VMware vSphere Update 2, View 4.x Issues

Right on the heels of vSphere 4 Update 2, a flurry of twitter and blog postings suggestion caution if upgrading a VMware View 4.x environment. Now, VMware has updated its KB to include a workaround for those needing to move to Update 2 for the feature and hardware support benefits but can't afford to break their PCoIP-based View environment: in short, it's all VMware Tools fault! Seems the SVGA drive in VMware Tools for Update 2 has a problem with PCoIP - preventing desktops from connecting.

Now that makes some sense given the fact that VMware is quite adamant about the ORDER in which VMware Tools, .NET framework and the View Agent must be installed. The current options for PCoIPers out there needing Update 2 are three-fold:

1. Don't upgrade VMware Tools;


2. Upgrade VMware Tools with "Advanced Options" including
   
   
   
   1. For x86 guests:
      /s /v "/qn REINSTALLMODE=voums REINSTALL=WYSE,VMXNet,
      VMCI,Mouse,MemCtl,Hgfs,VSS,VMXNet3,vmdesched,ThinPrint,Sync,
      PVSCSI,Debug,BootCamp,Audio,Buslogic,VICFSDK,VAssertSDK,
      Toolbox,Upgrader,GuestSDK,PerfMon,Common,microsoft_dlls_x86,
      ArchSpecific"
      (line breaks included for formatting only)
   
   
   2. For x64 guests:
      /s /v "/qn REINSTALLMODE=voums REINSTALL=WYSE,VMXNet,
      VMCI,Mouse,MemCtl,Hgfs,VSS,VMXNet3,vmdesched,ThinPrint,Sync,
      PVSCSI,Debug,BootCamp,Audio,Buslogic,VICFSDK,VAssertSDK,Toolbox,
      Upgrader,GuestSDK,PerfMon,Common,microsoft_dlls_x64,ArchSpecific"
      (line breaks included for formatting only)
   
   
   
   


3. Use RDP (not really an option for PCoIP environments)

If you're already STUNG by the VMware Tools, the KB has a procedure for back-tracking the SVGA driver after VMware Tools for Update 2 has been installed. Here it is:

For customers that are experiencing the issue and want to continue using PCoIP, use this workaround:

Note: VMware recommends that you have VMware View 4.0.1 installed prior to performing these steps.

1. Log in to the affected virtual machine(s) with Administrator rights. This is any virtual machine that has the VMware Tools shipped with ESX 4.0 Update 2 installed.


2. Rename the C:\Program File\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\Video folder to C:\Program File\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\Video-OLD.


3. From a working virtual machine, copy the C:\Program File\Common Files\Vmware\Drivers\Video folder to C:\Program File\Common Files\Vmware\Drivers\ on an affected virtual machine.


4. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > System.


5. Click the Hardware tab and click Device Manager.


6. Expand Display Adapters.


7. Choose VMWARE SVGA II. Right-click on it and choose Properties.


8. Click the Driver tab. You are presented with the SVGA driver properties.
   
   The version is 11.6.0.34 (Driver Date 01/03/2010).


9. Click Update Driver. The Hardware Update wizard displays.


10. When prompted with the question, "Can windows connect to Windows Update to search for software?", click No, not at this time and click Next.


11. When prompted with the question, "What do you want the wizard to do", click Install from a list or specific location (Advanced) and click Next.


12. Click Don't search. I will choose the driver to install and click Next.


13. On the next screen, you are presented a list of two or more VMWARE SVGA II Versions to choose from. For example:
    
    VMWARE SVGA II Version: 11.6.0.31 (21/09/2009)
    VMWARE SVGA II Version: 11.6.0.32 (24/09/2009)
    VMWARE SVGA II Version: 11.6.0.34 (01/03/2010)
    
    Choose VMWARE SVGA II Version: 11.6.0.32 (24/09/2009).


14. Click Next. The driver begins installing.


15. Click Continue Anyway when Windows notifies you that VMware SVGA II has not passed Windows logo testing.
    
    The driver install completes.


