Providing support for many client platforms to enable the “any device scenario” is a key part of the strategy here at Quest.  To that end we are continuously updating our clients to make sure that our customers have other client platform options when they decide not to use Windows and that they have a full feature set when doing so.

This new (6.2) Quest vWorkspace Linux AppPortal has several enhancements, most of which pertain to the installation and configuration of the client. Additionally, several issues were resolved.  This is sample of the current feature set of the Linux AppPortal:

• Application publishing
• Desktop publishing
• Mapping of local drives (supported via the native rdesktop)
• Mapping of local audio
• NAT for firewall traversal
• RDP over SSL
• Window size and colors
• Local COM ports
• RDP printers
• Multimedia Redirection
• Graphics Acceleration
• Secure Ticketing

Next Beta or RTM versions of the 6.2 vWorkspace Client  are planned to include support for Flash Redirection as well as Bi-Directional audio.

Beta 1 of the 6.2 Quest vWorkspace Linux AppPortal can be downloaded by anyone from the download area of vWorkspace.com. Please email us with any feedback you might have.

Thin Client vendor Igel Technology have added the Quest vWorkspace 6.2 linux client to their latest firmware release, the exact build is 4.01.500. The firmware will run on any hardware that supports the Universal Desktop image. Igel Technology also manufacture a range of terminals that ship with Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard, the vWorkspace Windows client is compatible with this platform.

For further information on the Quest Linux client please refer to the ‘Quest vWorkspace Linux Client Guide’ that is located in the downloads section of www.vworkspace.com. For further information on Igel Technology’s product range please refer to their website.

Thin Client vendor 10ZiG have launched their V series, offering a variety of clients optimized for a VDI environment. The V series includes both Linux and XPe terminals, both of which include the Quest vWorkspace 6.x client.

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 Linux client, for the Windows client please refer to the Admin Guide that is packaged with the complete download of vWorkspace. For further information on 10ZiG please refer to their website.

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.

Quest vWorkspace 6.x offers enhanced security to allow connections from only version 6.x of the Quest client. In some cases it is required to turn off this option, for example if you wanted to connect to the Farm from a Sunray terminal or a Wyse Thin OS based terminal. To enable compatibility mode you are required to add the following registry key on each server running the ‘Quest Connection Broker’ service:

HKLM\Software\Provision Networks\Common\Load And License Manager

CompatibilityMode = 1  REG_DWORD

Whilst we are looking at the compatibility mode it is also worth covering the setup for configuring Wyse Thin OS devices from the Quest vWorkspace server rather than using an FTP server.

Once you have configured your WNOS.INI and\or your RDP.INI files you need to store them on a broker server in “C:\Program Files\Quest\vWorkspace\WYSE\WNOS”, if you plan to use custom bitmaps for wallpapers, logon screen, icons etc. they would need to be stored in “C:\Program Files\Quest\vWorkspace\WYSE\WNOS\bitmap”. Once you have the INI files in place you can configure the terminals manually or use DHCP tags to automate this process. For the purposes of the example we will assume that the broker is using port 8080 and has an IP address of 192.168.1.1 (NB. You could also use the servers DNS name as long as it is resolvable).

If you want to configure the terminals using DHCP option tags you would need to create 161 and 188 (both with string values), 161 is the file server and 188 is the VDI broker. It is quite possible that in this environment that 161 and 188 are identical, however they are both still required. An example would be ‘http://192.168.1.1:8080’. If you wanted to configure the terminal manually you need to edit the Network Settings, click on the Servers tab and enter the File Server and VDI broker information in the relevant fields, again an example would be ‘http://192.168.1.1:8080’.

An example of the logon screen is below, I have enabled authentication and customized the logon screen in the WNOS.INI file:

An example of the Network Setup screen is below:

Currently the Wyse Thin OS supports published Desktops but not published Applications. Wyse also uses their own RDP client so the Quest RDP enhancements are not supported, however Wyse to offer their own set of RDP enhancements that could be used, these are referred to as TCX.

If you need some assistance creating the INI files there is a useful tool called ConfGen that will generate them, this can be found at: http://www.technicalhelp.de/

QShell is an application to improve the log in experience for vWorkspace users on thin clients and end of life hardware where you want to provide a PC’s like log in experience to a virtual desktop.  It can provide a single sign on experience removing the client devices original desktop, start menu, task bar and desktop icons. 

