Install Omnissa Horizon Connection Server with a New Configuration

To install Horizon Connection Server as a single server or as the first instance in a group of replicated Horizon Connection Server instances, you use the standard installation option.

When you select the standard installation option, the installation creates a new, local Horizon LDAP configuration. The installation loads the schema definitions, Directory Information Tree (DIT) definition, and ACLs and initializes the data.

After installation, you manage most Horizon LDAP configuration data by using Omnissa Horizon Console. Horizon Connection Server automatically maintains some Horizon LDAP entries.

The Horizon Connection Server software cannot coexist on the same virtual or physical machine with any other Omnissa Horizon 8 software component, including a replica server, Horizon Agent, or Omnissa Horizon Client.

When you install Horizon Connection Server with a new configuration, you can participate in a customer experience improvement program. Omnissa collects anonymous data about your deployment to improve Omnissa's response to user requirements. No data that identifies your organization is collected. You can choose not to participate by deselecting this option during the installation. If you change your mind about participating after the installation, you can either join or withdraw from the program by editing the Product Licensing and Usage page in Horizon Console. Refer to Omnissa Customer Experience Improvement Program in the Horizon 8 Administration document.

In addition to information collected for CEIP, Omnissa may collect operational data. This means that Omnissa may monitor and collect configuration, performance, usage, and consumption data relating to customers and their users’ use of the software to facilitate the delivery and operation of the products and services (collectively, referred to operational data) as described in the Omnissa Privacy Notice. The collection of operational data is entirely separate from CEIP, and may occur whether or not you have joined CEIP. You can deactivate the collection of operational data by contacting Omnissa support.

By default, the Omnissa Horizon Web Client component is installed on the Horizon Connection Server host when you install Horizon Connection Server. This component configures the Horizon 8 user portal page to display a Horizon Web Client icon in addition to the Horizon Client icon. The additional icon allows users to select Horizon Web Client when they connect to their desktops.

Note: Horizon Web Client is available with Horizon 8 versions 2412 and later. For Horizon 8 versions 2406 and earlier, Horizon Web Client is called "HTML Access." This documentation page uses the name "Horizon Web Client" to refer to both Horizon Web Client and HTML Access.

For an overview of setting up Horizon Connection Server for Horizon Web Client, see the Horizon Web Client Guide document, which you can locate by clicking through the Horizon Clients documentation page's Guides choice.

Prerequisites

• Verify that you can log in as a domain user with administrator privileges on the Windows Server computer on which you install Horizon Connection Server.

• Verify that your installation satisfies the requirements described in Horizon Connection Server Requirements.

• Prepare your environment for the installation. See Installation Prerequisites for Horizon Connection Server.

• If you intend to authorize a domain user or group as the Administrators account, verify that you created the domain account in Microsoft Active Directory.

• Prepare a data recovery password. When you back up Horizon Connection Server, the Horizon LDAP configuration is exported as encrypted LDIF data. To restore the encrypted backup Horizon 8 configuration, you must provide the data recovery password. The password must contain between 1 and 128 characters. Follow your organization's best practices for generating secure passwords.

  Important: You will need the data recovery password to keep Horizon 8 operating and avoid downtime in a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) scenario. You can provide a password reminder with the password when you install Horizon Connection Server.

• Familiarize yourself with the network ports that must be opened on the Windows Firewall for Horizon Connection Server instances. See Firewall Rules for Horizon Connection Server.

• Determine whether this pod deployment will be a single-pod deployment (operates independently) or whether this pod will join a CPA federation. If this pod will join a CPA federation, verify whether the CPA federation is using a Horizon partition already renamed to the Omnissa partition naming. In the installation wizard, you'll make a selection based on this information.

  Note: Starting with version 2503, the Horizon Directory Services partition is renamed to the Omnissa naming by default. Because Horizon 8 pods created with the new partition name cannot be part of an existing CPA federation that uses a Horizon partition not yet renamed to Omnissa, the wizard asks you to make a selection based on your situation. For more information on this and other backward compatibility considerations, visit KB 6000681.

Procedure

1. Download the Horizon Connection Server installer file from the product download site at https://customerconnect.omnissa.com/downloads/#all_products.

   Look for the Horizon download, which includes Horizon Connection Server.

   The installer filename is Omnissa-Horizon-Connection-Server-x86_64-y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe, where xxxxxx is the build number and y.y.y is the version number.

2. To start the Horizon Connection Server installation program, double-click the installer file.

3. Accept the license terms.

4. Accept or change the destination folder.

5. Select the Horizon Standard Server installation option.

6. Make sure that Install Horizon Web Client is selected if you intend to allow users to connect to their desktops by using a Web browser.

   If IPv4 is selected, this setting is selected by default. If IPv6 is selected, this setting is not displayed because Horizon Web Client is not supported in an IPv6 environment.

7. Select the Internet Protocol (IP) version, IPv4 or IPv6.

   You must install all Horizon 8 components with the same IP version.

8. Select whether to enable or disable FIPS mode.

   This option is available only if FIPS is enabled in Windows.

9. Horizon 2503 or later: At this step you make the selection for the Horizon Directory Services (AD LDS) partition naming based on your earlier determination of the pod's deployment, as described in this page's Prerequisites: whether this deployment is for single independent pod or whether this pod will join a Cloud Pod Architecture (CPA) federation. If the latter, your choice depends on whether the CPA federation already uses the Omnissa naming for its partition.