16. Click Finish.


17. Click YES when prompted to restart your computer.


18. Verify that PCoIP is now working.

Note: VMware is investigating a permanent fix for the issue so our customers can upgrade to ESX 4.0 Update 2 without experiencing this issue.

- VMware KB1022830, 6/17/2010

Quick Take - VMware PartnerExchange 2010: Day 3

With about 2.5 hours of sleep and the VCP410 test looming, Tuesday took on a different tone than the previous two days. My calendar was full:

• 5:30 - Wake-up and check e-mail/blog/systems back in CST


• 7:00am - Breakfast at the VMware Experience Hall


• 8:30am - Keynote with Carl Eschenbach, EVP Worldwide Sales & Field Ops, VMware


• 10:00am - ESXi Convergence Roadmap Session


• 11:15am - View4 Workload Sizing and Testing


• 12:15pm - Lunch in the VMware Alumni Lounge


• 1:30pm - vSphere4 Advanced Configuration Topics


• 3:45pm - VCP410 Test


• 5:15pm - View Composer Tips, Tricks and Best Practices


• 6:45pm - Check-in at home


• 7:00pm - Update blog and check/respond to e-mail

First, the keynote with Carl and the gang was awesome! VMware took a really aggressive attitude towards the competition, including Citrix (virtual desktop) and Microsoft (virtual data center). To sum up the conversation: VMware's intent on carrying on the Q4/09 momentum through 2011, extending its lead in virtual data center and cloud computing capabilities. But Carl's not happy with just the traditional server market, and VMware wants to own the virtual desktop space - virtually putting the squeeze on Citrix as the walls close-in around them.

With over 60-70% of net new Citrix VDI builds being deployed on VMware's ESX servers, it make me wonder why Citrix would drive its XenApp customers to VDI - in the form of XenDesktop4 - by offering a 2-for-1 trade-in program. Isn't this like asking their own clients to reconsider the value proposition of XenApp - in essence turning vendor-locked accounts into a new battleground with VMware? If the momentum shifts towards VMware View4.x and VMware accelerates the pace on product features (including management and integration) as suggested by Carl's aggressive tone today, where does that leave XenDesktop and Citrix?

[caption id="attachment_1439" align="alignright" width="150" caption="The VMware Express Mobile Data Center"][/caption]

The VMware Express: Coming to a City Near You!

VMware introduced its "data center on wheels" to the PartnerExchange 2010 audience today and I got a chance to get on-board and take a look. The build-out was clean and functional with 60+ Gbps of external interconnects waiting for a venue. Inside the Express was a data center, a conference room and several demonstration stations showing VMware vSphere and View4 demos.

[caption id="attachment_1438" align="alignleft" width="113" caption="6 ton Mobile A/C for Express' Data Center"][/caption]

VMware rolled-out the red carpet to the PartnerExchange 2010 attendees. To the right - above the 5-th wheel - is the conference room. All the way in the back (to the left) is the data center portion. In-between the data center and the conference room lies the demonstration area with external plasma screens in kick-panels displaying slide deck and demonstration materials.

[caption id="attachment_1444" align="alignright" width="92" caption="The Express' Diesel Generator - Capable of Powering Things for Nearly 2-days"][/caption]

Up front - behind the cab - rests 6-tons of air conditioning mounted to the front of the trailer. This keeps the living area inside habitable and the data center (about 70-80 sq. ft.) cool enough to run some serious virtualization equipment. Mounted directly behind the driver's cabin is the diesel generator - capable of powering the entire operation for better than 40-hours when external power is unavailable. Today, however, the VMware Express was taking advantage of "house power" provided by Mandalay Bay's conference center.

Where the rubber met the road was inside the data center: currently occupied by an EMC/Cisco rack and a rack powered by MDS/NetApp/Xsigo. Both featured 12TB of raw storage and high-density Nehalem-EP solutions. In the right corner, the heavyweight EMC/Cisco bundle was powered by Cisco's UCS B-series platform featuring eight Nehalem 2P blades per 6U chassis fed by a pair of Cisco 4900-series converged switches. In the left corner, the super middleweight MDS Micro QUADv-series"mini-blade" chassis featuring an eight Nehalem 2P blades per two 2U chassis fed by a pair of Xsigo I/O directors delivering converged network and SAN tunneled over infiniband interconnects.

[caption id="attachment_1441" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Two-of-Three Racks are Currently Occupied by EMC/Cisco and MDS/NetApp/Xsigo"][/caption]

It will be interesting to see how the drive arrays survive the journey as the VMware Express travels across the country over the next year. Meanwhile, this tractor trailer is packing 60-blades worth of serious virtualization hardware destined for a town near you. VMware is currently looking for additional sponsors from the partner community to expand its tour; and access to the VMware Express will be prioritized based on partner status and/or sponsorship.

VCP410 Test Passed - Waiting for Official Notification

With the VCP410 test in the books, I'm now waiting for official notification from VMware of my VCP4 status. According to my "Examination Score Report" I should receive notice from VMware within 30-days having met all of the requirements for "VMware Certified Professional on vSphere 4 Certification" and testing above the Certified Instructor minimums.

As a systems and network architect, I found the "interface related questions" somewhat more challenging than the "design and configure" related fare. However, the test was pretty well balanced and left me with well over 25 minutes to go back over questions I'd checked for review and finalize those answers. I logged-out of the exam with 18 minutes left on the clock. My recommendation to those looking to pass the VCP410:

1. Work with vSphere in a hands-on capacity for several days before taking the test, making good mental notes related to interface operations inside and outside of vCenter


2. Know the minimums and maximums for ESX and vCenter configurations


3. Understand storage zoning, masking and configuration


4. Go over the VCP blueprint on your own before seeking additional assistance


5. Remember the test is on GA release and not "current" release so "correct" answers may differ slightly from "reality"


6. Get more than 2.5 hours sleep the night before you take the exam


7. Schedule the exam in the morning - while you're fresh - not the afternoon following meetings, etc.


8. Dig into topics on the VCP Forum online

That about does it for day number three in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's time to shuffle-up and deal!

VMware View 4, Certified HCL Tripples in Size

In the past month, the number of hardware Thin and Zero clients certified for VMware View 4.0 has nearly trippled. It only seemed fitting to update our list to further showcase the current state of the View "certified" HCL for "hardware" thin clients. The "ThreadX" OS variants include hardware from Teradici (TC1100) to accelerate the PCoIP protocol. 

As of January 26, 2010, the following hardware clients (average price of $526/unit) are "officially" on VMware's HCL:

OEM	Model	OS	Supports	Unit Cost	New Since
		Variant	PcoIP	(Est. $)	Dec-09
Amulet Hotkey	DXR4-iP	ThreadX	Y (quad-head video)	TBD	Y
Astec Technology Co.	A3520	Linux Embedded for Thin Client b1106	Y	TBD	Y
Astec Technology Co.	A3580	Windows XPe SP2	Y	TBD	Y
ClearCube	C7420	ThreadX	Y	$1,160	Y
ClearCube	I9420	ThreadX	Y	TBD	Y
DELL	OptiPlex FX160	Windows XPe SP2	Y	$512	N
DevonIT	TC10	ThreadX	Y	$342	Y
DevonIT	TC5	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	Y	$299	N
HP	GT7720	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$799	N
HP	t5545	HP ThinPro	Y	$296	Y
HP	t5630	Windows XPe SP3	Y	$632	N
HP	t5630W	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$440	N
HP	t5720	Windows XPe SP3	Y	$410 (refurbished)	N
HP	t5730	Windows XPe SP3	Y	$349	N
HP	t5730W	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$550	N
HP	t5740	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$429	N
HP	vc4820t	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	N/A	Y
IGEL	UD2-420 ES	Windows Embedded Standard	N	$436	Y
IGEL	UD2-420 LX	IGEL Linux 4.02.500	N	$292	Y
IGEL	UD3-420 ES	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$561	Y
IGEL	UD3-420 LX	IGEL Linux 4.02.500	Y	$412	Y
IGEL	UD3-720 ES	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$561	Y
IGEL	UD3-720 LX	IGEL Linux 4.02.500	Y	$436	Y
IGEL	UD5-420 ES	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$627	Y
IGEL	UD5-420 LX	IGEL Linux 4.02.500	Y	$579	Y
IGEL	UD5-720 ES	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$653	Y
IGEL	UD5-720 LX	IGEL Linux 4.02.500	Y	$605	Y
IGEL	UD7-720 ES	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$1,042	Y
IGEL	UD7-720 LX	IGEL Linux 4.02.500	Y	$925	Y
IGEL	UD9-720 ES	Windows Embedded Standard	Y	$953	Y
Leadtek Research Inc.	WinFast VP200 P	ThreadX	Y	$715	Y
Praim	XP-6700	Windows XPe SP3	Y	TBD	Y
Praim	XP940-I	Windows XPe SP3	N	TBD	Y
Praim	XP9400-U	Windows XPe SP3	Y	TBD	Y
Praim	XT900-I	ThinOX 8.01.14	N	TBD	Y
Samsung	SyncMaster NC190	ThreadX	Y	$467	Y
Samsung	SyncMaster NC240	ThreadX	Y	$524	Y
Wyse	C90LEW	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	Y	$498	N
Wyse	P20	ThreadX	Y	$585	Y
Wyse	R50L	SUSE Linux Enterprise TC 10	Y	$481	Y
Wyse	R50LE	SUSE Linux Enterprise TC 10	Y	$442	Y
Wyse	R90LEW	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	Y	$640	N
Wyse	R90LW	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	Y	$593	N
Wyse	S10	WTOS 6.5	N	$252	N
Wyse	V10L	WTOS 6.5	N	$315	N
Wyse	V10L Dual DVI	WTOS 6.5	N	$447	N
Wyse	X50L	SUSE Linux Enterprise TC 10	Y	$671	Y

 SOLORI's NOTE: The Samsung NC190 and NC240 include integrated 19" and 24" monitors, respectively. This combination makes them the most cost and energy efficient PCoIP solutions on the market. If all-in-one products meet your deployment profile, the Samsung units are worth a serious look.

Devices not on this list may "work" with VMware View 4.0 but may not support all of View 4's features. VMware addresses certified and compatible as follows:

Certified and Compatible Thin Clients:
Certified - A thin client device listed against a particular VMware View release in the Certified For column has been tested by the thin client manufacturer against that specific VMware View release and includes a minimum set of features supported in that VMware View version.

Compatible - A thin client device certified against a specific VMware View release is compatible with previous and subsequent VMware View releases according to the compatibility guarantees published as part of that specific VMware View release (typically two major releases in both directions). However, a compatible thin client may not include all of the features of the newer VMware View release. Please refer to your VMware View Client documentation to determine which features are included.

Unlisted thin clients may embed VMware's "software client" along with a more general purpose operating system to deliver View 4 compatibility. Support for this class of device may be restricted to the device vendor only. Likewise, thin clients that are compatible with earlier versions of View may support only a subset of View 4's features. When in doubt, contact the thin client manufacturer before deploying with View 4.

Quick Take: VirtualBox adds Live Migra... uh, Teleportation

Sun announced the 3.1.0 release of its desktop hypervisor - VirtualBox - with their own version of live virtual machine host migration called "Teleporting." Teleporting, according to the user's manual, is defined as:

"moving a virtual machine over a network from one VirtualBox host to another, while the virtual machine is running. This works regardless of the host operating system that is running on the hosts: you can teleport virtual machines between Solaris and Mac hosts, for example."

Teleportation operates like an in-place replacement of a VM's facilities, requiring that the "target" host has a virtual machine in VirtualBox with exactly the same hardware settings as the "source" VM. The source and target VM's must also share the same storage, etc. and must use either the same VirtualBox accessible iSCSI targets or some other network storage (NFS or SMB/CIFS) - and no snapshots.

