Tag Archives: Horizon

VMware App Volumes – AD Domain – LDAPS Configuration/Certificate Renewal

19 Aug

The Enterprise Root CA certificate was coming close to expiry, and we had to replace the certificate on VMware App Volumes Manager. In this blog post, we will take a look into the following topics:

  • How to identify the Microsoft Enterprise Root CA
  • How to generate the Root Certificate *.cer
  • Convert the certificate *.cer to *.pem format for App Volumes Manager
  • Replace the certificate within the App Volumes Manager
  • Configuring the App Volumes Manager for LDAPS

How to identify the Microsoft Enterprise Root CA

On any domain-joined box where you have the Active Directory administrative tools installed, open the adsiedit.msc and change the Naming Context to Configuration partition.

Adsiedit Connection

Navigate to the below path Under Certification Authorities, and you’ll find your Enterprise Root Certificate Authority server.

CN=Certification Authorities,CN=Public Key Services,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=askaresh,DC=dir
Active Directory – Configuration Partition

How to generate the Root Certificate *.cer

Log into the Root Certification Authority server with Administrator Account. Go to Start > Run > and type Cmd, and press on Enter button. Enter the following command:

certutil -ca.cert C:\Temp\rootca_cert.cer

Convert the certificate *.cer to *.pem format for App Volumes Manager

I typically use OpenSSL to convert all my certificates. Copy the rootca_cert.cer certificate into Folder – C:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin and run the following command to convert the certificate to PEM.

openssl x509 -in root_cer.cer -out adCA.pem

Note – We want the exported name to be adCA.pem as App Volumes Manager needs that name during setup.

Replace the certificate within the App Volumes Manager

Depending upon the number of AV Managers, you will have to repeat the steps:

  • Copy the adCA.pem on each App Volumes Manager server, to the /config directory where the App Volumes Manager is installed. The default installation location for App Volumes Manager is C:\Program Files (x86)\Cloud Volumes\Manager.
  • Restart the App Volumes Manager servers.

Configuring the App Volumes Manager for LDAPS

You only need to perform these steps on one App Volumes Manager per POD as the configurations are central on a SQL Database.

  • Login to the App Volumes Manager and go to Configuration – AD Domains – Select the Domain – Edit or New depending upon your requirements
  • Enter the Domain Name, Service Account Username, Service Account Password and Select Secure LDAPS. The port number is 636.
  • Click on Update
App Volumes Manager – AD Domains

I hope you will find these steps helpful to replace or configure the VMware App Volumes Manager with LDAPS.

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

Reference Links

Export Root Certification Authority Certificate – Windows Server | Microsoft Docs

Find the name of Enterprise Root CA server – Windows Server | Microsoft Docs

Configure CA Certificates in App Volumes Manager (vmware.com)

Script to replace VMware Unified Access Gateway certificates (ADMIN and Internet)

9 Jul

Our certificates are coming close to expiry, and we use VMware Unified Access Gateway for Internal and External traffic tunneling. This brings us to perform the replacement of the expiring certificates on 12 UAG Appliances. Performing this activity from the GUI is straight forward. However, we need to perform this activity on 12 appliances.

Thanks to Mark Benson for the motivation, and I went ahead and created a script to perform this activity at further ease, sit back, relax and have a coffee!

Pre-requisites:

  • You need the CAchain pem and RSA private key certificate output in one line. Please make sure you run the following command to grab the output in a single line
    • Linux/Unix command – awk ‘NF {sub(/\r/, “”); printf “%s\n”,$0;}’ cert-name.pem
    • Linux/Unix command – awk ‘NF {sub(/\r/, “”); printf “%s\n”,$0;}’ cert-namersapriv.pem
    • I saved the certificate files on a Linux machine and then ran the above command. Pasted the output in Notepad++, which is in one line.
    • Doco reference
    • The CAChain pem certificate should include (MainCA content, Subordinate Certificate content and Root Certificate content without any spaces between them.)
  • There are seperate API calls for the certificate replacement for the ADMIN and Internet facing. You can comment or un-comment the block as per your requirement
    • /rest/v1/config/certs/ssl/ADMIN
    • /rest/v1/config/certs/ssl/END_USER
  • The IP address or Hostname of the UAG Appliance along with the admin password.
##############################################################################################################################################
# Replace the ADMIN and Internet Facing certificate on the UAG Appliance
# Uncomment if you dont plan to do both the interfaces (Internet/ADMIN)
# Get the certificate in one line following this documentation 
# https://docs.vmware.com/en/Unified-Access-Gateway/3.10/com.vmware.uag-310-deploy-config.doc/GUID-870AF51F-AB37-4D6C-B9F5-4BFEB18F11E9.html
# Author - Aresh Sarkari (Twitter - @askaresh)
##############################################################################################################################################

