Horizon 7.7.0 has just dropped

VMware Horizon 7.7.0 is now generally available, along with Horizon Apps 7.7.0, and the coinciding Horizon Clients 4.10.0. This release brings support for the brand new vSphere 6.7 U1 and vSAN 6.7 U1!

As always, be sure to check out the Known Issues and Resolved Issues in the Release Notes.

Horizon 7.7 comes loaded with new stuff:

• Disable session roaming and allow multiple app launch
• RDS drain mode improvements for easier maintenance
• Allow Connection Server BSG to only be used for direct HTML Access client
• [Flex Only] Show Pod Name in console header area and browser tab
• Easier management with new columns in admin console - connected user field
• Enable single vCenter to support multiple CPA pods
• Increase RDS Host support per FARM from 200 -> 500
• Hybrid logon for RDSH unauthenticated access
• Support new VMC M5 features with Horizon 7.7
• Cloud Connector : Upgrade support
• vSphere 6.7U1 and vSAN 6.7U1 support
• Support for UAGS in Horizon Admin Console
• Additional functionality in LEO
• Enhance Horizon integration with VAC by support Horizon client info
• Instant Clone and App Volumes supported on VMware Cloud on AWS

For the Linux side of the house:

• Remove gaps in feature support across distros
• Session Collaboration
• Support VMC deployment

Here's what's new with the 4.10 Clients

• Project Brown: Native printer driver support (That's right.. Brown...)
• Blast Extreme HEVC/H.265 encoder support
• Physical PC remoting with Blast Extreme
• True drag and drop of files in and out of VM
• Serial port redirection support in nested mode
• UAG and Horizon Client support for custom thumbprints
• Enhancements to Geolocation redirection - VDI Driver and Chrome Plugin
• Select monitors for RDSH apps
• Improved drive redirection performance
• Subfolders for shortcuts
• Support for Windows Server 2019 as RDSH host and VDI agent
• OS updates: iOS 12, Windows 10 1809, Android 4.10, Chrome M69

A jam packed release no doubt! Links after the break!

Horizon 7.7 Release Notes

Horizon Clients Documentation

Downloads

Horizon Server

Horizon Clients

Horizon Apps

Read More

Horizon 7.1 | Everything you need to know [Updated]

VMware released the highly anticipated Horizon 7.1 this week and there are all sorts of enhancements and new features related to the next-gen virtual desktop infrastructure. Here's your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know.

[Update] Check out the new Horizon 7.1 Technical Overview Video on YouTube and ensure sure your environment is configured properly for a successful upgrade.

Horizon 7.1 Official Pubs including installation, upgrades, configuration, and administration.

See the official What's New post hosted on the VMware EUC Official Blog

Always review the Official Release Notes prior to upgrading your environment

Credit to Tony Huynh, VMware Director of Horizon Product Management and the EUC Technical Marketing Team

Enhancements to Horizon

• Instant Clone (IC) updates
  
  
  
  • Instant clone support for RDS hosts provides the ability to rapidly provision RDS hosts and build out your RDSH farms.
  
  
  • Automated maintenance mode allows the administrator to schedule windows and put their RDS hosts in maintenance mode.
  
  
  • Multi-vLAN support for Instant Clones removes the limitation of 1 vLAN per 1 IC pool, and enables multiple vLANs per pool.
  
  
  • vGPU-backed Instant Clones provides the option to provision IC desktop pools with vGPU enabled.
  
  
  • Automatic deletion of Instant Clone parent VMs with host maintenance mode – currently, administrators must manually delete ParentVMs before ESX can go into maintenance mode. This feature eliminates the need for admin intervention.


• Unauthenticated Access - allows users to directly access their RDSH applications without having to logon using Windows AD credentials. This preserves workflows for nurses and doctors using kiosk stations (Windows and Linux clients only).


• RDSH Application Icon Customization - administrators can now customize the icon for their RDSH Applications.


• Windows Server 2016 support for Horizon infrastructure - deploy Horizon Broker and Composer using Windows Server 2016.


• Enterprise scale Cloud Pod Architecture (CPA) – increases the scale for CPA up to 75k sessions across 5 sites


• Support for ADMX files - upgrade to ADMX files, which are used exclusively by Windows 10, 2012, 2016.


• Support of tags for global entitlements in CPA – supports the use of tags to allow the administrator to control desktop accessed based on admin-specified attributes and extends support for global entitlement in CPA environments.


• Protect full clone pools with vSphere VM encryption – for environments running vSphere 6.5 and above, VMware has qualified and now support encryption with full clone pools.


• Horizon desktop restart – allows users to restart their virtual desktop from the client menu without administrative intervention.


• Horizon PowerCLI updates – instead of requiring a separate package to support PowerShell, Horizon 7 now provides an integrated module included in VMware PowerCLI 6.5 R1.  These PowerCLI samples have now been posted to GitHub to be shared with community.

Unified Access Gateway (UAG) 2.9.1

• Formerly known as Access Point


• Blast Extreme Adaptive Transport (BEAT) support – supports a new release of Blast Extreme.


