In this chapter, we will learn how to enable remote management of our Horizon connection servers using PowerCLI, and then we will learn how to use PowerCLI to perform various tasks related to Horizon configuration, administration, and troubleshooting. The topics we will cover include the following:

• Enabling remote management on a Horizon connection server so that PowerCLI can be used remotely
• Establishing a remote PowerCLI session
• Viewing all the PowerCLI commands and their options
• Configuring the Horizon infrastructure
• Administering Horizon desktop pools
• Managing Horizon client entitlements and sessions
• Working with Horizon network label specifications
• Retrieving information about the Horizon infrastructure

VMware Horizon provides a number of different PowerShell commands that you can use to configure, manage, and monitor the Horizon environment. These commands form the Horizon PowerCLI tool, and they enable Horizon administrators to do everything from automating repetitive operations to using existing IT infrastructure management platforms in order to perform common Horizon tasks. While not every aspect of the Horizon environment can be managed or configured using Horizon PowerCLI, most of the common settings can be.

The Horizon PowerCLI commands can only be executed against a single Horizon pod at a time; if you have multiple distinct Horizon pods, you must use separate PowerShell sessions for each one. While each of these commands uses capital letters to identify individual words within the command, PowerCLI itself is not case sensitive—you do not need to capitalize any part of the PowerCLI commands or the command options.

Using the information provided in this chapter, you should be able to reduce the time you spend in the Horizon Administrator console by building scripts that can perform the actions more quickly, even automating tasks, if you wish.