2V0-51.23 Questions and Answers

In VMware Horizon, predefined roles such as Inventory Administrators and Desktop Pool Administrators are designed to provide granular access control within the Horizon Console. Inventory Administrators typically have permissions related to managing the overall inventory of virtual desktops and applications, whereas Desktop Pool Administrators are specifically focused on managing and configuring desktop pools, including their settings, assignments, and provisioning.

To enable debug logging for a single user in VMware Dynamic Environment Manager, the administrator needs to create an empty FlexDebug.txt file in the same folder as the standard log file for this user. This will trigger FlexEngine to switch to debug logging for this particular user1. Debug logging is useful for troubleshooting purposes, as it provides more detailed information about the FlexEngine operations and actions1.

The other options are not correct because:

• Updating the FlexEngine registry to DEBUG will not enable debug logging for a single user, but for all users who log on to the same computer. This option can only be set through Group Policy settings and applies to all users1. Moreover, this option is not recommended, as it can cause performance issues and disk space consumption due to the large size of the log files1.
• Creating an empty FlexDebug.log file in the log folder will not enable debug logging for a single user, as the file name must be exactly FlexDebug.txt. The file extension must be .txt, not .log1.
• Configuring the FlexEngine GPO to DEBUG will not enable debug logging for a single user, but for all users who are affected by the GPO. This option can only be set through Group Policy settings and applies to all users1. Moreover, this option is not recommended, as it can cause performance issues and disk space consumption due to the large size of the log files1.

References:

• Enabling debug logging for a single user in VMware Dynamic Environment Manager1

Writable Volumes are user-specific virtual disks that store user-installed applications, data, and settings. App Volumes is a real-time application delivery system that uses Writable Volumes to deliver applications that are not multi-user aware. However, sometimes it might be necessary to prevent App Volumes from persisting specific data between sessions, such as temporary files, application updates, or registry keys. To do this, administrators can specify exclusions for Writable Volumes in a policy file called snapvol.cfg.

The snapvol.cfg file is a text file that contains policy settings for App Volumes. These settings determine which files and registry keys are captured or excluded by App Volumes. The snapvol.cfg file can be customized by administrators to suit different needs and scenarios. The snapvol.cfg file can be applied to both application packages and Writable Volumes.

To specify exclusions for Writable Volumes, administrators can use the following keywords in the snapvol.cfg file:

• exclude_uwv_file: This keyword excludes a file or folder path from being persisted on a Writable Volume. For example, exclude_uwv_file=\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++ excludes the folder location of Notepad++ from being overwritten during an update.
• exclude_uwv_reg: This keyword excludes a registry key or value from being persisted on a Writable Volume. For example, exclude_uwv_reg=\REGISTRY\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Notepad++ excludes the registry location of Notepad++ from being overwritten during an update.

The snapvol.cfg file must be uploaded to the Writable Volume by using the Update Writable Volumes feature in App Volumes Manager. The exclusions will take effect after the user logs off and logs back in to the desktop.

The other options are not valid files for specifying exclusions for Writable Volumes:

• config.ini: This file is used to configure the App Volumes agent settings, such as the App Volumes Manager address, the logging level, and the SSL certificate validation.
• svservice.log: This file is used to record the App Volumes agent log messages, such as the agent status, the package attachment, and the error messages.
• json.cfg: This file does not exist in App Volumes.

References: Writable Volume Exclusions, Policy Files (snapvol.cfg) in App Volumes, and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

The default URL used to access the Horizon Console is https:// /admin, where is the fully qualified domain name of the Connection Server instance. This URL allows you to log in to Horizon Console by using a secure (TLS) connection. You can also use the IP address of the Connection Server instance instead of the FQDN, but this might result in blocked access or reduced security due to certificate mismatch. You cannot use https://localhost to connect from the Connection Server host, but you can use https://127.0.0.1 instead. The other options are not valid URLs for Horizon Console.  References: Log In to Horizon Console

A Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) is a virtualized version of a physical TPM device that provides enhanced security for virtual machines. A vTPM device can be added to a virtual machine to enable features such as encryption, attestation, and key management. A vTPM device requires a Key Management Server (KMS) to store and manage the encryption keys.

To create instant clones VMs with a vTPM device, the vCenter Server user must have certain privileges in addition to those required for instant clones without a vTPM device. One of these privileges is Manage KMS, which allows the user to perform cryptographic operations on the vTPM device, such as cloning, decrypting, encrypting, migrating, and registering. The Manage KMS privilege is part of the Cryptographic operations privilege group on vCenter Server.

