Upgrade VMware View 3.0 to 3.1
This morning I told you that VMware had released VMware View 3.1 and that I would upgrade our 3.0.1 installations to 3.1 as soon as possible and let you know how the improvements work out for us. Well, it is time.
After reading the release notes I couldn’t resist and decided to upgrade the View 3.0.1 installation at our own Service Center to version 3.1. Luckily this VDI environment is not in production yet because we are experiencing some problems with Vista customization and performance.
I downloaded all new View software (build 167577) and installed the new View agent software in all templates, installed the new View client on my laptop and installed the new View Connection server on the View virtual machine. The upgrades were very simple and straightforward. So let the fun begin……
The first thing I noticed was that the View Administrator Login interface has changed. After log in I discovered a new two column layout which makes it a lot easier to work with.
The next thing which you will experience right away is that the View Administrator console is quick and responsive and not so sluggish anymore. This is a great improvement.
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Another improvement is that all configuration items which, in version 3.0, were stacked on one page have now been divided in sub menus which make it a lot clearer.
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When I looked at the desktop pools I also found the new two column layout and I quickly noticed four new settings regarding display protocol selection and Adobe Flash quality and throttling.
Especially the two column layout in the desktop pool settings is a great improvement. Instead of clicking though the complete wizard to change one setting, you can now select the setting you want to change, change it and you’re done.
These are all View Administrator console improvements which are very nice and it helps to improve the admin experience but how does this improve the VMware View user experience?
To check this I quickly opened the VMware View client and logged in to the View Connection server, selected a desktop and logged in to the virtual desktop. The responsiveness of this process from starting the View client until logging in to the virtual desktop is much better. When the Windows XP desktop is presented to me I quickly opened the websites and the application which were a problem in the older version and much to my relief they worked flawlessly! The websites contain Flash components which displayed very jerky in version 3.0.1 and now with 3.1 the Flash quality and throttling do an amazing job.
Tomorrow a colleague will test the performance of the Vista virtual desktop but from what I have seen today I’m confident this won’t be a problem.
So are you (Anne Jan ;-)) wondering if you should upgrade your View 3.0 environment to the new VMware View 3.1? Based on my experiences today I would definitely advice you to do so.
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So what is the full procedure for upgrading a production view environment? This would include composer and existing desktop images? Do you install the view connection server, then composer and then upgrade the view agent in the base image? Will this kill all of the images I have out for end users? What happens with this upgrade?
I would idd first upgrade the View Connection Server, then View Composer, install the new View Agent in the template and at last upgrade all View clients to the latest version. When all is done, redeploy all desktops or recompose (i think that how it was called)
So what is the full procedure for upgrading a production view environment? This would include composer and existing desktop images? Do you install the view connection server, then composer and then upgrade the view agent in the base image? Will this kill all of the images I have out for end users? What happens with this upgrade?
I would idd first upgrade the View Connection Server, then View Composer, install the new View Agent in the template and at last upgrade all View clients to the latest version. When all is done, redeploy all desktops or recompose (i think that how it was called)