#UAGServer Name or IP
$UAGServer = "10.1.1.1"

#Ignore cert errors
add-type @"
    using System.Net;
    using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
    public class TrustAllCertsPolicy : ICertificatePolicy {
        public bool CheckValidationResult(
            ServicePoint srvPoint, X509Certificate certificate,
            WebRequest request, int certificateProblem) {
            return true;
        }
    }
"@
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::CertificatePolicy = New-Object TrustAllCertsPolicy
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.SecurityProtocolType]'Ssl3,Tls,Tls11,Tls12'


#API Call to make the intial connection to the UAG Appliance##
$Uri = "https://$UAGServer`:9443/rest/v1/config/adminusers/logAdminUserAction/LOGIN"

$Username = "admin"
$Password = "enteryouradminpassword"

$Headers = @{ Authorization = "Basic {0}" -f [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::ASCII.GetBytes(("{0}:{1}" -f $Username,$Password))) }

Invoke-WebRequest -SessionVariable DaLogin -Uri $Uri -Headers $Headers

#The PEM Certificate + Private Key in RSA Format
#The certificate has to be in online using linux command - awk 'NF {sub(/\r/, ""); printf "%s\\n",$0;}' cert-name.pem 
$certificatersaContent = "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\nMIIEo... followed by a large block of text...\n-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\n"
$certificateContent = "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIEo... followed by a large block of text...\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"

#Body to replace the certificate
$body = @{
  privateKeyPem = $certificatersaContent
  certChainPem = $certificateContent
} 

#Converting the Json and line breaks in strings 
#https://communary.net/2018/03/30/quick-tip-convertto-json-and-line-breaks-in-strings/
$Jsonbody = ($body | ConvertTo-Json).Replace('\\n','\n')

#API to replace the Admin Certificate of the UAG Appliance
#Please note that the Backtick ` is required in order to escape the colon
$outputadmin = Invoke-WebRequest -WebSession $DaLogin -Method Put -Uri "https://$UAGServer`:9443/rest/v1/config/certs/ssl/ADMIN" -Body $Jsonbody -ContentType "application/json" -Verbose

#API to replace the Internet facing Certificate of the UAG Appliance
#Please note that the Backtick ` is required in order to escape the colon
$outputenduser = Invoke-WebRequest -WebSession $DaLogin -Method Put -Uri "https://$UAGServer`:9443/rest/v1/config/certs/ssl/END_USER" -Body $Jsonbody -ContentType "application/json" -Verbose

GitHub scripts/vmwareuagcertreplace at master · askaresh/scripts (github.com)

Observations:

  • The array within the $body has further line breaks, which needs to adjust. I had to spend a considerable amount of time. Thanks to this blog post which came in hand. Powershell function ConvertTo-Json
  • The Powershell function Invoke-Webrequest and the -URI I had to add the Backtick ` in order to escape the colon
  • The key of the above script is the CAChain certificate and RSA Private Key certificate to be available online.

I hope you will find this script useful to replace or change the certificate on the VMware Unified Access Gateway appliances. A small request if you further enhance the script or make it more creative, I hope you can share it back with me?

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

Script to install VMware EUC Agents – App Volumes Agent, DEM Agent and Horizon Agent

30 Jun

If you are planning for the VMware EUC Stack migration or upgrade and want to install the VMware EUC agent, then continue reading. The guidance on uninstalling the existing agents can be found on this blog post – Script uninstall VMware EUC Agents – App Volumes Agent, Horizon Client, DEM Agent, Horizon Agent and VMware Tools | AskAresh

In this script, we shall perform the agents install and reboot the golden image towards the end. There is no need to install the individual agents one by one, instead, sit back, relax and have a coffee!

VMware EUC Agents:

  • VMware Horizon Agent (Works on 7.x and 8.x/YYMM)
    • Note few MSI switches are deprecated if you still use them, you will have an error code 1603
  • VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Agent (Works on 9.x and YYMM)
  • VMware App Volumes Agent (Works on 2.x and 4.x/YYMM)

Note – All the above testing is carried out on Windows 10 1909 with PowerShell 5.1. Reboot is required to complete the installation operations.

