I was looking how to customize the Windows 2K8 Server R2 that I am accessing via PCoIP and VMware View to give the Windows 7 look and feel.

Read my article. How to Access Windows 2K8 Server via PCoIP with VMware View.

I found an excellent resource that I would like to share here. The blog is http://www.win2008r2workstation.com/ and blogger explains step-by-step how to get Win2K8 to look and feel exactly like Windows 7.

The most important posts that would benefit VDI implementations I am listing below:

• Themes
• Sidebar
• Aero-Cursors
• Thumbnails in Windows Explorer
• Boot Screen
• Logon Screen
• Games Explorer and gameux.dll
• MS DirectMusic Core Services

I have tested and works as a treat! Good Look and don’t forget to vote for this blog at http://myvirtualcloud.net/?p=2801

 

This article was first published by Andre Leibovici (@andreleibovici) at myvirtualcloud.net. Visitmyvirtualcloud.net for more articles about Virtualization, VDI and End User Computing.

Did you ever want to access Windows 2K8 Servers within VMware View using PCoIP? This configuration is not supported by VMware, only Terminal Services. Below you will find a step-by-step guide on how to connect Windows 2k8 R2 servers to VMware View using PCoIP.

The use cases for this type of configurations are many; ranging from creating manual pools to allow administrators to access jump boxes, to provision Windows 2K8 desktops to users (I do not recommend that from a MS licensing perspective).

I have also validated in my lab the use of Linked Clones and Persona Management with Windows 2K8 R2 servers but that will require some additional steps to make it work properly. In a next post I will explain how to make Linked Clones and Persona Management work in your VMWare View environment with Windows 2K8.

 

Hacking VMware View Agent

VMware View Agent uses Microsoft Installer to run a series of validations to understand what components should or should not be installed. For Windows 2K8 specifically, VMware View agent will only allow Terminal Services Access Pools with the connection protocol being RDP. So, first we need to open and hack VMware View Agent.

You will need to download Orca. Orca MSI Editor allows you to edit the properties of any MSI file. With this tool, you can change the title and text within the installer and look at how and where the files are delivered. Once installed you can right-click any MSI and select Open with Orca. This tool used to be a part of Microsoft Developer Tools but is now retired and no longer supported.

Download Orca from here.

 

1. On a Windows 2K8 Server with VMware Tools installed execute the installation VMware View Agent package (VMware-viewagent-x86_64-5.0.0-481677). Do not click Install or Next.
2. Go to %temp% folder, typing %temp% at the Run prompt.
3. Find the folder containing the unpacked installation files and copy them to a temporary folder on your desktop.
4. Using the Orca utility open ‘VMware View Agent64.msi’ file existing in the temp folder.
5. Navigate to ‘Condition’ table
6. Delete the conditions from PCoIP (0) and USB (0) features. Delete only the content of the condition, not dropping the entire row. Save the changes.
7. Execute ‘VMware View Agent64.msi’ and go through the install normally. Enter the IP address of the Connection Server and the Authentication credentials when asked.
8. Open the Windows Device Manager; go to ‘Display Adapters’ and select ‘Update Driver…’
9. Select ‘Browse my computer for driver software’ and ‘Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’
10. On the following screen select ‘Have Disk…’ and select the wddm_video driver at “’c:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\wddm_video\vm3d.inf’. Without changing the video driver PCoIP will not work.
11. Click ‘OK’ and Reboot the server.

Optionally, watch the video demonstration of how to do that.

 

 

 

Hacking VMware View Connection Server

VMware View classifies the Guest OS version and only allows certain operations based on the version property. Without hacking into the internal database VMware View will not allow you to add Windows 2K8 R2 servers to a manual pool. You want to use manual pools because they allow PCoIP and also allow you to add ad-hoc computers.

The Guest OS version information is kept in the internal ADAM database (Active Directory Application Mode). The steps below will explain how to change the Guest OS version.

 

1. Connect to one of your connection servers via RDP and execute the EDSI Edit tool or adsiedit.msc. If your connection server is Windows 2K3 you will need to install the EDSI Edit tool. Download it from here.

2. Use the connection settings below to connect to the internal ADAM LDAP (DC=vdi,DC=vmware,DC=int). Click OK.

 

3. Navigate to Servers OU and select and open the latest CN added to the list. At this point you should be able to see a property ‘Display Name’ containing the name of the server. If this is not the server you are adding you will need to find the correct CN.

4. Navigate to the ‘pae-OSVersion’ property and change it from 4 to 5. Click OK.

 

5. At this point the Windows 2K8 R2 Server is available under ‘Registered Desktop Sources’ in the VMware View dashboard. It will be displayed as Windows 7 instead of Windows 2K8.

 

6. Create a manual desktop pool and add the server to the pool. The pool can be configured as persistent or floating.

 

Now watch below the video of PCoIP access to a Windows 2K8 Virtual Server via VMWare View. (I’m sorry about the quality of the video. I will soon replace it)

 

 

 

Important Notes:

· If you get a black screen when connecting via PCoIP, shutdown the server and add more video RAM memory. I recommend adding the maximum: 128MB

· This is completely not supported by VMware and all the changes and modifications in this article are purely from an experiment perspective.

