VMware View Composer is a optional feature for your VDI deployment, but it is a mandatory part of you plan to use Linked-clone desktop pools.
VMware Horizon View series:
- Part 1 – Install VMware View 5.x Connection Server
- Part 2 – Install VMware View5.x Replica Server
- Part 3 – Install VMware View 5.x Security Server
- Part 4 – Install VMware View Composer
- Part 5 – Install VMware View 5.x Transfer Server
- Part 6 – Install VMware View Agent
Installing VMware View Composer component is the last piece of a complete full-featured VMware Horizon View deployment, except the Transfer Server which is required for offline virtual desktops. Although only the VMware Horizon View Connection Server is the mandatory from the VDI servers which you need to have a basic featured working VDI, in most cases Replica Server and Composer are also a must for a VDI which will be accessed only through the corporate LAN and Security Server if the VDI will be accesses from outside. Having the guides in Part1-5 you should be able to do a complete VDI installation.
Before we begin the with the installation step of the View Composer itself, let’s see the hardware and software requirements which we must satisfy before the installation. View Composer could be installed on a separate server or on the vCenter server. Both implementation have pros and cons and which one will you choose depends on the requirements and the size of the VDI.
Hardware requirements for a standalone installation
Table.1
| Hardware Component | Required | Recommended |
| Processor | 1.4 GHz or faster Intel 64 or AMD 64 processor with 2 CPUs | 2GHz or faster and 4 CPUs |
| Networking | One or more 10/100Mbps network interface cards (NICs) | 1Gbps NICs |
| Memory | 4GB RAM or higher | 8GB RAM or higher for deployments of 50 or more View desktops |
| Disk space | 40GB | 60GB |
Supported Operation Systems
Table.2
| Operating System | Version | Edition |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 | 64-bit | Standard or Enterprise |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 | 64-bit | Standard or Enterprise |
Microsoft .Net 3.5 SP1 is required for View Composer installation.
View Composer requires a database where to store the following information:
- vCenter Server connections
- Active Directory connections
- Linked-clone desktops that are deployed by View Composer
- Replicas that are created by View Composer
View Composer can use the same SQL server as your vCenter uses, but it requires a separate database and an ODBC connection.
Supported DB servers
Table.3
| Database | vCenter Server 5.1 | vCenter Server 5.0 | vCenter Server 4.1 | vCenter Server 4.0 |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (SP4), Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter(32- and 64-bit) | Yes | Yes | Standard only | Standard only |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express (R2 SP1)(64-bit) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (SP2), Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter(32- and 64-bit) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (R2), Standard and Enterprise(32- and 64-bit) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Oracle 10g Release 2, Standard, Standard ONE, and Enterprise [10.2.0.4](32- and 64-bit) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Oracle 11g Release 2, Standard, Standard ONE, and Enterprise [11.2.0.1]with Patch 5 (32- and 64-bit) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
How to create the DB itself you can find here
Let’s begin with the installation
First we will have to create an ODBC connection poiting to the DB which is created using the steps from the link above. We are going to user MS SQL server for our example.
View Composer ODBC connection creation
- Login to your Windows Server which is purposed for View Composer installation and navigate to ->Start Menu -> Administrative Tools –>Data Source (ODBC)
- Click on Add and select SQL Native Client (you can download it from Microsoft’s web page if you do not have it)
- Enter a Name for the ODBC connection (you will need it for the View Composer installation) and SQL server hostname or IP address. Click Next to continue …
- Enter the SQL authentication data. The username must have sufficient permissions on the View Composer DB. Click Next to continue …
- Select the DB which is created for View Composer and Click Next to continue …
- Leave the settings by default and click Click Finish …
- If everything is fine with the DB and ODBC creation you should see a window like this
View Composer Installation
The View Composer installation file you can download from VMware download page
- Run the View Composer Installer
- At the welcome wizard click Next to continue …
- Read and Accept the ALUA to continue and click Next …
- Choose a destination installation folder and click Next to continue …
- Now you have to enter the data about the ODBC connection which we just have created. Click Next to continue …
- If no reason to change the default SOAP port leave it by default. If you change it do not forget to add it to your environment documentation for future usage. If a non-default certificate is already installed for View Composer usage, you will be able to select it from this step. We use the default self-signed certificate. Click Next to continue…
- Verify and click Install in order to start the installation
- If the installation is successful, a window like this should appear
In the next parts of the VMware View Horizon article series we are going to link the View Composer to a Connection Server.
References:
VMware Horizon View Installation
Nikolay Nikolov
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