VMware EUC Agents Install

Pre-requisites:

#################################################################################################
# Install EUC Agents in the proper order - Horizon Agent , DEM Agent and App Volumes Agent
# Reboot the OS towards the end after install all Agents. Look for Exit Code 0 or 3010
# If you notice exit code 1603 there is a installation issue. Refer to my MSI switches blogpost
# Comment or Un-comment the Agent that does not apply to your environment
# Author - Aresh Sarkari (Twitter - @askaresh)
################################################################################################

###################################################################
#                    Declare Variables                            #
###################################################################

#Agent Names
$HorizonAgentName = "VMware-Horizon-Agent-x86_64*"
$DEMAgentName = "VMware Dynamic Environment Manager*"
$AppVolumesAgentName = "App Volumes Agent*"
$AppVolMGR = "avm001.domain.com" # Manager LB VIP

# All the installer Location
#Create a folder C:\Temp\Agents and place all the MSI\EXE in there
$TempInstallPath = "C:\Temp\Agents" 

#Log Files location
# Go through all the logs post installation
$HZlogFile = "C:\Temp\Agents\HZAgent.log"
$DEMlogFile = "C:\Temp\Agents\DEMAgent.log"
$ApplogFile = "C:\Temp\Agents\AppVolAgent.log"

###################################################################
#                    MSI Arguments Arrary for EUC Agents          #
###################################################################
# Modify any MSI switched related to the agent here.
# Follow this blog post for swithces - https://askaresh.com/2021/06/28/comparision-vmware-horizon-agent-7-x-8-x-silent-install-switches-and-properties/

# VMware Horizon Agent MSI Switches
$HZMSIArguments = @(
	"/qn"
	"VDM_VC_MANAGED_AGENT=1"
    "SUPPRESS_RUNONCE_CHECK=1"
	"VDM_IP_Protocol_Usage=IPv4"
	"ADDLOCAL=Core,ClientDriveRedirection,NGVC,USB,RTAV,PerfTracker,PrintRedir,HelpDesk,TSMMR,VmwVaudio,V4V"
	"REBOOT=REallySuppress"
	"/L*v"
	$HZlogFile
)

# VMware Dynamic Enivornment Agent MSI Switches
$DEMMSIArguments = @(
    "/qn"
    "ADDLOCAL=FlexEngine"
    "REBOOT=REallysuppress"
    "/L*v"
    $DEMlogFile
)

# VMware App Volumes Agent MSI Switches
$AppVolMSIArguments = @(
    "/qn"
    "MANAGER_ADDR=$AppVolMGR"
    "MANAGER_PORT=443"
    "REBOOT=REallysuppress"
    "EnforceSSLCertificateValidation=0"
    "/L*v"
    $ApplogFile
)

###################################################################
#                    Main                                        #
###################################################################

# Install VMware Horizon Agent
Write-Host "Installing the VMware Horizon Agent" -ForegroundColor Green
$HZAgentPath = (Get-ChildItem -Path $TempInstallPath | Where-Object {$_.name -like $HorizonAgentName}).Fullname

# The switches "/s /v " is the Install Shield switches and rest of the aruguments are passed with MSI
$HZAgentInstall = (Start-Process -Filepath $HZAgentPath -Wait -ArgumentList "/s /v ""$HZMSIArguments" -PassThru)
$HZAgentInstall.ExitCode

Start-Sleep 20

# Install DEM Agent
Write-Host "Installing the VMware DEM Agent" -ForegroundColor Green
$DEMPath = (Get-ChildItem -Path $TempInstallPath | Where-Object {$_.name -like $DEMAgentName}).Fullname
$DEMAgentInstall = (Start-Process -Filepath $DEMPath -ArgumentList $DEMMSIArguments -Wait -PassThru)
$DEMAgentInstall.ExitCode

Start-Sleep 20

# Install App Volumes Agent
Write-Host "Installing the VMware App Volumes Agent" -ForegroundColor Green
$AppVolPath = (Get-ChildItem -Path $TempInstallPath | Where-Object {$_.name -like $AppVolumesAgentName}).Fullname
$AppVolAgentInstall = (Start-Process -Filepath $AppVolPath -ArgumentList $AppVolMSIArguments -Wait -PassThru)
$AppVolAgentInstall.ExitCode

Start-Sleep 20

# Restart the computer
Write-Host "Restarting the computer post the VMware EUC Agents install" -ForegroundColor Green
Restart-Computer -Force

Git Hubscripts/vmwareeucagent-install at master · askaresh/scripts (github.com)

A big thanks to Chris H for providing the original blueprint of the script and Wouter for showing me the magical “space” on the switch /v within the Horizon Agent installer. Final thanks to Jishan for the numerous testing cycles and additions to a different version of this script which tackles VMware Tools reboot and continues installing post a reboot.