The other options are not required only for instant clones VMs with a vTPM device:

• Upgrade virtual machine compatibility: This privilege allows the user to upgrade the virtual hardware version of a virtual machine to support new features and capabilities. This privilege is required for instant clones VMs regardless of whether they have a vTPM device or not.
• Configure Host USB device: This privilege allows the user to configure USB devices on an ESXi host and attach them to a virtual machine. This privilege is not related to vTPM devices or instant clones VMs.
• Manage custom attributes: This privilege allows the user to create, edit, and delete custom attributes for vCenter Server objects. Custom attributes are user-defined fields that can store additional information about objects. This privilege is not related to vTPM devices or instant clones VMs.

References: Privileges Required for the vCenter Server User With Instant Clones, vSphere Virtual Machine Administration, and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

Roles and permissions are a way of controlling the access and actions of administrators and users in Horizon. By default, Horizon provides two predefined roles: Administrators and Read Only Administrators. However, a high-level administrator can create custom roles with specific privileges to suit different needs and scenarios. To create a custom role, the administrator needs to follow these steps:

• In the navigation pane under the Settings section, click on Administrators > Roles and Permissions.
• In the Roles and Permissions page, click on Add.
• In the Add Role pane, enter a name for the role in the Role Name text box.
• In the Privileges section, select the checkboxes for the privileges that you want to assign to the role. You can expand or collapse the categories to view or hide the sub-privileges. You can also use the Select All or Deselect All buttons to select or clear all the privileges in a category.
• Click on Save to create the custom role.

The custom role will appear in the Roles and Permissions page, where you can edit or delete it as needed. You can also assign the custom role to users or groups in the Users and Groups page. References: [Create Custom Roles] and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

Load balancing is a feature that allows administrators to distribute the load of published desktop and application sessions across multiple RDS hosts in a farm. Load balancing can improve the performance and availability of the sessions and the hosts. Horizon offers two ways of configuring load balancing for RDS hosts: using load balancing settings in Horizon Console or using custom load balancing scripts.

The load balancing settings in Horizon Console allow administrators to define how Horizon calculates the server load index, which indicates the load on each RDS host. The server load index can range from 0 to 100, where 0 represents no load and 100 represents full load. A server load index of -1 indicates that load balancing is disabled. Horizon uses the server load index to determine which RDS host is the best candidate for placing a new session request.

The load balancing settings in Horizon Console include the following check boxes that can be selected to influence the load balancing behavior:

• The use custom script setting for customized RDSH load balancing: This setting allows administrators to override the default behavior of the load balancing settings and control the placement of new sessions by writing and configuring custom load balancing scripts. The custom scripts must write the server load index to a specific registry key on each RDS host. Horizon will use the value from the registry key instead of calculating it from the other settings.
• The Include Session Count setting to include the session count on the RDSH for load balancing: This setting allows administrators to include the number of sessions (connected, pending, and disconnected) on each RDS host as a factor in calculating the server load index. By default, Horizon uses the following formula to calculate the server load index based on the session count: (connected sessions + pending sessions + disconnected sessions)/ (maximum session count). If the maximum session count is configured as unlimited, Horizon falls back to using the absolute number of total sessions.

The other options are not check boxes that can be selected in the load balancing settings in Horizon Console:

• The floating dynamic host profile setting, created in the vSphere profile section: This option is not related to load balancing for RDS hosts, but rather to dynamic environment manager for instant-clone desktops. A dynamic host profile is a vSphere profile that contains configuration settings for instant-clone desktops, such as network settings, domain join settings, and customization scripts. A floating dynamic host profile is a type of dynamic host profile that applies to floating desktop pools, where users are assigned a random desktop from a pool at each login.
• The Horizon DRS setting for fully automated vSphere load balancing: This option is not related to load balancing for RDS hosts, but rather to distributed resource scheduler (DRS) for vSphere clusters. DRS is a feature that monitors and balances the CPU and memory resources across multiple ESXi hosts in a cluster. DRS can also migrate virtual machines between hosts using vMotion to optimize resource utilization and performance. Horizon DRS is an extension of DRS that integrates with Horizon and provides additional capabilities, such as affinity rules, maintenance mode, and power management. Horizon DRS can be configured with different automation levels, such as fully automated, partially automated, or manual.

