If you’re interested in VMware’s Horizon Mirage solution, this might be a great option for you to get a free training. VMware is offering a 3,5 hours self paced eLearning course on the MyLearn platform. The course covers the main features of the solution as well as the common administration tasks and more.

Here’s a quick overview of the objectives:

Objectives:

After completing the course, you should be able to:  •  Define Horizon Mirage concepts and components.  •  Explain how Horizon Mirage works.  •  List some of the key business challenges that Horizon Mirage solves.  •  Describe the main features and benefits of Horizon Mirage.  •  Describe the Mirage components and how they fit into the Horizon Mirage architecture.  •  Define the Horizon Mirage layers.  •  Discuss the tasks for configuring a Horizon Mirage System.  •  Describe the process for deploying Horizon Mirage to endpoints.  •  Recognize the main function of each of the Horizon Mirage common wizards.  •  Discuss the steps for capturing and assigning a Base Layer.  •  List the steps for capturing and assigning an App Layer.  •  Explain how an administrator uses the Disaster Recovery Wizard to restore a Central Virtualized Desktop (CVD).  •  Describe the high level tasks for performing a Windows XP to Windows 7 migration.  •  Recognize the main functions of the System Dashboard and how to use them to monitor your desktop deployment.  •  Explain how to use the Client Status window.  •  Describe how an end user performs a file-level restore and directory-level restore.  •  Discuss how the Snooze option works.  •  Recognize how the Sync Now option works.

If you haven’t heard about Mirage yet or you need more information please visit the VMware website which offers great whitepapers: http://www.vmware.com/products/desktop_virtualization/mirage/overview.html

VMware MyLearn: http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrreg/courses.cfm?ui=www_edu&a=det&id_course=173141 

Via: NTPRO.NL

A few days ago Tim published an article about Mirage Layering on his blog. Today he topped this one with a really great write up of the Application Layering in Mirage. This article gives you a great overview.

Image source: http://www.horizonflux.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/AssignAppLayer.png

Link: http://www.horizonflux.com/how-does-horizon-mirage-4-0-application-layering-work/

My colleague Tim Arenz has published a great article about Mirage Layering on his blog. A great read for everyone who loves to learn more about Horizon Mirage.

Source: http://www.horizonflux.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/MirageLayersDetailed.png

Link: http://www.horizonflux.com/horizon-mirage-layers-explained/?fb_action_ids=4590982411984&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%224590982411984%22%3A119190331604473%7D&action_type_map=%7B%224590982411984%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Coming soon! The VMware Windows 7 Migration Twitter Chat! Join VMware invites everyone to the #vEUCchat on March 26th at 6am and 9am PST. 

Who’s chatting with you?

The VMware EUC Team (@VMwareMirage) and Forrester Analyst Dave Johnson (@david_kjohnson)

To download the calendar invite click on the time: 6am | 9am

It’s recommended to use Twitterchat. The Hashtag for the event is #vECUchat

Here’s what VMware says:

Windows XP support ends in April 2014, at which time any remaining XP deployments can leave organizations at risk for compliance violations, security vulnerabilities and undesired support costs associated with user satisfaction and productivity.  This Twitter Chat is designed to help address important questions and challenges IT is currently mitigating, while offering industry insight and solutions to move toward successful implementations.

Link: http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2013/03/windows-7-migration-twitter-chat-march-26th-at-6am-and-9am-pst-join-us.html

There is a great new guide online from VMware. If you want to setup a test environment for VMware Mirage, this is the resource to use. Please check the link below.

Link: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/techpaper/vmware-horizon-mirage-reviewers-guide.pdf

Don’t wait longer and go to www.vmware.com for downloading the brand new VMware Horizon Suite 1.0. Today VMware has released the new solution which included VMware Horizon Workspace, Horizon View and Horizon Mirage. I’ve already blogged about the details. If you havenT seen my earlier posts, please check these before.