I hope you will find this script useful to install the VMware EUC agents and never look back to install them individually. A small request if you further enhance the script or make it more creative, I hope you can share it back with me?

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

Reference Article – VMware Agent Install order – Agent installation order for Horizon View, Dynamic Environment Manager, and App Volumes (vmware.com)

Script uninstall VMware EUC Agents – App Volumes Agent, Horizon Client, DEM Agent, Horizon Agent and VMware Tools

29 Jun

If you are planning for the VMware EUC Stack migration or upgrade and are in the middle of uninstalling the existing agents, look no further and here is the script that will allow you to uninstall all the agents and reboot the golden image towards the end. There is no need to remove individual agents one by one from the “Program and Features”; instead, sit back, relax and have a coffee!

VMware EUC Agents:

  • VMware App Volumes Agent (Works on 2.x and 4.x/YYMM)
  • VMware Horizon Client (Optional)
  • VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Agent (Works on 9.x and YYMM)
  • VMware Horizon Agent (Works on 7.x and 8.x/YYMM)
  • VMware Tools (Works on 11.x)

Note – All the above testing is carried out on Windows 10 1909/Windows Server 2016 with PowerShell 5.1. The PowerShell module Uninstall-Package suppresses individual reboot and we perform the final reboot towards the end using the Restart-Computer module. (Reboot is required to complete the uninstallation operations.)

VMware EUC Agents
#################################################################################
# Un-Install EUC Agents in the proper order for Golden Image
# App Volumes Agent, Horizon Client(Optional), DEM, Horizon and VMware Tools
# Suppressed auto Reboot the OS towards the end after un-installing all Agents.
# Comment or Un-comment the Agent that does not apply to your environment
# Author - Aresh Sarkari (Twitter - @askaresh)
#################################################################################

#Un-installing VMware App Volumes Agent
Write-Host "Un-installing the App Volumes Agent" -ForegroundColor Green
Get-Package -Name 'App Volumes **' | Uninstall-Package

sleep -Seconds 60

#Un-installing VMware Horizon Client
#Write-Host "Un-installing the VMware Horizon Client" -ForegroundColor Green
#Get-Package -Name 'VMware Horizon Cli**' | Uninstall-Package

#sleep -Seconds 60

#Un-installing VMware Dynamic Environment Agent
Write-Host "Un-installing the Dynamic Environment Agent" -ForegroundColor Green
Get-Package -Name 'VMware Dynamic **' | Uninstall-Package

sleep -Seconds 60

#Un-installing VMware Horizon Agent
Write-Host "Un-installing the VMware Horizon Agent" -ForegroundColor Green
Get-Package -Name 'VMware Horizon Ag**' | Uninstall-Package

sleep -Seconds 60

#Un-installing VMware Tools Agent
Write-Host "Un-installing the VMware Tools Agent" -ForegroundColor Green
Get-Package -Name 'VMware Tools' | Uninstall-Package

sleep -Seconds 60

# Restart the computer
Write-Host "Restarting the computer post the VMware EUC Agents Un-install" -ForegroundColor Green
Restart-Computer -Force

GitHub scripts/vmwareeucagent-uninstall at master · askaresh/scripts (github.com)

Thanks to Hilko and Joel for reviewing the script and providing valuable feedback.

I hope you will find this script useful to uninstall the VMware EUC agents and never look back to remove individual programs under “Programs and Features”. A small request if you further enhance the script or make it more creative, I hope you can share it back with me?

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

Comparison VMware Horizon Agent 7.x/8.x (Silent Install) Switches and Properties

28 Jun

We are in the middle of automating the VMware Horizon Agent 8.x installer for the golden images. To undertake such a task, it’s essential to understand all the MSI Switches that come along with the installer. If you had already automated the Horizon Agent 7.x install it’s also important to check which MSI switches have been removed in Horizon Agent 8.x/YYMM. The below details will show you the switches and highlight the removed/deltas MSI Switches and Properties.

I use a tool called lessmsi GitHub – activescott/lessmsi: A tool to view and extract the contents of an Windows Installer (.msi) file. which essentially extracts the MSI contents and provides a detailed table view of the feature components and properties.

