The VMware Horizon Application Manager offers unified application access to the end users i.e. they can access web and SaaS apps or ThinApp applications via the portal. A customer asked if it is also possible to add just standard hyperlinks to the users workspace so the end user has direct access to the websites from a single point. I’ve talked to on of our system engineers and we found a solution which works.

In the Horizon Application Manager Administrator you’ve to add an new application and give it a name and then add the URL to the field “Login Redirection URL”.

Then choose “Manual Configuration” at the option “Configure Via” and add the URL again to the field “Assertion Consumer Service”.

Save the new application and you will see it in the application overview. The Horizon Application Manager has also grabbed the favico so the user will see the icon in the portal later.

And this is how the end user will see it!

That’s it! Feel free to try this solution!

The new book “Building End-User Computing Solutions with VMware View is now available as Paperback. Please visit the link below to learn more.

Link: http://communities.vmware.com/people/Mike_Laverick/blog/2012/09/10/the-euc-book–paper-back-edition

VMware’s Product Manager Jay Tomlin who’s responsible for VMware Mirage has published an interesting read on the VMware End User Computing blog. He’s asking the question: “Why is it still a challenge to deploy Windows images to an end point?”.  There are a few reasons for that! Check the article to get an deeper insight.

Here’s a quick overview of the new functionality in version 3.6:

VMware Mirage v3.6 introduces the following features and improvements:

• Base Layer (BL) Provisioning – Prepares a new device to be part of the organization by cleaning up the device files, applying an existing BL, and then seamlessly migrating the contents of the endpoint to the Mirage Server (as in Centralize Endpoint).
• Fusion support – Mirage supports managing desktops running in a Fusion hypervisor for Macs.
• Streaming enhancements
  1. During Restore processing, you can view the streaming status of each downloading file. You are notified if a file you try to open is not finished downloading, and advised when that file becomes ready for use.
  2. Performance improvements were implemented which promote faster response time and enhanced user experience.
• Scalability improvements – Faster management console response time in larger scale CVD configurations.
• Reconnecting a device to a CVD (Force Upload) – A device that has lost its synchronization for any reason can be reconnected to its CVD and can continue backing up incremental changes as before.
• Default Policy Auto Selection
  1. In endpoint assignment wizard streams, a default Upload Policy (predefined in Security Settings) automatically applies to the endpoint if no other policy is specifically selected.
  2. Configuration tabs are more logically organized – Upload Policy selection moved from CVD Auto Creation tab to General tab.

If you want to try Mirage please visit this website: http://wanova.com/download

To learn more about the solution you can download the data sheet or FAQ.

Link: http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/09/mirage.html

This is just brilliant! The DELL Solution Center Team published a video on running Autodesk CAD Software and Call of Duty on a VMware View virtual desktop, using the new VSGA capabilities and a NVIDIA Quattro graphics adapter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqO97j3chGU

Today VMware has announced loads of new stuff in the End User Computing space! The Horizon Suite is a great step into the Post PC Era or how Steve Herrod said: The Multi Device Era. The press release you’ll find when following the link will give you a great overview of all announcements VMware made.

Link: http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-vmworld-enduser-082812.html

If you’ve missed today’s keynote from Steve Herrod, you can replay it via On24. Just visit the link below. Hot topics: Project App Shift, Horizon Suite.

Link: http://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=lobby.jsp&eventid=495800&sessionid=1&key=AAA41FBB6A7359F85FEB53CCE1E16487&eventuserid=68416470

I’m was very excited when I read the news about the new versions of VMware Workstation and Fusion. Loads of great new features and product enhancements but the coolest part was the announcement of a new Fusion version especially for businesses. As you may know VMware Fusion was more a consumer product but with more and more companies using Macs there was a huge demand for a enterprise version. I’ll talk about the features in a second but before the most sexy part: If you buy the Fusion Professional license for $99 you’ll also get a commercial license of VMware Player inclusive. This means that you can run virtual machines on MacOSX, Windows and Linux!

• But now back to the new features!
• Restricted virtual machines – Control policies around your virtual machine, limit access to settings or disable connecting USB devices.
• Mass deployment for Fusion – The Professional version comes with a set of tools to help IT to deploy Fusion.
• Deploy virtual machines on MAC and PC – Fusion Professional supports BYOPC programs by including VMware Player. You can use the same license key for Fusion and Player. Run restricted machines on Windows, Linux and Mac.

And loads more …. (Check the link at the end of the article!)

Check this table from the VMware website to compare the features:

Features	VMware Fusion 5	VMware Fusion 5  Professional
Optimized for OS X Mountain Lion
Optimized for Windows 8
Retina Display Optimization
USB 3 support
Enhanced battery management
Enhanced performance
1-click snapshot
Linux 3D
Embedded Learning Center
Create restricted VMs
Restricted settings menu
Limit access to USB devices in Windows
Customized help
VMware Player included
Network editor
Eligible for VMware Basic Support
Volume pricing available

Please feel free to visit the VMware Fusion Professional website with the following link.

Link: http://www.vmware.com/products/desktop_virtualization/fusion/professional.html

Please join VMware and EMC for a joint webcast about End User Computing. The webcast will start on Thursday, 02 August at 8:00AM PT / 11:00AM ET.

You’ll learn:

• Increase Performance. Boot 1,000 Desktops in 8 minutes; speed backups by 10x with high-performance, deduplicated backups; and add more users while meeting demanding service levels.
• Increase Efficiency. Scale to thousands of users without disruption; reduce backup storage by 10-30x; gain end user self-restore; and ensure complete protection.
• Increase Confidence. Combine EMC solutions tested and validated for VMware; tight VMware integration; and over 400 VMware Certified Professionals, to ensure smooth, successful deployments.

Please visit the following link to register for this event.

Link: https://emcinformation.com/74305/REG/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000.ashx?reg_src=EX_VMware_View

VMware has extended the View Support Lifecycle Policy to 5 years bringing the total support lifecycle for this product to 7 years.

To learn more about this, please visit the VMware End User Computing blog.

Link: http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/07/views-best-in-class-support-policy-just-got-even-better.html