ALERT: vSphere 5.1 is not compatible with any versions of VMware View

Taken from: http://blogs.vmware.com/kb/2012/09/alert-vsphere-5-1-is-not-compatible-with-any-versions-vmware-view.html

VMware vSphere 5.1 is not currently supported with any versions of VMware View.

vSphere 5.1 is in the process of being certified against VMware View. We recommend that you do not upgrade vSphere above the supported versions listed in the VMware View 5.1 Release Notes.

For further updates and more information on this alert, refer to KB article:
vSphere 5.1 is not compatible with any versions VMware View (2035268).

UKVMUG (Nov 15th 2012) – Call for Papers

Just a quick post to let everyone know that the UK VMUG which will be held on the 15th November 2012 in Solihull, UK has opened their call for papers. If you are interested in presenting at the UKVMUG alongside the likes of Duncan Epping, Frank Denneman and hopefully myself, then submit your session ideas here:

UK VMUG Call For Papers

I'll hopefully see you all there.

NorthWest England VMUG – Thursday, Sept 13th, 2012

I just wanted to bring this to peoples attention. 

Registration Now Open: Northwest England VMUG Meeting 
Join us for the next Northwest England VMUG meeting taking place on Thursday, Sept 13th, 2012. 
Registration is now open and available to all VMUG members. This is a great opportunity to meet with your peers to discuss virtualization trends, best practices, and the latest technology!

Meeting Agenda

  • VMware Keynote – Spencer Pitts, VMware's EMEA End User Computing Practice Lead
  • Technical Presentations and Updates from Trend Micro and Whiptail
  • VMware View Case Study
  • vNews from Matthew Steiner and Mike Laverick, Including a Review of VMworld San Francisco and a Look Forward to VMworld Barcelona
  • Raffle Drawing and vBeers in Lloyds Bar (Printworks) Following the Meeting

Looks like a great agenda for their next VMUG. You can follow the official NW England VMUG Twitter profile for the latest VMUG news.

VMworld US: vBeers – Saturday 25th

VMworld San Francisco 2012 is almost here and it’s time for another vBeers Tweetup!  The last vBeers Tweetup from VMworld SF 2009 was a great time  so I couldn’t let this opportunity go by without arranging one. The VMworld San Francisco vBeers Tweetup will be held on Saturday 25th August, the day before the show doors open.

The vBeers Tweetup is intended as a way to relax, chill-out and catch up with friends, new and old.  If you don’t know anyone attending then that doesn’t matter as your fellow vGeeks are a friendly welcoming bunch who also like to network, talk tech and share vStories.

In true vBeers tradition this vBeers is not sponsored, it is a case of turning up, enjoying yourselfand covering the cost of your own drinks and any food.  Vendor sponsored parties start the following day.

For the full details, please visit the vBeers website and checkout the VMworld San Francisco 2012 vBeers post.

VMware View: Microsoft Lync 2010 Support

Further to my VMware View: Microsoft Lync 2013 Support = Yes Sir! article earlier this week which talks about VMware View support with Microsoft Lync 2012, I also wanted to draw your attention to the latest change made to Microsoft's Client Virtualization in Microsoft Lync 2010 document. I have copy/pasted the changes below for your viewing pleasure.   Read the rest of this entry »

VMware View: Microsoft Lync 2013 Support = Yes Sir!

I've posted this up for those of you who may have missed this announcement yesterday.

In many of my VMware View projects customers have asked for Microsoft Lync support. Up until View has been unable to support Lync and for a lot of customers this has caused pain. However, yesterday VMware announced that VMware is working closely with Microsoft to bring support for Microsoft Lync 2013 to VMware View desktops!!

You can read the full announcement here: http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/07/microsoft-lync-2013-support-with-vmware-view-desktops.html

From a VMware EUC perspective, this is a big win. As I said before, customers want to use VMware View, but have often been restricted by this limitation…..Not for much longer!

VMware View: Recompose fails to recompose the whole pool

Problem
I've seen this issue a lot with customers. The customers wants to Recompose an entire pool to a new snapshot, so they set off a "Recompose at LogOff" task to make the recompose happen as users log-off of their desktops. However, quite often none of the desktops in the pool get recomposed. Every time I've seen this issue, the customers have their desktop pools to "Refresh On Logoff"

Cause
The Refresh on logoff task supersedes a scheduled Recompose task. When you log off, the recompose task for that virtual machine is discarded.

Fix
Change the pool "Refresh On Logoff" setting to Never before scheduling a "Recompose At Logoff" task. (Remember to re-enable "Refresh On Logoff" after the pools has been successfully recomposed.)

VMware Mobile Secure Desktop Bootcamp

Guys, don't miss out on the free VMware Mobile Secure Desktop Bootcamp Series. The content below are taken from: http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/desktop/view/msdbootcamp

The VMware View Mobile Secure Desktop is a pre-tested and fully validated solution that provides end users with contextually aware, policy-driven access to virtual desktops across devices and locations.

 

In this 12 part bootcamp we will show you how to get started and how to successfully roll out and deploy virtual desktops and applications and infrastructure to securely support mobile users. We will have sessions covering everything from design considerations to location based printing and implementing high-performance, policy driven access through vShield and leading security technologies.

 

We will also touch on VMware’s new vCOPs for View and how you can take advantage of Radius for two factor authentication. At the end of this bootcamp, you should have a good understanding of the VMware View Mobile Secure Desktop Solution, how to roll it out and how to optimize View in your environment.

 

The bootcamp begins Monday, July 16th. A new bootcamp video will be released each subsequent morning. Be sure to also check for related blog postings along the way!

 

We are also providing a free e-book of all the presentations included in this bootcamp series–so be sure to register today .

 

Read the rest of this entry »

Repurpose Old PC’s For VMware View

Do you have old PC's that still function fine but have been replaced by the "3 year" hardware refresh? If you do, why not repurpose then and use them as VMware View Clients.

There is now a free linux based solution available which can be configured online via web interface. Take a look at this webbased View Client ISO creator – TinyCore Builder for VMware View (http://repurpose.vmwarecloud.at)

  • Create ISO
  • Burn ISO
  • Boot from ISO
  • Boot it via PXE

If you want to boot from USB, try success using UNetbootin (http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/), to convert ISO images to USB.

Goodbye VMware PSO – Hello VMware EUC Global CoE!

Now that yesterdays VMware EUC announcement hysteria has subsided, I thought this would be a good time to make my own VMware EUC announcement. (For those of you who were under a rock yesterday, here is my favorite post talking about What's new in View 5.1 (Beyond Marketing).

After nearly two years of delivering customer projects with VMware Profesional Services (PSO), I have been given the opportunity to join VMware's EUC Global Center of Excellence (CoE). This is a move I am really excited about.

So what will I be doing?

From my understanding, I will be working closely with VMware's EUC products, both old and new. Testing out our new products, creating IP and enabling the field. So there should be plenty of lab time, which is never a bad thing. I will also have the opportunity to provide feedback about our products directly to the engineering teams. Another large part of the role is to present at VMWorld, PEX and other conferences and seminars.

If you are not aware of VMware's EUC product suite/vision, take a look at the following video.

Pretty cool stuff hey?!?

I am hoping that this move will also give me more time to blog, to help get more material out there for you guys. And it will also mean less travel, Happy Days!

I have a couple of months left to finish off my currently View project, then I will be moving over on July the 1st.

Cannot wait!!