References: Configuring Load Balancing for RDS Hosts in Horizon Console, Load Balancing Settings, Load Balancing Scripts, [Dynamic Host Profiles], and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

To monitor the advanced metrics of desktop sessions in Horizon Console, you need to use the Horizon Help Desk Tool. This is a web application that you can use to get the status of Horizon 8 user sessions and to perform troubleshooting and maintenance operations1. You can also view performance details for a virtual or published desktop session that uses the PCoIP or VMware Blast display protocol2.

To access the Horizon Help Desk Tool, you need to click on the Monitoring tab on the left side of the Horizon Console. Then, you need to select Help Desk from the drop-down menu. This will open the Horizon Help Desk Tool in a new browser tab. You can then search for a user, machine, or pool and view the session details. You can also click on More to see the advanced metrics such as latency, bandwidth, protocol, and frame rate1.

In VMware Horizon, the Pre-Launch feature allows for the initiation of applications immediately after user authentication, reducing the launch time of frequently used applications. By editing the application pool settings and enabling the Pre-Launch option, administrators can improve user experience by having critical applications ready as soon as the authentication process is completed.

• Administrator: Performs all administrative functions and applies to an Access Group.
• Inventory Administrator: Performs all desktop, session, and pool-related operation.
• Local Administrator: No rights to manage Cloud Pod or the Global Data Layer.

Horizon Connection Server instances keep their data in an AD LDS database, which is automatically synchronized between the Connection Server. AD LDS is a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory service that provides flexible support for directory-enabled applications, without the dependencies that are required for Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). AD LDS provides much of the same functionality as AD DS, but it does not require the deployment of domains or domain controllers. In a Horizon environment, each Connection Server instance has a copy of the AD LDS database and replicates changes to other Connection Server instances in the same pod. This ensures that the Connection Server instances have consistent and up-to-date information about the Horizon resources and user sessions12 References:

• Configuring Horizon Connection Server1
• Understanding VMware Horizon Services2

The minimal level of Horizon Console access that the IT support center would need to help with Horizon desktop user issues is the Help Desk Administrators role. This role allows the IT support center to view and troubleshoot user sessions, reset user passwords, send messages to users, and perform other help desk tasks. The Help Desk Administrators role can be assigned to users or groups on any access group that contains the desktop pools or farms that the IT support center needs to support.

The other options are not the minimal level of Horizon Console access for this scenario:

• Local Administrators: This role allows full administration rights on a specific access group and its sub-access groups. This role can perform all the tasks of the Help Desk Administrators role, as well as create, edit, and delete desktop pools, farms, applications, entitlements, and other objects. This role is more than what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.
• Global Help Desk Administrators: This role allows full administration rights on all access groups in the Horizon environment. This role can perform all the tasks of the Local Administrators role, as well as create, edit, and delete access groups and global entitlements. This role is more than what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.
• Inventory Administrators: This role allows limited administration rights on a specific access group and its sub-access groups. This role can view and manage desktop pools, farms, applications, entitlements, and other objects, but cannot create or delete them. This role can also perform some help desk tasks, such as viewing user sessions and sending messages to users, but cannot reset user passwords or troubleshoot sessions. This role is not sufficient for what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.
• Administrators: This role allows full administration rights on all access groups in the Horizon environment, as well as global settings, licensing, roles and permissions, events configuration, and other system-wide settings. This role can perform all the tasks of the other roles, as well as configure and manage the Horizon infrastructure. This role is more than what the IT support center needs to help with user issues.

References: Understanding Permissions and Access Groups and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

The issue described indicates that the Horizon Connection Server is incorrectly handling traffic that should be directed to the Unified Access Gateway (UAG) and then to the VDI desktops. Disabling the Tunnel and Gateways settings on the Horizon Connection Server forces the UAG to handle the Blast traffic directly, ensuring that the connections are made to the VDI desktops' IP addresses, thus resolving the black screen and disconnection issue.

To create an instant-clone desktop pool, you must first create a golden image virtual machine and take a snapshot of it in a powered-down state. This snapshot provides the base image for the clones. You cannot create an instant-clone desktop pool from a VM template or a powered-on VM. Therefore, the administrator must take a snapshot of the VM that is the golden image before creating the new desktop pool. References: Create an Instant-Clone Desktop Pool and Instant Clone Desktop Pools

To access the settings and status of a pool in VMware Horizon, an administrator would navigate to the Inventory > Desktops section of the Horizon Console. By selecting a specific pool, the administrator can view detailed information in the Summary section, including Pool Settings and the status of the image used during the pool's deployment, providing insights into the pool's configuration and operational status.

