One of the unique features of Quest vWorkspace is our User Profile Management. Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management (previously known by the module named Metaprofiles-IT) when implemented in concert with Microsoft Group Policy Folder Redirection provides a stable alternative to Roaming Profiles. Often referred to as Hybrid User Profiles, it allows users to retain administrator approved portions of their user profile, (typically stored in the registry) whereas everything else, including the local user profile is discarded at logoff. Users My Documents, Desktop, Application Data and optionally Start Menu are typically redirected to network file shares using Group Policy (they can also be stored using Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management), whereas the vWorkspace User Profile Storage Server manages settings that are imported to and exported from the User Registry Hive (HKCU). This unique combination provides for lightning fast logons (typically 10 seconds, or 1 -2 seconds longer than a local profile), lower data storage requirements, and a stable working environment that looks and feels personal to the end user. The cool thing is that you can create a Managed Profile for Terminal Servers users, Virtual Desktop Users, Blade PC users or all of the above!

Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management data is stored on the vWorkspace User Profile Storage Server in an encrypted manner so there is no easy tampering with user data. This does however also mean that the user data cannot be opened by administrators for troubleshooting. Sometimes administrator do need to view the Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management data. There is an easy way to do this, should you need to:

1. Go to the  vWorkspace User Profile Storage Server and locate the  vWorkspace User Profiles directory (C:\Metaprofiles for example).
2. Copy the profile that you want to troubleshoot. Profiles are stored with SID as the file name. You could use a a tool like PSGetSid to determine what SID translater to which user.
3. Rename the copy from .grp (for per-silo settings) or .gbl (for global settings) to .zip
4. Now open the .zip file and you can look inside the Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management data to perform your troubleshooting. It should look like something like this:

All the folders (like Desktop in the screenshot) you see are the folders that are configured for inclusion in the Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management configuration.

The file “dir.txt” contains all of the files inside the folders that are synchronized as part of the Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management configuration.

Finally and probably most importantly “reg.xml” stores all of the registry keys and values that have been configured for inclusion in the Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management configuration.

Please be aware that this method should only be used for troubleshooting purposes. Changes to the Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management should always be made through the vWorkspace Management Console in the Quest vWorkspace User Profile Management configuration. Directly editing the profile is not recommended nor supported.

Thin Client vendor Thinspace have added the Quest vWorkspace 6.2 linux client to their latest firmware release, the exact build is 1041. This is available on the following models TST200, TST450 and TST600. The Quest vWorkspace client is also supported on the Windows XPe version, now Windows Embedded Standard. This is supported on TST200, TST450, TST600, TST550 and TST700 thin clients.

Please refer to the ‘Quest vWorkspace Linux Client Guide’ that is located in the downloads section of www.vworkspace.com for full details on the client. For further information on Thinspace please refer to their website.

vWorkspace Web Access is one of the most popular ways for our customers to provide access to their applications in a seamless, simple way. Out of the box, vWorkspace Web Access has quite a couple of options to allow customers to customize the vWorkspace Web Access pages to fit their personal needs. Still, some customers want to customize vWorkspace Web Access even further. Since vWorkspace Web Access is built on web-industry standards like ASP.net and ASP.net features such as “Themes” and “Skins”, it is relatively easy to take vWorkspace Web Access customization even further. To make it easier for our customers to do so, we have included a document called ”vWorkspaceWebAccess6.2_CustomizationGuide.pdf” in every download of vWorkspace 6.2. It is located in the documents folder. Here’s an example of a customized Quesr vWorkspace Web Access instance:

While on the subject of customization, remember that Quest vWorkspace 6.2 also included experimental integration with Microsoft Sharepoint. The associated documentation for this Microsoft Sharepoint integration can be found in the download section of vWorkspace.com under the documentation header.

Happy customizing! ( or maybe I should have called it pimping…? )

As a part of our ongoing effort to provide customers with leading applicaton and desktop delivery technology at a pace that gives customers great value for money, after a little more than 3 months after our release 6.1 of Quest vWorkspace, we are happy to announce the next version of Quest vWorkspace: version 6.2!

Quest vWorkspace 6.2 brings several new exiting features, such as:

vWorkspace NetApp Integration

vWorkspace is now integrated with NetApp FlexClone technology. Here are some of the benefits of this integration:

• Rapid deployment of virtual desktops.
• An average of ninety percent disk utilization reduction saving valuable SAN or NAS storage (savings vary based on use case).
• Continuous desktop access due to advanced protection and fail over.

      VMware Platform support only.

Enhanced Multimonitor Support

Improvements have been made to enhance the user experience when using multiple monitors supporting a wider variety of orientations and mix/match resolutions.

Enhanced Graphic Acceleration Support

Graphics Acceleration improvements expand the applications which are accelerated, as well as improved speed and quality. Applications that use Microsoft DirectDraw are also now accelerated.

Enhanced USB Redirection

The USB Redirection feature has been enhanced with the following features:

• Improved support for audio and video USB based devices.
• Overall improved performance.
• Additional tuning and device exclusion options are included.

 Web Access and Microsoft SharePoint Integration (Experimental)

vWorkspace Web Access can now be used with Microsoft SharePoint.  Please note this feature is experimental, and currently not supported by Quest Support.  It is important that the Quest vWorkspace Web Access and Microsoft Office SharePoint Integration Release Notes are reviewed before implementing this experimental feature.

Other Features

• An alternative sysprep mode has been added for provisioning virtual machines on VMware platforms for use with provisioning domain joined machines which will be joined to an AD OU. This overcomes limitations introduced since Virtual Center Update 3..
• Additional status information has been added to the vWorkspace Management Console when Desktops or Other Servers nodes are selected.
• Modifications have been made to the database verification process to allow for version upgrades without including a database upgrade.

 It is important that you review the vWorkspace 6.2 documentation and release notes for further information on resolved and known issues.

 The release and product documentation are available on the vWorkspace web site at http://www.vworkspace.com, as well as the Quest SupportLink web site at http://support.quest.com/.