Horizon Suite Overview: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/02/23/vmwaretv-horizon-suite-overview/

Horizon Workspace Overview: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/02/23/vmwaretv-vmware-horizon-workspace-overview/

Installing Horizon Workspace Part 1 (by Christian Gehring): http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/02/27/installing-vmware-horizon-workspace-part-1/

Installing Horizon Workspace Part 2 (by Christian Gehring): http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/02/27/installing-vmware-horizon-workspace-part-2/

Upgrade your VMware EUC products to Horizon Suite: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/03/04/horizon-upgrade-path-overview-with-skus/ 

Links:

Download:  https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/evalcenter?p=horizon-suite

Datasheet: https://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/VMware-Horizon-Suite-Datasheet.pdf

FAQ: https://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/VMware-Horizon-Suite-FAQ.pdf

Documentation:

Workspace: https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/horizon-workspace-pubs.html

Mirage: https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/mirage_pubs.html

View: https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html

Good overview on VMware Horizon Suite 1.0 licensing in the VMware Knowledge Base. This article shows how the products are licensed and which components are included.

Link: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2042975

VMware has announced the Horizon Suite today to simplify the new world of End User Computing. If you want to learn about the benefits for your organization, please visit the VMware website which can be found here. So what is Horizon Suite? 

The Horizon Suite consists of three main products:

• VMware Horizon View
• VMware Horizon Mirage
• VMware Horizon Workspace

VMware View should be well known as it is the leading desktop virtualization solution on the market. VMware Mirage was introduced last year and it’s VMware’s solution for managing physical and virtual desktops. I’ve published already a few articles about Mirage which are listed here.

Both products got updated with load of new functionality i.e. View is now compatible with Horizon and it offers support for sVGA with NVIDIA graphic adapters. CAD/CAM scenarios are now possible with great performance in a View desktop. Here are the latest features in a list:

What’s New in Horizon View 5.2 for End-User Experience

• Hardware Accelerated 3D Graphics
• Support for Windows 8 based desktops
• Improved video and VOIP communications with Microsoft Lync 2013 support
• Streamlined access to Horizon View desktops from Horizon Workspace
• Easily connect to desktops from any device with HTML Access
• Enhanced productivity from mobile devices with new ‘Unity Touch’ functionality

What’s New in Horizon View 5.2 for Ease of Management

• Large pool creation with elimination of 8 host limits, and multiple vLAN support
• View Administrator performance improvements with large numbers of desktops
• Accelerated provisioning and recompose operations
• Tech Preview of a new Integrated Service Console in the vSphere Web Client
• Support for vCenter Server Virtual Appliance based deployments

Mirage got a really cool new feature: The application layers! I will blog about this in my Mirage series shortly.

What about Horizon Workspace? This is really new! Horizon Workspace is Horizon Application Manager, Horizon Data (formally known as Project Octopus) and Blast (yeah it’s Blast, not AppBlast) in one product. Cool ha? 

The VMware EUC product management has also published a few articles about Horizon Suite which you should read!

• http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2013/02/the-rise-of-the-multi-device-workspace.html#more-2587
• http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2013/02/transforming-windows-desktops-into-a-centralized-service.html#more-2584

Links:

Datasheet: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/VMware-Horizon-Suite-Datasheet.pdf

FAQ: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/VMware-Horizon-Suite-FAQ.pdf

Today I had a great journey into the past. I’ve installed Microsoft Windows XP from scratch in a virtual machine. But I only did it for one reason – to have a desktop running Windows XP for my first Mirage Client installation and centralization. The initial installation of Windows XP was done very quickly but I’ve also wanted to install all available patches for SP3 so it took quite a while. After a reboot I had a nice and fresh XP installation. A great start for the next step in my Mirage home lab series here on That’s my View. If you haven’t seen the other articles before please go through them first.

• VMware Mirage Series Part 1 – My Mirage home lab
• VMware Mirage Series Part 2 – Server installation and first console login
• VMware Mirage Series Part 3 – Console overview

Can you remember this?

I’m sure you can and maybe your company is still on Windows XP as about 40-45% of companies in the world. But as you know Windows XP support is ending in April 2014 which is a good reason to migrate your desktops soon because Microsoft but also 3rd party software vendors won’t support the old Windows platform anymore.

Windows Migration and Hardware Migration are two of the use cases of VMware Mirage. There is probably no easier way of migrating from one OS to the OS or from one hardware platform to another. If you want to learn more about the migration use case in general you can check this whitepaper or read more about a reference story VMware did with ADAC, Europes largest automobile insurance association.

