View Agent Direct Connection Plug In Administration VMware Horizon 7 7.3 73 Plugin

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View Agent DirectConnection Plug-In
Administration
Modified for Horizon 7 7.3.2
VMware Horizon 7 7.3

View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at:
https://docs.vmware.com/
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to
docfeedback@vmware.com

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Copyright © 2013–2017 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
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Contents
View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

1 Installing View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In 5
View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In System Requirements
Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In

Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Silently

2 View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Advanced Configuration 8
View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Configuration Settings
Disabling Weak Ciphers in SSL/TLS

Replacing the Default Self-Signed SSL Server Certificate

Authorizing Horizon Client to Access Desktops and Applications
Using Network Address Translation and Port Mapping

Add a Certificate Authority to the Windows Certificate Store

3 Setting Up HTML Access 19
Install View Agent for HTML Access
Set Up Static Content Delivery

Set Up Trusted CA-Signed SSL Server Certificate

Disable HTTP/2 Protocol on Windows 10 and Windows 2016 Desktops

4 Setting Up View Agent Direct Connection on Remote Desktop Services Hosts 23
Remote Desktop Services Hosts

Entitle RDS Desktops and Applications

5 Troubleshooting View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In 25
Incorrect Graphics Driver is Installed
Insufficient Video RAM

Enabling Full Logging to Include TRACE and DEBUG information

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In
Administration
View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration provides information about installing and configuring
View Agent Direct-Connection Plugin. This plug-in is an installable extension to View Agent that allows
Horizon Client to directly connect to a virtual machine-based desktop, a Remote Desktop Services (RDS)
desktop, or an application without using View Connection Server. All the desktop and application features
work in the same way as when the user connects through View Connection Server.

Intended Audience
This information is intended for an administrator who wants to install, upgrade or configure View Agent
Direct-Connection Plug-In in a virtual machine-based desktop or an RDS host. This guide is written for
experienced Windows system administrators who are familiar with virtual machine technology and
datacenter operations.

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Installing View Agent DirectConnection Plug-In

View Agent Direct-Connection (VADC) Plug-In enables Horizon Clients to directly connect to virtual
machine-based desktops, RDS desktops, or applications. VADC Plug-In is an extension to View Agent
and is installed on virtual machine-based desktops or RDS hosts.
This section includes the following topics:
n
View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In System Requirements
n

Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In

Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Silently

View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In System
Requirements
View Agent Direct-Connection (VADC) Plug-In is installed on machines where View Agent is already
installed. For a list of operating systems that View Agent supports, see "Supported Operating Systems for
View Agent" in the View Installation document.
VADC Plug-In has the following additional requirements:
n

The virtual or physical machine that has VADC Plug-In installed must have a minimum of 128 MB of
video RAM for PCoIP to function properly.

For a virtual machine, you must install VMware Tools before you install View Agent.

A physical machine must have a Teradici host card. Installing VMware Tools is not required.

Note A virtual machine-based desktop that supports VADC can be joined to a Microsoft Active Directory
domain, or it can be a member of a workgroup.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In
View Agent Direct-Connection (VADC) Plug-In is packaged in a Windows Installer file that you can
download from the VMware Web site and install.
Prerequisites
n

Verify that View Agent is installed. If your environment does not include View Connection Server,
install View Agent from the command line and specify a parameter that tells View Agent not to
register with View Connection Server. See Install View Agent for HTML Access.

Enable the screen DMA setting for virtual machines on vSphere 6.0 and later. If screen DMA is
disabled, users see a black screen when they connect to the remote desktop. For more information
on how to set the screen DMA, see the VMware Knowledge Base (KB) article 2144475
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2144475.

Procedure

Download the VADC Plug-In installer file from the VMware download page at
http://www.vmware.com/go/downloadview.
The installer filename is VMware-viewagent-direct-connection-x86_64-y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe for 64-bit
Windows or VMware-viewagent-direct-connection--y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe for 32-bit Windows, where y.y.y is
the version number and xxxxxx is the build number.

Double-click the installer file.

(Optional) Change the TCP port number.
The default port number is 443.

(Optional) Choose how to configure the Windows Firewall service.
By default, Configure Windows Firewall automatically is selected and the installer configures
Windows Firewall to allow the required network connections.

(Optional) Choose whether to disable SSL 3.0.
By default, Disable support for SSLv3 automatically (recommended) is selected and the installer
disables SSL 3.0 at the operating system level. This option is not displayed and the installer performs
no action if SSL 3.0 is already explicitly enabled or disabled in the registry. If this option is deselected,
the installer also performs no action.

