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jkeys
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Local CDROM Access With View 5.0

          Is it still impossible to acces the local CDROM drive using PCOIP with the View destop?  Im in the middle of testing and came accross this hurdle.

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amandasmith
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PCoIP does not support "drive-redirection" so that is why they do not show up, a workaround is to use USB-redirection.

Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else

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gunnarb
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Its not impossible, however I've never seen it run flawless.  There are very few models that I've seen working.  If you are using a Zero Client, Teradici has a list of tested CDROMs on their website techsupport.teradici.com.  The USB community on this forum just got started and there isn't a ton of stuff yet but I'd encourage you to use that community to share your device and whether or not it worked.

Gunnar

Gunnar Berger http://www.gunnarberger.com http://www.endusercomputing.com
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cpekar
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We are not yet on view 5 (soon though).  But, with View 4.6, Wyse P20, with firmware 3.5 installed, CD-rom removed under vmware settings.  We can easily use the LITEON eNAU108 - series.

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jkeys
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Thanks for the reply's so far.  I have only one this client and it's an HP without a CDROM Drive.  The issues I'm having attaching the CDROM drives are using the VMWARE view client's launched from workstations.

Thanks

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gunnarb
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Your only shot is external USB CD-ROMs, there is no way to passthrough a "local" CDROM, sorry I missed that even though you have that in the subject line.

Gunnar Berger http://www.gunnarberger.com http://www.endusercomputing.com
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amandasmith
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PCoIP does not support "drive-redirection" so that is why they do not show up, a workaround is to use USB-redirection.

Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else
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jkeys
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So, what your saying is that since I am using PCOIP i would only be able to use an USB CDROM Drive.

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mittim12
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If you have a USB CD Rom plugged in then it should be available for redirection uneder the Connect USB Device option on the shade. 

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jkeys
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That's what I was affraid of.  Thank you all for your help.

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btenney
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I am very suprised to see this not supported.  We really expect people to deploy this and not give people access to local CD Rom drives? This seems to be a show stopper for using PCoIP.

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KWKirchner
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Judging by the number of views this thread has, it would seem like a pretty big issue.

We are using Teradici zero clients and are wondering how we are going to give users access to burn CDs/DVDs.  Using USB is a no-go because of a GPO that prevents anyone from mounting USB mass-storage devices.  Our next option is to setup burning Kiosks, and here are our two options:

1. Have users copy data to a network share then access the Kiosk to burn the disk.

2. Find some way to map the burning drive to the VM desktop so they just have to pop the blank media in at the kiosk (headless maybe?) and then burn from their desktop.

Option 1 seems easiest to implement, but requires the user to log out of the desktop VM and into the Kiosk (we are SmartCard enabled) to get things going.

Option 2 would be most convenient for the user, but I am not finding much on the internet on how to pull it off.  There are some 3rd party options such as Alcohol 120 (shares out the burner as an iSCSI device) and Paragon Software's free Net Burner (some kind of client/server software), but I'd like to keep it simple between View 5 and Windows 7 if possible.

Any recommendations?

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bhamm
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Using a cd/dvd rom drive would be sending/receiving a lot of data to your host.  Most external drives require USB 2.0, which is 480mb/s.  From the perspective of a single client, this isn't too bad, but if you've got a good consolidation, it won't take many concurrent optic drive users to overwhelm your host.

It might be surprising, but doing without optic media is easy if you try for most scenarios.  I'd encourage users to use flash drives if they need take files physically with them, or use network file servers for storage or internal company sharing.

What's your use case for cds/dvds?

Edit: I'll add that I've also got the lite-on etau208 working on teradici clients.

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KWKirchner
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That is a very good point about the data throughput requirements of the media. Our issue is that we are not permitted to connect any mass storage devices to USB ports. No flash, HDD, DVD, or other. Go Army!  I dont think we use the burners in our thick desktops very often, so network load might not be that much of an issue.  It is looking like a burning kiosk is going to be our only option.  As for use case, we still do some backups to DVD, and burn the occasional driver or OS install disk.  We also have to transfer from unclassified to classified occasionally.

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joshuatownsend
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It can be done with a bunch of caveates.  USB CD/DVD devices are your friend in this, and there are some bandwidth limitations beyond the 480Mbps of USB 2.0.  I've written up a bit more info on my blog at: http://vmtoday.com/2012/04/using-a-cddvd-drive-in-vmware-view/

If you found this or other information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Please visit http://vmtoday.com for News, Views and Virtualization How-To's Follow me on Twitter - @joshuatownsend
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