• FIPs OVA - Separate OVA for FIPS-140-2 with restrictive functionality with only PSG support available in this release, BSG support will be released in patch v2.9.1


• Admin User Interface (UI) - minimal UI enhancements
  
  
  
  • To make deployment and troubleshooting easy, new health status for services and backend resources using color coding has been added in the UI
  
  
  • Ability to change log levels from UI for ease of debugging


• Access to on premise legacy apps - Supports access to on premise legacy apps using headers and Kerberos based authentication. UAG acts as Identity Bridge to convert SAML to Kerberos or headers for back end resources access.


• Security enhancements - SLES 12 SP2 with updated opens’ version.


• Hyper-V support - Provides additional flexibility and footprint for UAG in Microsoft environments. Current release only AirWatch uses cases has been qualified by QE. Horizon use cases to be qualified in future

Blast Extreme Updates

• Blast Extreme Adaptive Transport (BEAT) – a new end-to-end protocol optimized for LAN and WAN environments, while delivering higher frame rates, faster file transfers and consuming up to 50% less bandwidth.


• UDP-based transport is specially designed for low bandwidth, high latency, and high packet loss networks. UDP mode is only available with the Unified Access Gateway.


• Over 4X faster file transfers for transcontinental connections and over 6X faster file transfers for intercontinental connections when compared to Horizon 7.0.2.


• Automatically connects using UDP (primary) or TCP (secondary) transport protocol.


• Intelligent error correction for increased data reliability.


• Enterprise level security with SSL web sockets
  
  
  
  • AES encryption for TCP
  
  
  • DTLS encryption for UDP


• Available across all Horizon desktop and mobile clients

Remote Experience Updates

• Skype for Business (beta release) – with the new VMware Horizonâ Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business, customers can now communicate using rich audio and video codecs native to Skype. This initial release is only available for Windows clients. For more information, please refer to the Skype beta community page - https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/beta/horizon-skype4business-beta/overview


• User login enhancements – allows administrators to hide domain name from login list for increased security. Users can login using <domain name>/<user name> to access their desktops and apps.


• Windows 10 Aero Peak and Aero Snap – allows users to take advantage of Windows 10 enhancements.

Horizon Client Updates

• Windows 4.4 client updates
  
  
  
  • Support for Unauthenticated Access with Horizon Apps
  
  
  • Support for multiple proxy servers configured with proxy auto-config (PAC) file
  
  
  • Hide domain list and server URL from client UI for enhanced security
  
  
  • Support <domain>/<user name> format in username field
  
  
  • Desktop restart option from client menu
  
  
  • Resolution helper to show the resolution of virtual desktop
  
  
  • Aero snap-assist mode in Windows 10
  
  
  • Support for Aero Peak


• Mac 4.4 client updates
  
  
  
  • Biometric authentication support with Touch ID
  
  
  • Touch bar integration for enhanced user experience
  
  
  • Hide domain list and server URL from client UI for enhanced security
  
  
  • Support <domain>/<user name> format in username field
  
  
  • Desktop restart option from client menu
  
  
  • Automatic client update


• Linux 4.4 client updates
  
  
  
  • Unauthenticated Access for Horizon Apps
  
  
  • Support for Ubuntu 16.0 x86_64
  
  
  • Support for RHEL 7.3 x86_64
  
  
  • Hide domain list and server URL from client UI for enhanced security
  
  
  • Support <domain>/<user name> format in username field
  
  
  • Desktop restart option from client menu
  
  
  • USB redirection UI for Horizon Apps


• iOS 4.4 client updates
  
  
  
  • New widget to easily launch Desktops and Apps
  
  
  • Push default user name to client with Airwatch using AppConfig
  
  
  • Hide domain list and server URL from client UI for enhanced security
  
  
  • Support <domain>/<user name> format in username field
  
  
  • Desktop restart option from client menu
  
  
  • Support App Transport Security (ATS) for enhanced security


• Android 4.4 client updates
  
  
  
  • Support for multiple monitors (2 monitors) – Tech Preview
  
  
  • Immersive full screen experience and system mouse icon
  
  
  • Hide domain list and server URL from client UI for enhanced security
  
  
  • Support <domain>/<user name> format in username field
  
  
  • Desktop restart option from client menu
  
  
  • Preservation of sidebar and touch ball position
  
  
  • Connect to PCoIP secure gateway with FQDN


• Chrome 4.4 client updates
  
  
  
  • Support for multiple monitors (2 monitors) – Tech Preview
  
  
  • Hide domain list and server URL from client UI for enhanced security
  
  
  • Support <domain>/<user name> format in username field
  
  
  • Desktop restart option from client menu
  
  
  • Connect to PCoIP secure gateway with FQDN


• HTML 4.4 Access
  
  
  
  • UX redesign for enhanced user experience
  
  
  • Hide domain list from client UI for enhanced security
  
  
  • Support <domain>/<user name> format in username field
  
  
  • DPI Sync to deliver extremely sharp graphics and text
  
  
  • Desktop restart option from client menu
  
  
  • Support for multiple monitors (2 monitors with 2560*1600) – Tech Preview


• Windows 10 4.4 UWP client updates
  
  
  
