| VMware App Volumes 4, version 2006 | 09 July 2020 | Build 4.1.0.57 Check for additions and updates to these release notes. |
What is in the Release Notes
The release notes cover the following topics:
The VMware App Volumes 4, version 2006 includes new features, bug fixes, and known issues.
What's New
Streamlined assignment flow
As new assignments are created a confirmation dialog box is presented to the admin with an overview of what changes will be made. If the new assignments replace existing assignments, these assignments are updated without the necessity to remove the previous assignments beforehand.
Assignment filters: Limit delivery to specific computers
Back by popular demand and enhanced for App Volumes 4! Application owners can now limit the delivery of application packages to specific computers based on the computer’s name prefix.
Multi-format delivery with MSIX app attach (preview)
App Volumes Manager now enables packagers to use all the same lifecycle and assignment marker features of App Volumes Manager with different package formats side-by-side. The App Volumes agent can now leverage Microsoft’s native app attach functions alongside its own App Volumes virtualization format, giving packagers and application owners more packaging options and wider format support. MSIX app attach VHDs must be treated with the App Volumes Packaging Utility fling which supplements the VHD with metadata required by App Volumes Manager before import.
Note: Microsoft's MSIX app attach package format is in public preview and available for evaluation only on Microsoft Windows 2004. For more information, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/app-attach.
LDAP support for channel binding
In response to the March 2020 ADV190023 | Microsoft Guidance for Enabling LDAP Channel Binding and LDAP Signing, App Volumes Manager and agent have been upgraded to use channel binding. Configure App Volumes Manager to use LDAPS or LDAP over TLS to support the new Active Directory security modes. For more information, see KB article 77093.
YYMM product version alignment
Starting with this release, App Volumes 4 is now versioned using the YYMM format (version 2006) to align with Horizon, Microsoft Windows, and current industry practices. The previous x.y.z (4.1.0) semantic versioning scheme remains available for each of the components including the App Volumes Manager and agent.
Performance improvements
Building on the technology introduced in App Volumes 4, this release brings performance improvements to speed up user logins.
Rolling upgrade
To help achieve zero-downtime, rolling upgrade of App Volumes Manager (AVM) has returned. Starting with the first release of App Volumes 4, administrators can update one App Volumes Manager server at a time while the others are running. See the App Volumes Installation Guide for more details.
System requirements (added support)
- Microsoft Office 2019
- Microsoft SQL Server 2019
- Microsoft Windows 10, version 2004
Documentation updates
- Added information about policy (snapvol.cfg) customization and batch script files to the Administration Guide.
- The App Volumes agent parameter, VolWaitTimeout, type REG_DWORD, used for configuring the volume behavior is not supported and must not be used.
Internationalization
App Volumes documentation is available in English.
Resolved Issues
App Volumes Manager Setup Wizard ends prematurely because of an error due to a missing snapvols folder when upgrading to App Volumes 4, version 2006 . [2604596]
NOTE: Ensure you are using the updated VMware_App_Volumes_v4.1.0.59_13082020.ISO.
A Javascript error occurs and Microsoft Teams fails to start when this application is installed in the base image of a Windows Server 2019 machine and an AppStack is assigned to the machine. [2558489]
Snapvol.cfg now supports exclude_uwv_file rules with %USERPROFILE% environment variable. Files or folders in the specified rule are still written to the Writable Volume but are deleted when the user logs off. [2461822]
SSH Tectia Client intermittently shows a "Failed to initialize..." error when launched. This issue depends on the operating system environment and system performance. [2473227]
Failed to find volume and Volume does not exist in datastore errors are displayed in the System Messages tab of the App Volumes Manager after a Writable Volume on a shared datastore with multiple locations is successfully deleted from within the App Volumes Manager console. [2495558]
Renaming existing keys with regedit.exe is successful, but on a subsequent attempt to create a key using an old name of a renamed, existing key fails with the following error: Error creating key. [2551308]
When registries created during an application capture fail to verify their KeyNameInformation, then the installed application fails to run. [2541890]
A package containing IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 or IBM SPSS Smartreader fails when either application is run on the agent machine and a File not found error is observed. This error occurs because App Volumes agent erroneously handles Short File Names (SFN, also known as 8dot3names). [2579058]
AppStacks and Writable Volumes are not attached and a Lock request time out period exceeded ODBC error is logged when many users log in or computers boot over a short time. This NTLM authentication failure happens when an App Volumes Manager attempts to update the ‘domain_controllers’ table in the SQL server database in rapid succession. [2506609]
When importing volumes for a storage group, the Import Storage Group job runs without errors. However, AppStacks are not imported to all storage members of the storage group. [2570456]
If the connection between App Volumes Manager and vSphere fails during a rescan, previously configured storage locations are unconfigured and is displayed as Not Configured in the App Volumes Manager UI. Due to this, administrators cannot perform volume attachment and detachment operations until the storage locations are configured. [2533644]
When using VHD In-guest operation mode with Horizon instant-clone desktop pools, App Volumes Manager perceives agent desktops as offline and results in volume attachment failures. [2572908]
In the VHD In-guest operation mode, even with the Distribution Strategy set to Spread in App Volumes Manager, the creation of Writable Volumes is limited to only one file share of the storage group. [2571727]
In the App Volumes Manager administration console, on the DIRECTORY > Users page, the data table by default is sorted as per the “Last Login” column. After using any other column for sorting, the “Last Login” column can no longer be used for sorting purposes. [2506545]
App Volumes Manager used to start when database migrations are pending. This might lead to errors related to missing columns or model properties. This issue has been fixed now and App Volumes manager fails to start when database migrations are pending with an appropriate error message. [2538447]
When volume import runs (automatic or manual) while packaging an application, the package is marked erroneously as being captured on an OS version different from the actual OS version. Due to this mismatch, the following error is seen: Primordial OS is immutable and cannot be changed and the package is not delivered to the end user. [2543155]
For published applications, Horizon Console fails to discover applications delivered by App Volumes packages. [2508301]
After replicating and importing application packages between storage groups (configured with two or more file shares) in a VHD environment, even after deleting a package from App Volumes Manager, the package does not get deleted from all the file shares of the storage groups. The deleted package continues to exist in some file shares and later can get replicated again. [2586918]
After an upgrade to App Volumes 4, update 1 from App Volumes 4, applications have missing icons in the Applications, Packages, and Programs tab of the App Volumes Manager UI. [2591255]
Note: To restore the missing snapvols folder and icon images, navigate to the Applications tab in the App Volumes Manager console and click Rescan.
Known Issues
During storage group replication, if previously not imported to the database, AppStacks do not get imported to the storage group members and the database. However, the Import Storage Groups job completes without errors. [2582507]
When many users are logging into their desktops simultaneously, Writable Volumes may not get created for a few users and they might not be able to log in to a desktop. This issue does not occur if the users already have an existing Writable Volume. [2115623]
Workaround: The users must log in again or have an administrator pre-create the Writable Volume for the user.
A Writable Volume move or copy operation might fail when bulk operations are performed on many volumes. [2115593]
Workaround: Retry the move or copy operation.
If you belong to one of the App Volumes Manager roles and delete the role assigned to the group to which you belong, you cannot log into App Volumes Manager again. [2444567]
When importing application packages, a new parent application is created for each imported package. If a package has been transferred from one App Volumes system and imported into another, some metadata that is associated with its application might not be transferred with the package. [2582380]
Workaround: Reorganize the packages back to the correct Applications by using the Move functionality in the Inventory -> Packages tab of the App Volumes Manager UI and fix any missing metadata.
