Archive for the ‘View Agent’ Category
HID Filtering in VMware View 3.1
VMware View already came with USB redirection in his early stages but now with View 3.1, released last week it becomes more flexible. By default HID (Human interface devices) are filtered out because it wouldn’t be good to have the local keyboard, mouse or other device which is needed local, redirected to the virtual desktop session.
Roaming Profiles used virtual but not local
Yesterday a customer asked me how to use Windows roaming profiles just on the virtual desktops and not on the local desktops from which the user is connecting. Those local desktops are also a member of the Active Directory and the connecting user has a profile path configured in his user setting within the Active Directory.
How to use Novell with VMware View
Since VMware View does only support Microsoft Active Directory Service as directory service, Novell eDirectory users need another way to get their environment working with the VMware virtual desktop infrastructure. First of all you will definitely need an Active Directory to integrate the View Manager with so that the users can logon and get authenticated. To get the users from the eDirectory in sync with the Active Directory you should use the standard Novell tools.
VMware View 3.1 Available Now
There is a new version of VMware View available for download at the VMware website. The version 3.1 includes loads of new features and great improvements. VMGuru.nl already has updated to the new version and wrote about it on their blog.
Upgrading View 3.01 to 3.1
Great blog post on upgrading VMware View to version 3.1 over at VMGuru.nl. Eric Scholten who is a Solution Architect writes about his experience when updating their View broker. He also talks about the improvements of the new version.
Using Client Information in VMware View
The VMware View Client delivers useful information to the VMware View Agent which can be found in the virtual desktops Windows registry. This information can be used by scripts i.e. for mapping the right network printer based on the location of the View Client device.
How to use View without vCenter and ESX(i)
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually need vCenter and ESX(i) to use View. If you want to utilize VMs from other platforms as your desktops you need to change one thing when installing the agent onto those VMs.
Setting up CAC or Smartcard for use with an HP Thin Client
Make sure to start with a fresh and current image. As of this writing that is 5.1.606 revA. Load the image and confirm that the green lock in the systray comes up green after all the rebooting. If you get a red “x” do it again.
Vista and VMware View
While Vista is still not completely supported in every variant with all features as of this writing in a View environment today, I have many customers running it and asking for tips on how to make it run better than it does out of the box. The following are some tips you can try AT YOUR OWN RISK. These are provided as tips and suggestions only. Some you might use and others not. This is provided as thinking and discussion points for running Vista. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way lets get started 
GINA chaining with View
There are several reasons why you might need several GINA’s using View. Problem is it’s not well documented on how to actually chain them together and make it work. So here is a quick post on how to do that.