Horizon Agent 8.x\YYMM version (Features available within the agent)

Feature (s38)Feature_Parent (S38)Title (L64)Description (L255)Directory_ (S72)
URLRedirectionCoreURL Content RedirectionRedirects URL content from a server session to a client device and vice versa. 
PSGCore   
VmVideoCore   
VmwVdisplayCore   
VmwViddCore   
SmartCardSingleUserTSCore   
RDSH3D 3D RDSHThis feature enables hardware 3D acceleration in RDSH sessions. 
NGVC VMware Horizon Instant Clone AgentHorizon Instant Clone Agent should only be installed on a virtual machine running on VMware vSphere 6.0/2015 U1 or later. 
ScannerRedirection Scanner RedirectionEnables the Scanner Redirection feature. 
SerialPortRedirection Serial Port RedirectionEnables the Serial Port Redirection feature. 
SmartCard Smartcard RedirectionEnables the Smartcard Redirection feature. 
TSMMR TSMMRTerminal Services Multimedia Redirection. 
PrintRedir VMware Integrated PrintingVMware Integrated Printing Redirection. 
USB USB RedirectionUSB Redirection. Refer to the VMware Horizon Security document for guidance on using USB redirection securely. 
V4V Horizon Monitoring Service AgentHorizon Monitoring Service Agent. 
VmwVaudio VMware AudioVMware virtual Audio driver 
SdoSensor SDO Sensor RedirectionEnables Simple Device Orientation(SDO) Sensor Redirection feature, reports device orientation changes to remote desktop. 
HybridLogon Hybrid LogonEnables Hybrid logon which allows an unauthenticated user access to network resources without the need to enter credentials. 
HelpDesk Help Desk Plugin for Horizon AgentHelp Desk Plugin for Horizon Agent. 
RDP Enable RDP (hidden)  
BlastUDPCore   
Core Core[ProductName] core functionalityINSTALLDIR
VMWMediaProviderProxy VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for BusinessThis feature will enable optimization for Skype for Business in remote desktop 
ClientDriveRedirection Client Drive RedirectionAllow Horizon Clients to share local drives with remote desktops and applications. If not installed, copy/paste and drag and drop files and folders features will be disabled. 
RTAV Real-Time Audio-VideoReal-Time Audio-Video enables users to redirect locally connected audio and video peripherals back to the remote desktop for use. 
GEOREDIR Geolocation RedirectionEnables redirection of client’s geolocation to the remote desktop 
PerfTracker Horizon Performance TrackerEnables Horizon Performance Tracker 
Horizon Agent 8.x/YYMM Release MSI Features

Horizon Agent 7.x version (Features available within the agent)

Feature (s38)Feature_Parent (S38)Title (L64)Description (L255)Directory_ (S72)
URLRedirectionCoreURL Content RedirectionRedirects URL content from a server session to a client device and vice versa. 
PSGCore  
VmVideoCore  
VmwVdisplayCore  
VmwViddCore  
SmartCardSingleUserTSCore  
FlashURLRedirection Flash URL RedirectionEnables Flash URL Redirection for internal company controlled web pages. 
RDSH3D 3D RDSHThis feature enables hardware 3D acceleration in RDSH sessions. 
SVIAgent VMware Horizon View Composer AgentVMware Horizon View Composer Agent RDSH installs: This machine can be used as the parent image for provisioning Automated Farms 
NGVC VMware Horizon Instant Clone AgentHorizon Instant Clone Agent should only be installed on a virtual machine running on VMware vSphere 6.0/2015 U1 or later. It cannot be co-installed with Horizon View Composer Agent. 
ScannerRedirection Scanner RedirectionEnables the Scanner Redirection feature. 
SerialPortRedirection Serial Port RedirectionEnables the Serial Port Redirection feature. 
SmartCard Smartcard RedirectionEnables the Smartcard Redirection feature. 
TSMMR TSMMRTerminal Services Multimedia Redirection. Does not support IPv6 configuration. 
ThinPrint Virtual PrintingVirtual Printer Support 
PrintRedir VMware Integrated PrintingVMware Integrated Printing Redirection. 
USB USB RedirectionUSB Redirection. Refer to the VMware Horizon 7 Security document for guidance on using USB redirection securely. 
V4V vRealize Operations Desktop AgentvRealize Operations Desktop Agent. Does not support IPv6 configuration. 
VPA VMware Horizon 7 Persona ManagementVMware Horizon 7 Persona Management 
VmwVaudio VMware AudioVMware virtual Audio driver 
DeviceBridgeBAS Device Bridge BAS PluginEnables finger scanners supported by BAS system 
SdoSensor SDO Sensor RedirectionEnables Simple Device Orientation(SDO) Sensor Redirection feature, reports device orientation changes to remote desktop. 
CIT VMware Client IP TransparencyThis feature allows remote connections to Internet Explorer to use the Client’s IP address instead of this machine’s. Does not support IPv6 configuration. 
HybridLogon Hybrid LogonEnables Hybrid logon which allows an unauthenticated user access to network resources without the need to enter credentials. 
HelpDesk Help Desk Plugin for Horizon AgentHelp Desk Plugin for Horizon Agent. 
RDP Enable RDP (hidden)  
BlastUDPCore  
Core Core[ProductName] core functionalityINSTALLDIR
VMWMediaProviderProxy VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for BusinessThis feature will enable optimization for Skype for Business in remote desktop 
ClientDriveRedirection Client Drive RedirectionAllow Horizon View Clients to share local drives with their remote desktops and applications. Does not support IPv6 configuration. 
RTAV Real-Time Audio-VideoReal-Time Audio-Video enables users to redirect locally connected audio and video peripherals back to the remote desktop for use. 
FLASHMMR Flash RedirectionFlash Redirection 
GEOREDIR Geolocation RedirectionEnables redirection of client’s geolocation to the remote desktop 
PerfTracker Horizon Performance TrackerEnables Horizon Performance Tracker 
Horizon Agent 7.x Release MSI Features

If you want to download the spreadsheet version of the table above/below you can find it below. Note there is a bonus within the spreadsheet: MSI Property comparision between Horizon Agent 7.x and Horizon Agent 8.x and two MSI Properties have been removed VDM_FLASH_URL_REDIRECTION and INSTALL_VDIDISPLAY_DRIVER (Part of the Core in 8.x).

Deprecated/Delta Features between 7.x and 8.x/YYMM release

From the table above, we know all the switches of the Horizon Agent 7.x and 8.x versions. Once we compare the above two tables, we are left with the following delta, and I have commented on whether each feature exists or is removed. Please make sure to remove them from your existing scripts or silent installers if you had added them during your Horizon 7.x installs.

Feature (s38)Title (L64)Description (L255)Additional Comments
FlashURLRedirectionFlash URL RedirectionEnables Flash URL Redirection for internal company controlled web pages.Flash come to EOL in 2020. Feature has been deprecated
SVIAgentVMware Horizon View Composer AgentVMware Horizon View Composer Agent RDSH installs: This machine can be used as the parent image for provisioning Automated FarmsVMware Compose was replaced by Instant Clones
ThinPrintVirtual PrintingVirtual Printer SupportThinPrint is replaced by VMware Integrated Printing
VPAVMware Horizon 7 Persona ManagementVMware Horizon 7 Persona ManagementPersona is replaced by App Volumes or DEM or FSLogic
DeviceBridgeBASDevice Bridge BAS PluginEnables finger scanners supported by BAS systemFeature has been deprecated
CITVMware Client IP TransparencyThis feature allows remote connections to Internet Explorer to use the Client’s IP address instead of this machine’s. Does not support IPv6 configuration.Feature has been deprecated
FLASHMMRFlash RedirectionFlash RedirectionFlash come to EOL in 2020. Feature has been deprecated
Delta or Deprecated feature list after comparing the above two tables

I hope you will find this post useful to perform silent installs on Horizon Agent. My request is if you find any additional delta or enhancements, please make sure to share it back with me.

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

Reference – Check out the VMware documentation on Silent Installation Properties for Horizon Agent (vmware.com)

Horizon VDI – Calculator – Photos – Edge Not launching for end-users – Windows 10

8 Feb

In Windows 10 1909 VMware OST optimized image the end-users report they cannot open the following three built-in UWP windows application.

  • Microsoft Calculator
  • Microsoft Photos
  • Microsoft Edge browser

When the end-users try to open any of the three applications, nothing would happen – No error messages or pop-ups. The application doesn’t launch.

Environment Details

VMware Horizon 7.11
VMware App Volumes 2.18.5
VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 9.10

Process of elimination

  • The AppX package for (Calc, Photos and Edge) did exist in the base operating system
  • We can launch all the three applications within the optimized golden image template.
  • We were running the VMWare OSOT tool with the default VMware Windows 10 template. No additional customization or options selected.
  • One thing was evident the base template was working fine. The suspicion was around AppStack – App Volumes (We disabled the AppStacks/Writable Delivery – Same issue observed) or Dynamic Environment Manager causing the application from launching
  • We were running out of troubleshooting ideas

Resolution

Upon searching, I came across this community page – https://communities.vmware.com/t5/Horizon-Desktops-and-Apps/Windows-10-UWP-Applications-and-Taskbar/m-p/523086 and it outlined a solution of re-registering the UWP AppX package for the built-in application. We tried the fix in the DEV environment and it worked. Further it was replicated to the production setup.

