VMware Horizon Connection Server is a software service that performs as the broker for Horizon client connections. In this role, it authenticates user connection requests, verifies the desktops or Microsoft Windows RDS Servers that the user is entitled to access, and then directs the connection to the appropriate resource. Horizon Connection Server is installed on a dedicated server that is required to be a member of an Active Directory (AD) domain that is trusted by all Horizon clients. Horizon Connection Server also hosts the Horizon Administrator console, an Adobe Flex-based web application that is used to manage the Horizon environment and perform tasks including the following:
- Deploying virtual desktops
- Creating desktop or Microsoft Windows RDS-based pools
- Controlling access to desktop pools
- Creating and managing Horizon Cloud Pods
- Examining Horizon system events
The Horizon Connection Server is one component that is required in every Horizon environment. Chapter 2, Implementing Horizon Connection Server, provides the information needed to install and configure a VMware Horizon Connection Server. Chapter 6, Implementing a Horizon Cloud Pod, provides information regarding the configuration of the Cloud Pod feature that is used to provide Horizon clients with access to desktops across multiple Horizon Pods, with each Pod representing a standalone installation of VMware Horizon. The following chapters provide information about the deployment of Horizon desktops and the management of desktop pools: