Step by Step Installation and Configuration of Omnissa Horizon 8 on Nutanix AHV – Part Three
Published February 2026 at blog.youngtech.com
Click Here to Download this Full Guide as a PDF
Over the last six weeks I’ve shared the first two parts of this blog series! In previous blog posts, I shared sections from the 325+ Full Guide linked above. Previously posted, Part One can be found here, and Part Two of this series can be found here.
This post is Part Three (of Four), all sections of which can be found in the Full Guide, linked above.
Resources
As a refresher, before we continue on the deployment, there are a number of useful resources that we’ll use as reference:
- Nutanix Community Edition Landing Page: Official Download location to get Nutanix CE installation binaries
- Horizon 8 2512 Download Page: Official Download location to get Horizon 8 installation binaries
- Horizon 8 on Nutanix AHV design guidance: Blog post by Graeme Gordon
- Horizon 8 on Nutanix AHV Reference Architecture: Omnissa Tech Zone Guide
- Omnissa Horizon on Nutanix Best Practices: Nutanix Official Documentation, not yet updated to include Horizon on AHV
What This Guide Covers
Also as a refresher, this walkthrough is designed to help lay the foundation for a successful Proof of Concept (PoC) or initial deployment of Horizon 8 on AHV. In this Part Three of the series, I’ll be sharing Sections 5 and 6 from the full guide, as shown below:
- Section 1: Initial Review of Nutanix Infrastructure (Included in the previous Blog Post)
- Section 2: Windows 11 25H2 on AHV Master Image Creation (Included in the previous Blog Post)
- Section 3: Nutanix AHV Drivers and Tools Installation on Windows 11 (Included in the previous Blog Post)
- Section 4: Horizon 8 2512 Connection Server Deployment (Included in the previous Blog Post)
- Section 5: Horizon 8 2512 Agent Installation for Windows 11 25H2 (Including in this Blog Post)
- Section 6: Horizon OS Optimization Tool (OSOT) 2512 for Windows 11 25H2 on AHV (Including in this Blog Post)
- Section 7: Creating Additional Horizon Pools Using Optimized Windows 11 25H2 (See Full Guide)
- Section 8: Upgrading Nutanix AHV to 11.0 and Performing Final Validation Steps (See Full Guide)
To serve as a visual aide, below is a basic Horizon 8 Proof of Concept (POC) Topology Diagram we’ll review during this blog series and guide.
<< Click to view a larger / full size image of the Topology Diagram below >>
Topology diagram adapted from ‘Horizon 8 on Nutanix AHV Reference Architecture’ on Omnissa Tech Zone
Click Here to Download this Full Guide as a PDF
For this blog post (Part Three), let’s jump back in where we left off!
Section 5: Horizon 8 2512 Agent Installation for Windows 11 25H2
At this point in the Blog Series and Guide, we have a functional Horizon 8 2512 Connection Server (hrzcs01.youngtechx.com) and can proceed with the Horizon 8 2512 Agent Installation for Windows 11 25H2. To resume, RDP to the Master Image (hrzw11-1m), rename the Computer and join to the Domain (youngtechx.com):
Specify the Computer Name to match the virtual machine name and join the domain as shown:
Provide the required credentials to complete the Rename and Domain Join operation.
The Domain Join Operation completes as shown below. Click OK to start the reboot process.
Click OK:
Click Close:
Click Restart Now:
From this point forward, we’ll use a Domain Account to perform additional software installations, as a domain account requires fewer steps to authenticate and perform the required functions. In this environment, I’m using hrzahvadmin@youngtechx.com, which has been added as a Local Administrator to the Master Image (after joining the domain).
Navigate to the C:\Installs folder, then locate the Horizon 8 2512 Agent Installer (Omnissa-Horizon-Agent-x86_64-2512-8.17.0-20188589163.exe), Right Click and select Run As Administrator:
Click Yes to the UAC prompt:
Click Next:
Click Next:
Check the box ‘This machine will be used as a Golden Image’ and click Next:
For most deployments, the default Features are sufficient, with the one I always opt to select being shown on the next screen. Review and scroll down:
Once scrolled down, review the additional Features that are default. For most deployments, I tend to select the Horizon Performance Tracker as shown:
For Horizon Performance Tracker, select ‘This feature, and all subfeatures, will be installed on local hard drive.’’ as shown.
Once selected, click Next:
Enter the Fully Qualified DNS Name (FQDN) for the Horizon Connection Server as shown, and provide authentication if required. Click Next:
Click the checkbox to Automatically restart and click Install as shown:
As has been stated in the past, installations can take several minutes to complete. Be patient while performing the installation. A reboot should be initiated automatically upon completion of the installation.
Once rebooted, RDP and login to the Master Image VM to validate the installation by navigating to Programs and Features (shortcut from Run prompt: appwiz.cpl):
Before performing any additional steps such as Application Installations or running the Omnissa Horizon OS Optimization Tool (OSOT), I highly recommend capturing a full backup (or clone) of the Windows 11 25H2 Master Image. To do this, we’ll navigate back to Prism Central and navigate to the Virtual Machine as shown. Select Power Operations \ Guest Shutdown as shown:
Shutdown selected VM by clicking OK:
When initiated through the Nutanix Prism Central console, the Guest Shutdown command displays the following on the Master Image:
On the VM view, click Create VM Template:
Supply a Template Name and Description that lines up with the purpose or function of the Backup (or Clone) of the VM. For example, since I’m performing a Clone prior to Optimization using the OSOT process, I’ll specify the date and description ‘BeforeOptimization’ as shown. These fields will be useful for administrators down the road, so feel free to be as prescriptive and descriptive as necessary to quickly identify the state of the Master Image based on the Template created. When ready, click Next:
Click Save:
Navigating to Compute \ Templates shows the newly created Template after a couple minutes of the process being finished:
Next, we’ll validate functionality of the Master Image, Horizon Connection Server integration to Prism Central, etc. by testing a deployment of a Horizon Pool using this Windows 11 25H2 Template, which was created Before Optimization. Before we can create our first Horizon Pool, we have to configure Active Directory integration. Navigate back to the Horizon Administrative Console and go to Settings \ Domains. Click Add:
Enter the Credentials of the Administrative Account that has permissions to add/remove/modify Computer Objects in the appropriate Active Directory Organizational Units for the deployment. In my deployment, this account is hrzahvadmin as shown. Once ready, click OK:
Verify the Account and Domain was added successfully, as shown:
Go to Inventory \ Desktops. Click Add as shown below:
Leave Automated Desktop Pool selected and click Next:
Select the Prism Central Capacity Provider added previously. Click Next:
Enter a meaningful ID and Display Name as shown. Select Floating, and Non-persistent and click Next:
Enter the appropriate Provisioning settings, for example, Virtual Machine Naming: hrzw11-11{n:fixed=3}. I also prefer to build 2-3 initial VMs to validate the Provisioning Settings fully. For Management, I’m selecting ‘Always Powered On’, Logoff After Disconnect: Immediately, Refresh OS Disk After Logoff: Always. Once reviewed and configured, click Next as shown below:
Select the Template that was created in Prism Central, for example ‘hrzw11-1m 2025.12.23_BeforeOptimization’ and click Next:
Select the appropriate Cluster and click Next:
Use ‘Select Existing’ for the VM Compute Profile, and click the profile and network settings as appropriate. When ready, click Next:
As a general rule I leave all defaults for the Advanced Settings unless a modification is required. Click Next:
On the Guest Customization screen, click Browse to navigate to the Organizational Unit that will be used to deploy the Computer objects.
Navigate to the appropriate Organizational Unit. Select it and click Submit:
I prefer to select Allow Reuse of Existing Computer Accounts, but this is dependent on permissions assigned to the AD Domain Service Account. Most importantly on this customization screen, we almost always will want to select ClonePrep, as deployment of Windows 11 25H2 on Nutanix AHV will be immensely smoother. During the Beta and Limited Availability releases, only SysPrep was available, and it proved to be quite painful for mass deployments. Review and click Next:
Review the settings provided and scroll down:
Once scrolled to the bottom, if settings are fully reviewed, click Submit to start the provisioning process:
A green banner is displayed at the top (if settings were accepted), indicating that the first Windows 11 25H2 pool deployment is now starting.
Navigating back to Prism Central, we can see the deployments in process, starting with the ClonePrep virtual machine as shown below (it-hrzw9d762dc5-a829-4f0d-947d-52acc292efed):
Moments later, we can see the first Virtual Machines for the Horizon Pool being deployed as shown below (hrzw11-11001, hrzw11-11002, and hrzw11-11003):
On the Horizon Desktop Pool, we can inspect the Prism Settings as shown (Secondary Image in a state Publishing):
On the Machines tab we can see the virtual machines as they’re created, with a status of either Customizing or Available as shown.
On the far right we can click the Refresh button until all Machines display a status of Available as shown:
Prism Central shows the VMs, having been created by Horizon, have the appropriate vCPU, Memory and IP Addresses as appropriate for the deployment. Note: Safely ignore the OS column indicating the machines are Windows 10 Enterprise (64-bit).
If patience is required, wait a couple more minutes, and go back to the Machines tab to validate all show a Status of Available before proceeding to the next steps. It’s important for all machines to be Customized and Available, validating the functionality of the Nutanix AHV to Horizon 8 2512 integration, before we continue adding complexities and layers to troubleshooting.
Section 6: Horizon OS Optimization Tool (OSOT) 2512 for Windows 11 25H2 on Nutanix AHV
Now we’re confident the provisioning of the first Horizon Desktop Pool is functioning for Windows 11 25H2 on Nutanix AHV. Next, we’ll power up the Master Image and perform initial installation and optimization steps to create our next Horizon Desktop Pool. In Prism Central, find the Master Image (hrzw11-1m) and power it on.