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An Automated Desktop Pool using Dedicated Full Clone Virtual Machines best meets the requirements because it ensures end-users always receive the same desktop VM, supports backups with VMware's image-based backup tools, and allows for cloning via the vSphere API on a weekly basis. Full clones are standalone VMs that don't depend on a parent VM after being created, making them suitable for image-based backups and consistent user experience.

Cloud Pod Architecture is a feature that allows administrators to link multiple Horizon pods across sites and data centers to form a single logical entity called a pod federation. Cloud Pod Architecture enables global entitlements, which allow users to access desktops and applications from any pod in the pod federation. Cloud Pod Architecture also provides load balancing, high availability, and disaster recovery capabilities for Horizon deployments.

However, Cloud Pod Architecture has some feature limitations that administrators should be aware of. Two of these limitations are:

• Cloud Pod Architecture does not support Active Directory two-way trusts between domains: This means that the domains that contain the Horizon pods in the pod federation must have a one-way trust relationship, where the domain that contains the Cloud Pod Architecture home site trusts all the other domains, but not vice versa. A two-way trust relationship, where each domain trusts and is trusted by all the other domains, is not supported by Cloud Pod Architecture and can cause authentication and entitlement issues.
• Kiosk mode clients are not supported unless a workaround has been implemented: This means that users who log in to Horizon Client in kiosk mode, which is a mode that allows users to access a single desktop or application without entering credentials, cannot access desktops or applications from a Cloud Pod Architecture implementation. Kiosk mode clients are not compatible with global entitlements and load balancing features of Cloud Pod Architecture. However, there is a workaround that involves creating a dedicated user account and a dedicated desktop pool for each kiosk mode client and using a script to launch Horizon Client with the appropriate parameters. For instructions, see VMware Knowledge Base (KB) article 21488881.

The other options are not limitations of Cloud Pod Architecture:

• Cloud Pod Architecture is supported with Unified Access Gateway appliances: Unified Access Gateway is a platform that provides secure edge services for Horizon deployments, such as secure remote access, load balancing, and authentication. Unified Access Gateway is compatible with Cloud Pod Architecture and can be configured to route user requests to the appropriate pod in the pod federation based on global entitlements and load balancing policies.
• Cloud Pod Architecture can span multiple sites and data centers simultaneously: This is one of the main benefits of Cloud Pod Architecture, as it allows administrators to scale up and out their Horizon deployments across different geographic locations and network boundaries. Cloud Pod Architecture can support up to 15 pods per pod federation and up to 5 sites per pod federation, with a maximum of 200,000 sessions per pod federation.
• The Cloud Pod Architecture feature is supported in an IPv6 environment: IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol that provides a larger address space and enhanced security features for network communication. Cloud Pod Architecture supports IPv6 environments and can operate in mixed IPv4 and IPv6 environments as well.

References: Cloud Pod Architecture Limitations in Horizon 8 and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

To improve the user experience when using Application Profiler from Dynamic Environment Manager to create application-specific user defined settings, the administrator can configure exclusions to filter out unnecessary folders and registry entries. Exclusions are rules that specify which file system or registry locations are not included in the Flex configuration file. Exclusions can reduce the size of the Flex configuration file and the profile archive, and improve the performance of the application profiling and synchronization processes12.

The other options are not valid or effective because:

• Changing the default save path does not affect the size or content of the Flex configuration file or the profile archive. It only changes where the files are stored on the local machine3.
• Using Deepest Registry Path does not reduce the size of the Flex configuration file or the profile archive. It only changes how the registry locations are displayed in the Application Profiler interface4.
• There is no such thing as Cloud Entitlements in Dynamic Environment Manager. The correct term is Global Entitlements, which are used in Cloud Pod Architecture to entitle users to desktops or applications across multiple pods5.

References := 1: VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Application Profiler Administration Guide: Filtering and Optimizing the Analysis Details 2: VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Application Profiler Administration Guide: Exclusions 3: VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Application Profiler Administration Guide: Advanced Configuration of Application Profiler 4: VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Application Profiler Administration Guide: Editing the Flex Configuration File 5: VMware Horizon 8 Documentation: Understanding Global Entitlements in Cloud Pod Architecture

The disconnections of external sessions while internal sessions remain stable suggest an issue with the network infrastructure external to the Horizon environment, specifically with the load balancer placed in front of the Unified Access Gateway (UAG) appliances. Misconfigurations such as improper session persistence settings can lead to sessions being disconnected or improperly routed, causing the observed random disconnections.