What's in the Release Notes

The release notes cover the following topics:

What's New

This release of VMware Remote Console includes the following changes.

You can install this release on the following host operating systems.

VMware Remote Console generally runs on the same Linux offerings as VMware Workstation versions that are released around the same time.
For more information, see the VMware Compatibility Guide.

See the following guides for information about installing and using VMware Remote Console.

The resolved issues are grouped as follows.

General Issues

This release fixes the following general issues.

NIC disconnected from vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) portgroup.
VMware Remote Console stopped working and posted the following error after removing a datastore and rescanning storage.
Exception 0xc00000005 (access violation) has occurred
In some cases, VMware Remote Console stopped working when connected through vCenter, and certain management actions were performed via vCenter such as changing DRS settings.

Windows

This release fixes the following Windows issues.

VMware Remote Console for Windows stopped working while powering on a virtual machine that was migrated with vMotion.

Linux

This release fixes the following Linux issues.

VMware Remote Console on Debian 8.7.1 did not open remote virtual machines.
Updates did not download or install when you clicked a vmrc:// link to launch VMware Remote Console from the browser.
VMware Remote Console on Ubuntu 17.04 did not display certificates for viewing.

The known issues are grouped as follows.

General Issues

The following general issues are known to affect this release.

Cannot connect to virtual machines hosted on ESXi 5.1
ESXi 5.1 does not support TLS versions greater than 1.0. The following error occurs.
Unable to connect to the MKS: Could not connect to pipe \\. \pipe\vmware-authdpipe within retry period.

Workaround: Configure VMware Remote Console to use TLS 1.0.
1. Open the VMware Remote Console configuration file in a text editor.
  Windows
     C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Remote Console\config.ini
  Linux
     /etc/vmware/config
  Mac
     /Library/Preferences/VMware Remote Console/config
2. Add or edit the TLS protocols entry. Include TLS 1.0.
  tls.protocols=tls1.0,tls1.1,tls1.2
3. Save and close the configuration file.
VMware Remote Console URL message
Starting VMware Remote Console from a Windows or Linux terminal session causes the following message to appear:
  This application must be launched from a vmrc URL
The message appears when you omit the URL in the command. By design, you start VMware Remote Console from a client such as vSphere or vRealize Automation, or with a vmrc:// URL.
For help with the VMware Remote Console command line, enter:
  Windows
    vmrc.exe -?
  Linux
    vmrc --help
  Mac
    not available

Windows

The following Windows issues are known to affect this release.

Keyboard hook timeout message
When connecting to a virtual machine, VMware Remote Console might display the following message:
The keyboard hook timeout value is not set to the value recommended by VMware Remote Console
By design, you click OK to update the timeout value, then log out of Windows to ensure that the update takes effect.
HCmon driver error
Installing VMware Remote Console on a system where other VMware applications have been installed might result in the following error:
Failed to install the HCmon driver

Workaround: Go to Task Manager, Services tab, and stop the VMUSBArbService. Then, proceed with installation.
Alternatively, launch the .exe installer from a command prompt window that you opened with Administrator privileges.

Mac

The following Mac issues are known to affect this release.

VMware Remote Console does not launch on macOS 10.13
The Mac displays a System Extension Blocked message when you attempt to launch VMware Remote Console on macOS 10.13.
Workaround: As a user with administrator privileges, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy. Under the General tab, near the bottom, you see a message about VMware software being blocked. Click Allow. For more information, see Knowledge Base Article 2151770.
Device options
There are device-related options that are not available when running VMware Remote Console on a Mac. For example, you cannot add new devices, or display sound card settings. Unavailable Mac options are noted where applicable in the documentation.

Linux

The following Linux issues are known to affect this release.

Wayland protocol is not supported
VMware Remote Console requires Xorg and does not install or run under Wayland sessions. Installation errors occur on newer operating systems that use Wayland, such as Fedora 25.

Workaround: None
Help link does not resolve
You click the Help option from within VMware Remote Console and receive a file not found error.

Workaround: Open a browser directly to https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Remote-Console/index.html
Virtual machines automatically power on
VMware Remote Console automatically powers on virtual machines when connecting to virtual machines that are powered off.

Workaround: None
VMware Remote Console automatically closes
VMware Remote Console automatically closes when the remote virtual machine shuts down.

Workaround: None
VMware Workstation or VMware Workstation Player
VMware Remote Console cannot simultaneously be installed on the same machine as VMware Workstation or VMware Workstation Player.

Workaround: None