Q. What is
VMware Horizon Mirage?
A. VMware
Horizon Mirage is a layered image management solution that separates a desktop,
laptop, or virtual endpoints into logical layers that are owned and managed by
either IT or the end user. You can update IT-managed layers while maintaining
end-user files and personalization. To maximize end-user productivity,
snapshots and backups of layered desktop images enable quick recovery or
rollback in case of failure.
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage work?
A. Horizon
Mirage categorizes a PC or virtual endpoint into logical layers owned by either
IT or the end user, sends a complete copy of the system to the Mirage Server in
the data center and keeps it synchronized. If an end user goes offline, Horizon
Mirage performs a synchronization the next time that user comes back online.
Synchronization pushes updates to the IT-managed layers and sends
user-initiated changes back to the data center. Centralization and
synchronization enable IT to manage the PCs and virtual endpoints more
effectively. Images managed by Horizon Mirage can run natively on
Windows
laptops and desktops or as virtual desktops running locally on Mac or Linux
systems with VMware Fusion Professional, or in VMware Horizon View.
Q. How do the
Horizon Mirage logical layers work?
A. When the
Horizon Mirage client is installed on an endpoint, it scans the entire device
and categorizes all of its contents into a number of logical layers. It creates
two groups of layers: those that IT owns and manages and those that the user controls
(such as the user’s profile and data and the applications the user installs).
Horizon Mirage does not move anything around on the endpoint and does not
isolate or virtualize the components. Instead, Horizon Mirage categorizes the
data on an endpoint so that IT can perform more-granular management of the
system components. After an update is made to a layer, that change is merged
into the image running on that end-user system.
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage categorize the data on the computer into separate logical
layers?
A. The data
is all stored in the data center, and Horizon Mirage uses algorithms to determine
which objects on the endpoint belong to which logical layer. The information in
the data center is stored in logical groupings of data from each endpoint that the
Horizon Mirage server records.
Q. What was
new in Horizon Mirage 4?
A. Horizon
Mirage 4 included the capability for application layering. IT administrators
can build layers that include individual applications or groups of applications
to deploy and manage centrally for any combination of end users. Horizon Mirage
4 includes Fusion Professional, so IT administrators can deploy corporate
images and applications to virtual machines running on Mac- or Linux-based
desktops and laptops. Horizon Mirage 4 includes VMware ThinApp application
virtualization technology to enable isolation and encapsulation of traditional
Windows desktop applications for inclusion in image layers managed by Horizon
Mirage.
Q. What is
new in Horizon Mirage 4.3?
A. With this
release, IT can leverage Horizon Mirage for image
management of
Horizon View virtual desktops. IT can install and update base and application
layers to full clone virtual machines in persistent desktop pools, in the same
way they would with physical PCs. Using Horizon Mirage to manage images on full
clones allows IT to update base and application layers on virtual machines
without affecting user-installed applications and data. IT can effectively use
Horizon Mirage to manage both physical and virtual endpoints at scale. Parent virtual
machines for floating pools can also be managed by Horizon Mirage. Additional
enhancements in 4.3 include a calculator that provides time estimates around
centralization, new endpoint policy features, branch reflector enhancements, and
a web console to ease administration. Additionally, in a Windows 7 migration,
application layers can now be staged with the base layer.
Q. How well
does the synchronization perform over the WAN?
A. Horizon
Mirage was designed to excel over the WAN by leveraging deduplication both in
storage and during network transfers. Horizon Mirage uses a global manifest in
storage to ensure that data is stored only once. Horizon Mirage sends data
across a network only when it is needed. Horizon Mirage (before network
transfer) scans the source and the destination, computes the delta (i.e.,
determines which files are missing) and sends only what is required. Horizon
Mirage also compresses network transmissions for additional network savings.
Q. Does
Horizon Mirage replace my PC life-cycle management (PCLM) solution?
A. No,
Horizon Mirage is not a replacement for PCLM solutions but complements and
extends existing tools and processes.
The
image-layering technology enables IT to easily migrate user data and profiles
for in-place OS migration or hardware refresh
processes. Additionally, snapshots of PCs enable rollback or quick recovery in
case of a failure.
Q. Can I
adjust policies in Horizon Mirage?