Enough marketing, no let’s dive into the Mirage Client installation piece.

As already mentioned in another article Mirage is a Client/Server application which can centralize the data of an endpoint and rollout new operating systems and applications in form of layers. To be able to do that you need the Mirage Management Server and Mirage Server I’ve installed last time and the Mirage Client which runs on the endpoint. The installation of the client application is quite easy.

Get the installation package in 32-Bit or 64-Bit (there are two MSI files) and then start the installer. If you’ve the .NEt Framework 3.5 not installed on the Windows XP, the installer will immediately stop at the first dialog. Install the framework and you’ll be fine. After accepting the license agreement you’re asked for a Mirage Server location. Enter the FQDN or IP address of the server into the text box and select the checkbox for an SSL connection if you’ve configured your server with SSL before.

As I’ve not configured SSL I just clicked Next which brought me to last step of the wizard. Just click Install and the wizard will finish, starting the Mirage Client installation. That’s it! In the task bar you’ll find the Mirage icon. Now I’ll give you a quick overview of the client’s functionality.

As you can see there are only a few options in the Mirage Client task bar app. Mainly the fronted helps the user to see if the Mirage client is working or idling. The user can check this clicking on Show Status. The other options help to create log files and the user can snooze the complete client operations for 15 minutes, 2 hours or 4 hours. But this doesn’t mean that the client does affect the user that much so he needs to snooze it. The Mirage Client is designed to only work in the background not affecting the user experience. But let’s go back to the Status windows quickly. Her’s a screenshot.

The Mirage Client is connected to the server but the status is Pending Assignment what means that the Mirage Administrator needs to activate this client first using the Mirage Management Console. Going back into the Mirage Management Console you can see the pending devices.

Right clicking on Centralize Endpoint you can start the wizard which leads you through the activation and first centralization of the Mirage Client. It’s just a 4-step wizard which asks for a few configuration parameters.

• The upload policy
• The base layer to configure
• The default volume where the client is being stored

What does that mean? The upload policy can be configured in the Management Console but I left it with the defaults. The policy is a rule which enabled you to control what type of data is centralized and which not. i.e. you could control that MP3 or video files are not going to be synchronized into the datacenter. The next option is the base layer configuration. The base layer is the first layer of a CVD which includes the operating system and the core applications. In my home lab I first wanted to just centralize desktop without assigning a base layer as I haven’t installed my reference machine with Windows 7 yet. I’ll do that later! Last step is the storage volume to store the CVD on. My server has only one volumes so this was a no-brainer.

After finishing the wizard you can see the client being transferred from the pending devices to the assigned devices node.

In that screenshot you can also see that the upload is initializing at the moment. This means that the Mirage Client is now kicking in. On that side you can see this:

After a while, depending on your network speed the whole desktop is available in the data center as a CVD. Quite easy! In my example the Windows XP installation had a total size of 2.3 GB which is not that much but there was only the plain operating system installed in my desktop. One of the most important functions of Mirage is the network optimization and the file and block based de-duplication. That means that if you’ve centralized your first Windows desktop, next time a client is being centralized, the server checks which part of the data is already available on the Mirage Server volumes and then only synchronizes the delta. Think about migrating a whole branch with 50 desktops. The network traffic will be reduced loads.

But centralizing the endpoint is only the first step. In my next article I’m going to setup the reference machine with a Windows 7 operating system and then create the base layer with it. Assigning this base layer to my Windows XP desktop means migrating it from one OS to the other. Mirage offers a few wizards which will handle all steps of the migration.

I hope this article has given you a great overview of the Client Installation and first centralization. If you have any questions please just comment on this article and I’ll come back to you as soon as possible.

Part 1: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/01/28/vmware-mirage-series-part-1-my-mirage-home-lab/

Part 2: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/01/29/vmware-mirage-series-part-2-server-installation-and-first-console-login/

Part 3: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/02/02/vmware-mirage-series-part-2-console-overview/

Welcome back to the VMware Mirage Series here at That’s my View. In previous parts of this series I’ve described what home lab I’m using for my Mirage infrastructure and how to install the Mirage Management Server, Mirage Server and the Mirage Management Console. This time you’ll get a walkthrough of the Console. I’ll try to explain all main options available.

