Configure a FIPS-compliant Linux Virtual Machine

To configure a Linux virtual machine that meets the requirements of the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 mode, follow the procedure described in this article. You must install Horizon Agent with FIPS mode enabled and then install a CA-signed certificate for the BlastServer daemon.

Prerequisites

Verify that you have completed the following prerequisites:

• Set up the virtual machine with vSphere Virtual Machine Encryption, recommended for increased security and protection. See Virtual Machine Encryption in the vSphere documentation.
• Installed RHEL 8.x on the machine. FIPS 140-2 mode is only supported on machines running RHEL 8.x.
• Performed the relevant preparation steps described under Preparing a Linux Virtual Machine for Desktop Deployment.

Procedure

1. On the RHEL 8.x machine, enable FIPS mode at the Linux system level.

   sudo fips-mode-setup --enable
   sudo reboot
   

2. Install Horizon Agent using the RPM installer.

   For detailed instructions, see Install Horizon Agent on a Linux Virtual Machine.

3. Enable FIPS mode at the Horizon Agent level.

   For more information, see Command-line Options for Installing Horizon Agent for Linux.

4. Complete the steps described in Install a CA-signed Certificate for BlastServer.

5. Restart the machine.

   sudo reboot
   

Results

You can now use the Linux machine to create desktop or application pools that are FIPS-compliant.