  • Support for Xbox One device
  
  
  • PCoIP General Availability
  
  
  • Pin Horizon client to start menu
  
  
  • Launch UWP client from Workspace ONE portal with vIDM integration
  
  
  • Screen rotation support for enhanced user experience
  
  
  • Enhanced stability and performance with H.264 codec of Blast Protocol

Horizon for Linux Updates

• Support for USB redirection – Tech Preview


• Support for CDR – Tech Preview


• SSO with Ubuntu 14.04 and 16.04


• Keyboard layout and locale sync-up


• Support RHEL 7.3 x84_64 as guest OS


• Support Cent OS 7.3 x84_64 as guest OS


• Support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop/Server 12 SP2 as guest OS

Read More

Horizon 7 version 7.0.2 Now Available

VMware Horizon 7.0.2 is here with a number of fixes and new features. I will document the upgrade process of my 7.0.0 lab in a separate post, including the Linux Desktops (which haven't been updated since the unmanaged process from Horizon 6) from unmanaged to managed desktops.

>>> Release Notes <<<
>>> Downloads <<<
>>> Official Announcement <<<

Horizon 7.0.2 Fixes

• View Administrator displays the error "Unable to query the replication state of the server" regarding the replication status of a Connection Server machine. This problem is a display issue that occurs with non-EN language Connection Server machines.


• The error message "No valid certificates were found on this smart card" appears on the Horizon Client for Windows, when you use a PIV smart card to authenticate to Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 R2 and above desktops that do not have middleware installed. This problem is resolved when you install Horizon Agent 7.0.2 in the remote desktops and enable Windows auto update to let Windows install the PIV smart card minidriver on both the Windows client and Horizon agent.


• An error message appears when you run an executable (.exe) file that requires the administrator privilege from a network share folder on a physical workstation or virtual machine that has VMware View Persona Management version 6.2 installed.


• The Horizon Administrator Web page shows a page cannot be displayed error if you install View Connection Server 7.0.1 with the FIPS mode enabled on any drive other than the C drive.


• Windows 10 desktops that have Horizon 7.0 installed with View Persona Manager and some applications crash with a Blue Screen of Death.


• Windows Media MMR does not work on Windows 10 desktops.


• View Composer performs unsealed LDAP searches.


• In Horizon Administrator, when you add an instant-clone domain administrator and then create an instant-clone desktop pool, some virtual machines in the instant-clone desktop pool might fail to clone.


• In a Microsoft Network Load Balancer environment, an authentication error occurs when you use VMware Identity Manager to launch a remote desktop.

Horizon 7.0.2 New Features

• VMware Blast policy
  View administrators can configure the H.264 Quality Blast policy settings to specify the image quality for the remote display configured to use H.264 encoding.


• Client Drive Redirection
  For Horizon Client 4.2 or Horizon 7 version 7.0.2 or later, if VMware Blast Extreme is enabled, files and folders are transferred across a virtual channel with encryption.


• Global data collected by VMware
  If you join the customer experience improvement program, VMware collects data aboutTrue SSO for the View environment.


• Restrict remote desktop access outside the network
  View administrators can allow access to specific entitled users and groups from an external network while restricting access to other entitled users and groups.


• Smart Cards for multiple user accounts
  In some environments, a user's smart card certificate can map to multiple Active Directory domain user accounts. A user might have multiple accounts with administrator privileges and needs to specify which account to use in the Username hint field during smart card login. To make the Username hint field appear on the Horizon Client login dialog box, the administrator must enable the smart card user name hints feature for the Connection Server instance in View Administrator. The smart card user can then enter a user name or UPN in the Username hint field during smart card login.


• Remote desktop operating systems
  The following remote desktop operating systems are supported:
  
  
  
  • Windows 10 64-bit and 32-bit Enterprise and Professional; Build 1511
  
  
  • Windows 10 64-bit and 32-bit Enterprise Long Term Service Branch (LTSB); Fresh installation only; Build 1507
  
  
  • Windows 10 64-bit and 32-bit Anniversary Update; Fresh installation only; Tech preview only; Build 1607. Upgrade is not supported.
  
  
  
  


• Windows Media Multimedia Redirection (MMR) operating systems
  The following Windows MMR operating systems are supported:
  
  
  
  • Windows 10
  
  
  • Windows Server 2016 is a tech preview feature
  
  
  
  


• Windows registry keys for Flash Redirection
  View administrators can set requireIECompatibility=true to enable Flash Redirection for Web sites that support HTML5 by default. This parameter is not required for the YouTube Web site. In certain situations, setting appMode=0 can improve performance, and setting appMode=1 can result in a better user experience.


• Horizon 7 for Linux desktops enhancements
  
  
  
  • Automated full-clone desktop pool
  
  
  • SSO for SLED 11 SP3 and SP4
  
  
  • Horizon Client 4.2.0 for Android
  
  
  
  

 

 

Read More

Horizon Client 4.2 Now Available

The bits for VMware Horizon View Client 4.2 have been released as well as all the accompanying documentation. This release is paired with Horizon 7 version 7.0.2 also released today (more posts coming soon for that!) Each major platform has its own release notes and features, so be sure to check out the notes pertaining to the systems of interest to you.