"The hosts must have fairly similar CPUs. While VirtualBox can simulate some CPU features to a degree, this does not always work. Teleporting between Intel and AMD CPUs will probably fail with an error message."

The recipe for teleportation begins on the target and is given in an example, leveraging VirtualBox's VBoxManage command syntax:

VBoxManage modifyvm  --teleporter on --teleporterport

On the source, the running virtual machine is modified according to the following:

VBoxManage controlvm  teleport --host  --port

For testing, same-host teleportation is allowed (source and target equal loopback). Obviously a ready and clean-up script would be involved to copy the settings to a target location, provide the teleport maintenance and clean-up the former VM configuration that is obsoleted in the teleportation. In the case of an error, the running VM stays running on the source host, and the target VM fails to initialize.

SOLORI's Take: This represents the writing on the wall for VMware and vMotion. Perhaps the shift from VMotion to vMotion telegraphs the reduced value VMware already sees in the "now standard" feature. Adding vMotion to vSphere Essentials and Essentials Plus would garner a lot of adoption from the SMB market that is moving quickly to Hyper-V over Citrix and VMware. With VirtualBox's obvious play in desktop virtualization - where minimalist live migration features would be less of a burden - VMware's market could quickly become divided in 2010 with some crafty third-party integration along with open VDI. It's a ways off, but the potential is there...

VMware View 4, Current Certified HCL

Given the recent release of VMware View 4.0, we though it would be handy to showcase the current state of the View "certified" HCL for "hardware" thin clients. As of November 30, 2009, the following hardware thin clients are "officially" on VMware's HCL:

OEM	Model	OS Variant	Certified For	Compatible With	Supports PcoIP	Unit Cost (Est. $)
DELL	OptiPlex FX160	Windows XPe SP2	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$512
DevonIT	TC5	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	View 4.0, View 3.1	View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$299
HP	GT7720	Windows Embedded Standard	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$799
HP	t5630	Windows XPe SP3	View 4.0, View 3.1	View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$632
HP	t5630W	Windows Embedded Standard	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$440
HP	t5720	Windows XPe SP3	View 4.0, View 3.1	View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$410 (refurbished)
HP	t5730	Windows XPe SP3	View 4.0, View 3.1	View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$349
HP	t5730W	Windows Embedded Standard	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$550
HP	t5740	Windows Embedded Standard	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$429
HP	vc4820t	Windows Embedded Standard	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	N/A
Wyse	C90LEW	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$498
Wyse	R90LEW	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$640
Wyse	R90LW	Windows Embedded Standard 2009	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	Y	$593
Wyse	S10	WTOS 6.5	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	N	$252
Wyse	V10L	WTOS 6.5	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	N	$315
Wyse	V10L Dual DVI	WTOS 6.5	View 4.0	View 3.1, View 3.0, VDM 2.1, VDM 2.0	N	$447

Devices not on this list may "work" with VMware View 4.0 but may not support all of View 4's features. VMware addresses certified and compatible as follows:

Certified and Compatible Thin Clients:
Certified - A thin client device listed against a particular VMware View release in the Certified For column has been tested by the thin client manufacturer against that specific VMware View release and includes a minimum set of features supported in that VMware View version.

Compatible - A thin client device certified against a specific VMware View release is compatible with previous and subsequent VMware View releases according to the compatibility guarantees published as part of that specific VMware View release (typically two major releases in both directions). However, a compatible thin client may not include all of the features of the newer VMware View release. Please refer to your VMware View Client documentation to determine which features are included.

Unlisted thin clients may embed VMware's "software client" along with a more general purpose operating system to deliver View 4 compatibility. Support for this class of device may be restricted to the device vendor only. Likewise, thin clients that are compatible with earlier versions of View may support only a subset of View 4's features. When in doubt, contact the thin client manufacturer before deploying with View 4.

Updated: 1-December-2009 -  added price reference for listed thin clients.