
Storage Requirements
|
20 GB
|
Flex App Packaging Console Requirements:
The FlexApp Packaging Console has an additional bit-level requirement. The bit-level of the operating system on which you package applications with the FlexApp Packaging Console needs to match the operating system of the desktop to which you deploy applications. If you are packaging applications to be used in a 32-bit environment, you must use the Packaging Console on a 32-bit OS. If you are packaging applications to be used in a 64-bit environment, you must use the Packaging Console on a 64-bit OS.
Component and port number
|
Description
|
Supported OS
|
Windows 7/8.1/10 and Windows Server 2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016
|
Additional Software
|
.NET Framework 4.5.2
|
CPU Requirements
| 2 CPUs 1 GHZ or faster |
Memory Requirements
|
3 GB
|
Storage Requirements
|
200 MB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
|
Client Requirements:
The ProfileUnity Client is dependent on a Microsoft domain infrastructure. Machines running the
ProfileUnity Client must be members of the domain. Any client machines making use of ProfileUnity’s FlexApp features must have Windows 7 or higher installed. The clients can be deployed as physical desktops or as either persistent or non-persistent virtual desktops.
Component and port number
|
Description
|
Supported OS
|
Windows XP/Vista/7/8.1/10, Windows Server 2003/2008/2008 R2/2012
R2/2016, and Terminal Server or RDSH. Citrix XenApp 6.5-7.11, Citrix XenDesktop 6.5-7.11, VMware View 5.2.x-7.x, and VMware View RDSH 7.x. Both 32-bit and 64- bit versions where applicable are supported. Both physical and virtual instances are also supported. |
Additional Software
|
- .NET Framework 4.5.2
|
CPU Requirements
| 2 CPUs 1 GHZ or faster |
Memory Requirements
|
2 GB or 3 GB if using FlexApp
|
Storage Requirements
|
200 MB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
|
Flex Disk Requirements:
FlexDisk is a VMDK distribution technology that can be used with ProfileUnity’s FlexApp and ProfileDisk features as an alternative to using VHDs with these features. Generally, VHDs have less overhead and will work great for many organizations while VMDKs may be faster and more stable than VHDs in certain environments. The ProfileUnity FlexDisk technology requires the following for installation:
Component and port number
|
Description
|
Desktops Supported
|
Windows 7/8.1/10, Windows Server 2008 R2/2012 R2/2016 as a desktop, Citrix XenApp 6.5-7.9, Citrix XenDesktop 6.5-7.11, VMware View 5.2.x-7.x, and VMware View RDSH 7.x. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions where applicable are supported.
|
Additional Software
|
vCenter / ESXi 5.5x-6.x
VMware View 5.2.x-7.x for the Connection Server Monitor |
Other Requirements
|
VMDKs need to be on storage that is visible to the desktops.
VMware vSphere licensing that supports HotAdd |
Testing Design:
Below is a list of the hardware and software configuration i will be using to complete this guide.
VMware Horizon Environment Version 7.0.2
- View Connection Server
- View Security Server
- Pool: Instant Clones
VMware vSphere
- vCenter: 6.0 U3
- ESXi: 6.0 U3
Storage:
- vSphere Datastores using all flash disks
- CIFS share for folder redirection
Profile Unity Server:
- Single Server
- Windows Server 2012 R2
This concludes part 1 of my series on creating a non-persistent horizon view desktop pool with Liquidware Labs Profile Unity. In Part 2 i will cover the install of the Profile Unity Server.
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