Step 1: A Powershell script to register the AppX packages

Get-AppxPackage -allusers *windowscalculator* | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
Get-AppxPackage -allusers *windows.photos* | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers *edge* | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Step 2 : Create a Dynamic Environment Manager – Logon Tasks

We selected to put the Powershell script within the UEM Share as the end-users have the read- access.

DEM - Logon Task
DEM-LogonTasks

 Quick Update based on 4th Aug 2021 (Thanks to Curtis for bring this up in the comments section)

The above DEM 9.10 logon task no longer works in situation where end-users dont have local administrative priviledges users not being able to run the script at logon.

In the latest version of Dynamic Enivornment Manager 20XX onwards, you can now hook logon tasks into Elevated Tasks by using Privilege Elevation rules.

In DEM:

1. User Environment > Privilege Elevation > Create new privilege elevation rule

2. In the “Type” drop down menu, select “Elevated Task”

3. Click “Add”

4. In the Executable field:
“C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe”

5. In the Arguments field type the path to your script logon script

6. In User Environment > Logon Tasks, select the logon task that runs and registers the UWP apps.

7. Check “Elevated Task” and in the drop down select the Elevated Task you just created in the list.

After this, the script should be able to run at logon regardless of whether or not the user has local administrator rights!

I hope you will find this information useful if you encounter the issue. If you manage to tweak or improvise further on this solution, please don’t forget to keep me posted.

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

Intermittent Clipboard issues on VMware Horizon virtual desktop

18 Apr

Recently, we had an issue within our environment where-in end-users complained of intermittently one-way clipboard not working(Virtual Desktop to Endpoint will fail). The tricky part here was it would happen intermittently to anyone without any set pattern.

Environment Details:
VMware Horizon 7.11
VMware App Volumes 2.18.1
VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 9.10
VMware Horizon Client 5.x

Process of elimination

  • We were not using the Horizon Blast GPO for setting the clipboard.
  • The clipboard was setup using DEM Horizon Smart Policies – Enabled Both Directions
  • Upgrade the Horizon Client to the latest version to remove any Client related issues
  • We already had the anti-virus process exclusion of VMwareViewClipboard.exe
  • We disabled the Writable Volumes, and the clipboard issue will never occur.

Resolution

The above test made it evident that something within the Writable Volumes was causing the intermittent clipboard issue. The next thing that came to mind is adding path/process exclusion within the snapvol.cfg. One may ask how did you determine that path, but recently we have had many application issues that needed exclusion to make them work.

What I didn’t know was which path or process, until the task manager showed a clipboard process for Horizon called – VMwareViewClipboard.exe and its Path – C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Remote Experience\x64. I read many communities post having mentioned this process. However, I wasn’t sure if adding the entire path exclusion made sense as I could see many Horizon process *.exe and wasn’t sure what additional repercussions it can have. I went ahead, adding the below process exclusion.

exclude_process_name=VMwareViewClipboard.exe
Process exclusion in writable volumes snapvol.cfg

Post adding the exclusion, all the end-users with intermittent clipboard issues were always able to do two side clipboard. In this blog, I am not outlining the steps on how to add the snapvol.cfg exclusion as my ex-colleague Daniel Bakshi outlines on a VMware blog post on how to do it step by step.

Update 2nd May 2020
We had a VMware GSS support case open on the same issue, and they came back with a suggestion to exclude this registry path instead of the process exclusions. Note we been told there is no impact with process or registry, but its a good practice to do registry/path exclusions instead of the process. This registry/subkeys are responsible for the Clipboard – DEM Horizon Smart Policies.

exclude_registry=\REGISTRY\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware UEM
Process exclusion in writable volumes snapvol.cfg

I hope you will find this information useful if you encounter intermittent clipboard issues.

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

Black Screen on mobile devices during logon – VMware Horizon and VMware Workspace One

17 Dec

We had a strange issue in which end-users reported a black screen when they clicked on their Desktop tile in Workspace One portal on their mobile devices on Android and iOS. The moment they clicked on the endpoint the black screen would go away and it would give the logon banner and normal Windows 10 logon.

