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Configuring BLAST Bandwidth Profiles involves setting quality, maximum session bandwidth, and frame rate controls. This can be effectively managed using Horizon Smart Policies within VMware's Dynamic Environment Manager (DEM), which allows administrators to create contextual policies that dynamically adapt to the end-user's environment. Alternatively, Group Policy Objects (GPOs) can be used to manually set these configurations across the desktop environment, providing a more static approach to enforcing these settings.

The two options that are available for the administrator to make the shortcut available to all desktop pool users, while minimizing ongoing administrative effort, before updating the desktop pool golden image are:

Copy the shortcut to c:\users\Public\Desktop. This option will place the shortcut in the public desktop folder, which is shared by all users who log on to the same computer. The public desktop folder is normally a hidden folder, so the administrator needs to enable the option to show hidden files and folders in File Explorer1. This option does not require any additional software or configuration, but it will only work for the existing desktops in the pool. If new desktops are added or refreshed, the shortcut will not be copied automatically.

Configure a Shortcut with DEM (Dynamic Environment Manager). This option will use the DEM console to create a shortcut configuration that will apply the shortcut to the user’s desktop during logon2. The administrator needs to install and configure DEM on the Horizon environment, and create a configuration share and a profile archive share for storing the DEM settings3. This option requires more initial setup, but it will work for any desktop in the pool, regardless of whether it is new or refreshed. It also allows more flexibility and control over the shortcut properties and conditions.

The other options are not valid or feasible because:

Copying the shortcut during user provisioning to a non-writeable App Volume will not work because App Volumes are used to deliver applications, not shortcuts. App Volumes are virtual disks that are attached to the virtual machines at runtime, and they contain application files, registry entries, and settings4. Copying a shortcut to an App Volume will not make it appear on the user’s desktop.

Copying the shortcut to the Windows Default Domain Controller Policy will not work because this policy is used to configure settings for domain controllers, not desktops. The Default Domain Controller Policy is a Group Policy Object (GPO) that is linked to the Domain Controllers organizational unit (OU) in Active Directory, and it contains security settings that are applied to all domain controllers in the domain5. Copying a shortcut to this policy will not affect any desktops in the Horizon environment.

Configuring a Shortcut with Horizon View Client will not work because Horizon View Client is used to connect to remote desktops and applications, not to create shortcuts. Horizon View Client is a software application that runs on various devices and platforms, and it allows users to access their virtual desktops and applications through a secure connection6. Configuring a shortcut with Horizon View Client will not make it appear on the user’s desktop.

References:

How to make a desktop shortcut available for all users in Windows 101

VMware Dynamic Environment Manager (DEM) 2306 – Carl Stalhood2

VMware Tech Zone Antivirus Considerations in a VMware Horizon Environment: exclusions for Horizon View, App Volumes, User Environment Manager, ThinApp3

App Volumes Overview

Default Domain Controller Policy5

VMware Horizon Clients Documentation6

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.

The URL Content Redirection feature allows administrators to configure specific URLs to open on the client machine or in a remote desktop or published application. This can help reduce the risk of users downloading malware to the corporate network, as well as improve the user experience and performance of certain web applications.

To meet the requirements of the scenario, the administrator needs to enable the URL Content Redirection feature in Horizon Agent when installing or upgrading it on the instant-clone desktops. This will allow Horizon Agent to send or receive URLs from Horizon Client, depending on the redirection direction. The administrator also needs to configure group policy settings to indicate how Horizon Agent redirects the URL. Specifically, the administrator needs to enable agent-to-client redirection, which means that Horizon Agent sends the URL to Horizon Client, which opens the default application for the protocol in the URL on the client machine. The administrator also needs to specify which URLs are redirected from a remote desktop to a client, and which URLs are not redirected. In this case, the administrator needs to configure a whitelist of intranet websites that are allowed to open inside the virtual desktop, and a blacklist of all other websites that are automatically redirected to a browser on the client machine.

The other options are not relevant or sufficient for meeting the requirements. Disabling the Allow External Website feature in Horizon Agent will prevent users from accessing any external websites from their virtual desktops, which might not be desirable or practical. Enabling secure website settings in the Global Settings Security menu will not affect how URLs are redirected, but only how secure connections are established between Horizon components. Enabling the URL Content Redirection feature on the desktop pool settings will not work unless it is also enabled in Horizon Agent and configured with group policy settings. References: Configuring URL Content Redirection and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]

Windows golden image optimization is the process of reducing the size and improving the performance of the Windows OS image that is used as the base for the desktop pools. Some of the best practices for Windows golden image optimization are:

Disable unnecessary services: Services that are not required for the desktop functionality or user experience should be disabled to reduce the resource consumption and potential security risks. For example, services such as Windows Search, Windows Defender, Windows Update, and Superfetch can be disabled for better performance and stability.

Disable power options: Power options such as hibernation and sleep mode should be disabled to free up disk space and avoid potential issues with the desktop state. Hibernation can consume a large amount of disk space by creating a hiberfil.sys file that stores the system memory contents when the desktop is powered off. Sleep mode can cause problems with network connectivity and user sessions when the desktop is resumed from a low-power state.

Other best practices for Windows golden image optimization include:

Activate Windows OS paging: Paging is a mechanism that allows the OS to use a portion of the disk as virtual memory when the physical memory is insufficient. Paging can improve the performance and stability of the desktops by preventing out-of-memory errors and reducing memory contention. However, paging can also increase disk I/O and wear, so it should be configured with caution and monitored regularly.

Turn off automatic Windows maintenance (scheduled tasks): Automatic Windows maintenance is a feature that runs various tasks such as disk defragmentation, disk cleanup, security scanning, and system diagnostics in the background. These tasks can consume a lot of CPU, memory, and disk resources and interfere with the user experience and desktop performance. Therefore, it is recommended to turn off automatic Windows maintenance and run these tasks manually or on a scheduled basis when the desktops are not in use.

Turn off automatic Windows Updates: Automatic Windows Updates is a feature that downloads and installs updates for the OS and other Microsoft products in the background. These updates can consume bandwidth, disk space, and CPU resources and cause compatibility issues with some applications or drivers. Therefore, it is recommended to turn off automatic Windows Updates and manage the updates manually or through a centralized tool such as VMware Update Manager or Microsoft WSUS. References: [Optimizing Your VMware Horizon View 7.x Golden Image] and [VMware Horizon 8.x Professional Course]