Here's what's new in each platform's 4.2 Horizon Client release:

Mac OS X

URL Content Redirection (Tech Preview)
An administrator can configure URL links that you click inside a remote desktop or application to open in the default browser on your client system. A link might be to a Web page, a phone number, an email address, or other type of link.

• Exclusive modeWith Exclusive mode, the VMware Horizon Client menu bar and Dock do not appear when you move your cursor to the edges of the screen in a remote desktop.


• Open recent desktops and applications
  You can now open remote desktops and applications from the Dock and from the Horizon Client File menu.


• H.264 hardware decoding support
  Horizon Client for Mac OS X now supports H.264 hardware decoding as well as H.264 software decoding.


• Username hint field support for smart card authentication
  Smart card users that use a single smart card certificate to authenticate to multiple user accounts can enter their user name in the Username hint field in the Horizon Client login dialog box during smart card sign-in. To make the Username hint field appear on the Horizon Client login dialog box, an administrator must enable the smart card user name hints feature for the Connection Server instance. This feature also requires Horizon 7 version 7.0.2.


• Pass command-line arguments when launching a remote application from a URI
  You can use the args query to pass command-line arguments when you launch a remote application from a URI.


• Spanish language support
  Both the Horizon Client for Mac OS X user interface and the documentation are now available in Spanish.


• Real-Time Audio-Video for session-based desktops and remote applications
  The Real-Time Audio-Video feature is now supported with session-based desktops and remote applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.


• Windows Server 2016 support
  You can use Horizon Client for Mac OS X to connect to Windows Server 2016 single-user desktops and Windows Server 2016 session-based desktops and hosted applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.

Linux

• URI multiple instance support
  When you set the new useExisting query to false in a URI, multiple Horizon Client instances can run and users can connect to multiple servers at the same time.


• Username hint field for smart card authentication
  Smart card users that use a single smart card certificate to authenticate to multiple user accounts can enter their user name in the Username hint field in the Horizon Client login dialog box during smart card sign-in. To make the Username hint field appear on the Horizon Client login dialog box, an administrator must enable the smart card user name hints feature for the Connection Server instance. This feature also requires Horizon 7 version 7.0.2.


• Client drive redirection for USB storage
  You can now use the client drive redirection feature as well as USB redirection to share a USB storage device or a folder on a USB storage device.


• Select multiple monitors when using VMware Blast
  You can now select mulitple monitors when using the VMware Blast display protocol as well as when using the PCoIP display protocol.


• Spanish language support
  Both the Horizon Client for Linux user interface and the documentation are now available in Spanish.


• Real-Time Audio-Video for session-based desktops and remote applications
  The Real-Time Audio-Video feature is now supported with session-based desktops and remote applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.


• Windows Server 2016 support
  You can use Horizon Client for Linux to connect to Windows Server 2016 single-user desktops and Windows Server 2016 session-based desktops and hosted applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.

Windows

• DPI Synchronization
  The DPI Synchronization feature ensures that the remote desktop's DPI setting matches the client machine's DPI setting for new remote sessions. This feature is enabled by default. An administrator can disable this feature by disabling the Horizon Agent DPI Synchronization group policy setting. For more information, see "Horizon Agent Configuration ADM Template Settings" in Setting Up Desktop and Application Pools in View.


• Configure Real-Time Audio-Video settings in Horizon Client
  You can now select your preferred webcam and microphone in the Horizon Client Settings dialog box.


• Physical client information is sent to remote desktops in a double-hop scenario
  If Horizon Client is running inside of a remote desktop session, it sends some physical client information (instead of virtual machine information) to the remote desktop. For information about the physical client information that Horizon Client sends to the second-hop desktop, see "Client System Information Sent to Remote Desktops" in Setting Up Desktop and Application Pools in View.


• Username hint field support for smart card authentication
  Smart card users that use a single smart card certificate to authenticate to multiple user accounts can enter their user name in the Username hint field in the Horizon Client login dialog box during smart card sign-in. To make the Username hint field appear on the Horizon Client login dialog box, an administrator must enable the smart card user name hints feature for the Connection Server instance. This feature also requires Horizon 7 version 7.0.2.


• Pass command-line arguments when launching a remote application from a URI
  You can use the args query to pass command-line arguments when you launch a remote application from a URI.


• Spanish language support
  Both the Horizon Client for Windows user interface and the documentation are now available in Spanish.


• Real-Time Audio-Video for session-based desktops and remote applications
  The Real-Time Audio-Video feature is now supported with session-based desktops and remote applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.


• Windows Server 2016 support
  You can use Horizon Client for Windows to connect to Windows Server 2016 single-user desktops and Windows Server 2016 session-based desktops and hosted applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.

