Announcing the New Release of VMware Horizon 7.12, VMware Horizon Client 5.4 (CART 5.4), and VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 9.11

VMware Horizon 7 version 7.12 is now released, along with VMware Horizon Client 5.4. This release includes many new features and enhancements to Horizon Connection Server and Horizon Agent. Feature parity continues to be developed, and will eventually replace Horizon Administrator.

What’s New for VMware Horizon 7.12

The latest release includes new features and improvements, platform updates, published applciations, the Horizon Console, Horizon GPO Bundle, and CART 5.4, as well as Dynamic Environment Manager 9.11. To hear all about it, watch this video:

Platform Updates

This release gives you lots of new features and enhancements, particularly to the platform.

• Multi-User Assignment / Dedicated Assignments. You can now assign multiple users to a single full clone desktop within a given desktop pool. This is especially useful for use cases such as shift workers, developer testing, and support staff. This applies to automated pools containing full VMs, manual desktop pools, and instant-clone desktop pools.
• Display Machine Name in Client. When users log in to Horizon Client, they now see the host name of the assigned machine, instead of the pool name. This is applicable across all desktop pool types and global entitlements. This is useful for use cases such as shift workers, support staff, and developer testing use cases.
• REST APIs. New and updated REST APIs provide better automation options, as well as 50 new endpoints, including Image Management Service, Universal Broker, Configuration, and Inventory.
   
• Prewarm Sessions. The new Prewarm session time limit now allows you to enjoy a faster initial
  login. The first login of the day typically takes longer than subsequent logins, as you wait for initial connections, authentication, and desktop provisioning. Reconnecting to a desktop is always faster than a fresh connection. With this latest release, the initial login is treated like a reconnection. Faster logins make everybody happy, but especially for users whose initial login might be as time critical as any subsequent logins, such as health care workers. The speed is accomplished through APIs, and includes a Prewarm Time Limit which is 30 minutes by default.
• Core Platform Updates. With this latest update, MAC addresses are preserved when instant clone desktop pools or RDSH farms are resynced or refreshed. Support for single host SDDC on VMware Cloud on AWS is also provided, as well as vmCrypt and instant-clone support with vSphere 7.0. This is especially useful in use cases where multiple individuals are sharing desktops, such as shift workers, developers, support staff, and so on.

Published Applications

This release provides new features and enhancements that make publishing applications run smoother.

• VM Hosted Applications. This new option provides you with the ability to pre-launch application sessions in a desktop or RDSH pool, before the user opens an application in Horizon Client. This makes the application launch faster. There’s a configurable time limit via GPO.

Horizon Console

This release provides new updates to the Horizon Console that make it easier to use.

• User Count for Applications. Your life as an administrator is made easier with the ability to track the usage of your published applications in real-time, including the total number of entitled users that are using a published application at any given time. This capability is supported for both RDSH and VM hosted applications.
• Gateway vs Non-Gateway Sessions. You can now view the number of gateway and non-gateway protocol sessions connected from each Connection Server.
• Summary Detail. Dashboard. The dashboard displays summary detail statistics, in parity with the FLEX console.
• Force 2-Factor Re-Authentication. After session timeout. This new option/enhancement ensures that if two-factor authentication is used, it is always used. In General Settings, you can configure two-factor authentication to occur after a user’s session times out.
• Cloud Pod Aggregated Statistics. A new section now shows the number of hosted sessions and brokered sessions for all PODs joined. The Horizon Console dashboard currently shows only the hosted sessions of the current POD. If the POD is in a CPA, there is no single view that shows all hosted and brokered sessions of all PODs.
• Multi-Tab Support. With this new release, you can now click any link in your Horizon Console to open it in another web browser tab. This makes operation maintenance easier because you can multi-task with several objects open.
• Help Desk Tool. Search for Process or Application. You can use the Horizon Help Desk Tool to search for session processes or applications by name. Just enter the session process or application name in the search filter field.

Horizon GPO Bundle

The Horizon GPO Bundle now includes a variety of new settings that make things easier. Besides the prewarm session time limit mentioned earlier, the following new settings are also now available:

• Use existing client instance when connect to same server​
• HEVC High Color Accuracy​
• UDP Protocol setting takes effect at session login-logoff, when previously a reboot was required.​
• Disable printer redirection for non-desktop client
• Printer Name for RDSH Agents
• URL Redirection "allow list" configuration

What’s New for VMware Client 5.4 (CART 5.4)

VMware Horizon CART 5.4 includes new features and improvements.