Follow the prompts and finish the installation.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Silently
You can use the silent installation feature of Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) to install View Agent
Direct-Connection (VADC) Plug-In. In a silent installation, you use the command line and do not have to
respond to wizard prompts.
With silent installation, you can efficiently deploy VADC Plug-In in a large enterprise. For more information
on Windows Installer, see "Microsoft Windows Installer Command-Line Options" in the Setting Up Virtual
Desktops in Horizon 7 document. VADC Plug-In supports the following MSI properties.
Table 1‑1. MSI Properties for the Silent Installation of View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In
MSI Property

Description

Default Value

LISTENPORT

The TCP port that VADC Plug-In uses to accept remote connections. By default,
the installer will configure Windows Firewall to allow traffic on the port.

443

MODIFYFIREWALL

If set to 1, the installer will configure Windows Firewall to allow traffic on
LISTENPORT. If set to 0, the installer will not.

DISABLE_SSLV3

If SSL 3.0 is already explicitly enabled or disabled in the registry, the installer
ignores this property. Otherwise, the installer disables SSL 3.0 at the operating
system level if this property is set to 1, and the installer performs no action if this
property is set to 0.

Prerequisites
n

Verify that Horizon Agent is installed. If your environment does not include Horizon Connection
Server, install Horizon Agent from the command line and specify a parameter that tells Horizon Agent
not to register with Horizon Connection Server. See Install View Agent for HTML Access.

Procedure

Open a Windows command prompt.

Run the VADC Plug-In installer file with command-line options to specify a silent installation. You can
optionally specify additional MSI properties.
The following example installs VADC Plug-In with default options.
VMware-viewagent-direct-connection--y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe /s
The following example installs VADC Plug-In and specifies a TCP port that vadc will listen to for
remote connections.
VMware-viewagent-direct-connection--y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe /s /v"/qn LISTENPORT=9999"

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View Agent Direct-Connection
Plug-In Advanced Configuration

You can use the default View Direct-Connection Plug-In configuration settings or customize them through
Windows Active Directory group policy objects (GPOs) or by modifying specific Windows registry settings.
This section includes the following topics:
n

View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Configuration Settings

Disabling Weak Ciphers in SSL/TLS

Replacing the Default Self-Signed SSL Server Certificate

Authorizing Horizon Client to Access Desktops and Applications

Using Network Address Translation and Port Mapping

Add a Certificate Authority to the Windows Certificate Store

View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Configuration
Settings
All configuration settings for View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In are stored in the local registry on each
virtual machine-based desktop or RDS host. You can manage these settings using Windows Active
Directory group policy objects (GPOs), through the local policy editor, or by directly modifying the registry.
The registry values are located in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\VMware,
Inc.\VMware VDM\Agent\Configuration\XMLAPI.
Table 2‑1. View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Configuration Settings
Setting

Registry Value

Type

Description

HTTPS Port Number

httpsPortNumber

REG_SZ

The TCP port on which the plug-in listens for incoming
HTTPS requests from Horizon Client. If this value is
changed, you must make a corresponding change to the
Windows firewall to allow incoming traffic.

Session Timeout

sessionTimeout

REG_SZ

The period of time a user can keep a session open after
logging in with Horizon Client. The value is set in minutes.
The default is 600 minutes. When this timeout is reached,
all of a user's desktop and applications sessions are
disconnected.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Table 2‑1. View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Configuration Settings (Continued)
Setting

Registry Value

Type

Description

Default Protocol

defaultProtocol

REG_SZ

The default display protocol used by Horizon Client to
connect to the desktop. If the value is not set, then the
default value is BLAST.

Disclaimer Enabled

disclaimerEnabled

REG_SZ

The value can be set to TRUE or FALSE. If set to TRUE,
show disclaimer text for user acceptance at login. The text
is shown from 'Disclaimer Text' if written, or from the GPO
Configuration\Windows Settings\Security
Settings\Local Policies\Security Options:
Interactive logon. The default setting for
disclaimerEnabled is FALSE.

Disclaimer Text

disclaimerText

REG_SZ

The disclaimer text shown to Horizon Client users at login.
The Disclaimer Enabled policy must be set to TRUE. If the
text is not specified, the default is to use the value from
Windows policy Configuration\Windows
Settings\Security Settings\Local
Policies\Security Options.

Client setting:
AlwaysConnect

alwaysConnect

REG_SZ

The value can be set to TRUE or FALSE. AlwaysConnect
setting is sent to Horizon Client. If this policy is set to
TRUE, it overrides any saved client preferences. No value
is set by default. Enabling this policy sets the value to
TRUE. Disabling this policy sets the value to FALSE.

External PCoIP Port

externalPCoIPPort

REG_SZ

The port number sent to Horizon Client for the destination
TCP/UDP port number that is used for the PCoIP protocol.
A + character in front of the number indicates a relative
number from the port number used for HTTPS. Only set
this value if the externally exposed port number does not
match the port that the service is listening on. Typically,
this port number is in a NAT environment. No value is set
by default.

