VMware Horizon Community
trandolph
Contributor
Contributor

Horizon 7 upgrade - agent update question

Current Environment

View Connection server – 6.0.2 on Windows 2008 R2

View Composer (standalone) – 6.0.2 on Windows 2008 R2

vCenter server 5.5U2 – on Windows 2008 R2

Two ESXi hosts – 5.5U2

We run several linked clone pools, and the parent VMs for these are using the 6.0.1 View agent

We are looking to begin deploying Windows 10 desktops, so I need to upgrade the View servers – from the Upgrade Guide, it looks like I can upgrade to 7.0.3 in one step, without needing to upgrade the OS.  It also appears that 7.0.3 supports my current version of vCenter and ESXi, which already support Windows 10, so I don’t plan on upgrading the vCenter and ESXi components until later this year (we’re waiting for the View components to be qualified on Windows 2016, at which point the View servers will be migrated, and then the vCenter server migrated and upgraded, and finally the ESXi hosts upgraded).

My question is with the parent VMs for my linked clone pools – I’m not clear on when the agent needs to be upgraded.  Ideally, I would upgrade the agent on the parent VM and then recompose the clones at our scheduled time – this would involve running them for some time with the older agent and the newer View Connection and Compose servers. 

In researching, I came across this community post - https://communities.vmware.com/message/2636200#2636200 – with a similar environment.  The posters had problems and had to upgrade the agent in order to restore connectivity.  The poster there doesn’t seem to have followed the suggested upgrade steps, but it was enough to make me question my understanding of when the agent needs to get upgraded.  I have not found a clear answer in the Upgrade Guide – any thoughts?

Thanks!

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4 Replies
ggordon
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

While Horizon 7.0.3 is supported on older version of vSphere/ vCenter, I believe that Windows 10 needs vSphere 6.0 or later. Have a look a the VMware Compatibility Guide - Guest/Host Search

The Horizon components need at least Windows 2008 R2 SP1 so make sure you are running the service pack before upgrading. As with any upgrade, make sure you have the servers backed up and take snapshots so you can easily rollback. Just remember to delete the snapshots when you are done.

You should be able to run with the old agents for a period of time but I would recommend upgrading them in the Master VMs and recomposing when you get a chance.

Be careful not to upgrade VM Tools until you are ready to update the agent though. The installation order is important and if one is updated all subsequent agents should be removed and updated to maintain the installation order. e.g. if you update VM Tools you should reinstall the Horizon Agent (and any other agents you are using) in the order below.

  1. VSphere VM Tools
  2. Horizon Agent
  3. User Environment Manager FlexEngine
  4. VMware Identity Manager Client
  5. App Volumes Agent
wakeman811
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Also, be careful on the version of Windows 10 that is being deployed 1507/1511 are fully supported, while 1607 Anniversary still has many issues with profiles

Since your coming from a pre 6.2.x environment, also review the new security enhancements around TLS 1.2 and thin client compatibility.


Release Notes for VMware Horizon 7 version 7.0.3

https://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/horizon-7-view/horizon-703-view-release-notes.html

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trandolph
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks.

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pari2k3
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

After upgrading the View Connection Server, its suggested to upgrade the Agent ASAP.  Page 11 https://pubs.vmware.com/horizon-7-view/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/view-70-upgrades.pdf

update shows earlier version of Agent can be kept only during the upgrade.

Documentation for VMware Horizon 7 version 7.0

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