· Do not execute the instructions mentioned in this article in a production environment without knowing exactly what you are doing.

· I am not suggesting here that Windows 2K8 Server should be used as a replacement for Windows 7 as desktop from a licensing perspective. If you have any questions on licensing, please talk to your Microsoft rep.

 

This article was first published by Andre Leibovici (@andreleibovici) at myvirtualcloud.net. Visit myvirtualcloud.net for more articles about Virtualization, VDI and End User Computing.

My good virtual friend Joshua Spenser (@VirtualSpense) from VMware created an awesome Powerpoint presentation (with Video) outlining the steps required to setup VMware View to broker connections to a physical PC with the Teradici PCIe PCoIP Host Card.

Josh, thanks for sharing with us!

 

 

You can also access the presentation and video at http://portal.sliderocket.com:80/app/FullPlayer.aspx?id=42E290E6-3D2E-A1DF-3CE0-BDAACB461868

 

Eric Siebert has officially opened the pools for this year’s vSphere-Land Top 25 bloggers List.

If you like VDI, 
If you like this blog,
If you like my articles,
If you like VMware View,
If you like VMware products,
Please consider voting for this blog.

Last year I was amongst the top 40; perhaps this year I can get to Top 25.

 

Click on the button below to initiate voting

 

 

 

 

• Published Applications in the Enterprise : Horizon App Manager vs. Citrix XenApp
• Cisco Opens 2012 Desktop Virtualization Push
• VDI – Downfall
• VMware is making progress with their “Octopus” on-premise Dropbox-like product
• VMware View 5 Desktop Virtualization Solutions [The Book]
• Multi-Stream ICA for XenDesktop 5.5 & XenApp 6.5
• The truth about Citrix HDX and WAN acceleration in XenDesktop 5.5
• Will desktops ever move to the cloud? Newsflash: Mine is *already* is a cloud desktop. And so is yours.
• Comparing Apples to Oranges
• Cloud based data solutions- Are they forgetting about VDI? Part 2
• Citrix plans to end support for XenApp 6.0 in 2013. What’s that? You’re still migrating to 6.0?
• VMware View VDI Flash Calculator v2.7 Released

 

How awesome is to be in IT nowadays. I don’t think IT has ever been as exciting as the moment we live today. Terms and jargons like VDI, DaaS, IaaS, PaaS, Cloud, BigData and NoSQL are appearing by the day.

We all work hard for what we stand and believe, but there’s need for some laughter about what we do. I put together this “Der Untergang – Downfall” video, which I believe is the first one aiming VDI and DaaS.

I hope you enjoy it!

 

If it’s too small, select Full Screen or go to http://vimeo.com/35467246

 

Looks like we finally have a face for our book. Jason Langone and I have been on and off working on this VDI book.

Many things happened since we started writing the book -  I changed jobs and countries, Langone changed jobs too, VMware View 5.0 was released, issues with the publisher etc…

I will spare you from the dramas.

The book is scheduled for June, 2012 but we are working to publish it as soon as possible, specially because VMware View.Next should be out sooner than later.

The book will be available on book shops such as Barnes and Noble, but will also be available on Amazon.com. At this stage I am not certain we will have a Kindle version but I really would like to have it. I am personally a big adopter of digital books.

[PRE-ORDER] Yes, you can pre-order the book at the publishers site at http://www.packtpub.com/vmware-view-5-desktop-virtualization-solutions/book

 

Overview

• Written by VMware experts Jason Langone and Andre Leibovici, this book is a complete guide to planning and designing a solution based on VMware View 5
• Secure your Virual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) by having firewalls, antivirus, virtual enclaves, USB redirection and filtering and smart card authentication
• Analyze the strategies and techniques used to migrate a user population from a physical desktop environment to a virtual desktop solution
• A learn-by-example based approach that focuses on key concepts to provide the foundation to solve real world problems 

  What you will learn from this book

• Analyse the strategies and techniques used to migrate a user population from a physical desktop environment to a virtual desktop solution
• Decide whether to use persistent or non-persistent vDesktops, which impacts many areas of the overall VDI including storage, desktop pools and management
• Understand how end devices such as thick client, thin client, zero clients and other devices, such as the Apple iPad, are supported by VMware View
• Correctly size the VDI and avoid slow logons, poor PCoIP performance, authentication errors, random failures, and more
• Analyse all of the potential points of failure within a VDI and provide redundancy for each component
• Effectively plan the storage design for your VDI
• Ensure regular backups are taken to ensure a quick recovery in times of failure
• Understand various VDI design considerations for disaster recovery 

  In Detail

  VMware View is a desktop virtualization solution that helps organizations automate desktop and application management, reduce costs, and increase data security through centralization of the desktop environment.