External Blast Port

externalBlastPort

REG_SZ

The port number sent to Horizon Client for the destination
TCP port number that is used for the HTML5/Blast
protocol. A + character in front of the number indicates a
relative number from the port number used for HTTPS.
Only set this value if the externally exposed port number
does not match the port that the service is listening on.
Typically, this port number is in a NAT environment. No
value is set by default.

External RDP Port

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externalRDPPort

REG_SZ

The port number sent to Horizon Client for the destination
TCP port number that is used for the RDP protocol. A +
character in front of the number indicates a relative
number from the port number used for HTTPS. Only set
this value if the externally exposed port number does not
match the port that the service is listening on. Typically,
this port number is in a NAT environment. No value is set
by default.

View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Table 2‑1. View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Configuration Settings (Continued)
Setting

Registry Value

Type

Description

External IP Address

externalIPAddress

REG_SZ

The IPV4 address sent to Horizon Client for the
destination IP address that is used for secondary
protocols (RDP, PCoIP, Framework channel, and so on).
Only set this value if the externally exposed address does
not match the address of the desktop machine. Typically,
this address is in a NAT environment. No value is set by
default.

External Framework
Channel Port

externalFrameworkChann
elPort

REG_SZ

The port number sent to the Horizon Client for the
destination TCP port number that is used for the
Framework Channel protocol. A + character in front of the
number indicates a relative number from the port number
used for HTTPS. Only set this value if the externally
exposed port number does not match the port where the
service is listening. Typically, this port number is in a NAT
environment. No value is set by default.

USB Enabled

usbEnabled

REG_SZ

The value can be set to TRUE or FALSE. Determines
whether desktops can use USB devices connected to the
client system. The default value is enabled. To prevent the
use of external devices for security reasons, change the
setting to disabled (FALSE).

Client setting: USB
AutoConnect

usbAutoConnect

Reset Enabled

resetEnabled

REG_SZ

The value can be set to TRUE or FALSE. Connect USB
devices to the desktop when they are plugged in. If this
policy is set, it overrides any saved client preferences. No
value is set by default.

REG_SZ

The value can be set to TRUE or FALSE. When set to
TRUE, an authenticated Horizon client can perform an
operating system level reboot. The default setting is
disabled (FALSE).

Client Credential Cache
Timeout

clientCredentialCacheTim
eout

REG_SZ

The time period, in minutes, that a Horizon client allows a
user to use a saved password. 0 means never, and -1
means forever. Horizon Client offers users the option of
saving their passwords if this setting is set to a valid value.
The default is 0 (never).

User Idle Timeout

userIdleTimeout

REG_SZ

If there is no user activity on the Horizon client for this
period of time, the user's desktop and application
sessions are disconnected. The value is set in seconds.
The default is 900 seconds (15 minutes).

Smart Card Support

x509CertAuth

REG_SZ

Indicates how smart card authentication is supported
based on the following values:
n

0: Not allowed

1: Optional

2: Required

The default value is 0.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Table 2‑1. View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Configuration Settings (Continued)
Setting

Registry Value

Type

Description

Smart Card Certificate
Source

x509SSLCertAuth

REG_SZ

Indicates that the smart card certificate is obtained from
the SSL negotiation. The value must be set to TRUE
whenever x509CertAuth is set to 1 or 2. The default
value is FALSE. Changing this setting requires a restart of
the View Agent service.

Client Config Name
Value Pairs

BioMetricsTimeout

REG_SZ

Indicates whether biometric authentication is supported
and if so, a time period during which it can be used. 0
means that biometric authentication is not supported. -1
means that it is supported without any time limit. A
positive number means that it can be used for that number
of minutes. The default is 0 (not supported).

The External Port numbers and External IP Address values are used for Network Address Translation
(NAT) and port mapping support. For more information see, Using Network Address Translation and Port
Mapping.
You can set policies that override these registry settings by using the Local Policy Editor or by using
Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in Active directory. Policy settings have precedence over normal registry
settings. A GPO template file is supplied to configure policies. When ViewView Agent and the plug-in are
installed in the default location, the template file has the following location:
C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Agent\extras\view_agent_direct_connection.adm
You can import this template file into Active Directory or the Local Group Policy Editor to simplify the
management of these configuration settings. See the Microsoft Policy Editor and GPO handling
documentation for details of managing policy settings in this way. Policy settings for the plug-in are stored
in the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software\Policies\VMware, Inc.\VMware
VDM\Agent\Configuration\XMLAPI
For smart card authentication, the certificate authority (CA) that signs the smart card certificates must be
in the Windows certificate Store. For information about how to add a certificate authority, see Add a
Certificate Authority to the Windows Certificate Store.
Note If a user attempts to log in using a smart card to a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
machine and the Smart Card certificate has been signed by an intermediate CA, the attempt may fail
because Windows can send the client a trusted issuer list that does not contain intermediate CA names. If
this happens, the client will be unable to select an appropriate Smart Card certificate. To avoid this
problem, set the registry value SendTrustedIssuerList (REG_DWORD) to 0 in the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL. With
this registry value set to 0, Windows does not send a trusted issuer list to the client, which can then select
all the valid certificates from the smart card.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Disabling Weak Ciphers in SSL/TLS
To achieve greater security, you can configure the domain policy GPO (group policy object) to ensure that
communications that use the SSL/TLS protocol between Horizon Clients and virtual machine-based
desktops or RDS hosts do not allow weak ciphers.
Procedure

