Troubleshoot VMware View Security Server PCoIP port problems


Recently I had to troubleshoot a VMware View Client connection problem. In a new VMware View environment the customer has installed a VMware Horizon View Security Server for the external connections. When a external View Client tried to connect through the Security Server using the PCoIP protocol to the View desktop the following appeared:

The connection to the remote computer ended

When the users connects to the View Desktop using the LAN (without the Security Server) everything worked fine. I suspected that a PCoIP port (4172 TCP and UDP) is blocked between the Security Server and desktop pool or vice versa. 

To troubleshoot this problem I used the tool “Netcat”. With Netcat TCP and UDP ports can be checked (Telnet can only check TCP ports). So I used Netcat to check the TCP and UDP ports between the Security server and View Desktop (1) and the View Desktop to the Security Server(2).

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Here is an example how to use Netcat:

On the View desktop run Netcat to listen to UDP port 4172:

nc –l –u –p 4172