Horizon Clients

All Horizon Clients now include support for the Horizon Universal Broker, the preferred brokering method for multi-cloud assignments in new deployments, as well as many other updates and improvements.

• Horizon Client Updates. Version 5.4 of Horizon Client includes many new improvements including support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure, support for Horizon Universal Broker, and more.
  • Windows Client​
    • Windows 10 1909 and server 2019 nested VM​
    • Improve client experience for many entitlements​
    • Ensure 2FA takes place after idle timeout​
    • Support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure​
  • iOS Client​
    • Derived Credentials ActivClient support​
    • Support for Horizon Universal Broker​
    • Ensure 2FA takes place after idle timeout​
    • Support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure
  • Mac Client​
    • Support for Horizon Universal Broker​
    • Ensure 2FA takes place after idle timeout​
    • Support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure​
  • Linux Client​
    • Support for Red Hat 8.1​
    • Support for Horizon Universal Broker​
    • Client setting to pass the ESC key for Windows VDI​
    • Ensure 2FA takes place after idle timeout​
    • Reset or restart VDI from client​
    • Support for URL redirection​
    • Numlock sync​
    • Support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure
       
• Horizon Mobile Client Updates. VMware Horizon Client 5.4 includes many updates and improvements to the mobile scene, including support for the Horizon Universal Broker, the preferred brokering method for multi-cloud assignments in new deployments, WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure, and more.
  • Chrome Native
    • Derived Credentials ActivClient support​
    • Support for Horizon Universal Broker​
    • Support for VMware Integrated Printing​
    • Ensure 2FA takes place after idle timeout​
    • Support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure​
  • Arc++ Chrome Client​
    • Derived Credentials ActivClient support​
  • Windows 10 UWP Client​
    • Support for Horizon Universal Broker
  • Android Client​
    • Support for Horizon Universal Broker​
    • More settings for Google Admin console​
    • Ensure 2FA takes place after idle timeout​
    • Support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure​
    • USB redirection support​
  • HTML5 Client​
    • Support for Horizon Universal Broker​
    • Ensure 2FA takes place after idle timeout​
    • Support for WVD on Horizon Cloud on Azure​
    • HTML Access native client launch - Ping/Okta​
    • UAG 3.8+​
    • Support for VMware Integrated Printing

Horizon Agents

New features and enhancements in this release of Horizon Agents include the following:

• Horizon Agent Updates. In general, this release includes new settings for Blast Extreme HEVC High Color Accuracy, as well as Blast CPU optimizations and scale enhancements.
  • Windows Updates. Now supports physical PCs with Windows 1903 and above, in addition to:
    • Static printer names in RDSH​
    • Resolve high GPU utilization in PCoIP​
    • URL content redirection with "allow list" URL support​​, set via GPO
  • Linux Updates. Now supports the RHEL 8.1 and CentOS 8.1 operating systems for Linux remove desktops.

What’s New for Dynamic Environment Manager 9.11

VMware Dynamic Environment Manager provides you with granular control over end-user experience using Horizon Smart Policies. Dynamic Environment Manager 9.10 introduced computer-based Horizon Smart Policy settings. See the Enhanced Smart Policies feature walkthrough for more information about configuring and using computer-based Horizon Smart Policies. Dynamic Environment Manager 9.11 now adds several new user-based and computer-based Horizon Smart Policy settings.

Horizon Smart Policy settings

Policy enforcement

In addition to new policy settings, you now have more control over computer-based policy enforcement. Computer-based policies are applied at system startup. Using the RefreshInterval value, you can control how frequently the settings are refreshed, up to the point that a user logs on. With the new (optional) ContinueRefreshAfterLogon value, computer-based settings will continue to be refreshed, even after a user logs on to a system.

Find Items option

A new Find Items dialog box is available throughout the DEM management console. Whether you are searching for a configuration template from the Marketplace, a Horizon Smart Policy you created, or a particular condition set, the new Find Items dialog can help you quickly locate what you’re looking for.