Once powered back on, RDP using the administrator account and go to the C:\Installs directory where the Horizon Agent and OSOT 2512 executables were downloaded. Review the files already saved to C:\Installs on the Master Image, as shown. If you’ve not yet obtained OSOT 2512, you can do so from this location: https://customerconnect.omnissa.com/downloads/info/slug/virtual_desktop_and_apps/os_optimization_tool/2512
For the Finalize process of OSOT, if not downloaded, we’ll want to grab two additional installers from the Internet: SDelete and LGPO. Grab SDelete from the following URL and extract to C:\Installs\SDelete: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sdelete
Grab LGPO from the following URL and extract to C:\Installs\LGPO: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=55319
At this point, two additional folders should be extracted under C:\Installs: C:\Installs\SDelete and C:\Installs\LGPO. Since these files came from the internet and will need to be run programmatically, it’s a good idea to ‘Unblock’ the files. This can usually be done by right clicking each, going to Properties, and select Unblock. However, for many files, this is tedious. Instead, open an Elevated PowerShell prompt and simply run: get-childitem c:\installs -Recurse | Unblock-File
After running the command, if you were to inspect any of the executables, you would see the Unblock checkbox and option has been removed from Right Click \ Properties of the file, as shown.
With the files unblocked, we’ll want to copy all contents of the C:\Installs\SDelete folder over to C:\Windows\System32 which will cause a UAC prompt as shown:
Copied SDelete files now shown under C:\Windows\System32 on the right screen:
With the files unblocked, we’ll want to copy all contents of the C:\Installs\LGPO\LGPO_30 folder over to C:\Windows\System32 which will cause a UAC prompt as shown:
Copied LGPO files now shown under C:\Windows\System32 on the right screen:
Once the SDelete and LGPO files have been copied to the C:\Windows\System32 folder, we are cleared to run the OSOT executable. Navigate to C:\Installs, right click OSOT 2512 (OmnissaHorizonOSOptimizationTool-x86_64-1.2.2512.19957824724.exe) and click Run as administrator:
Click Yes to the UAC prompt:
Accept the OS Optimization Tool license terms and click Next:
The Splash screen is displayed as shown:
Click the Analyze button in the bottom right:
Click Common Options in the top left quadrant of the screen:
Leave the checkbox to Apply current user registry keys to default user profile. This is particularly helpful if you want to set first launch behaviors, such as bypassing the Microsoft Edge first run launch animations. Click Visual Effect:
Set the Visual Effect setting to your preference. I tend to prefer Best performance, but it’s always going to depend on the customer environment and user experience factors (for example if using GPUs with CAD applications, I’ll prefer Best quality and accept the performance impact). Click Notification:
Always, always, always Uncheck the Disable notifications option, or you will regret it later for things like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Slack, etc.
Click Update:
Click Search:
Click Store Apps:
Click Background:
Click Security:
When completed with all the Common Options, click OK to save.
In the bottom right, click Optimize:
Click Export:
Click Save:
Click OK:
Click Finalize:
Click Finalize:
Section 7: Creating Additional Horizon Desktop Pools Using Optimized Windows 11 25H2 (…To be continued in the next post in the series…)
Click Here to Download this Full Guide as a PDF
To compliment this Blog Post, I have created a 325 page PDF with the remaining steps in the following sections:
- Initial Review of Nutanix Infrastructure
- Windows 11 25H2 on AHV Master Image Creation
- Nutanix AHV Drivers and Tools Installation on Windows 11
- Horizon 8 2512 Connection Server Deployment
- Horizon 8 2512 Agent Installation for Windows 11 25H2
- Horizon OS Optimization Tool (OSOT) 2512 for Windows 11 25H2 on AHV
- Creating Additional Horizon Pools Using Optimized Windows 11 25H2
- Upgrading Nutanix AHV to 11.0 and Performing Final Validation Steps
This PDF guide is available free of charge to Subscribers of the YOUNGTECH BLOG. To continue reading, please request access to this free resource using the following link: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/rfrHd0o/horizonahv
Click Here to Download this Full Guide as a PDF
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For a limited time, our Professional Services and Consulting team will be offering $1 Statement of Work engagements for qualified customers, to help stand up Horizon on Nutanix AHV in a Proof of Concept capacity! If you’re a U.S. based customer, have already requested & downloaded this guide, and would like additional white glove remote assistance with your deployment, please use this link to make contact and schedule a no-cost discovery call: https://www.youngtech.com/connect/ |
Thanks for Reading
I trust this will be a useful resource to you and that you’ve enjoyed this Step by Step Installation and Configuration of Omnissa Horizon 8 on Nutanix AHV guide. Best of luck in your Horizon on AHV deployments! If you need any help along the way, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you so much!
Dane Young, MBA
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