A. The IT
administrator can use settings in Horizon Mirage to customize how the Horizon
Mirage system works—including how often snapshots are taken, what types of
files are (and are not) centralized and how endpoints are centralized to the system—and
to control role-based authentication for the Horizon Mirage management system.
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage enable end-user personalization of PC systems?
A. Horizon
Mirage maintains all end-user data even when an IT
administrator
applies base layers. The only time end-user data is changed or modified is when
it conflicts with data in the base layer. For example, if an end user has
previously installed Office 2007, and an IT administrator deploys a base layer
with Office 2010, that user’s instance of Office is upgraded to Office 2010.
Otherwise, user personalization, files and applications are all completely
persistent.
Q. How is
data security managed?
A. The key
points with regard to Horizon Mirage security are
• Third-party
encryption can be used on the Horizon Mirage storage volumes in the data
center.
• Third-party
file-based encryption solutions are compatible with Horizon Mirage.
•
Server-client communication can be encrypted using SSL.
• NTFS
permissions are maintained on all files backed up by Horizon Mirage into the
data center.
•
Administration is role-based.
• Full audit
logs are provided for tasks initiated in the Horizon Mirage console.
Q. How much
of the desktop image is backed up?
A. Horizon
Mirage provides a backup of the entire PC—not just the files. Restoration is
simple, because Horizon Mirage restores an exact image of the user’s old
PC—including personal applications, files and personalization—to the replacement
desktop or laptop.
Q. How
granular is the recovery process for a desktop image?
A. Because of
the layering technology in Mirage, IT has three options for desktop recovery:
• Restore the
entire device (OS, applications, user data and profile).
• Restore
just the applications, user data and profile.
• Restore
just the user data and profile.
Q. Can the
end user initiate the repair?
A. No,
restore and migration tasks must be initiated by the IT administrator. However,
the end user can initiate files or directory restores. Windows 7 Migration
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage streamline Windows 7 migration?
A. Horizon
Mirage enables the two most common approaches to Windows 7 migrations: in-place
and hardware refresh. Horizon Mirage can deliver a new IT-provisioned Windows 7
image to upgrade an existing Windows XP device or migrate an end user’s profile
and files from that user’s previous Windows XP device to a new Windows 7
device.
Q. Can
Horizon Mirage help reduce potential downtime when a migration fails?
A. Before
attempting an in-place migration, Horizon Mirage takes a full system snapshot of the Windows XP
system. In case of a failure, IT can quickly restore the end user to the previous
system.
Q. What is
the typical end-user downtime during migration?
A. The user
can continue working normally while the user’s device downloads the Windows 7
image from the Mirage server. End-user downtime—usually no more than 30 minutes—occurs
during the reboot to apply the Windows 7 image (after it is done downloading).
Q. What are
the Horizon Mirage client bandwidth requirements?
A. Horizon
Mirage was developed to work effectively over the
WAN. On
average, Horizon Mirage requires 15kb/sec per user, which equals roughly 50MB
per user per day. Also, quality of service can be implemented in a number of
ways in a number of locations to ensure that bandwidth is not taxed. The Horizon
Mirage client also automatically monitors bandwidth and latency to throttle
itself up or down, as appropriate, based on user needs.
Q. Do users
need to be online to use a system managed by Horizon Mirage?
A. No.
Horizon Mirage clients and images are installed directly
onto Windows
PCs or in virtual machines with Fusion Professional. Horizon Mirage enables end
users to leverage local computing resources of the device and maintain offline
productivity.
Q. Are
Horizon Mirage clients available for DOS, Linux, Mac and UNIX?
A. Horizon
Mirage clients are supported in Windows XP 32-bit and Windows 7 32-bit and
64-bit systems. Horizon Mirage clients can be run inside of virtual machines,
enabling PCa images to be delivered to Macs and Linux-based systems, and inside
Horizon View virtual desktops.
Q. Does
Horizon Mirage synchronize across different PCs?
A. Horizon
Mirage does not support synchronization of the same end-user image across
multiple devices.
Q. How is
Horizon Mirage licensed?
A. Horizon
Mirage is priced and licensed on a per-named-user model.
Q. How can I
purchase Horizon Mirage?
A. Horizon
Mirage is available for purchase—a la carte, with Horizon View to support image
management for persistent virtual desktops or bundled in the VMware Horizon Suite—directly
from VMware or any VMware authorized reseller partner.
