Step by Step Installation and Configuration of Omnissa Horizon 8 on Nutanix AHV – Part Two

by | Feb 9, 2026 | Omnissa | 0 comments

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Step by Step Installation and Configuration of Omnissa Horizon 8 on Nutanix AHV – Part Two

Published February 2026 at blog.youngtech.com

Click Here to Download this Full Guide as a PDF

In the previous blog post, which you can find here, I shared Part One of this series which included two sections from the Full Guide linked above.

This post is Part Two (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:

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 Two of the series, I’ll be sharing Sections 3 and 4 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 (Including in this Blog Post)
  • Section 4: Horizon 8 2512 Connection Server Deployment (Including in this Blog Post)
  • Section 5: Horizon 8 2512 Agent Installation for Windows 11 25H2 (See Full Guide)
  • Section 6: Horizon OS Optimization Tool (OSOT) 2512 for Windows 11 25H2 on AHV (See Full Guide)
  • 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 Two), let’s jump back in where we left off!

Section 3: Nutanix AHV Drivers and Tools Installation on Windows 11

Now that Windows 11 25H2 has been loaded, we’ll install the VirtIO Drivers from the ISO we mounted previously. From the Start Menu, click File Explorer:

Navigate to the VirtIO ISO and launch the x64 setup installer found in the root of the CD ROM drive:

Double click Nutanix-VirtIO-1.2.5-x64, accept the license terms and click Install:

The installation will begin:

Click Yes to the UAC prompt:

Click Finish:

Now that we have drivers and a network connection, we can run Windows Updates from Settings as shown:

Depending on the number of updates being installed, this process may take several minutes (or longer) to complete. Note: If installing from September 2025’s Windows 11 25H2 ISO, the 2025-12 Security Update (KB5072033) installation is a particularly slow one to download and complete. Just be patient and wait to become fully patched before proceeding to the next steps.

Complete as many reboots and re-login as many times as is necessary until Windows Update shows ‘You’re up to date’ as displayed below:

Minimize the Virtual Machine Console window to go back to the VM view in Prism Central as shown. Note: Depending on how much time passed, you may need to login to Prism Central and go back to Infrastructure \ Compute \ VM and find the master image again.

Click on the Disks tab at the top:

Select sata.0 and click Eject to remove the first ISO. Repeat this process for sata.1 to remove the second ISO. When prompted, click ‘Eject’ on the confirmation screen that’s displayed.

Ensure both ISOs have been removed before proceeding. Now, sata.0 and sata.1 should have nothing listed in the Source column, as shown. Click the Summary tab at the top to continue.

Flip back to the Prism VM view and validate it shows VirtIO Version 1.2.5.2 as demonstrated:

At this point we want to test the virtual machine functions being sent from Prism to the Master Image. Click Power Operations at the top and click Guest Shutdown:

Click OK to shutdown the select VM:

With the Guest tools functioning properly, the Console should show the shutdown was being initialized by Nutanix. Confirm the VM enters the Power State Off:

Click on the Disks tab, select sata.0. In some instances, I’ve seen the Delete button not be immediately available, even though the virtual machine is powered off. Hovering your mouse over the Delete button will give a hint that Prism doesn’t believe the VM is fully powered off. If this happens, simply do a ‘Shift F5’ (Force Refresh) of the web browser to get it to reload the cache.

After the web browser has been force refreshed, select sata.0. Click Delete:

Confirm delete of sata.0:

Select sata.1 and click Delete (then confirm) to perform the operation again:

As a leading practice, since we don’t need CD ROM drives for normal operations of Horizon Virtual Desktops, it’s best to leave the Disks tab as shown, with strictly scsi.0 (System Disk) attached.

With the two temporary CD ROM drives removed from the Master, go back to the Summary tab and click Power Operations \ Power On as shown.

Note: While on this view in Prism Central, we can see the Peak (24h) performance of the virtual machine hitting 6,545 IOPS and 147.3MBps throughput, most likely while booting or performing the required Windows Updates. Check to see what your performance peaks show at this stage of the build process!

With the Master VM powered back up again, navigate to Explorer and validate the two CD ROM drives have been removed:

Delete the Nutanix SSR icon from the desktop:

Open the Start Menu and search ‘Remote desktop settings’:

Throw the toggle to the On position, as most of our ongoing management and maintenance will be done through RDP, not through the VM console:

Click Confirm:

Validate the changes by launching an RDP session to the Master VM, using the local admin account credentials to login. Note: In some instances on Windows 11, I’ve found a reboot was required to get the Remote Desktop Settings change to apply properly. If you have any issues connecting over RDP, reboot and try again.