Windows 10 UWP

VMware Horizon Client for Windows 10 UWP makes it easy to access your Windows remote desktop and remote applications using the VMware Blast display protocol for the best possible user experience on the Local Area Network (LAN) or across a Wide Area Network (WAN).

• Work the way you want to - Use your Windows 10 tablet or smartphone to work on a Windows-based remote desktop from any location. Support for the VMware Blast display protocol means that your desktop is fast and responsive, regardless of where you are.


• Simple connectivity - Horizon Client is tightly integrated with Horizon 7 for simple setup and connectivity.


• Multitasking - Switch between Horizon Client and other apps without losing a remote desktop or application connection.


• Continuum for Windows 10 Mobile support - Use a Microsoft Display dock to connect your Windows 10 smartphone to an external display and mouse and use Horizon Client just as you would use it on a desktop PC.


• Secure from any location - At your desk or away from the office, your data is always secure. Access your remote desktop over Wi-Fi or 3G. Your remote desktop is delivered securely to you wherever you are. Enhanced certificate checking is performed on the client. The client app also supports RSA SecurID authentication.

Chrome OS

• Spanish language support
  Both the Horizon Client for Chrome OS user interface and the documentation are now available in Spanish.


• Windows Server 2016 support
  You can use Horizon Client for Chrome OS to connect to Windows Server 2016 single-user desktops and Windows Server 2016 session-based desktops and hosted applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.

iOS

• iOS 10 supportYou can install Horizon Client for iOS on an iOS 10 device.


• Swiftpoint GT Mouse support
  You can use the Swiftpoint GT Mouse with Horizon Client for iOS.


• Rich Text Format (RTF) support when copying and pasting data
  You can now copy and paste text Rich Text Format (RTF) data between your iOS device and remote desktops and applications.


• Sensitive information is hidden on external displays and projectors
  When you use Horizon Client for iOS with an external display or projector, sensitive information, such as passwords and passcodes, is automatically hidden to protect user data security.


• Select a display protocol on the Settings page
  You now tap Settings at the bottom of the Horizon Client for iOS screen and tap Preferred Protocol to select a display protocol.


• Spanish language support
  Both the Horizon Client for iOS user interface and the documentation are now available in Spanish.


• Windows Server 2016 support
  You can use Horizon Client for iOS to connect to Windows Server 2016 single-user desktops and Windows Server 2016 session-based desktops and hosted applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.

Android

• Android 7 (Nougat) supportYou can install Horizon Client for Android on an Android 7 (Nougat) device. You can use split-screen mode with Horizon Client for Android on an Android 7 (Nougat) device. Horizon Client for Android does not support picture-in-picture mode.


• Spanish language support
  Both the Horizon Client for Android user interface and the documentation are now available in Spanish.


• Linux desktop support
  Your can now use Horizon Client for Android to connect to Linux remote desktops.


• Root detection and evasion
  Horizon Client for Android does not launch if it detects that the client device has been rooted.


• Windows Server 2016 support
  You can use Horizon Client for Android to connect to Windows Server 2016 single-user desktops and Windows Server 2016 session-based desktops and hosted applications. This feature also requires Horizon Agent 7.0.2 or later.

Read More

New Release Menu 3.31

Don't like that pesky CVE-2015-7547 vulnerability, also known as glibc? Neither do we!

VMware vCenter Server 5.5. Update 3c (March 29)
This release of vCenter Server 5.5 Update 3c addresses the glibc security vulnerability

VMware vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3f (March 29)
This release of vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3f addresses the glibc security vulnerability

VMware vCenter Server 5.1 Update 3c (March 29)
This release of vCenter Server 5.1 Update 3c addresses the glibc security vulnerability

VMware vSphere Replication 6.1.0.1 Express Patch (March 29)
This patch release addresses the glibc security vulnerability

Read More

New Release Menu Dec 21st

Christmas has come early! Buckle up.. because there's been a host of new releases from VMware over the past two weeks.

Below you'll find their release date and links to release notes for each release. I hope you find this helpful!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
- Ryan

 

vRealize
vRealize Orchestrator Plug-in for SRM 6.1 6.1.0a (Dec. 18^th)
vRealize Orchestrator Plug-in for SRM 6.0 6.0.0.1a (Dec 18^th)
vRealize Operations for Horizon 6.2.0 (Dec. 8th)
vRealize Operations for Published Applications 6.2.0 (Dec. 8th)
vRealize Code Stream Management Pack for IT DevOps 1.0 (Dec. 8th)
vRealize Orchestrator Plug-in for VR-A 7.0.0 (Dec. 17th)
VMware vRealize Business Adv/Ent 8.2.4 (Dec. 17th)
VMware vRealize Business Standard 7.0.0 (Dec. 17th)
VMware vRealize Orchestrator 7.0.0 (Dec. 17th)
VMware vRealize Automation 7.0.0 (Dec. 17th)
VMware Software manager - Download Service 1.3 (Dec. 8th)
VMware vSphere Big Data Extensions 2.3.0 (Dec. 8th)