   Note: Horizon 8 pods created with the new partition name cannot be part of an existing CPA federation that uses a Horizon partition not yet renamed to Omnissa. For more information on this and other backward compatibility considerations, visit KB 6000681.

10. Type a data recovery password and optional password reminder.

    This password is required when you recover a backup of Horizon Connection Server.

11. Choose whether to install the PCoIP Security Gateway component.

    If you do not select this option, the installer does not install the PCoIP Secure Gateway component or generate its associated certificates. For information about the PCoIP Secure Gateway, see Configure the Secure Tunnel and PCoIP Secure Gateway.

12. Choose how to configure the Windows Firewall service.

    Option	Action
    Configure Windows Firewall automatically	Let the installer configure Windows Firewall to allow the required network connections.
    Do not configure Windows Firewall	Configure the Windows firewall rules manually. Select this option only if your organization uses its own predefined rules for configuring Windows Firewall.

13. Authorize a Horizon Administrators account.

    Only members of this account can log in to Horizon Console, exercise full administration rights, and install replicated Horizon Connection Server instances and other Horizon 8 servers.

    Option	Description
    Authorize the local Administrators group	Allows users in the local Administrators group to administer Horizon 8.
    Authorize a specific domain user or domain group	Allows the specified domain user or group to administer Horizon 8.

14. If you specified a domain Horizon Administrators account, and you are running the installer as a local administrator or another user without access to the domain account, provide credentials to log in to the domain with an authorized user name and password.

    Use domain name\user name or user principal name (UPN) format. UPN format can be user@domain.com.

15. Choose whether to participate in the customer experience improvement program.

    If you participate, you can optionally select the type, size, and location of your organization.

16. Select where you want to deploy Horizon Connection Server. This is required in order for VM provisioning to work properly.

    Option	Description
    General	If you are deploying your connection servers on-premises or in any location other those listed below. This is the default selection.
    AWS	If you are deploying your connection servers on AWS or on VMware Cloud on AWS
    Dell EMC	If you are deploying your connection servers on VMC on Dell EMC
    Azure	If you are deploying your connection servers on Azure Cloud or on Azure VMware Solution (AVS)
    Google	If you are deploying your connection servers on Google Cloud or on Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE)
    Oracle Cloud	If you are deploying your connection servers on Oracle Cloud or on Oracle VMware Cloud Solution (OCVS)

    Note: This option specifies where the Horizon Connection Server is deployed. In a later step, when you add vCenter, you can specify a separate location for deploying your virtual desktops.

    For example, if you want to deploy Horizon Connection Servers on native Microsoft Azure and your desktops in a VMware SDDC on the Azure VMware Solution, you would select Azure in the current step. And then when you add a vCenter, you would specify "Azure VMware Solution" as the deployment type.

17. Click Install to complete the wizard and install Horizon Connection Server.

18. Check for new patches on the Windows Server computer and run Windows Update as needed.

    Even if you fully patched the Windows Server computer before you installed Horizon Connection Server, the installation might have enabled operating system features for the first time. Additional patches might now be required.

Results

The Horizon 8 services are installed on the Windows server computer. When you look at the Windows Services list, all but one of the services contains the name Horizon. For the service that provides the Horizon LDAP services:

• For Horizon versions 2412 and earlier, the name of that service contains the string VDMDS.
• For Horizon versions 2503 and later, the name of that service is OmnissaHzeDS.

For example, for Horizon versions 2503 and later, the following Horizon 8 services are installed on the Windows server computer:

• Omnissa Horizon Blast Secure Gateway
• Omnissa Horizon Connection Server
• Omnissa Horizon CRL Prefetcher
• Omnissa Horizon Framework Manager
• Omnissa Horizon Log Collector
• Omnissa Horizon Message Bus
• Omnissa Horizon PCoIP Security Gateway
• Omnissa Horizon Script Host
• Omnissa Horizon Secure Gateway
• Omnissa Horizon Servlet Host
• OmnissaHzeDS, which provides Horizon LDAP services

For information about working with the installed Horizon 8 services, see the Horizon Administration guide's page Understanding Omnissa Horizon Services and its sub-pages.

If the Install Horizon Web Client setting was selected during the installation, the Horizon Web Client component is installed on the Windows Server computer. This component configures the Horizon Web Client icon in the Horizon user portal page and enables the Horizon Connection Server (Blast-In) rule in the Windows Firewall. This firewall rule allows Web browsers on client devices to connect to the Horizon Connection Server on TCP port 8443.

Note: Horizon Web Client is available with Horizon 8 versions 2412 and later. For Horizon 8 versions 2406 and earlier, Horizon Web Client is called "HTML Access." This documentation page uses the name "Horizon Web Client" to refer to both Horizon Web Client and HTML Access.

What to do next

Configure SSL server certificates for Horizon Connection Server. See Configuring TLS Certificates for Horizon 8 Servers.

Perform initial configuration on Horizon Connection Server. See Configuring Horizon for the First Time.

If you plan to include replicated Horizon Connection Server instances in your deployment, you must install each server instance by running the Horizon Connection Server installer file.

If you are reinstalling Horizon Connection Server and you have a data collector set configured to monitor performance data, stop the data collector set and start it again.

Note: If you installed version 2503 or later and you didn't choose to rename the Horizon Directory Services partition to the Omnissa naming, we recommend you make a plan for renaming it to the Omnissa partition. For details, see KB article 6000797.