On the Active Directory server, edit the GPO by selecting Start > Administrative Tools > Group
Policy Management, right-clicking the GPO, and selecting Edit.

In the Group Policy Management Editor, navigate to the Computer Configuration > Policies >
Administrative Templates > Network > SSL Configuration Settings.

Double-click SSL Cipher Suite Order.

In the SSL Cipher Suite Order window, click Enabled.

In the Options pane, replace the entire content of the SSL Cipher Suites text box with the following
cipher list:
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P256,
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256_P384,
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA_P256,
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA_P384,
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA_P256,
TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA_P384,
TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,
TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,
TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256,
TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA

The cipher suites are listed above on separate lines for readability. When you paste the list into the
text box, the cipher suites must be on one line with no spaces after the commas.
6

Exit the Group Policy Management Editor.

Restart the VADC machines for the new group policy to take effect.

Note If Horizon Client is not configured to support any cipher that is supported by the virtual desktop
operating system, the TLS/SSL negotiation will fail and the client will be unable to connect.
For information on configuring supported cipher suites in Horizon Clients, refer to Horizon Client
documentation at https://www.vmware.com/support/viewclients/doc/viewclients_pubs.html.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Replacing the Default Self-Signed SSL Server Certificate
A self-signed SSL server certificate cannot give Horizon Client sufficient protection against threats of
tampering and eavesdropping. To protect your desktops from these threats, you must replace the
generated self-signed certificate.
When View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In starts for the first time after installation, it automatically
generates a self-signed SSL server certificate and places it in the Windows Certificate Store. The SSL
server certificate is presented to Horizon Client during the SSL protocol negotiation to provide information
to the client about this desktop. This default self-signed SSL server certificate cannot give guarantees
about this desktop, unless it is replaced by a certificate signed by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is
trusted by the client and is fully validated by the Horizon Client certificate checks.
The procedure for storing this certificate in the Windows Certificate Store and the procedure for replacing
it with a proper CA signed certificate, are the same as those used for View Connection Server (version
5.1 or later). See "Configuring SSL Certificates for View Servers," in the View Installation document for
details on this certificate replacement procedure.
Certificates with Subject Alternative Name (SAN) and wildcard certificates are supported.
Note To distribute the CA signed SSL Server Certificates to a large number of desktops using the View
Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In, use Active Directory Enrollment to distribute the certificates to each
virtual machine. For more information see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732625.aspx.

Authorizing Horizon Client to Access Desktops and
Applications
The authorization mechanism that allows a user to access desktops and applications directly is controlled
within a local operating system group called View Agent Direct-Connection Users.
If a user is a member of this group, that user is authorized to connect to the virtual machine-based
desktop, an RDS desktop, or applications. When the plug-in is first installed, this local group is created
and contains the Authenticated Users group. Anyone who is successfully authenticated by the plug-in is
authorized to access the desktop or applications.
To restrict access to this desktop or RDS host, you can modify the membership of this group to specify a
list of users and user groups. These users can be local or domain users and user groups. If the user is
not in this group, the user gets a message after authentication saying that the user is not entitled to
access this virtual machine-based desktop or an RDS desktop and applications that are hosted on this
RDS host.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Using Network Address Translation and Port Mapping
Network Address Translation (NAT) and port mapping configuration are required if Horizon Clients
connect to virtual machine-based desktops on different networks.
In the examples included here, you must configure external addressing information on the desktop so that
Horizon Client can use this information to connect to the desktop by using NAT or a port mapping device.
This URL is the same as the External URL and PCoIP External URL settings on View Connection Server
and security server.
When Horizon Client is on a different network and a NAT device is between Horizon Client and the
desktop running the plug-in, a NAT or port mapping configuration is required. For example, If there is a
firewall between the Horizon Client and the desktop the firewall is acting as a NAT or port mapping
device.
An example deployment of a desktop whose IP address is 192.168.1.1 illustrates the configuration of NAT
and port mapping. A Horizon Client system with an IP address of 192.168.1.9 on the same network
establishes a PCoIP connection by using TCP and UDP. This connection is direct without any NAT or port
mapping configuration.
Figure 2‑1. Direct PCoIP from a Client on the Same Network