EUC
VMware Fusion 8.1.0 EUC (Dec. 8th)
VMware Workstation 12.1 EUC (Dec. 8th)
VMware Mirage 5.6 EUC (Dec. 8th)
VMware FLEX 1.7 EUC (Dec. 8th)
VMware Horizon View 6.2.1 EUC (Dec. 8th)
VMware Horizon for Linux 6.2.1 EUC (Dec. 8th)

CSBU
VMware Continuent for Clustering 5.0 (Dec. 9th)
VMware Continuent for Replication 5.0 (Dec. 9th)
VMware Continuent for Analytics and Big Data 5.0 (Dec. 9th)
VMware Continuent for Disaster Recovery 5.0 (Dec. 9th)

Infra / Core
vCloud Director for Service Providers 5.6.5 (Dec. 10th)
VMware Integrated OpenStack 2.0.1 (Dec. 10th)
VMware NSX for vSphere 6.2.1 (Dec. 17th)
VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.5.0 P07 Infrastructure (Dec. 8th)
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.0 u3b Infrastructure (Dec. 8th)

Read More

New Release Menu Dec 4th

It's that time again, the bi-weekly New Release Menu covering VMware's publicly new and recent releases over the past two weeks.

Below you'll find the product and its version, a link to its Release Notes, and the date it was released.

Enjoy!

App Volumes 2.10 (Nov 24)
VMware Tools 10.0.5 (Nov 24)
ESXi 6.0 EP4 (Nov 26)
vCloud Air Hybrid Cloud Manager 1.0 U1 (Nov 26)

Read More

New Release Menu Nov 23rd

It's that time again, the bi-weekly New Release Menu covering VMware's publicly new and recent releases over the past two weeks. Today's edition delivers 2 Infrastructure releases and 4 EUC releases.

Below you'll find the product and it's version, a link to its Release Notes, and the date it was released. Enjoy!

vSphere Data Protection 6.1.1 [Infrastructure] (Nov 10)
vSphere Data Protection 6.0.3 [Infrastructure] (Nov 10)
Fusion 7.1.3 [EUC/OSX] Nov 12
Workstation Pro/Player 11.1.3 [EUC] Nov 12
VMware Identity Manager 2.4.1 [EUC] (Nov 17)
ThinApp 5.2.0 [EUC] (Nov 19)

Read More

New Release Menu Nov 10

VMware is constantly pushing new and updated software which can be a time consuming task to keep track of every new release. And there are lots of products to keep track of. In converstations with customers I often hear, "Oh when did that come out?" Or, "I heard about that version but don't know anything about it."

In the spirit of being helpful, I'm starting a new category called New Release Menu which I hope to publish every 2 - 3 weeks. Below you'll find a short compilation of VMware's New Releases over the past few weeks and links to their respective Release Notes. I will have each post titled with that day's date. Enjoy!

vSphere Data Protection 6.1.1 and 6.0.3 (Nov 10th)

vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.0.3.3 Infrastructure (Oct. 29th)

vSphere Replication 5.0.3.3 Infrastructure (Oct. 29th)

Fusion 8.0.2 Consumer Desktop (Oct. 29th)

Workstation Pro/Player 12.0.1 Consumer Desktop (Oct. 29th)

Integrated OpenStack 1.0.3 Virtual Team (Oct. 23rd)

vCloud Director 5.5.5 vCloud (Oct. 22nd)

Read More

Today's new releases from VMware

VMware released a lot of updated software today. For simplicity, I've compiled the new releases and links to their Release Notes below. Enjoy!

VMware vSphere 6.0 U1

• Customer Experience Improvement Program: The Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) provides VMware with information that enables VMware to improve the VMware products and services and to fix problems. When you choose to participate in CEIP, VMware will collect technical information listed below about your use of the VMware products and services in CEIP reports on a regular basis. This information does not personally identify you. For more details, see the vSphere Documentation Center.


• Feature Enhancement: Suite UI is now enabled by default for the vSphere Web Client.


• Support for SSLv3: Support for SSLv3 has been disabled by default.


• vCSA Authentication for Active Directory: VMware vCenter Server Virtual Appliance (vCSA) has been modified to only support AES256-CTS/AES128-CTS/RC4-HMAC encryption for Kerberos authentication between vCSA and Active Directory.


• Installation and Upgrade using HTML 5 installer: The following installation and upgrade scenarios are supported for vCenter Server using HTML 5 installer:
  
  
  
  • Installation using HTML 5 installer and target as vCenter Server is supported
  
  
  • Upgrade using HTML 5 installer and target as vCenter Server is not supported
  
  
  • Upgrade using command line and target as vCenter Server is supported
  
  
  
  

VMware Integrated Stack 2.0
VMware Integrated OpenStack enables the rapid deployment of OpenStack on a VMware vSphere virtual platform. This release provides the following new features and enhancements.

VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 U1

• The Update Manager Web client is now available with full set of capabilities, that is required to perform both patch and version management for your vSphere inventory.


• The libxml that is bundled with Update Manager 6.0 Update 1 is upgraded to version 2.9.2.


• VMware vSphere Update Manager Database re-initializer option is available in Update Manager Utility under Database Settings.