Usual Suspects

Our investigation led to Windows Logon Banner applied via the group policy causing the black screen. We were soon able to rule out by disabling the logon banner and the black screen persisted.
The black screen only appear on mobile devices. The Desktop/Laptops you didnt observe the issue.

EUC Stack

VMware Horizon 7.6
VMware App Volumes 2.14.2
VMware Identity Manager 3.3
VMware User Environment Manager 9.4
Windows 10 1803

Resolution

We managed to open the VMware GSS case and a lot of troubleshooting was carried out from re-running the VMware OSOT tool and changing the Power Configuration policy.

The final configuration that resolved the black screen issue:

Open the master image and run PowerShell with administrative rights and execute the following commands:

powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-ac 0
powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-dc 0

(Note – Here 0 means Never)

ScreenSettings

Power and Screen Settings – Windows 10

Make sure you restart the master template post implementing the commands . Take a snapshot and perform “Push-Image” operation in Horizon Administror console.

I hope you will find this information useful if you encounter the Black Screen issue. A big thanks to Manivannan Arul my teammate for his continoursly effort while troubleshooting with GSS.

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

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VMware EUC – Horizon, UAG, VIDM and AppVolumes – NSX Load Balancing – Health Check Monitors

2 Feb

There is no single place to find a consolidated list of Load balancer health check monitors (aka Service Monitors in NSX) for the VMware EUC products:

I have been using VMware NSX load balancer across the board. The below details will provide an overview of what to enter for the health monitors. Note – If you are using something more meaningful  for your environment leave feedback in the comments section. I will try to implement the same and update the blog later.

VMware Unified Access Gateway (UAG)

Create a new Service Monitor under NSX and call is UAG_https_monitor. Refer to the screenshot for more details.

UAG Service Monitor

Send String: GET /favicon.ico
Response code: 200s

VMware Identity Manager or Workspace ONE Access

Create a new Service Monitor under NSX and call is VIDM_https_monitor. Refer to the screenshot for more details.

VIDM Service Monitor
Send String: GET /SAAS/auth/login
Response code: 200s

VMware Horizon Connection Servers

Update 13th Sep 2021 – For all Horizon version 7.10 and above please start using the following service monitor within NSX.

Send String: GET /favicon.ico
Response code: 200s

You can use this string for versions 7.7 or upto 7.10. Create a new Service Monitor under NSX and call is Horizon_https_monitor. Refer to the screenshot for more details.

image
Send String: GET /broker/xml/
Receive string: /styles/clientlaunch-default

VMware App Volumes

Create a new Service Monitor under NSX and call is AV_https_monitor. Refer to the screenshot for more details.

AV Service Monitor

I hope you will find these monitors useful in monitoring the VMware EUC products.

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

How to collect logs from Horizon View 6.x/7.x Instant Clones – Desktop VM’s

7 Feb

If you have desktops deployed via Horizon View 6.x/7.x Instant Clones technology it can get very difficult to collect the Horizon View Agent logs from the desktop VM for troubleshooting/analysis purposes. The moment the end-user logs-off from the desktop it gets into the Status = Disconnected –> Deleting.

vCenter Task for log-in and log-off of the desktopvCenter Task Log-in/Log-Off

vCenter Task for Deleting –> Customizing –> AvailablevCenter Task Delete - Customizing - Available

The above operations happen very quickly. Suppose in our scenario the desktop was failing on the Status=Customizing (View Administrator). The desktops status would change into the Error state and after couple of seconds get into delete will remain in a loop until the desktop becomes available. This is by design as the Instant Clone is trying to re-create the desktop There was no way to capture the logs for analysis or troubleshooting.

Resolution:Now you can disable the recovery of the Instant Clone desktop VM if they are in the Status=Error (Strictly for troubleshooting purposes). This setting can be enabled at Desktop Pool Level

Desktop Pool Setting (disable autorecovery):

  • Open the Horizon View ADAM – (DC=vdi,dc=vmware,dc=int)
  • Go to OU=Server Groups – on you right select OU=DesktopPoolName (this is the name of your desktop pool)
  • Search for pae-RecoveryDisabled and click Edit
  • Enter Value =1 and click Add – OK
  • ADAM

Now whenever your desktop within the Pool will be in Status=Error it will not delete the VM and keep it in the Error state for you to capture the logs and perform troubleshooting. Please revert the changes of this settings once you have finished analysis. I hope these steps would be helpful leave a comment down below

Additional KB:
Connecting to the View ADAM Database (2012377)

Thanks,
Aresh