PCoIP

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

On the security server run Netcat to connect to the View Desktop on UDP port 4172:

nc –u ipaddress 4172

You can type some text and press enter. The text typed in the screen must be displayed on both sides, If not the port is blocked.

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So I discovered that the 4172 UDP protocol from the View desktop pool to the Security server was blocked by a firewall. After opening this port in the firewalls the problem was solved.

More information:  Netcat for Windows can be downloaded here.

VMware View 4 released

 

The long awaited VMware View with the PCoIP protocol has landed and is available for download.

VMware View 4.0 includes the following new features:

  • VMware View with PCoIP – PCoIP provides an optimized desktop experience for the delivery of the entire desktop environment including applications, images, audio, and video content for a wide range of users on the LAN or across the WAN. PCoIP can compensate for an increase in latency or a reduction in bandwidth, to ensure that end users can remain productive regardless of network conditions.
  • PCoIP includes VMware View Display with support for up to four monitors and the ability to deliver the optimal resolution and pivot orientation to each monitor independently.
  • VMware vSphere Support – VMware vSphere 4 support enables improved virtual machine scalability, performance, and management, with continued support for VMware Infrastructure 3.x.
  • Enhanced single sign-on – The Log in as current user feature is integrated with Active Directory and smart cards to help simplify the process of logging in to a VMware View desktop.
  • Restricted entitlements – Administrators can control user access to virtual desktops based on the View Connection Server being used for authentication.
  • Smart card policies – Administrators can set group policies to force desktop disconnection and require reconnection when users remove smart cards.
  • Domain filtering – You can use vdmadmin.exe to control the accessibility of domains and traverse trust relationships more quickly.
  • You can cleanly delete View desktops using scripts.
  • You can log in to View desktops using user principal names (UPN).
  • You can explicitly configure IP addresses to override those supplied by the View Agent when accessing a desktop.
  • Mixed Active Directory and Kerberos authentication is supported.

The VMware View 4  release notes can be find here, and the downloads are here. Next week i try to test VMware View 4 and blog my experiences.

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VMware VIEW 4 useful information

 

After attending the VMware View 4 Talkshoe podcast the following information about the announced VMware  View 4 was discussed:

VM’s per core:

VM’s per core, In VMware View 3 the number was 6-9 VM’s per core, now in View 4 with for example the Intel Nehalem processors you can get to 12-16 VM’s per core. This number heavily depends for example on the application load inside the VM’s.

The PCoIP protocol does NOT support:

– Security Server;

– Smart Cards integration;

– Thinprint support.

Generally: 

– The PCoIP protocol is not different in scalability than RDP;

– For the RDP protocol version 6 is used in VMware VIEW;

– Offline desktop support is still experimental;

– There’s no RTO Software Virtual Profiles in this release of VMware VIEW 4;

– Windows  7 is still experimental, official support will be around the begin of 2010; 

– The Connection server must be installed on Windows 2003, support for Windows 2008 will be around the begin of 2010;

– Advise for virus scanning software is use VMware aware virus scanners (VMsafe), for example Trend Micro and McAfee have beta’s that use the VMsafe technology.

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