• Additional database support: The Update Manager 6.0 Update 1 server and the UMDS 6.0 Update 1 are compatible with:
  
  
  
  • Microsoft SQL 2008 R2-SP3
  
  
  • Microsoft SQL 2012 SP2 (Standalone and Clustered)
  
  
  • Microsoft SQL 2014(Clustered)
  
  
  
  


• The Microsoft XML used by Update Manager is upgraded to version MSXML6.dll.


• The Oracle (Sun) JRE package is updated to 1.7.0_80. The update addresses multiple security issues that exist in the earlier releases of Oracle (Sun) JRE.


• OpenSSL is updated to 1.0.1m to resolve multiple security issues. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the names CVE-2015-0286, CVE-2015-0287, CVE-2015-0289, CVE-2015-0293, CVE-2015-0209, and CVE-2015-0288 to these issues.


• Support for SSLv3 is disabled in Update Manager 6.0 Update 1 by default.

VMware Horizon (with View) 5.3.5
VMware Horizon View 5.3.5 is a maintenance release that resolves some known issues in the previous releases. For information about the issues that are resolved in this release, see Resolved Issues.

To improve security, Horizon View 5.3.5 does not support weak ciphers such as RC4 by default. On Windows XP machines, you must:

• Upgrade Horizon Client to version 3.2.1.


• Use Firefox or Chrome to access View Administrator or connect to desktops using HTML Access.

Care Systems Analytics for EPIC 1.0.4
VMware Care Systems Analytics for Epic 1.0.4 updates cover all major areas of the product including installation, migration, configuration, alerting, dashboards, and widgets.

This release adds support for vRealize Operations Manager version 6.0.3 and 6.1.0 and Epic System Pulse edition 2015.

VMware vRealize Automation (VRA) 6.2.3
This release of vRealize Automation contains the following enhancements:

• Added support for the Change Reservation operation to vCloud vApps to enable administrators to change the business group of a provisioned vApp.


• Added the ability to disable snapshot options for all users, including the business group manager and support user, if snapshot is not enabled on the blueprint.


• Added support for vCloud Government Service and Amazon Web Services GovCloud.


• Updated version support for the following endpoints:
  
  
  
  • OpenStack Juno
  
  
  • vCloud Director 5.5.3
  
  
  • vRealize Orchestrator 6.0.3
  
  
  • vSphere 5.5 Update 3
  
  
  • vSphere 6.0 Update 1
  
  
  
  


• Added support for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP2.


• Improved error logging for the Windows version of the guest agent.


• Enabled the Customer Experience Improvement Program by default.

For information about what's new in vRealize Orchestrator Plug-In, see the VMware vCenter Orchestrator Plug-In for vCloud Automation Center 6.2 Release Notes.

VMware vRealize Business Adv/Ent 8.2.3
vRealize Business Advanced and Enterprise 8.2.3 is a maintenance release with the following enhancements:

• Upgraded Apache POI to 3.12
  Apache POI is upgraded to 3.12 in this release.


• Upgraded JRE to 1.8.0_51
  JRE package is upgraded to 1.8.0_51 in this release.

VMware vRealize Business Standard 6.2.3
This release of vRealize Business Standard contains following enhancements:

• Enables to view deleted virtual machine information. You can view the price or charge details of deleted virtual machines for the current month under Consumers List.


• Support for business unit mapping. Even if your vRealize Business Standard is categorized based on vRealize Automation, you can map the business units to Tenant Administrator and Business Management Controller users in a manner similar to vCloud Director or vCenter Server categorization.


• Upgraded JRE to 1.7 update 85. JRE has been upgraded to 1.7.0_85 in this release.


• Uses latest build of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 SP3. vRealize Business Standard uses the latest build of SLES11 SP3.


• Upgraded Pivotal tc Server from 2.9.8 to 3.1.0. vRealize Business Standard server runs on Pivotal tc server 3.1.0 version.

VMware vRealize Code Stream 1.2.0
vRealize Code Stream is a release automation product that enables an organization to deliver quality software while leveraging existing tools in the build, development, test, provisioning, and monitoring environments.

VMware vRealize Log Insight 3.0.0
VMware vRealize Log Insight 3.0 delivers the best real-time log management for VMware environments. Machine learning-based Intelligent Grouping and high performance search enables faster troubleshooting across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. vRealize Log Insight can analyze terabytes of logs, discover structure in unstructured data, and deliver enterprise-wide visibility using a modern Web interface.

VMware vRealize Operations Manager 6.0.3
vRealize Operations Manager 6.0.3 updates cover all major areas of the product including installation, migration, configuration, licensing, alerting, dashboards, reports, and policies. There are no new features in this release.

VMware vRealize Operations Manager 6.1
vRealize Operations Manager 6.1 is the latest release of VMware's integrated operations suite. Updates cover all major areas of the product including installation, configuration, licensing, alerting, dashboards, reports, and policies. This release introduces the following enhancements.

VMware vRealize Orchestrator 6.0.3
vRealize Orchestrator 6.0.3 is a patch release that introduces a number of improvements and bug fixes.

