| VMware Horizon Client for Linux 2306 | 06 JUL 2023 Check for additions and updates to these release notes. |
This page contains release-related information for Horizon Client for Linux 2306, which enables users to connect to and use remote desktops and published applications using a Linux device.
This page is revised periodically as needed with information about the release. Check back regularly for additions and updates to these release notes.
Horizon Client for Linux 2306 includes the following new features.
Debian installer package
Beginning with this release, you have the option to install Horizon Client using a .deb installer package.
Opening local files in published applications
Users can open local files in Windows-based published applications directly from the local file system. The Open local file in hosted applications option in the client Settings window allows users to toggle this feature on and off. The view.enableFileAssociation configuration property allows administrators to activate or deactivate this feature for users.
Support for AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) decoding
You can allow AV1 decoding when using the VMware Blast display protocol. To allow AV1 decoding, select File > Configure VMware Blast to access the Blast configuration settings.
High-definition color with High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)
A new option in the Blast configuration settings enables users to allow or disallow high-definition color when HEVC decoding is allowed in Horizon Client. High-definition color provides sharper displays of color text and graphics (using a YUV 4:4:4 color matrix instead of the more commonly used YUV 4:2:0). However, some GPUs exhibit poor encode/decode performance for HEVC with high-definition color enabled, causing the frame rate to drop noticeably. The new option enables users to disallow high-definition color if such a performance issue is seen.
Improved Blast connection failure diagnostic information
If Horizon Client is unable to connect to the remote desktop or published application via the Blast protocol, a detailed error message is displayed on the user interface. The client log files also include a tag called Blast_Connect_Failure_Alert on lines that contain specific error information about Blast connection failures.
Configuring client behavior when disconnecting from all sessions
With the new configuration file key view.allSessionsDisconnectedBehavior and its command-line counterpart --allSessionsDisconnectedBehavior, you can configure how the client behaves when all sessions are disconnected.
Configuring auto-connection for single-resource entitlements
With the new configuration file key view.singleAutoConnect and its command-line counterpart --singleAutoConnect, you can configure the client to connect automatically to a remote desktop or published application after the user authenticates to the server, if the user is entitled to only that one desktop or application.
Configuring limits on dump files
A new configuration file key view.GlobalMaxDumpCount enables you to to set the maximum number of core dump files allowed for Horizon Client processes.
Unlock a Desktop With True SSO and Workspace ONE
Horizon Client for Linux now supports the Unlock a Desktop With True SSO and Workspace ONE feature.
For information about new remote desktop features, see the VMware Horizon 8 2306 Release Notes.
Note: The supported systems listed below and in the Horizon Client for Linux Guide pertain to the Horizon Client for Linux that VMware makes available. In addition, several VMware partners offer thin and zero client devices for VMware Horizon deployments. The features that are available for each thin or zero client device, and the operating systems supported, are determined by the vendor and model, and the configuration that an enterprise chooses to use. For information about the vendors and models for these client devices, see the VMware Compatibility Guide.
Horizon Client for Linux has been tested and is supported on the following 64-bit operating systems if you use the installer provided by VMware:
Ubuntu x64 20.04 and 22.04
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.8 and 9.2
Horizon Client for Linux is supported on Raspberry Pi 4 Model B devices running Stratodesk NoTouch Operating System, with some limitations. The supported Horizon Client features include Blast Extreme, VMware Integrated Printing, USB redirection, Real-Time Audio-Video (RTAV), and H.264 decoding (for one monitor at resolution equal to or lower than 1920 x 1080).
Horizon Client for Linux is supported with the latest maintenance release of the following deployment types:
VMware Horizon 8 version 2006 and later
VMware Horizon 7 version 7.13 and later
VMware Horizon Cloud Service - next-gen
Horizon Cloud in Microsoft Azure
To install Horizon Client for Linux, download the installer from the VMware Horizon Client download page.
Horizon Client for Linux does not ship with the GTK+ library, but it does use the library installed on the host system. Make sure your system is up to date with a version of the library that includes fixes for publicly reported security vulnerabilities. A list of the publicly reported security vulnerabilities, and the versions affected, for GTK+ can be found at https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-666/GTK.html.
For information about the features that are supported in nested mode, see VMware Knowledge Base (KB) article 67248, "VMware Horizon Guidelines for Nested Mode."
For more system requirements and detailed installation instructions, see VMware Horizon Client for Linux Guide.
The following deployment instructions and information about library dependencies are provided for VMware distribution partners. These instructions describe how to deploy Horizon Client for Linux and individual Horizon Client components using tar.gz packages.
For instructions on how to install Horizon Client for Linux using the .bundle or .deb installer file, see Installing Horizon Client for Linux.
Download the VMware-Horizon-Client-Linux-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.tar.gz file from the VMware Downloads site and extract the contents of the downloaded tar.gz package to your system, where YYMM is the marketing version number, x.x.x is the internal version number, and yyyyyyyy is the build number.