IP address
192.168.1.9

PCoIP Client

IP address
192.168.1.1
TCP DST 192.168.1.1:4172
SRC 192.168.1.9:?
UDP DST 192.168.1.1:4172
SRC 192.168.1.9:55000

View Desktop

PCoIP server

UDP DST 192.168.1.9:55000
SRC 192.168.1.1:4172

If you add a NAT device between the client and desktop so that they are operating in a different address
space and do not make any configuration changes to the plug-in, the PCoIP packets will not be routed
correctly and will fail. In this example, the client is using a different address space and has an IP address
of 10.1.1.9. This setup fails because the client will use the address of the desktop to send the TCP and
UDP PCoIP packets. The destination address of 192.168.1.1 will not work from the client network and
might cause the client to display a blank screen.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Figure 2‑2. PCoIP From a Client via a NAT Device Showing the Failure
NAT
PNAT

IP address
10.1.1.9

IP address
192.168.1.1
View Desktop

PCoIP Client

TCP DST 192.168.1.1:4172
SRC 10.1.1.9:?

PCoIP server

To resolve this problem, you must configure the plug-in to use an external IP address. If
externalIPAddress is configured as 10.1.1.1 for this desktop, the plug-in gives the client an IP address
of 10.1.1.1 when making desktop protocol connections to the desktop. For PCoIP, the PCoIP Secure
Gateway service must be started on the desktop for this setup.
For port mapping, when the desktop uses the standard PCoIP port 4172, but the client must use a
different destination port, mapped to port 4172 at the port mapping device, you must configure the plug-in
for this setup. If the port mapping device maps port 14172 to 4172, the client must use a destination port
of 14172 for PCoIP. You must configure this setup for PCoIP. Set externalPCoIPPortin the plug-in to
14172.
In a configuration which uses NAT and port mapping, the externalIPAdress is set to 10.1.1.1, which is
network translated to 192.168.1.1, and externalPColPPort is set to 14172, which is port mapped to
4172.
Figure 2‑3. PCoIP From a Client via a NAT Device and Port Mapping
IP address
192.168.1.1

NAT
PNAT
IP address
10.1.1.9

PCoIP Client

View Desktop
TCP DST 10.1.1.1:14172
SRC 10.1.1.9:?

TCP DST 192.168.1.1:4172
SRC 192.168.1.9:?

UDP DST 10.1.1.1:14172
SRC 10.1.1.9:55000

UDP DST 192.168.1.1:4172
SRC 192.168.1.9:?

UDP DST 10.1.1.9:55000
SRC 10.1.1.1:14172

PCoIP
server

UDP DST 192.168.1.9:?
SRC 192.168.1.1:4172

As with the external PCoIP TCP/UDP port configuration for PCoIP, if the RDP port (3389) or the
Framework Channel port (32111) is port mapped, you must configure externalRDPPort and
externalFrameworkChannelPort to specify the TCP port numbers that the client will use to make these
connections through a port mapping device.

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Advanced Addressing Scheme
When you configure virtual machine-based desktops to be accessible through a NAT and port mapping
device on the same external IP address, you must give each desktop a unique set of port numbers. The
clients can then use the same destination IP address, but use a unique TCP port number for the HTTPS
connection to direct the connection to a specific virtual desktop.
For example, HTTPS port 1000 directs to one desktop and HTTPS port 1005 directs to another, with both
using the same destination IP address. In this case, configuring unique external port numbers for every
desktop for the desktop protocol connections would be too complex. For this reason, the plugin settings
externalPCoIPPort,externalRDPPort, and externalFrameworkChannelPort can take an optional
relational expression instead of a static value to define a port number relative to the base HTTPS port
number used by the client.
If the port mapping device uses port number 1000 for HTTPS, mapped to TCP 443; port number 1001 for
RDP, mapped to TCP 3389; port number 1002 for PCoIP, mapped to TCP and UDP 4172; and port
number 1003 for the framework channel, mapped to TCP 32111, to simplify configuration, the external
port numbers can be configured to be externalRDPPort=+1, externalPCoIPPort=+2 and
externalFrameworkChannelPort=+3. When the HTTPS connection comes in from a client that used an
HTTPS destination port number of 1000, the external port numbers would automatically be calculated
relative to this port number of 1000 and would use 1001, 1002 and 1003 respectively.
To deploy another virtual desktop, if the port mapping device used port number 1005 for HTTPS, mapped
to TCP 443; port number 1006 for RDP, mapped to TCP 3389; port number 1007 for PCoIP, mapped to
TCP and UDP 4172; and port number 1008 for the framework channel, mapped to TCP 32111, with
exactly the same external port configuration on the desktop (+1, +2, +3, and so on) when the HTTPS
connection comes in from a client that used an HTTPS destination port number of 1005, the external port
numbers would automatically be calculated relative to this port number of 1005 and use 1006, 1007, and
1008 respectively.
This scheme allows all desktops to be identically configured and yet all share the same external IP
address. Allocating port numbers in increments of five (1000, 1005, 1010 …) for the base HTTPS port
number would therefore allow over 12,000 virtual desktops to be accessed on the same IP address. The
base port number is used to determine the virtual desktop to route the connection to, based on the port
mapping device configuration. For an externalIPAddress=10.20.30.40, externalRDPPort=+1,
externalPCoIPPort=+2 and externalFrameworkChannelPort=+3 configured on all virtual desktops,
the mapping to virtual desktops would be as described in the NAT and port mapping table.
Table 2‑2. NAT and Port Mapping Values
VM#