This is program is wirtten by myself and is not an official Quest release and therefore cannot be supported via the normal Quest channels.  You should use this program at your own risk, however if you have any issues or requests I will endeavour to help where possible.

Download the guide here: QShell Admin Guide

Download QShell here: QShell 1.0.6.12

DownloadQShell and AppPortal
DownloadQShell and Internet Explorer

Overview
Quest vWorkspace offers clients on a multitude of platforms making it a natural choice for Thin Clients. Thin Clients typically come in one of three flavours, these are Microsoft Windows CE, Linux and Microsoft Windows XPe. However, some manufacturers have developer their own operating systems, for example Wyse Thin OS and Sun Microsystems Sun Ray.

As of the start of 2009 Microsoft have renamed their Thin Client operating Systems. Windows XPe has been renamed to Microsoft Windows Standard Edition and Windows CE has been renamed to Windows Embedded CE.

There are several caveats when embedding the client onto a Thin Client:-

• i) We currently maintain binaries for Windows CE 5 and 6, for older versions of CE we would need to compile a client.
• ii) The Linux client is based on the 2.6 kernel.
• iii) Windows XPe is typically and open OS and has the capability to install applications locally, therefore in theory we should be able to install our 32-bit client onto any vendor’s XPe Thin Client.

Thin Client Manufacturers
There are a multitude of Thin Client vendors in the market place, all of which have their own individual strengths. I have listed the vendors below and covered the functionality they currently offer:

10zig - 10zig offer Thin Clients with Windows CE, Linux and Windows XPe. They ship the Quest vWorkspace 6.x client as standard on their Linux and XPe devices, the V series is a range of devices that are optimized for a VDI environment.
http://www.10zig.com

Computer Labs International - Computer Labs offer Thin Clients with Windows CE, Linux and Windows XPe, they can provide the Quest vWorkspace client on all three operating systems.
http://www.computerlab.com

HP - HP offer Thin Clients with HP ThinConnect, Windows CE, Linux and Windows XPe, they can provide the Quest vWorkspace client on ThinConnect, NeoLinux 3.x\4.x, Windows CE and Windows XPe. In October 2007 HP acquired Neoware, thus integrating their Thin Client portfolio into the HP range.
http://www.hp.com

Igel - Igel Technology offer Thin Clients with Windows CE, Linux and Windows XPe\Embedded Standard. They can provide the Quest vWorkspace client on Linux and Windows XPe\Embedded Standard. Please refer to the separate Igel blog article for more details.
http://www.igel.com

Sun Microsystems - Sun have developed a session script that resides on the Sun Ray Server, this script interacts with the Quest vWorkspace connection broker. The Sun Ray Terminals need to be configured to use a Kiosk Session, they can then connect to a VDI or TS desktop via the Sun Ray Server.
http://www.sun.com

Thinspace - Thinspace have a range of Linux and Windows XPe terminals that include the Quest vWorkspace client as standard. Please refer to the separate blog article on their inclusion of the 6.2 Linux client.
http://www.thinware.it

Thinware - Thinware have a range of Linux terminals and include the Quest vWorkspace client on their devices as standard.
http://www.thinware.it

Wyse Technology - Wyse Technology offer Thin Clients with Wyse Thin OS, Windows CE, Linux and Windows XPe. Windows XPe supports the Quest vWorkspace client and Wyse ThinOS uses its native RDP client to connect to a desktop (VDI or TS) based on a connection allocated by the connection broker.
http://www.wyse.com

Extended client support
The Quest vWorkspace client is available as a Java Client so in theory this could run on any Thin Client offering a Java Virtual Machine. We also offer a U3 Client meaning you can simply copy the files to an XPe based terminal, or a U3 enabled USB stick, and launch AppPortal without having to install it.

Some of the Quest vWorkspace clients do not offer the same functionality as the Windows 32-bit client, it is advised to contact Quest Software or the Thin Client vendor to ensure your functionality requirements are met.

Quest vWorkspace client Installation
If a Thin Client doesn’t offer the Quest vWorkspace client as standard it may be possible to install it yourself. This should be straight forward for Windows XPe as most vendors will supply information to customers explaining how to install applications locally. As for Windows CE or Linux you will need to contact the specific vendor as some vendors will supply a read only operating system that would prevent you being able to install applications locally.