In the following sections we will perform the Horizon 8 2512 Agent installation, and Horizon OS Optimization Tool (OSOT) 2512 on the Master Image. To prepare for these steps, create an Installs folder on the System Drive and copy the two files (these can be obtained from connect.omnissa.com) as linked earlier in this guide: Horizon 8 2512 Download Page.

Section 4: Horizon 8 2512 Connection Server Deployment

Before we can continue with the Windows 11 25H2 Horizon 8 2512 Agent installation, we must first bring a Connection Server online. For this environment, I’m building a Horizon 8 2512 Connection Server using Windows Server 2025 (hrzcs01.youngtechx.com). This virtual machine will be in a separate cluster to be used for managing the Nutanix AHV deployment. This other cluster is also where my Unified Access Gateway (hrzaug01.youngtechx.com) will be deployed.

As mentioned previously, it’s a leading practice and generally a good idea to keep the management components for Horizon isolated from the cluster and hosts running the Windows 11 Virtual Desktops. For this Proof of Concept, it also gives us as much hardware (CPU, Memory, Disk) to be used for running the Windows 11 workloads for POC testing purposes. For this section, I’ll build a Windows Server 2025 virtual machine meeting the following requirements:

  • Windows Server 2025 fully patched with 4 vCPU / 16GB RAM / 80GB Disk
  • Active Directory Domain joined to youngtechx.com with a Static IP Address (requirement for Connection Server installer)
  • Software binaries for Horizon 8 2512 downloaded and available for installation (Omnissa-Horizon-Connection-Server-x86_64-2512-8.17.0-20302007542.exe)
  • Service and Installer Account added as a Local Administrator (hrzahvadmin@youngtechx.com)

To start the Horizon 8 2512 Connection Server installation, navigate to the folder where the binaries were downloaded (for example Omnissa-Horizon-Connection-Server-x86_64-2512-8.17.0-20302007542.exe). Right click and select Run as Administrator:

Click Yes to the UAC prompt:

The installer splash screen will be momentarily displayed:

Since I have an active Horizon 8 Subscription license, I’ll click Yes. If you have any challenges getting an evaluation license for a basic Proof of Concept deployment, please don’t hesitate to reach out at this stage of the installation.

Click Next:

Leave the default installation path and click Next:

For the first Connection Server installation, we’ll leave defaults (Horizon Standard Server with Web Client and IPv4) and click Next:

Leave Single Pod Deployment selected and click Next:

Enter a Data Recovery Password and Hint. Click Next:

Allow the installer to Configure Windows Firewall automatically and click Next:

The installer will automatically detect the account being used, and add the account to the Root Level Administrators group. Click Next:

Select the appropriate option for the Customer Improvement Experience Program and click Next:

Review the Data Collection statement and click Next:

Leave General selected and click Install:

The installation will now begin, and typically takes between 10-30 minutes to complete. Be patient during the installation.

Once the installation has completed, uncheck the box ‘Show the documentation’ and click Finish:

After installation I always recommend rebooting the Connection Server:

After the server returns from a reboot (while giving enough time for services to start), launch the Horizon Administrator Console from the Desktop Shortcut.

If needed, click through any certificate errors in the Web Browser, those can be resolved at a later time using valid certificates. Enter the Administrative credentials.

Before we proceed, we should license the new Horizon 8 2512 instance. If not already there, navigate to Settings \ Product Licensing and Usage. Click Activate:

After clicking Activate, I’m clicking SaaS subscription license, to license against my Horizon Cloud subscription.

Click the checkbox for Horizon Universal Console license and click Next:

Click Start Activation:

Enter the appropriate Omnissa Connect username and password to authenticate by clicking Login with SSO:

Enter the associated password and click SIGN IN to complete the authentication process:

Review the available options and click Activate License as shown:

A green banner will be displayed, indicating the Saas subscription license activated.

Returning to the Horizon 8 Administrative Console shows the license was successfully activated.

Next, we’ll connect the Prism Central environment by navigating to Settings \ Servers \ Capacity Providers. Click ADD:

Select Nutanix AHV (Prism Central) from the dropdown menu and enter the Address, Display Name, User Name, and Password for the deployed infrastructure:

Click View Certificate:

Review the Prism Central SSL Certificate and click Accept:

If configured successfully, the Prism Central Capacity Provider will be displayed in the list:

Next, we’ll navigate to Settings \ Capacity Provider Settings and click ADD:

Add a profile for 4vCPU / 16GB RAM using the following settings. Click OK.

A green banner will show the Compute Profile Added Successfully.

Section 5: Horizon 8 2512 Agent Installation for 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

By completing the form above, you will receive an e-mail to download a PDF of the full guide and continue reading from this section. Once you’ve received the link, you can unsubscribe from the blog at any time, but it’s our way of staying connected to our audience. Please advise if you have any challenges reaching the link provided in the e-mail.


Low-Cost Proof of Concept Engagements

Statement of Work
 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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