Dakota State University



Installing and Using VMWare Horizon View Client

What is VMWare View Client?

A virtual machine is just a computer that runs on a server in our server room. A physical machine is the laptop or desktop you use at your desk. The physical and virtual machines function very similarly. You connect to the virtual machine remotely using your physical machine and a piece of software that bridges the connection. At DSU, we use the VMware Horizon View Client as that bridge.

Once you are connected to the virtual machine, it behaves as if it is the computer on your desk, but it is still operating on the server. This allows students to access software for their classes wherever they are, as long as they have a computer and an internet connection.

Installation:

• Open the web page in your web browser.

• You will be presented with some different View clients to download depending on your computer. Most people will need the 64-bit client; if you download the wrong one, you’ll receive a warning message. (If that happens, choose another options.)

• Download the client to your computer and run the file to install it.

• Use view.dsu.edu as the server name if it asks for the name of the Connection Server.

• Restart your computer when it finishes. 

Once the VMware bridge software is installed, click the VMware Horizon View Client icon on your Desktop or use the Start Menu to start the client. On Mac OSX, use the search in the top right corner to search for View Client or look in your Apps folder.

• Double-click the view.dsu.edu icon inside View Client to join the view.dsu.edu server, or click New Server and create a view.dsu.edu connection.

• Type your DSU Network user name and password to log in (same as your webmail.dsu.edu user name and password). 

• Log into the MATH AND SCIENCE pool. This will bring up a new desktop window, which is your VMware View virtual machine.    

Information about how VMware Virtual Machines works:  

When you log into the VMware View Client, you will see a VM pool called MATH AND SCIENCE.

The VMware View pool is a “persistent” pool. Here are some details about how a persistent pool works.  

  

1. Users will get the same VM every time they log in and the VM belongs to them. They are not sharing it with other users. Their personal, individual data will stay on the virtual machine IF they save it in the My Documents and Desktop folders. Some user settings and personalization are also retained.  

a. Other folders (for example, if you create a folder called “c:\johns files\”) will be deleted every time the pool is updated or changed.

b. Users can install programs in their virtual machine; however, any programs that users install will also be deleted every time the virtual machine pool is updated.

2. The user’s session is over when the user “logs out” of their VM. The files they saved to My Documents or Desktop will still be there when they log in again later.   

a. Users can log out by either logging out of Windows normally (click Start and Log Off), or by using the “Disconnect and Log Off” feature on the Options menu on the View Toolbar at the top of their screen.

b. The Disconnect and Log Off option is the preferred method for exiting your virtual machine. This method immediately frees memory and processing resources on the VMware servers, making it available for other users.

c. Please do not Restart or Reboot your virtual machine using the Start Button. This can cause your virtual machine to “hang” and you won’t be able to get back into it later.   

3. If a user intentionally or unintentionally “disconnects” from their session, they can log back in and reconnect and they will still be logged into the same virtual machine and their programs will still be open and running right where they left them. However, the session will expire if they don’t log back in eventually, and their programs will shut down, potentially causing a loss of work. 

a. Disconnecting can take place intentionally by closing the View Client without logging off (clicking the X in the top right corner, for example) or by using the “Disconnect” feature on the Options menu on the View Toolbar at the top.

i. Please do not do either one of these! Disconnecting by closing the View Client without logging off can lock your virtual machine out.  

b. Disconnecting can happen unintentionally if Windows or the View Client crashes, or if the user loses their internet connection.  

4. Users can save their files to other locations, rather than saving to My Documents or to the Desktop on their virtual machine.

a. Users can use the “Connect USB Device” feature on the top toolbar of the View Client to copy data to a USB flash drive.

b. Users can email the saved files to their instructor or to themselves. But note that some files do not email well because they are too large or anti-virus and anti-spam programs classify them as unsafe.

c. If the instructor is using a classroom management tool like Desire 2 Learn, users can upload and download files using the tools built into the course management system. This is the highly preferred method.  

d. There are probably many other ways to store data, such as using an online storage app like Google Drive.

5. Your virtual machine will automatically map every printer you have installed on your local physical computer (the computer you used to launch and log into VMware View Client).  You should see those printers when you go to Print from within your virtual machine. When you log into View Client, you may need to wait a minute or two before the printers show up in the Printers folder.

a. If you want to print to an on-campus printer that isn’t already mapped, you can simply add the printer to the Printers list in your virtual machine. Mapping DSU printers: Go to Start, Run and type \\print and hit Enter. Once the Print Server Console shows up, choose your DSU network printer and double-click to install.

6. Once the official date has passed for final grades to be turned in for the current semester, students are removed from the VM pool and they will not be able to log in and retrieve any data from their virtual machines. Have your instructor inform IT Services if you need access beyond that date.

If you are having issues connecting with or using VMWare Horizon View Client please contact the DSU ITS Help Desk by email at help@dsu.edu, calling 605-256-5675 (8am-5pm CST), or connecting with Help Desk Techs at .

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