How to use Aero in Guest OS Windows Server 2008 R2

[Buxus]

Hi,

I´m a newbee to VMWare.

Since last week I got my hands on a vSphere 4.0 Installation for testing

purpose.

I managed to create a VM and installed a Windows Server 2008 R2 into it.

So far so good.

Now I want to enable Aero within the Guest OS but I´m not able to.

I installed all the Guest OS Stuff for it but I can not switch it on.

On the Configuration Options of the VM - Graphics Card Section I noticed

the Option to enable 3D but it is greyed out.

I read some google answers and I´m not sure wether or not it is possible

to use Aero in a Guest OS like Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008 R2 if

the VM runs on ESX4.

So my question is if it is possible and how to enable it.

Kind regards

Buxus

[continuum]

AFAIK that only works when you run the VM on a Windows-host using latest Workstation.

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VMX-parameters- WS FAQ -[ MOAcd|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VMDK-Handbook

[VMmatty]

It's currently not possible to enable Aero in vSphere 4. It is supported only on VMware Workstation 7.0 and later. At this time there is no way to work around it and make it work on vSphere.

[Buxus]

Thanks for the answers so far ...

Does anybody know if it is on the roadmap for coming up versions of vSphere to support Aero?

Regards

Buxus

[VMmatty]

VMware usually "tests" out new features in VMware Workstation and then eventually ports them over to ESX in some form or another. That has been the case with many features in the past and I fully expect that Aero support will come in the future for vSphere/ESX.

[glynnd1]

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but what benefit does Aero bring on a server?

Bear in mind this is coming from someone who is running XP with the Windows Classic UI and Windows7 with as much of the fancy GUI stuff disabled.

[continuum]

Aero is good to sabotage otherwise fine VMs - it burns RAM and resources for eye-candy 😉




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VMX-parameters- WS FAQ -[ MOAcd|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VMDK-Handbook

[amvmware]

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but what benefit does Aero bring on a server?

</div>

I agree it is hype over substance - what value is it on a server?

[Buxus]

Hi,

thanks for the answers so far and to answer your question, why should I want to enable Aero ... It´s because of the User Feeling. I´m planning to install Windows Server 2008 R2 Terminal Services and have quite a lot users to work on a nice desktop to enhance user experience.

I would not enable it on a "normal" server --- just for Terminal Services Users to give them the Desktop experience they know from their Windows 7 Desktops.

But it seems to me that I have to wait and see if VMWare will implement it in the future and then decide again.

Thanks for the discussion.

Regards

Buxus

[amvmware]

Fair enough - i can see why you would do this for a xenapp\TS desktop - does raise an interesting point that this is probably not going to work with VDi either such as View.

[VMmatty]

Aero support is coming to VMware View. I'm not sure if that means it will work for any old guest on vSphere, but I know that they are working to address that.

To the original poster - have you considered using the Desktop Experience feature of Windows 2008? That allows you to make the look and feel of the server appear more like Windows Vista/7. It won't let you use Aero but will otherwise mirror how the desktop operating system looks.

You access it by launching Server Manager, clicking on Features, and installing the Desktop Experience feature.

Hope this helps.

[Buxus]

@VMmatty ... I´ll give the Desktop Experience a try because it seems to be the best solution right now.

... I think I´ve seen Aero enabled on a XenServer based Virtualization of Windows Server 2008 R2 so it will be only a matter of time until VMWare Products will bring the same Desktop experience or VMWare will loose some customers in the TS Section

Buxus

[Marcj1]

Aero Glass does work when connecting to a 2008 R2 ESX VM from a Win7 client via Remote Desktop Services, translucent borders, flip 3D and all. The following link describes the process:

As far as enabling the "Allow desktop composition for remote desktop sessions" policy, I did not see it in the AD policy but it does exist in the local group policy of the RDS host. When you connect make sure the RDP client is set to use 32bit color and has "enable Desktop Composition" enabled.

[PeteKowalsky]

This definitely DOES work with RDP on an ESX VM as described in the MSDN Blogs article (though that article is written for a Hyper-V environment, of course, but that doesn't affect the process of enabling these features).  I was thinking I'd done it incorrectly until I rebooted the VM yet again, and "lo, and behold" it works just fine.  Sporting some custom themes on my server now (via RDP).  Neato.  Yeah, it'd be cool to be able to have this built into the VI Client, but I suspect it's coming soon if somebody hasn't already figured out how to do it... :smileycool:  Not sure how useful this actually is, but the eye candy is just swell.