Q. What is
VMware Horizon Mirage?
A. VMware
Horizon Mirage is a layered image management solution that separates a desktop,
laptop, or virtual endpoints into logical layers that are owned and managed by
either IT or the end user. You can update IT-managed layers while maintaining
end-user files and personalization. To maximize end-user productivity,
snapshots and backups of layered desktop images enable quick recovery or
rollback in case of failure.
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage work?
A. Horizon
Mirage categorizes a PC or virtual endpoint into logical layers owned by either
IT or the end user, sends a complete copy of the system to the Mirage Server in
the data center and keeps it synchronized. If an end user goes offline, Horizon
Mirage performs a synchronization the next time that user comes back online.
Synchronization pushes updates to the IT-managed layers and sends
user-initiated changes back to the data center. Centralization and
synchronization enable IT to manage the PCs and virtual endpoints more
effectively. Images managed by Horizon Mirage can run natively on
Windows
laptops and desktops or as virtual desktops running locally on Mac or Linux
systems with VMware Fusion Professional, or in VMware Horizon View.
Q. How do the
Horizon Mirage logical layers work?
A. When the
Horizon Mirage client is installed on an endpoint, it scans the entire device
and categorizes all of its contents into a number of logical layers. It creates
two groups of layers: those that IT owns and manages and those that the user controls
(such as the user’s profile and data and the applications the user installs).
Horizon Mirage does not move anything around on the endpoint and does not
isolate or virtualize the components. Instead, Horizon Mirage categorizes the
data on an endpoint so that IT can perform more-granular management of the
system components. After an update is made to a layer, that change is merged
into the image running on that end-user system.
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage categorize the data on the computer into separate logical
layers?
A. The data
is all stored in the data center, and Horizon Mirage uses algorithms to determine
which objects on the endpoint belong to which logical layer. The information in
the data center is stored in logical groupings of data from each endpoint that the
Horizon Mirage server records.
Q. What was
new in Horizon Mirage 4?
A. Horizon
Mirage 4 included the capability for application layering. IT administrators
can build layers that include individual applications or groups of applications
to deploy and manage centrally for any combination of end users. Horizon Mirage
4 includes Fusion Professional, so IT administrators can deploy corporate
images and applications to virtual machines running on Mac- or Linux-based
desktops and laptops. Horizon Mirage 4 includes VMware ThinApp application
virtualization technology to enable isolation and encapsulation of traditional
Windows desktop applications for inclusion in image layers managed by Horizon
Mirage.
Q. What is
new in Horizon Mirage 4.3?
A. With this
release, IT can leverage Horizon Mirage for image
management of
Horizon View virtual desktops. IT can install and update base and application
layers to full clone virtual machines in persistent desktop pools, in the same
way they would with physical PCs. Using Horizon Mirage to manage images on full
clones allows IT to update base and application layers on virtual machines
without affecting user-installed applications and data. IT can effectively use
Horizon Mirage to manage both physical and virtual endpoints at scale. Parent virtual
machines for floating pools can also be managed by Horizon Mirage. Additional
enhancements in 4.3 include a calculator that provides time estimates around
centralization, new endpoint policy features, branch reflector enhancements, and
a web console to ease administration. Additionally, in a Windows 7 migration,
application layers can now be staged with the base layer.
Q. How well
does the synchronization perform over the WAN?
A. Horizon
Mirage was designed to excel over the WAN by leveraging deduplication both in
storage and during network transfers. Horizon Mirage uses a global manifest in
storage to ensure that data is stored only once. Horizon Mirage sends data
across a network only when it is needed. Horizon Mirage (before network
transfer) scans the source and the destination, computes the delta (i.e.,
determines which files are missing) and sends only what is required. Horizon
Mirage also compresses network transmissions for additional network savings.
Q. Does
Horizon Mirage replace my PC life-cycle management (PCLM) solution?
A. No,
Horizon Mirage is not a replacement for PCLM solutions but complements and
extends existing tools and processes.
The
image-layering technology enables IT to easily migrate user data and profiles
for in-place OS migration or hardware refresh
processes. Additionally, snapshots of PCs enable rollback or quick recovery in
case of a failure.
Q. Can I
adjust policies in Horizon Mirage?