Navigate to the folder for your CPU instruction set architecture. You will find additional tar.gz packages for individual Horizon Client components. For example, in the x64 folder you will find the following tar.gz packages for Horizon Client.
VMware-Horizon-Client-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gz
VMware-Horizon-PCoIP-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gz
VMware-Horizon-serialportClient-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gz
VMware-Horizon-USB-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gz
VMware-Horizon-scannerClient-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gz
VMware-Horizon-integratedPrinting-YYMM-x.x.x.yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gz
VMware-Horizon-html5mmr-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gz
VMware-Horizon-fileAssociation-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.x64.tar.gzUse the following deployment instructions for each of the tar.gz packages.
Horizon Client for Linux
The VMware-Horizon-Client-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz package contains the VMware Horizon Client binaries. Use the following instructions as a guide for configuring the VMware Horizon Client binary files.
The VMware-Horizon-PCoIP-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz package contains the mandatory binaries used by both display protocols, PCoIP and VMware Blast. Use the following instructions as a guide for configuring the Horizon Client display protocol files.
Extract the VMware-Horizon-Client-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz package.
Navigate to the extracted folder, VMware-Horizon-Client-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH. Move the contents of the usr folder to the /usr folder. Depending on your particular Linux environment, you can choose to use a folder different from /usr.
Note: You must have libudev.so.0 in order to run Horizon Client. If libudev.so.0 is not available on the system, create a symbolic link from /usr/lib/vmware/libudev.so.0 to the libudev.so.1 on the system. For example, you can use this command for an Ubuntu system: sudo ln -s /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libudev.so.1 /usr/lib/vmware/libudev.so.0
Extract the contents of the VMware-Horizon-PCoIP-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz package.
Navigate to the extracted folder, VMware-Horizon-PCoIP-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH, and copy the contents of the usr folder to the /usr folder. Depending on your particular Linux environment, you can choose to use a folder different from /usr.
Note: To keep the attributes intact, use the -a option of the cp command when copying the files from lib folder.
USB Redirection
The VMware-Horizon-USB-YYMM-xxx-yyyy.ARCH.tar.gz package contains the binaries used by the USB Redirection feature.
Extract the contents of the VMware-Horizon-USB-YYMM-xxx-yyyy.ARCH.tar.gz package.
Navigate to where the package was extracted and copy the extracted folders to the recommended system folders.
Copy the contents of the bin folder to the /usr/bin folder.
Copy the contents of the lib folder to the /usr/lib folder.
Copy the contents of the init.d folder to the /etc/init.d folder.
Configure the USB Redirection feature, using the following examples for an Ubuntu system as a guide.
Set up USB arbitrator daemon in the system's auto-startup script using one of the following methods, where # refers to 2, 3, 4, or 5, depending on your system's run level.
Create symbolic links using the following command:
sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/vmware-USBArbitrator /etc/rc#.d/S50vmware-USBArbitrator Add /etc/init.d/vmware-USBArbitrator start in your system's /etc/rc.local file. Make sure /etc/rc.local has the executable permission.
Automatically stop the USB arbitrator daemon before a system reboot or halt using the following command, where # refers to 0 or 6, depending on your system's run level.
sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/vmware-USBArbitrator /etc/rc#.d/K08vmware-USBArbitratorManually start, stop, or restart the USB arbitrator daemon when necessary using the following command:
sudo /etc/init.d/vmware-USBArbitrator [start|stop|restart]Serial Port Redirection
To install the Serial Port Redirection feature, see the README file included in the VMware-Horizon-serialportClient-YYMM-x.x.x.yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz file, which is available with the VMware-Horizon-Client-Linux-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.tar.gz file that you downloaded earlier from the VMware Downloads site.
Scanner Redirection
To install the Scanner Redirection feature, see the README file included in the VMware-Horizon-scannerClient-x.x.x.yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz file, which is available with the VMware-Horizon-Client-Linux-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.tar.gz file that you downloaded earlier from the VMware Downloads site.
VMware Integrated Printing
To install the VMware Integrated Printing feature, see the README file included in the VMware-Horizon-integratedPrinting-x.x.x.yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz file, which is available for download from the VMware Downloads site.
HTML5 Multimedia Redirection
To install the HTML5 Multimedia Redirection feature, see the README file included in the VMware-Horizon-html5mmr-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz file, which is available for download from the VMware Downloads site.
File Type Association
To install the File Type Association feature, see the README file included in the VMware-Horizon-fileAssociation-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.ARCH.tar.gz file, which is available with the VMware-Horizon-Client-Linux-YYMM-x.x.x-yyyyyyyy.tar.gz file that you downloaded earlier from the VMware Downloads site.
