View Client defaults to PCoIP through Security Server

[baveryfw]

We would like to allow users to install the View Client on their laptops/home computers for use via the internet and our Security Server. However, by default the pools select the PCoIP protocol even when pointed at our external address. We want the default for the pool internally to be PCoIP, but clients connecting from outside should default to RDP.

As it stands if they just install our client and try to connect they get a black screen (since it is trying to use PCoIP). Anyone know of a way to have the client default to RDP for external use?

[mpryor]

Display protocol preference is saved by the client by user/pool pair, it's not currently possible to force a preference based on which server the client comes through on. That means there are actually two parts to your problem (1) default is PCoIP when launching from home and (2) if launched using RDP from home the default will be RDP on next launch from the office.

Assuming you must have PCoIP internally and RDP externally with no user interaction (i.e. remembering to check display protocol at launch is too much for users, which I can see as valid) I can think of one way to solve both parts of the problem, but it's not trivial. These preferences are saved in ADAM on the connection server (under guid=xxx,ou=properties,dc=vdi,dc=vmware,dc=int), so you could potentially clean out the preference regularly using a script. That way clients will always connect with the default protocol on launch (so you can trigger PCoIP default protocol selection internally if you set that as the default protocol in the pool settings). This means though that any client that supports PCoIP will attempt a PCoIP launch, so you would have to get users to install the View 3.1 client at home, the broker will then fall back to providing them with a RDP desktop.

Of course, if you're using non-persistent pools then you could have an 'External users' desktop, configured to only support RDP connections, which may be the simplest solution.

[mikeyes]

We also have an issue with this.

If a client uses PCoIP at work and then goes home on a separate computer why would you want to carry over the protocol setting to a different computer. The protocol setting should be stored locally by the computer so that you can move from one enviroment to the next without carrying over an incorrect protocol setting.

Set a default on the pool that is most likey and then let the computer remember its own setting once it changes.

Has there been any change in this with View 4.5? Is there a registry setting I can add to the computer to cause the view client to ignore the protocol setting coming from the connection server and use it what had as the last recorded protocol? If not vmware needs to fix this.

Add a settings in the view client that either reads the protocol setting from the connection server or ignores it.

[ppsadmin]

We're in the same boat here. I would like to open up our pools to student use, but PCoIP being the default when they are on site, and requiring RDP at home because PCoIP doesn't work through the security server (why exactly is that?) - it's not looking good.

This client setting belongs on the client, not some property in ADAM. Please fix.

[jsopper]

You can always ditch the Security Server and go with something like an F5 device which has greater scalability, allows PCoIP and can make adjustments based on the connecting device. I believe they are going to have a virtual appliance soon as well.

[ppsadmin]

I suppose we could do something like use a separate connection broker, but I'd rather just use what we've already paid for at the moment. In any case, I spent a little time writing a powershell script that will delete all of the pae-Prop objects from the correct OU in the ADAM instance for a given server. Schedule up a task to run it every so often (I set ours to every 1 hour), and just train the users to choose RDP when they are at home. Unless this gets revised, I suppose this method will have to do. The code is pasted below. Note that it requires that the Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell be installed, which I believe requires 2008 R2 or Windows 7.

Import-Module ActiveDirectory

<#

Select all of the pae-Prop preference objects in the ADAM instance on View Connection Manager server

and DELETE THEM.

#>

get-adobject -Server <SERVER_FQDN>`

-SearchBase 'OU=properties,DC=vdi,DC=vmware,DC=int' `

-SearchScope OneLevel `

-Filter {ObjectClass -eq "pae-Prop"} | Remove-ADObject -Confirm:$False

[davesherman]

Assuming you must have PCoIP internally and RDP externally with no user interaction (i.e. remembering to check display protocol at launch is too much for users, which I can see as valid)

One issue with this is that it is not readily apparent to users which protocol they are connecting with. If this was displayed in the View client more prominently it would be much easier for users. Since it is buried away under an obscure drop-down it is very easy to forget about, which means we get help desk calls from users stating their connection from home doesn't work (black screen, then disconnect). Once we have them manually switch to RDP, we get help desk calls when they are in the office for performance (tiling on video, etc) because they forgot to switch back. In my opinion the connection server should negotiate this for the user.

[baveryfw]

UPDATE: We developed a work-around to this issue that has been pretty successful.  We are using a mix of repurposed desktops that start the View Client instead of the explorer shell, as well as some desktops that just use the View Client as needed.  For both cases we now launch the application with the command line parameter that sets the protocol (in the admin guide).  In the pool settings we have set RDP as the default protocol.  This way, if a user downloads the client and runs it from their own computer, it will default to RDP, but when they run it using one of our managed systems (with our modified shortucts containing the command line) they get PCoIP.

[idle-jam]

very smart way of doing it. thanks for sharing ..

[Jirv311]

I created a "How-To" on repurposing a standard PC for this purpose if anybody needs it. Located here: http://www.sparkodesign.com/?p=1

[eeg3]

One option is creating multiple icons for the user to use, with labels on "Home" and "Office". You can change the launch properties of the View client on each, and pass the "-desktopProtocol XXX" with RDP/PCoIP to each with the appropriate values.

It seems like View didn't have this problem prior to 4.5. Perhaps I am remembering wrong.