Horizon Mirage Components

Horizon Mirage clients

Endpoint devices installed with the Horizon Mirage client can run a centralized virtual desktop (CVD) or

convert an existing desktop to a CVD.

The Horizon Mirage client software runs in the base operating system and makes sure the images at the

endpoint and the CVD are synchronized. The client does not create or emulate a virtual machine. No virtual

machines or hypervisors are required. The Horizon Mirage client software can run on any Type 1 or Type 2

hypervisor.

Horizon Mirage Management server

The Horizon Mirage Management server, located in the data center, is the main component that controls

and manages the Horizon Mirage server cluster.

Horizon Mirage Management console

The Horizon Mirage Management console is the graphical user interface used to perform scalable

maintenance, management, and monitoring of deployed endpoints.

Through the Management console, the administrator configures and manages clients, base and app layers,

and reference machines. The administrator uses the Management console to perform operations such as

update and restore, and monitors the system operation through the dashboard and event logs.

Horizon Mirage Web Manager

The Horizon Mirage Web Manager enables help-desk personnel to respond to service queries, and the

Dashboard feature assists the Protection manager role to ensure that user devices are protected. The Web

Manager mirrors Horizon Mirage Management console functionality. For more information, see the Horizon

Mirage Web Manager User Guide.

Horizon Mirage Server

The Horizon Mirage servers, located in the data center, manage the storage and delivery of base layers, app

layers, and CVDs to clients, and consolidate monitoring and management communications. You can deploy

multiple servers as a server cluster to manage endpoint devices for large enterprise organizations. It is good

practice to keep the server on a dedicated machine or a virtual machine. However, a server can be co-hosted

with the Management server.

NOTE The server machine must be dedicated for the Horizon Mirage server software to use. It must not be

used for any other purposes.

Centralized Virtual Desktop (CVD)

CVDs represent the complete contents of each PC. This data is migrated to the Horizon Mirage server and

becomes the authoritative copy of the contents of each PC. You use the CVD to centrally manage, update,

patch, back up, troubleshoot, restore, and audit the desktop in the data center, regardless of whether the

endpoint is connected to the network. A CVD comprises the following components:

n Base layer defined by the administrator, which includes the operating system (OS) image plus core

applications such as antivirus, firewall, and Microsoft Office. A base layer is used as a template for

desktop content, cleared of specific identity information and made suitable for central deployment to a

large group of endpoints.

App layers defined by the administrator, which include sets of one or more departmental or line-ofbusiness

applications, and any updates or patches for already installed applications, suitable for

deployment to large numbers of endpoints.

Driver profile defined by the administrator, which specifies a group of drivers for use with specific

hardware platforms. These drivers are applied to devices when the hardware platforms match the

criteria that the administrator defines in the driver profile.

User-installed applications and machine state, including unique identifier, hostname, any configuration

changes to the machine registry, DLLs, and configuration files.

Changes to data, applications, or the machine state made by end-user are propagated to the data center.

Conversely, all changes that the administrator makes to the base layer or app layers in the data center

are propagated to the endpoints. Administrators can identify data that does not need to be protected,

such as MP3s, or other files that are considered local only to the endpoint.

Horizon Mirage Reference Machine

A Horizon Mirage reference machine is used to create a standard desktop base layer for a set of CVDs. This

layer usually includes OS updates, service packs and patches, corporate applications for all target end-users

to use, and corporate configurations and policies. A reference machine is also employed to capture app

layers, which contain departmental or line-of-business applications and any updates or patches for already

installed applications.

You can maintain and update reference machines over time over the LAN or WAN, using a Horizon Mirage

reference CVD in the data center. You can use the reference CVD at any time as a source for base and app

layer capture.

Horizon Mirage Branch Reflector

A Horizon Mirage branch reflector is a peering service role that you can enable on any endpoint device. A

branch reflector can then serve adjacent clients in the process of downloading and updating base or app

layers on the site, instead of the clients downloading directly from the Horizon Mirage server cluster. Using

a branch reflector can significantly reduce bandwidth use during mass base or app layer updates or other

base or app layer download scenarios. The branch reflector also assists downloading hardware drivers.

Distributed Desktop Optimization

The Distributed Desktop Optimization™ mechanism optimizes transport of data between the

Horizon Mirage server and clients, making it feasible to support remote endpoints regardless of network

speed or bandwidth. Distributed Desktop Optimization incorporates technologies that include read-write

caching, file and block-level deduplication, network optimization, and desktop streaming over the WAN.