vmware just dropped another dot release to their flagship desktop virtualization product, View. vmware View 4.6 is now officially available for download. Although this release is mostly a ton of bug fixes rolled up into a single package, there are a number of great new features including PCoIP support when going through a Security Server as well as Sync Support for iPhone and iPad users.

Like I mention above, the biggest feature for me is now the ability to do PCoIP through the Security Server. Before this functionality was available you were either required to use RDP or you must VPN into the network where the View Connection Broker server was located, but this typically wouldn’t work because of the added latency the VPN tunnel would create.

All of the updates in this release can be found in the official release notes, however here are the hot what’s new items:

• Security servers can now accommodate PCoIP connections – Security servers now include a PCoIP Secure Gateway component. The PCoIP Secure Gateway connection offers the following advantages:
  • The only remote desktop traffic that can enter the corporate data center is traffic on behalf of a strongly authenticated user.
  • Users can access only the desktop resources that they are authorized to access.
  • No VPN is required, as long as PCoIP is not blocked by any networking component.
  • Security servers with PCoIP support run on Windows Server 2008 R2 and take full advantage of the 64-bit architecture.
• Enhanced USB device compatibility – View 4.6 supports USB redirection for syncing and managing iPhones and iPads with View desktops. This release also includes improvements for using USB scanners, and adds to the list of USB printers that you can use with thin clients. For more information, see the list of View Client resolved issues.
• Keyboard mapping improvements – Many keyboard-related issues have been fixed. For more information, see the list of View Client resolved issues.
• New timeout setting for SSO users – With the single-sign-on (SSO) feature, after users authenticate to View Connection Server, they are automatically logged in to their View desktop operating systems. This new timeout setting allows administrators to limit the number of minutes that the SSO feature is valid for.
  • For example, if an administrator sets the time limit to 10 minutes, then 10 minutes after the user authenticates to View Connection Server, the automatic login ability expires. If the user then walks away from the desktop and it becomes inactive, when the user returns, the user is prompted for login credentials. For more information, see the VMware View Administration documentation.
• VMware View 4.6 includes more than 160 bug fixes – For descriptions of selected resolved issues, see Resolved Issues.
• Experimental support for Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 RC operating systems

Created on February 26, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under View.

This blog has 794 views and no responses.

Tags: desktop, pcoip, rdp, vdi, view, virtualized desktops, vmware view, vmware view 4

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For my last post before leaving for the holiday I’d like to announce that VMware View 4 is available for download.

One prerequisite is that you’re running on VMware vSphere 4.0 Update 1 or at least Update 3 of the VI 3.5 Suite.

The most anticipated feature (IMO) with View 4 is full PCoIP support, which brings a full rich desktop experience regardless of the connection type (LAN or WAN). This truly means that virtualized desktops are a viable option for almost any environment now.  Another amazing feature of PCoIP is the ability to support up to four monitors so now even my desktop could be a virtual one.

Here are a few of the other new features found in the VMware View 4 Release Notes:

VMware View 4  Release Notes
What’s New

Enhanced single sign-on – The Log in as current user feature is integrated with Active Directory and smart cards to help simplify the process of logging in to a VMware View desktop.

Restricted entitlements – Administrators can control user access to virtual desktops based on the View Connection Server being used for authentication.

Smart card policies – Administrators can set group policies to force desktop disconnection and require reconnection when users remove smart cards.

Domain filtering – You can use vdmadmin.exe to control the accessibility of domains and traverse trust relationships more quickly.

You can cleanly delete View desktops using scripts.

You can log in to View desktops using user principal names (UPN).

You can explicitly configure IP addresses to override those supplied by the View Agent when accessing a desktop.

Mixed Active Directory and Kerberos authentication is supported.

From viewing the VMware HCL it appears that there are a number of Thin Clients that already have full support for PCoIP and View 4.

Another topic of discussion on Twitter was the Guest O/S support matrix, there were concerns that Windows 7 wouldn’t be supported as a Guest.  From what I’ve read in KB 1015591 it appears that there is full support for Windows 95/98, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Ultimate, Business or Enterprise, and Windows 7.

So, go download your trial today and experience a true rich experience that PCoIP can provide.

Created on November 25, 2009 by Rick Scherer

Posted under View.

This blog has 4,686 views and 2 responses.

Tags: pcoip, thin client, vmware view 4

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