  Written by VMware experts Jason Langone and Andre Leibovici, this book is meant as a guide for architects, solution providers, consultants, engineers and anyone planning to design and implement a solution based on VMware View 5. This book will pull information and expertise from real world scenarios so as to maximize practical learning. It will explain the settings and configurations needed to have a successful desktop virtualization solution as well as the ‘why’ behind the decisions.

  This book is not meant to replace the official Administration or Installation Guides for VMware View or ThinApp published by the great people at VMware. The material in this book should be used during the design phase, which is before an implementation is underway. All components of a VMware View solution will be covered.

  This book uses case studies from the real world including:

• Hotel Kiosk – VDI solution used in a hotel lobby to provide basic connectivity to its guests
• Federal agency with classified and unclassified information – VDI used to allow analysts to securely connect to both a classified and unclassified network from the same device
• Remote Office – VDI used to provide connectivity to offshore developers
• Out-of-band Scientist – VDI used to provide a secure desktop environment to scientists fighting disease in remote locales

• Citrix XenApp 6.5 Mobility Pack reformats apps for Android devices
• If Microsoft puts “real” Windows 8 on tablets, how will OEMs deal with that $70 Windows license?
• VMware View Pool Membership Management using PowerCLI
• Scense Live Profiles – a completely new and innovative solution for your profile issues
• #VDI Tip 55: Make sure you have VVS running for View Persona Managment
• #VDI Tip 56: Don’t capture the Java Cache in your Persona management via @LiquidwareLabs
• First look at new VMware View Client with PCoIP for Linux
• Will Client Hypervisors Drive the Next Generation Desktop?
• VDI 500 User FAST Pool Project
• Who cares if you can’t run “normal” Windows apps on an ARM-based Windows 8 tablet? It’s all about future, not the present.
• Low cost VDI takes a hit as Apple buys flash controller startup Anobit
• VMware Education presents new trainings for VMware View 5
• Microsoft’s Consumer Electronics Show keynote came and went. There are still many unanswered questions about Windows 8 Metro UI.
• VDI Steady State Workload with VNX FAST Cache [Video]

 

I have just uploaded a new release of the online VMware View VDI Flash Calculator.

This new release is add some key storage capabilities. The VDI calculator can be found at http://myvirtualcloud.net/?page_id=1076. Alternatively, go to my blog homepage and select VDI Calculator on the top bar.

 

Release 2.7

- Added support for storage array caching calculation capabilities
- Added support for storage block de-duplication
- Added configuration validations based on storage protocol (Block and File)
- Added support for VAAI (vStorage API for Array Integration) validations
- Added higher degree of control over refresh cycle for floating pools
- Small UI changes

 

Caching – Intelligent arrays make use of DRAM and/or SSD memory to store most accessed blocks in memory. Memory stored in memory do not require backend spindle access, therefore reducing the total requirements on the backend. This is a powerfull option but should be used with caution. Normally is not possible to know the caching ratio until a project pilot is done.

Block De-duplication – Some arrays have either in-line block de-duplication or offline block de-duplication that helps to reduce the total capacity requirement. The de-duplication ratio for VDI deployments is normally high due to the block communality across multiple Windows desktop VMs. This is a powerful option but should be used with caution. Normally is not possible to know the caching ratio until a project pilot is done.

 

Check out the VDI calculator training video. You can find the video at http://myvirtualcloud.net/?p=2551 (not updated for release 2.7)

 

I have also updated the manual to help you to better use the VDI Flash Calculator. The manual can be found at http://myvirtualcloud.net/?p=1927.

The VDI calculator can be found at http://myvirtualcloud.net/?page_id=1076. Alternatively, go to my blog homepage and select VDI Calculator on the top bar.

I have been recently tasked with delivering automation and orchestration that goes beyond VMware View capabilities today. As part of this PoC I have been working with EMC resident enterprise management and PowerShell Guru Clint Kitson @clintonskitson to address few of the shortcomings.

The tidbits I am posting during the next few articles are a small part of a bigger automation and orchestration piece that will become more clear as we move forward. The main idea is to  automate the creation of vAPPs containers and make them accessible directly via VMware View without jump box requirement (that should give you an insight on what we are trying to accomplish but I will write more on that later).

The first bits that Client created you will find at VMware View Remote Agent Install using PowerCLI. Clint now delivered in his blog the second automation piece in format of PowerShell scripts.

The script allow administrators to interact with the internal ADAM database implemented on Connection Brokers. The scripts allows you do manage VMware View beyond the available PowerShell cmdlets available today.

• View-Get-Objects – Get objects from a specified OU or CN
• View-Get-Object – Get a specific object
• View-Get-Desktop – Get a specific desktop
• View-Remove-Desktop – Remove Desktop from Pool
• View-Add-Desktop – Add Desktop to Pool

One of the cool things that you can do using the scripts is to install VMware View Agent remotely and add the virtual or physical desktop to a Manual Pool. Clint also mention few other use cases in his article.

Read Clint’s blog post Automating VMware View Pool Membership and download his PowerShell scripts. Clint has done a fantastic job!