The end of Tera1 zero client support in VMware Horizon View 6

The Tera1 zero clients has reached their limits on new features that can be added and the ability to support new features of Horizon View such as RDSH.  Teradici supports the following combinations:

Processor Firmware Horizon View Version support VMware Certified
Tera2 4.8.0 6.1 Yes
Tera2 4.7.1 6.0 Yes
Tera1 4.7.1 6.0.1 No (*2)

(*2) Tera1 zero clients are certified on VMware Horizon View 5.3 and earlier. Horizon View 6.x is not supported by VMware. If you require VMware support use VMware Horizon View 5.3 and earlier or upgrade to Tera2 zero clients.

Teradici provides technical support on PCoIP Firmware (FW 4.7.1 and earlier) for Tera1 zero clients with VMware Horizon View 6.0.1 and earlier. Here is an overview of the Teradici End-of-Life (EOL) notifications:

Definition Date
End-of-Life (EOL) Notification Notification of EOL provided through Teradici’s Technical Support portal.Tera1 firmware releases will not include development for new platform version support or features.Firmware updates will only be provided to address issues deemed critical by Teradici for Tera1 against supported platform. April 21, 2015
End-of-Support No additional firmware updates or maintenance releases for Tera1 products after this date. April 30, 2016
End-of-Technical Guidance The last day in which Teradici Technical Support can answer questions, assist in finding workarounds or provide development guidance. December 31, 2016

The latest release of VMware Horizon View when written is version 6.1. Both VMware and Teradici don’t have support for the Tera1 zero clients in this release.

So what options do you have?

The following options can be used when having Tera1 zero clients:

  • Use VMware Horizon View 5.3 or earlier. This options is fully supported by Teradici and VMware.
  • Upgrade to View Horizon 6.0.1. This option is only supported by Teradici.
  • Use Tera1 zero clients with Horizon View version 6.1. Don’t use any new features that are introduced in VMware Horizon View 6 and later. Be sure to test test and test this option, because this isn’t supported by VMware and Teradici!
  • Buy new Tera2 zero clients. 10ZiG for example offers a buy-back program for any Tera1 Zero Client when upgrading to Tera2 hardware. It does not matter which brand the Tera1 zero client is. This can reduced the hardware upgrade costs! Tera2 zero clients adds support for the latest version of Horizon View and improves performance. To learn more about the 10ZiG Tera1 buy-back offer, use the following this link.

I created a Horizon 6 matrix with the new and  features that aren’t supported anymore. The matrix can be found here, link.

VMware Horizon Q2 2015 announcements

VMware announced  last week what’s new with Horizon 6 (Q2 2015) as well as some brand new offerings that will help you to deliver and manage apps and end users across physical, virtual and cloud-hosted environments. Here are the announcements:

  • User Experience improvements
  • Linux Desktops support (GA in Q2)
  • User Environment Manager (UEM) (GA in Q2)
  • VMware Workspace Environment Management (WEM)
  • Free SysTrack Desktop Assessment tool

User Experience Improvements

Some new improvements for the upcomming Horizon 6 version are:

  • USB Mass storage support for RDS and Hosted Apps
  • Client drive redirection support. For example make an c-drive available in a RDS desktop.
  • VMware Horizon Client for Chrome Access (Chromebook) with support for Horizon Hosted Apps. Apply for the early access program here, link.

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Linux Desktop Support

Linux support for VDI desktops will be available in Q2 2015. Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS VDI desktops are supported for 3D and Linux office applications. A nice thing about Linux VDI desktop support is the Microsoft desktop licensing is eliminated.

User Environment Manager (UEM)

VMware has acquired Immidio in February 2015. Immidio is now called User Environment Manager (UEM). UEM offers personalization and dynamic policy configuration across any virtual, physical and cloud-based environment. UEM has no new features, only VMware branding is included in this release. UEM will be sold separately as standalone product, included in the Horizon View Enterprise license and available in the VMware Horizon Application Management Bundle.

VMware has released a VMware User Environment Manager Deployed in 60 Minutes or Less whitepaper. UEM is a simple and straightforward to deploy and get up-and-running, as there is no extra infrastructure needed to configure. The whitepaper can be found here, link.

VMware Workspace Environment Management (WEM)

VMware Workspace Environment Management (WEM) is a bundle of products. This bundle is called the VMware Horizon Application Management Bundle. The following products are  includes in the bundle:

  • VMware User Environment Manager (UEM)
  • VMware vRealize for Published Applications (End-to-End Monitoring). In Q2 XenApp support will be added.
  • VMware App Volumes (Real-Time application delivery)
  • VMware ThinApp (Application Virtualization)
  • VMware Workspace Portal (central portal for your applications)

WEM

The VMware Horizon Application Management Bundle is sold as standalone product and is available to Citrix Customer for example.

SysTrack Desktop Assessment

SysTrack Desktop Assessment (Lakeside software)  is a free assessment tool. For customers considering the purchase of VMware Horizon 6 or VMware Horizon Air, Systrack Desktop Assessment provides quick and easy insight into end-user computing infrastructure, applications and desktops. This FREE service provides you with everything you need to gain visibility into your end user environment, understand the best deployment options for Horizon and assess your costs.  More information can be found here, link.