Desktop IP
Address

HTTPS

RDP

PCOIP (TCP and
UDP)

Framework Channel

192.168.0.0

10.20.30.40:1000 ->
192.168.0.0:443

10.20.30.40:1001 ->
192.168.0.0:3389

10.20.30.40:1002 ->
192.168.0.0:4172

10.20.30.40:1003 ->
192.168.0.0:32111

192.168.0.1

10.20.30.40:1005 ->
192.168.0.1:443

10.20.30.40:1006 ->
192.168.0.1:3389

10.20.30.40:1007 ->
192.168.0.1:4172

10.20.30.40:1008 ->
192.168.0.1:32111

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View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In Administration

Table 2‑2. NAT and Port Mapping Values (Continued)
VM#

Desktop IP
Address

HTTPS

RDP

PCOIP (TCP and
UDP)

Framework Channel

192.168.0.2

10.20.30.40:1010 ->
192.168.0.2:443

10.20.30.40:1011 ->
192.168.0.2:3389

10.20.30.40:1012 ->
192.168.0.2:4172

10.20.30.40:1013 ->
192.168.0.2:32111

192.168.0.3

10.20.30.40:1015 ->
192.168.0.3:443

10.20.30.40:1016 ->
192.168.0.3:3389

10.20.30.40:1017 ->
192.168.0.3:4172

10.20.30.40:1018 ->
192.168.0.3:32111

In this example, Horizon Client connects to IP address 10.20.30.40 and an HTTPS destination port
number of (1000 + n * 5) where n is the desktop number. To connect to desktop 3, the client would
connect to 10.20.30.40:1015. This addressing scheme significantly simplifies the configuration setup for
each desktop. All desktops are configured with identical external address and port configurations. The
NAT and port mapping configuration is done within the NAT and port mapping device with this consistent
pattern, and all desktops can be accessed on a single public IP address. The client would typically use a
single public DNS name that resolves to this IP address.

Add a Certificate Authority to the Windows Certificate
Store
For smart card authentication, the certificate authority (CA) that signs the smart card certificate must exist
in the Windows certificate store. If not, you can add the CA to the Windows certificate store.
Prerequisites

Verify that Microsoft Management Console (MMC) has the Certificates snap-in. See "Add the Certificate
Snap-In to MMC" in the View Installation document.
Procedure

Start MMC.

In the MMC console, expand the Certificates (Local Computer) node and go to the Trusted Root
Certification Authorities > Certificates folder.
If the root certificate is present and there are no intermediate certificates in the certificate chain, exit
MMC.

Right-click the Trusted Root Certification Authorities > Certificates folder and click All Tasks >
Import.

In the Certificate Import wizard, click Next and browse to the location where the root CA certificate
is stored.

Select the root CA certificate file and click Open.

Click Next, click Next, and click Finish.

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If the smart card certificate is issued by an intermediate CA, import all intermediate certificates in the
certificate chain.
a

Go to the Certificates (Local Computer) > Intermediate Certification Authorities >
Certificates folder.

Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each intermediate certificate.

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Setting Up HTML Access

View Agent Direct-Connection (VADC) Plug-In supports HTML Access to virtual machine-based desktops
and RDS desktops. HTML Access to RDS applications is not supported.
This section includes the following topics:
n

Install View Agent for HTML Access

Set Up Static Content Delivery

Set Up Trusted CA-Signed SSL Server Certificate

Disable HTTP/2 Protocol on Windows 10 and Windows 2016 Desktops

Install View Agent for HTML Access
To support HTML Access, you must install View Agent on the virtual machine-based desktop with a
special parameter.
Prerequisites
n

Download the View Agent installer file from the VMware download page at
http://www.vmware.com/go/downloadview.
The installer filename is VMware-viewagent-y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe for 32-bit Windows or VMwareviewagent-x86_64-y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe for 64-bit Windows, where y.y.y is the version number and
xxxxxx is the build number.