VMware vCenter Orchestrator Plug-in for VRA 6.2.3
This release of the vCenter Orchestrator Plug-In for vCloud Automation Center introduces the following new functionality:

• vCenter Orchestrator Plug-In for vCloud Automation Center 6.2.3 works with vRealize Automation 6.2, 6.2.1, 6.2.2, and 6.2.3 and vRealize Orchestrator 6.0.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, and 6.0.3.

VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) 6.1
VMware Site Recovery Manager 6.1 provides the following new features:

• Support for VMware vSphere 6.0 update 1.


• Storage policy based protection of virtual machines.


• Support for stretched storage when using storage policy protection groups in enhanced linked mode.


• Support for auto-mapping of stretched NSX networks.


• Enhancements to mappings for test networks.

VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN) 6.1
Virtual SAN 6.1 introduces the following new features and enhancements:

• Stretched clusters: Virtual SAN 6.1 supports stretched clusters that span two geographic locations to protect data from site failures or loss of network connection.


• The VMware Virtual SAN Witness Appliance 6.1 is a virtual witness host packaged as a virtual appliance. It functions as an ESXi host configured as a witness host for a Virtual SAN stretched cluster. You can download the Virtual SAN Witness Appliance 6.1 OVA from the VMware Virtual SAN download Web site.


• New on-disk format. Virtual SAN 6.1 supports upgrades to new on-disk virtual file format 2.0 through the vSphere Web Client. This log-based file system, based on Virsto technology, provides highly scalable snapshot and clone management support per Virtual SAN cluster.


• Hybrid and all-flash configurations. Virtual SAN 6.1 supports both hybrid and all-flash clusters. To configure an all-flash cluster, click Create a new disk group under Virtual SAN Disk Management (Manage > Settings), and select Flash as the Capacity type. When claiming disk groups, you can select flash devices for both capacity and cache.


• Improved upgrade process. Upgrade supports direct upgrades from Virtual SAN 5.5 and 6.0 to Virtual SAN 6.1.


• Virtual SAN 6.1 includes an integrated Health Service that monitors the cluster health and enables you to diagnose and fix issues with the Virtual SAN cluster. The Virtual SAN Health Service provides several checks on hardware compatibility, networking configuration and operations, advanced configuration options, storage device health, and Virtual SAN object health. If the Health Service detects any health issues, it triggers vCenter events and alarms. To view the health checks for a Virtual SAN cluster, click Monitor > Virtual SAN > Health.


• Virtual SAN monitors solid state drive and magnetic disk drive health and proactively isolates unhealthy devices by unmounting them. It detects gradual failure of a Virtual SAN disk and isolates the device before congestion builds up within the affected host and the entire Virtual SAN cluster. An alarm is generated from each host whenever an unhealthy device is detected and an event is generated if an unhealthy device is automatically unmounted.

VMware vSphere Replication 6.1
The following features are new for this release:

• 5 minute Recovery Point Objective (RPO) for replication between Virtual SAN data stores – This version of vSphere Replication allows customers to replicate virtual machine workloads with an RPO setting as low as 5 minutes between Virtual SAN data stores.


• Support for NFS v 4.1 – This release introduces support for NFS v 4.1 data stores. It allows customers to protect and recover virtual machines that are provisioned onto NFS v 4.1 environments using vSphere Replication.


• UI Enhancements - the RPO settings in the Configure Replication wizard are simplified and provide more granular options of predefined RPO settings.

vRealize Orchestrator Plug-in for vSphere Replication 6.1
The VMware vRealize Orchestrator plug-in for vSphere Replication allows VMware administrators to simplify the management of their vSphere Replication infrastructure by leveraging the robust workflow automation platform of vRealize Orchestrator. The vRealize Orchestrator plug-in for vSphere Replication extends automation capabilities for certain vSphere Replication operations by including them in vRealize Orchestrator workflows.
The plug-in also delivers pre-built out-of-the-box building blocks and complete workflows that cover certain existing vSphere Replication actions.

vCloud Director 8.0 for Service Providers

• vSphere 6.0 support: vCloud Director for Service Providers 8.0 adds support for vSphere 6.0 in backward compatibility mode.


• NSX support: vCloud Director for Service Providers 8.0 adds support for NSX 6.1.4 in backward compatibility mode. This means that tenants' consumption capability is unchanged and remains at the vCloud Networking and Security feature level of vCloud Director 5.6.


• Organization virtual data center templates: Allows system administrators to create organization virtual data center templates, including resource delegation, that organization users can deploy to create new organization virtual data centers.


• vApp enhancements: Enhancements to vApp functionality, including the ability to reconfigure virtual machines within a vApp, and network connectivity and virtual machine capability during vApp instantiation.


• OAuth support for identity sources: Support added for OAuth2 tokens.


• Tenant throttling: : Prevents a single tenant from consuming all of the resources for a single instance of vCloud Director and ensures fairness of execution and scheduling among tenants.

vSphere Data Protection (VDP) 6.1

Read More