Building Dependencies
The following libraries are required for building and running Horizon Client for Linux.
gcc 6.4 or later
The following environment variables are required for building Horizon Client for Linux with the Seamless Window feature.
export VIEW_LIBCRTBORA=1After you install the Horizon Client components, locate the /bin directory in the Horizon Client package that you extracted earlier. From that bin directory, run the vmware-view-lib-san script, which checks the build dependencies.
Microsoft Teams Optimization and HID Features
To configure the Teams Optimization and HID-compliant features on a thin client, perform the following steps using an administrator account.
On the thin client, modify the /etc/hosts file by adding the following entry:
127.0.0.1 view-localhostSet the correct access mode on libwebrtc_sharedlib.so as follows:
chmod +755 /usr/lib/vmware/view/vdpService/webrtcRedir/libwebrtc_sharedlib.soTo configure the HID-compliant features, create a file named vmware_hid.rules and add the following entries to it:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", MODE="0666"
KERNEL=="hidraw*", MODE="0666"Copy the vmware_hid.rules file to /etc/udev/rules.d.
Reload the udev rules as follows:
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm triggerThere are no major issue resolutions to report in this release.
The following sections describe known issues related to the operation and performance of Horizon Client for Linux.
For known issues specific to the use of Horizon Client in a VMware Horizon Cloud Service - next-gen environment, see the VMware Horizon Cloud Service - next-gen Release Notes.
System Tray redirection functionality is not supported.
System Tray redirection functionality is not supported, so you cannot exit a remote application session using the system tray.
Workaround: Use the remote application's UI to end the application session. For example, to exit a Skype session, select the Settings icon and then select File > Exit.
You cannot start an application from the Application Launcher because the launcher is unsupported.
Workaround: Start the remote application via the Linux client's UI.
System hangs may occur when using remote applications from a client system running Stratodesk.
Workaround: Reduce the GPU memory to 128 MB. For example, in Stratodesk running on a Raspberry Pi, go to Configuration > Services > Raspberry Pi and change GPU memory (MB) to 128.
On some HP thin clients that have the HP ThinPro 5.2.0 (T6X52011) operating system, Horizon Client for Linux might display a black screen or crash when user is playing some video on a remote desktop and pressing the fast-rewind button on Windows Media Player.
Workaround: Upgrade the OS to HP ThinPro 6.1.0 (T7X61007) or the latest version.
The Horizon Client for Linux authentication domain list, desktop/application protocol list, and display list appear black on some Linux operating systems.
Because Horizon Client for Linux uses the Linux operating system's GNOME theme, these lists appear black, making them difficult to read.
Workaround: Change the GNOME theme used by the Linux operating system. For example, on an Ubuntu system, install gnome-tweak-tool if it is not yet installed, run gnome-tweak-tool, and change the GTK+ theme from Ambiance to Radiance.
When client users connect to a published application using a multiple-monitor configuration, they may encounter unexpected behavior in the display if they disconnect or reconnect monitors in their configuration.
Workaround: Disconnect from the published application and reconnect again.
Horizon Client does not support the Dark Appearance setting in Linux distributions.
Workaround: None
Power-save settings fail to take effect with mouse focus in desktop window.
If the user's mouse pointer is positioned in a remote desktop window, power-save and screen-saver settings fail to take effect on the client system when the configured timeout is reached.
Workaround: Move the focus away from the desktop window by positioning the mouse pointer outside the desktop window.
When you open a local URL in Microsoft Edge on the remote desktop, multimedia content is not redirected to the client system as expected.
By default, HTML5 MMR in an Edge browser only works for content situated on a non-local URL. To redirect content from a local URL, you must configure a certain setting for Microsoft Edge.
Workaround: On the remote desktop, open a Command Prompt window and run the following command:
CheckNetIsolation LoopbackExempt -a -n=Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbweMouse does not work inside the Blast session when the keyboard layout is switched to Secondary Keyboard Layout
Workaround: Manually add the following configuration option in the /etc/vmware/config file:
RemoteDisplay.allowVMPointerEvent2 = FALSEKeyboard and mouse do not work when connecting to a remote application from a Raspberry Pi running ThinLinX or Stratodesk.
There is a system conflict when using H.264 decoding with ThinLinX or Stratodesk Raspberry Pi for remote application sessions.
Workaround: Turn off H.264 decoding in the VMware Blast settings.
Windows shortcuts don't work with seamless window applications.
If there are identical shortcuts with differing functions on the client Linux operating system and a remote Windows operating system, the shortcut for the Windows operating system will not work when a seamless window application is active. Only the shortcut for the Linux operating system takes effect. For example, by default, pressing Alt opens a Search dialog window on an Ubuntu operating system and it shows the application's menu on a Windows operating system. When a seamless window application is active, pressing Alt displays the Ubuntu operating system's Search menu, but does not show the application's menu.