Common Wizards

The common wizards page is an easy way to perform the most common tasks used in Mirage. From here you can deploy, manager, support and protect all Mirage endpoints. Here’s a list of all wizards.

• Centralize Endpoint
• Disaster Recovery
• Assign Base Layer
• Capture Base Layer
• Windows 7 Migration
• Base Layer Provisioning
• Hardware Migration
• Update App Layers
• Capture App Layer

Centralize Endpoint

This option migrates the content of an endpoint to the Mirage Server. The endpoint needs the Mirage Client to be installed. After completing the centralization the endpoint will be protected and managed by the Mirage System.

Disaster Recovery

Here you can restore a Client Virtual Desktop (CVD) to the same or to a new endpoint i.e. in case of a hard drive failure.

Assign Base Layer

Assigning a base layer to a CVD or collection of CVD’s is done here. After validation the layer will be deployed to the selected endpoints over the network.

Capture Base Layer

Capturing a base layer means creating a template for the default content of an endpoint. This layer includes commonly the operating system, service packs, patches and the core applications i.e. VPN client or anti virus solution.

Windows 7 Migration

This options helps migrating an Windows XP endpoint to Windows 7 preserving all end user data.

Base Layer Provisioning

When provisioning a base layer to an endpoint you’re going to clean up the device for corporate usage. After applying the base layer the device will automatically migrate it’s content to the Mirage Server.

Hardware Migration

During the hardware migration a CVD can be migrated to a new virtual or physical endpoint.

Update App Layers

Editing and assigning app layers to endpoints connected to the Mirage System.

Capture App Layer

Capturing an app layer allows you to capture a set or a single application into a layer for deploying it to a large number of endpoints.

Dashboard

The Dashboard provides a monitoring functionality for the system status and the operations. In a few statistics you can see the system activities and alerts. Information to be found in the dashboard is:

• System Status
• Server Information
• Update Progress
• Data Protection Information
• Compliance Meter gauge
• Capacity Status Information
• Efficiency Benchmarks

The information is provided in form of gauges, graphs and tables.

Task Monitoring

As the name already says the Task Monitoring gives you an overview of all tasks performed by the Mirage System. In a list you can see all tasks i.e. Cature an app layer or Assign a layer and their status, device and progress.

Inventory

The Inventory node gives you access to all CVD’s and Collections. From here you can access devices in all states (Assigned, Pending and Rejected)

Image Composer

The Image Composer node is the main point to manage the base and app layers. Within this node you can also manage the Reference CVD’s and rules for all layers.

Driver Library

The driver library is a repository where all drivers for the Mirage endpoints are managed in. An Administrator can manage hardware specific drives here which are stored outside the layers. With an import wizard it’s possible to import new drivers. If configured the system will inject the necessary drivers to all relevant endpoints. The Driver Library copies the drivers from the Mirage system to the endpoints which will then be detected by the Windows Plug and Play mechanism.

Reports

The Mirage Reporting helps you to create different reports for storage, device, layer or hardware information. A very powerful tool.

Logs

Access the event and transaction logs from here. You can find loads of transactions information here i.e.

• Centralize endpoint
• Upload incremental changes
• Update base layer
• Update App Layer
• Base Layer Caching
• Base Layer Verification
• Restore Prefetch
• Restore streaning

The node gives you also the option to search and filter.

User and Roles

Within the user and role management you can define which user can access which functionality within the Mirage System. You can granularly define the roles as Mirage supports dynamic role-based access control (RBAC). A role can be grated to one or more groups from the Active Directory.

System Configuration

The System Configuration gives you control of the Mirage Servers, Volumes and Branch Reflectors.

I hope this has given you a first impression of the scope of the VMware Mirage solution. This is surely a very powerful tool!

Part 1: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/01/28/vmware-mirage-series-part-1-my-mirage-home-lab/

Part 2: http://www.thatsmyview.net/2013/01/29/vmware-mirage-series-part-2-server-installation-and-first-console-login/