What Is VMware Horizon Cloud Service - next-gen?
Welcome to this lab focused on the VMware Horizon® Cloud Service™ - next-gen. In this hands-on experience, you will learn how to harness the power of the Horizon Cloud Service - Next-gen to deploy virtualized Windows desktops and applications across a diverse range of endpoint devices. From Windows and Mac computers to Linux desktops, laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, smartphones, and even thin/zero clients, this lab will guide you through each step.
Horizon Cloud - next-gen brings Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) to the forefront. This means that VMware takes on the responsibility of managing critical infrastructure, allowing you to concentrate solely on managing virtual apps and desktops. During this lab, you will explore the following services:
DaaS Management Infrastructure: Discover how VMware handles the management of VDI infrastructure services, app-packaging services, connection brokering service, edge gateways, and databases.
Resource Capacity: Learn how supported hypervisors and cloud platforms, validated by VMware, provide the essential resource capacity to deliver desktops and applications to end users. At present, Horizon Cloud - next-gen seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Azure subscriptions for resource capacity.
Furthermore, this lab introduces you to the versatility of Horizon Cloud - next-gen by enabling you to leverage cloud-based capacity from platforms like Azure VMware Solutions, VMware Cloud on AWS, Oracle Cloud, Google Cloud, and other VMware vSphere based SDDC's. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into a hands-on exploration of these capabilities.
What are the key features?
As you embark on this lab journey, your primary objective may revolve around enhancing remote work capabilities, ensuring optimal speed, flexibility, and feature-rich environments to uphold user productivity. Alternatively, your top priority might involve seamless business continuity, necessitating swift deployment of virtual desktops and applications to cater to a large user base.
In the context of this lab, Horizon Cloud - next-gen introduces a set of pivotal features designed to address your specific needs. These key features include:
Extraordinary scalability
Horizon Cloud - next-gen emerges as the ideal solution to effectively address dynamic capacity requirements. With its distinctive capabilities, this solution empowers you to navigate capacity fluctuations seamlessly, ensuring optimal performance and resource utilization. Here's how:
Effortless Scaling: When demands surge, you can effortlessly upscale your environment without the need for hardware expansion. This eliminates the complexity of adding physical resources, allowing you to accommodate increased workloads smoothly.
Optimized Resource Consumption: Responding to varying demands, Horizon Cloud - next-gen facilitates dynamic scaling down. This adaptive approach helps you conserve consumption costs by only utilizing resources as required. For instance, if a portion of your workforce isn't actively using the system, you won't need to pay for unused hardware.
Streamlined Architecture: The "thin edge" architecture within Horizon Cloud - next-gen significantly minimizes the infrastructure footprint within your environment. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also contributes to resource optimization.
Expansive User Capacity: Each Horizon Edge, a core component of the architecture, is engineered to support a substantial user base—up to 20,000 end users. Furthermore, extending beyond this capacity is a straightforward process. By simply adding supplementary Horizon Edges, you can effortlessly scale your deployment to accommodate growing user numbers.
As you delve into the lab activities, you'll gain practical insights into how Horizon Cloud - next-gen's adaptable architecture empowers you to manage capacity fluctuations with ease, ensuring a streamlined and cost-efficient operational experience.
Advanced automation
Horizon Cloud - next-gen introduces a streamlined approach powered by APIs. These APIs grant you full access to all management interface functionalities, ensuring a cohesive experience. This dynamic public API platform offers advanced automation and integration possibilities in various areas:
Third-Party Solutions: Seamlessly integrate with external ticketing and monitoring tools using APIs. This fosters efficient collaboration and operational workflows.
Partner Managed Services: APIs extend the platform's capabilities to accommodate partner-built managed services, enhancing the overall Horizon Cloud experience.
Custom Integrations: Leverage APIs to create tailored integrations and automations that align with your unique workflows and operational needs.
Less troubleshooting with proactive monitoring
Horizon Cloud - next-gen's DaaS solution streamlines components on your end, giving the VMware Operations team better visibility. This lets them catch and fix issues before they affect you. And if a problem does pop up, the solution's proactive alerts and advanced reporting make troubleshooting a breeze.
Horizon Next-Gen Architecture
The streamlined architecture and components that make this solution a versatile choice for rapidly scaling your Horizon VDI or published application environments. Let's dive in:
Lightweight/Thin Edge Architecture:
Horizon Cloud - next-gen adopts a "thin edge" architecture, minimizing the management footprint while delivering robust virtualization services. Each thin Horizon Edge comprises Horizon Edge Gateways and load-balanced VMware Unified Access Gateway™ virtual appliances. Notably, there are no connection servers or cloud connectors. If more capacity is needed, deploying a new Horizon Edge suffices.
Unified Management:
All Horizon Edges, whether distributed globally or within the same region, operate under a unified Horizon Control Plane. This centralized control ensures efficient management of VDI infrastructure servers, app-packaging servers, connection brokers, and databases, all delivered and managed by VMware.
Key Components:
Let's take a closer look at the key components shaping the Horizon Cloud - next-gen architecture:
VMware Horizon Control Plane:
Simplifies management across pods, offering comprehensive monitoring and lifecycle management for images and applications. The Horizon Console, connection server/brokering function, App Volumes management servers, and associated databases are all part of the Horizon Control Plane.
VMware Workspace ONE Access:
An integrated identity and access management solution providing users with a seamless app catalog access experience for Horizon desktops, web apps, and SaaS apps. It supports single sign-on (SSO) and integrates with other identity providers.
Monitoring with VMware Workspace ONE Intelligence:
Enjoy enhanced monitoring and reporting capabilities with Workspace ONE Intelligence integration.
VMware App Volumes:
Included in the Horizon Control Plane, App Volumes streamlines application packaging and deployment. Applications are virtually integrated into the OS, simplifying maintenance and reducing OS image count.
Horizon Edge Gateway:
Acts as an orchestration bridge, providing single sign-on and connecting the Horizon Control Plane with the infrastructure capacity provider.
VMware Unified Access Gateway:
Enables secure remote access to virtual desktops and applications without a VPN. Each gateway supports direct connections and handles up to 10,000 connections.
Desktops and Apps:
Deliver dedicated or floating single-session desktops, along with multi-session desktops and apps, all based on golden images.
Active Directory:
Separates user authentication and virtual machine directory services. Active Directory is used for machine identity, and local domain controllers can be placed in the provider's infrastructure capacity or Azure AD services can be used.
Throughout this lab guide, you'll explore these components in action, gaining practical insights into how Horizon Cloud - next-gen optimizes your virtualization environment. Let's get started!