Workaround: Change the shortcut in the host Linux operating system or in the remote Windows operating system so that the shortcuts in the two operating systems do not conflict.
Videos do not play smoothly in remote desktops and sound disappears when MMR is enabled and the network delay is more than 75 ms.
Workaround: Disable MMR when the network delay is more than 75 ms.
If multiple Horizon clients connect to the same published desktop or published application simultaneously and map to a location-based printer with the same name, the printer appears in the first client session, but not in later client sessions.
Workaround: For the client sessions in which the printer does not appear, perform a manual refresh. For a remote desktop, press F5 or refresh the Devices and Printers window. For a remote application, close and reopen the application print dialog box. The location-based printer appears in the printer list.
If you connect to a remote desktop with FreeRDP and configure the desktop to connect to a separate disk, if the disk name includes non-ASCII characters, the disk name cannot be displayed correctly in the remote desktop.
For example, if you use non-ASCII characters in the disk name and then launch Horizon Client with command line option --rdpclient=xfreerdp and --xfreerdpOptions="/drive:, /home/user" the disk name does not appear correctly in the remote desktop.
Workaround: None
If you use a FreeRDP connection and specify a monitor configuration that conflicts with the configuration the end user chooses, Horizon Client performance becomes poor and the client might stop responding altogether.
For example, the following command for launching Horizon Client would cause problems if the user selected Full Screen - This Monitor:
vmware-view --enableNla --rdpclient=xfreerdp --xfreerdpOptions="/sec:nla /cert-ignore /p:password/u:crt\administrator /multimon"Workaround: As a best practice, avoid specifying FreeRDP options for the display, such as /multimon or /workarea. Instead, let Horizon Client control the topology.
Neither FreeRDP (xfreerdp) nor Remote Desktop (rdesktop) work on a client system running RedHat Enterprise Linux Workstation due to an Xorg error.
Workaround: Use the Blast protocol instead.
Users cannot use rdesktop 1.8.x to connect to Horizon 7 Windows desktops.
This issue exists because Horizon 7 does not support TLSv1.0 by default and rdesktop 1.8.x supports only TLSv1.0.
Workaround: Enable TLSv1.0 on the desktop by setting the following registry key:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS1.0\Server]"Enabled"=dword:00000001Be aware that TLSv1.0 is considered insufficiently secure.
When using the rdesktop RDP client on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux machine to connect to a remote desktop, you cannot establish a TLS connection.
Workaround: None
When a Raspberry Pi 4 client user tries to play RTAV video at custom high resolutions (such as 1280 x 800) not supported by the connected USB webcam, the video fails to display in the remote desktop.
Workaround: Use a standard resolution that is supported by the connected USB webcam.
When a Raspberry Pi 4 client user plays RTAV video at high resolution, the frame rate (FPS) of the video is low due to the limited CPU and memory of the client device.
Workaround: None
Issues when client system runs pcsc-lite version 1.5.
Smart card removal policy may not work, logging off, shutting down or resetting a Windows remote desktop may result in a black screen, or the Horizon Client menu may become blank for about 10 seconds when a user has smart card sessions to multiple desktops and the user disconnects from one desktop.
Workaround: Upgrade to pcsc-lite 1.7.4 or later.
When a remote desktop is reconnected, Powermic Speechmic does not work with DMO 2022.2.
When a remote desktop is reconnected after being disconnected, Powermic device does not work with dictation on DMO 2022.2. This happens when using a USB split and RTAV solution.
Workaround: Use DMO 2021.4 instead.
If you use a PulseAudio sound system, you might hear static when setting the volume using guest system volume slider.
Workaround: Use the Linux client system's volume slider or use ALSA audio by adding sound.backendType = alsa to either the ~/.vmware/config or the /etc/vmware/config configuration file.
Horizon Client crashes upon connecting to a remote desktop.
This known issue occurs under the following conditions:
Horizon Client is running on an Ubuntu 20.04 system with Intel Ice Lake or later hardware, and
Session protocol is VMware Blast with HEVC 4:4:4 encoding
The Intel media driver that ships by default with Ubuntu 20.04 contains a bug that causes Horizon Client to crash. Later versions of the driver contain a fix for this bug.
Workaround: Update the Intel media driver by installing the latest version of intel-media-va-driver-non-free.
Horizon Client for Linux documentation is in the VMware Horizon Documentation Center.
The user interface and documentation for Horizon Client are available in English, Japanese, French, German, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Spanish.
Note: To have the client user interface use Simplified Chinese characters, set the client system to use the zh_CN locale. If you set the client system to use the zh_SG locale, the user interface is displayed in English characters.
To receive support, access VMware Customer Connect. To learn more about the support policies, see Support Policies.
For information on filing a support request in Customer Connect and via Cloud Services Portal, see the VMware knowledge base article at https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2006985.
