Architecture Planning

Using the Log In as Current User Feature Available with Windows-Based
Horizon Client
With Horizon Client for Windows, when users select the Log in as current user check box, the credentials
that they provided when logging in to the client system are used to authenticate to the View Connection
Server instance and to the remote desktop. No further user authentication is required.
To support this feature, user credentials are stored on both the View Connection Server instance and on the
client system.
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On the View Connection Server instance, user credentials are encrypted and stored in the user session
along with the username, domain, and optional UPN. The credentials are added when authentication
occurs and are purged when the session object is destroyed. The session object is destroyed when the
user logs out, the session times out, or authentication fails. The session object resides in volatile memory
and is not stored in View LDAP or in a disk file.
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On the client system, user credentials are encrypted and stored in a table in the Authentication Package,
which is a component of Horizon Client. The credentials are added to the table when the user logs in
and are removed from the table when the user logs out. The table resides in volatile memory.
Administrators can use Horizon Client group policy settings to control the availability of the Log in as
current user check box and to specify its default value. Administrators can also use group policy to specify
which View Connection Server instances accept the user identity and credential information that is passed
when users select the Log in as current user check box in Horizon Client.
The Log in as current user feature has the following limitations and requirements:
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When smart card authentication is set to Required on a View Connection Server instance,
authentication fails for users who select the Log in as current user check box when they connect to the
View Connection Server instance. These users must reauthenticate with their smart card and PIN when
they log in to View Connection Server.
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The time on the system where the client logs in and the time on the View Connection Server host must
be synchronized.
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If the default Access this computer from the network user-right assignments are modified on the client
system, they must be modified as described in VMware Knowledge Base (KB) article 1025691.
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The client machine must be able to communicate with the corporate Active Directory server and not use
cached credentials for authentication. For example, if users log in to their client machines from outside
the corporate network, cached credentials are used for authentication. If the user then attempts to
connect to a security server or a View Connection Server instance without first establishing a VPN
connection, the user is prompted for credentials, and the Log in as Current User feature does not work.
Restricting Remote Desktop Access
You can use the restricted entitlements feature to restrict remote desktop access based on the View
Connection Server instance that a user connects to.
With restricted entitlements, you assign one or more tags to a View Connection Server instance. Then, when
configuring a desktop pool, you select the tags of the View Connection Server instances that you want to be
able to access the desktop pool. When users log in through a tagged View Connection Server instance, they
can access only those desktop pools that have at least one matching tag or no tags.
For example, your View deployment might include two View Connection Server instances. The first
instance supports your internal users. The second instance is paired with a security server and supports
your external users. To prevent external users from accessing certain desktops, you could set up restricted
entitlements as follows:
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Assign the tag "Internal" to the View Connection Server instance that supports your internal users.
View Architecture Planning
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