Procedure
u

Install View Agent from the command line and specify a parameter that tells View Agent not to
register with View Connection Server.
This example installs the 32-bit version of View Agent.
VMware-viewagent-y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe /v VDM_SKIP_BROKER_REGISTRATION=1

What to do next

Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In. See Install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In.

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Set Up Static Content Delivery
If the HTML Access client needs to be served by the desktop, you must perform some setup tasks on the
desktop. This enables a user to point a browser directly at a desktop.
Prerequisites
n

Download the View HTML Access portal.war zip file from the VMware download page at
http://www.vmware.com/go/downloadview.
The filename is VMware-Horizon-View-HTML-Access-y.y.y-xxxxxx.zip, where y.y.y is the
version number and xxxxxx is the build number.

Procedure

Open Control Panel.

Navigate to Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off.

Select the check box Internet Information Services and click OK.

In Control Panel, navigate to Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

Expand the items in the left pane.

Right-click Default Web Site and select Edit Bindings....

Click Add.

Specify https, All Unassigned, and port 443.

In the SSL certificate field, select the correct certificate.
Option

Action

Certificate vdm is present.

Select vdm and click OK.

Certificate vdm is not present.

Select vdmdefault and click OK.

10 In the Site Bindings dialog, remove the entry for http port 80 and click Close.
11 Click Default Web Site.
12 Double-click MIME Types.
13 If the File name extension .json does not exist, in the Actions pane, click Add.... Otherwise, skip the
next 2 steps.
14 For File name extension, enter .json.
15 For MIME type, enter text/h323 and click OK.
16 For File name extension, enter .mem.
17 For MIME type, enter text/plain and click OK.
18 Copy VMware-Horizon-View-HTML-Access-y.y.y-xxxxxx.zip to a temporary folder.

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19 Unzip VMware-Horizon-View-HTML-Access-y.y.y-xxxxxx.zip.
The result is a file named portal.war.
20 Rename portal.war to portal.zip.
21 Unzip portal.zip to the folder C:\inetpub\wwwroot.
If necessary, adjust the permissions on the folder to allow files to be added.
The folder C:\inetpub\wwwroot\portal is created.
22 Open Notepad.
23 Create the file C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Default.htm with the following content (replace with the actual IP address or DNS name of the desktop):

Set Up Trusted CA-Signed SSL Server Certificate
You can set up trusted CA-Signed SSL server certificate to ensure that traffic between clients and
desktops is not fraudulent.
Prerequisites
n

Replace the default self-signed SSL server certificate with a trusted CA-signed SSL server certificate.
See Replacing the Default Self-Signed SSL Server Certificate. This creates a certificate that has the
Friendly Name value vdm.

If the client's static content is served by the desktop, set up static content delivery. See Set Up Static
Content Delivery.

Familiarize yourself with the Windows Certificate Store. See "Configure View Connection Server,
Security Server, or View Composer to Use a New SSL Certificate" in the View Installation document.

Procedure

In the Windows Certificate Store, navigate to Personal > Certificates.

Double-click the certificate with Friendly Name vdm.

Click on the Details tab.

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Copy the Thumbprint value.

Start the Windows Registry Editor.

Navigate to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware
Blast\Config.

Add a new String (REG_SZ) value, SslHash, to this registry key.

Set the SslHash value to the Thumbprint value.

Disable HTTP/2 Protocol on Windows 10 and Windows
2016 Desktops
With some web browsers, you might encounter the error ERR_SPDY_PROTOCOL_ERROR when
accessing a Windows 10 VADC or Windows 2016 VADC desktop. You can prevent this error by disabling
the HTTP/2 protocol on the desktop.
Procedure

Start the Windows Registry Editor.

Navigate to the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\HTTP\Parameters.

Add 2 new REG_DWORD values, EnableHttp2Tls and EnableHttp2Cleartext, to this registry
key.

Set both values to 0.

Reboot the desktop.

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Setting Up View Agent Direct
Connection on Remote Desktop
Services Hosts

Horizon 7 supports Remote Desktop Services (RDS) hosts that provide RDS desktops and applications
that users can access from Horizon Clients. An RDS desktop is based on a desktop session to an RDS
host. In a typical Horizon 7 deployment, clients connect to desktops and applications through Horizon
Connection Server. However, if you install View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In on an RDS host, clients
can connect directly to RDS desktops or applications without using Horizon Connection Server.
This section includes the following topics:
n
Remote Desktop Services Hosts
n