A. The IT
administrator can use settings in Horizon Mirage to customize how the Horizon
Mirage system works—including how often snapshots are taken, what types of
files are (and are not) centralized and how endpoints are centralized to the system—and
to control role-based authentication for the Horizon Mirage management system.
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage enable end-user personalization of PC systems?
A. Horizon
Mirage maintains all end-user data even when an IT
administrator
applies base layers. The only time end-user data is changed or modified is when
it conflicts with data in the base layer. For example, if an end user has
previously installed Office 2007, and an IT administrator deploys a base layer
with Office 2010, that user’s instance of Office is upgraded to Office 2010.
Otherwise, user personalization, files and applications are all completely
persistent.
Q. How is
data security managed?
A. The key
points with regard to Horizon Mirage security are
• Third-party
encryption can be used on the Horizon Mirage storage volumes in the data
center.
• Third-party
file-based encryption solutions are compatible with Horizon Mirage.
•
Server-client communication can be encrypted using SSL.
• NTFS
permissions are maintained on all files backed up by Horizon Mirage into the
data center.
•
Administration is role-based.
• Full audit
logs are provided for tasks initiated in the Horizon Mirage console.
Q. How much
of the desktop image is backed up?
A. Horizon
Mirage provides a backup of the entire PC—not just the files. Restoration is
simple, because Horizon Mirage restores an exact image of the user’s old
PC—including personal applications, files and personalization—to the replacement
desktop or laptop.
Q. How
granular is the recovery process for a desktop image?
A. Because of
the layering technology in Mirage, IT has three options for desktop recovery:
• Restore the
entire device (OS, applications, user data and profile).
• Restore
just the applications, user data and profile.
• Restore
just the user data and profile.
Q. Can the
end user initiate the repair?
A. No,
restore and migration tasks must be initiated by the IT administrator. However,
the end user can initiate files or directory restores. Windows 7 Migration
Q. How does
Horizon Mirage streamline Windows 7 migration?
A. Horizon
Mirage enables the two most common approaches to Windows 7 migrations: in-place
and hardware refresh. Horizon Mirage can deliver a new IT-provisioned Windows 7
image to upgrade an existing Windows XP device or migrate an end user’s profile
and files from that user’s previous Windows XP device to a new Windows 7
device.
Q. Can
Horizon Mirage help reduce potential downtime when a migration fails?
A. Before
attempting an in-place migration, Horizon Mirage takes a full system snapshot of the Windows XP
system. In case of a failure, IT can quickly restore the end user to the previous
system.
Q. What is
the typical end-user downtime during migration?
A. The user
can continue working normally while the user’s device downloads the Windows 7
image from the Mirage server. End-user downtime—usually no more than 30 minutes—occurs
during the reboot to apply the Windows 7 image (after it is done downloading).
Q. What are
the Horizon Mirage client bandwidth requirements?
A. Horizon
Mirage was developed to work effectively over the
WAN. On
average, Horizon Mirage requires 15kb/sec per user, which equals roughly 50MB
per user per day. Also, quality of service can be implemented in a number of
ways in a number of locations to ensure that bandwidth is not taxed. The Horizon
Mirage client also automatically monitors bandwidth and latency to throttle
itself up or down, as appropriate, based on user needs.
Q. Do users
need to be online to use a system managed by Horizon Mirage?
A. No.
Horizon Mirage clients and images are installed directly
onto Windows
PCs or in virtual machines with Fusion Professional. Horizon Mirage enables end
users to leverage local computing resources of the device and maintain offline
productivity.
Q. Are
Horizon Mirage clients available for DOS, Linux, Mac and UNIX?
A. Horizon
Mirage clients are supported in Windows XP 32-bit and Windows 7 32-bit and
64-bit systems. Horizon Mirage clients can be run inside of virtual machines,
enabling PCa images to be delivered to Macs and Linux-based systems, and inside
Horizon View virtual desktops.
Q. Does
Horizon Mirage synchronize across different PCs?
A. Horizon
Mirage does not support synchronization of the same end-user image across
multiple devices.
Q. How is
Horizon Mirage licensed?
A. Horizon
Mirage is priced and licensed on a per-named-user model.
Q. How can I
purchase Horizon Mirage?
A. Horizon
Mirage is available for purchase—a la carte, with Horizon View to support image
management for persistent virtual desktops or bundled in the VMware Horizon Suite—directly
from VMware or any VMware authorized reseller partner.
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