Entitle RDS Desktops and Applications

Remote Desktop Services Hosts
A Remote Desktop Services (RDS) host is a server computer that hosts applications and desktops for
remote access.
In a Horizon 7 deployment, an RDS host is a Windows server that has the Microsoft Remote Desktop
Services role, the Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host service, and Horizon Agent installed. An RDS
host can support View Agent Direct Connection (VADC) if it also has VADC Plug-In installed. For
information on setting up an RDS host and installing Horizon 7 Agent, see “Setting Up Remote Desktop
Services Hosts” in the Setting Up Published Desktops and Applications in Horizon 7 document. For
information on installing VADC Plug-In, see Chapter 1 Installing View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In.
Note When you install Horizon Agent, the installer asks for the hostname or IP address of Horizon
Connection Server that Horizon Agent will connect to. You can make the installer skip this step by running
the installer with a parameter.
VMware-viewagent-x86_64-y.y.y-xxxxxx.exe /v "VDM_SKIP_BROKER_REGISTRATION=1"
After you set up an RDS host and install VADC Plug-In, you must entitle RDS desktops and applications.
See Entitle RDS Desktops and Applications.

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Entitle RDS Desktops and Applications
You must entitle users to RDS desktops and applications before the users can access the desktops and
applications.
If the RDS host is running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, run RemoteApp Manager to configure
entitlements.
If the RDS host is running Windows Server 2012 or 2012 R2, run Server Manager and navigate to
Remote Desktop Services to configure entitlements.

Desktop Entitlements
To entitle a user to launch an RDS desktop, perform the following steps:
n

Ensure that the user is a member of the local group View Agent Direct-Connection Users. By
default, all authenticated users are a members of this group.

For Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, in RemoteApp Manager, ensure that the RD Session Host
Server is configured to Show a remote desktop connection to this RD Session Host server in RD
Web Access.

For Windows 2012 or 2012 R2, run Server Manager and navigate to Remote Desktop Services to
configure entitlements.

Application Entitlements
To entitle a user to launch an application, perform the following steps:
n

Ensure that the user is a member of the local group View Agent Direct-Connection Users. By
default, all authenticated users are a members of this group.

For Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, in RemoteApp Manager, ensure that the application is listed
under RemoteApp Programs, is set for RD Web Access, and has user assignments set for all
users, this user or a group of which the user is a member.

For Windows 2012 or 2012 R2, run Server Manager and navigate to Remote Desktop Services to
configure entitlements.

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Troubleshooting View Agent
Direct-Connection Plug-In

When using View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In, you might encounter known issues.
When you investigate a problem with View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In, make sure that the correct
version is installed and running.
If a support issue needs to be raised with VMware, always enable full logging, reproduce the problem,
and generate a Data Collection Tool (DCT) log set. VMware technical support can then analyze these
logs. For details on generating a DCT log set, refer to Collecting diagnostic information for VMware View
KB article http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1017939.
This section includes the following topics:
n
Incorrect Graphics Driver is Installed
n

Insufficient Video RAM

Enabling Full Logging to Include TRACE and DEBUG information

Incorrect Graphics Driver is Installed
For PCoIP to work properly, the correct version of the graphics driver must be installed.
Problem

A black screen is displayed when a user connects to a desktop or an application using PCoIP.
Cause

An incorrect version of the graphics driver is running. This could happen if an incorrect version of VMware
Tools is installed after the installation of View Agent.
Solution
u

Reinstall View Agent.

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Insufficient Video RAM
To support PCoIP, a virtual machine that runs a desktop or an RDS host must have a minimum of 128 MB
of video RAM.
Problem

A black screen is displayed when a user connects to a desktop or an application using PCoIP.
Cause

The virtual machine does not have enough video RAM.
Solution
u

Configure at least 128 MB of video RAM for each virtual machine.

Enabling Full Logging to Include TRACE and DEBUG
information
View Agent Direct-Connection Plug-In writes log entries to the standard View Agent log. TRACE and
DEBUG information is not included in the log by default.
Problem

The View Agent log does not contain TRACE and DEBUG information.
Cause

Full logging is not enabled. You must enable full logging to include TRACE and DEBUG information in the
View Agent log.
Solution

Open a command prompt and run C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware
View\Agent\DCT\support.bat loglevels

Enter 3 for full logging.
The debug log files are located in %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VDM\logs. The file debug*.log has
information logged from the View Agent and the plug-in. Search for wsnm_xmlapi to find the plug-in
log lines.
When the View Agent is started, the plug-in version is logged:
2012-10-01T12:09:59.078+01:00 INFO (09E4-0C08) [MessageFrameWork]
Plugin 'wsnm_xmlapi - VMware View Agent XML API Handler Plugin' loaded,
version=e.x.p build- 855808, buildtype=release
2012-10-01T12:09:59.078+01:00 TRACE (09E4-06E4) [wsnm_xmlapi]
Agent XML API Protocol Handler starting

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