It’s finally here! VMware has released the alpha (test) of the vSphere Mobile Client for Android Devices. This will allow you to manage your vSphere instance via your Android mobile device.
Some of you may remember the vSphere Mobile Watchlist app for android. It was great because it allowed you to manage your vSphere environment (and I still use it), but one day it was abruptly removed from the Google Play store and no longer available. However, those that had it installed could keep using it.
This new version of the vSphere Mobile Client is only available for Android as of the time of this post.
While there is a tarball download, you’ll actually want to forget that and follow the instructions for a proper install. The tarball is only needed if you want to deploy the notification service.
Then simply follow the instruction after the opt-in and download it for your device.
Using the vSphere Mobile Client for Android
The app is a slick but simple one. Since it’s alpha, functionality is limited, but gives you the ability shutdown, restart, view performance and do a couple other things.
Bugs and Annoyances
Shortly after using the app, I noticed that I couldn’t log in subsequent tries due to an “incorrect user name or password”. I know I was typing it right, so I’m assuming this is a bug. To resolve this, you have to delete the app cache, then you will be able to log in properly.
Unfortunately the app also doesn’t allow you to save your password, like the previous watchlist app.
Screenshots
See below for some screenshots:
Conclusion
All in all, it’s pretty exciting that VMware is finally working on an official mobile app. I still use watchlist almost daily, so I see tremendous value in this!
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of the new app!
Since I’ve installed and configured my Nvidia GRID K1, I’ve been wanting to do a graphics quality demo video. I finally had some time to put a demo together.
I wanted to highlight what type of graphics can be achieved in a VDI environment. Even using an old Nvidia GRID K1 card, we can still achieve amazing graphical performance in a virtual desktop environment.
This demo outlines 3D accelerated graphics provided by vGPU.
Demo Video
Please see below for the video:
Information
Demo Specifications
VMware Horizon View 7.8
NVidia GRID K1
GRID vGPU Profile: GRID K180q
HPE ML310e Gen8 V2
ESXi 6.5 U2
Virtual Desktop: Windows 10 Enterprise
Game: Steam – Counter-Strike Global Offensive (CS:GO)
Please Note
Resolution of the Virtual Desktop is set to 1024×768
Blast Extreme is the protocol used
Graphics on game are set to max
Motion is smooth in person, screen recorder caused some jitter
This video was then edited on that VM using CyberLink PowerDirector
We’ve all been in the situation where we need to install a driver, vib file, or check “esxtop”. Many advanced administration tasks on ESXi need to be performed via shell access, and to do this you either need a console on the physical ESXi host, an SSH session, or use the Remote vCLI.
In this blog post, I’m going to be providing a quick “How to” enable SSH on an ESXi host in your VMware Infrastructure using the vCenter flash-based web administration interface. This will allow you to perform the tasks above, as well as use the “esxcli” command which is frequently needed.
This method should work on all vCenter versions up to 6.7, and ESXi versions up to 6.7.
How to Enable SSH on an ESXi Host Server
Log on to your vCenter server.
On the left hand “Navigator” pane, select the ESXi host.
On the right hand pane, select the “Configure” tab, then “Security Profile” under “System.
Scroll down and look for “Services” further to the right and select “Edit”.
In the “Edit Security Profile” window, select and highlight “SSH” and then click “Start”.
Click “Ok”.
This method can also be used to stop, restart, and change the startup policy to enable or disable SSH starting on boot.
Congratulations, you can now SSH in to your ESXi host!
You have VMware Horizon View deployed along with Duo Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA, MFA), and you’re you having user experience issues with 10ZiG Zero Clients and multiple login dialog boxes and planning on how to deal with the MFA logins.
I spent some time experimenting with numerous different settings trying to find the cleanest workaround that wouldn’t bother the user or mess up the user experience. I’m going to share with you what I came up with below.
If you’re interesting in 10ZiG products and looking to buy, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for information and/or a quote! We can configure and sell 10ZiG Zero Clients (and thin clients), help with solution design and deployment, and provide consulting services! We sell and ship to Canada and the USA!
The Issue
When you have DUO MFA deployed on VMware Horizon, you may experience login issues when using a 10ZiG Zero Client to access the View Connection Server. This is because the authentication string (username, password, and domain) aren’t passed along correctly from the 10ZiG Login Dialog Box to the VMware Horizon View Client application.
Additionally, when DUO is enabled on VMware View (as a RADIUS authentication), there is no domain passed along inside of the DUO login prompt on the view client.
This issue is due to limitations in the VMware Horizon View Linux Client. This issue will and can occur on any system, thin-client, or Zero Client that uses a command string to initialize a VMware View session where DUO is configured on the View Connection Server.
Kevin Greenway, the CTO at 10ZiG, reached out to say that they have previously brought this up with VMware as a feature request (to support the required functionality), and are hopeful it gets committed.
At this point in time, we’d like to recommend everyone to reach out to VMware and ask for this functionality as a feature request. Numerous simultaneous requests will help gain attention and hopefully escalate it on VMware’s priority list.
The Workaround
After troubleshooting this, and realizing that the 10ZiG VMware login details are completely ignored and not passed along to the VMware View client, I started playing with different settings to test the best way to provide the best user experience for logging in.
At first I attempted to use the Kiosk mode, but had issues with some settings not being passed from the 10ZiG Client to the View Client.
Ultimately I found the perfect tweaking of settings that created a seamless login experience for users.
The Settings
On the 10ZiG Zero Client, we view the “Login” details of the “VMware Horizon Settings” dialog box.
10ZiG Zero Client VMware Horizon Settings Login Settings
Login Mode: Default
Username: PRESS LOGIN
Password: 1234
Domain: YourDomain
Please Note: In the above, because DUO MFA is enabled, the “Username”, “Password” and “Domain” values aren’t actually passed along to the VMware View application on the Zero Client.
We then navigate to the “Advanced” tab, and enable the “Connect once” option. This will force a server disconnection (and require re-authentication) on a desktop pool logoff or disconnection.
10ZiG Zero Client VMware Horizon Settings Advanced Settings
Please Note: This option is required so that when a user logs off, disconnects, or get’s cut off by the server, the Zero Client fully disconnects from the View Connection Server which causes re-authentication (a new password prompt) to occur.
The Login User Experience
So now that we’ve made the modifications to the Zero Client, I want to outline what the user experience will look like from Boot, to connection, to disconnection, to re-authentication.
Turning on the 10ZiG Zero Client, you are presented with the DUO Login Prompt on the View Connection Server.
You then must pass 2FA/MFA authentication.
You are then presented with the desktop pools available to the user.
Upon logging off, disconnecting, or getting kicked off the server, the session is closed and you are presented to the 10ZiG VDI Login Window.
To re-establish a connection, click “Login” as instruction by the “Username” field.
You are presented with the DUO Login Window.
And the process repeats.
As you can see it’s a simple loop that requires almost no training on the end user side. You must only inform the users to click “Login” where the prompt advises to do so.
Once you configure this, you can add it to a configuration template (or generate a configuration template), and then deploy it to a large number of 10ZiG Zero Clients using 10ZiG Manager.
Let me know if this helps, and/or if you find a better way to handle the DUO integration!
I can’t tell you how excited I am that after many years, I’ve finally gotten my hands on and purchased an Nvidia Quadro K1 GPU. This card will be used in my homelab to learn, and demo Nvidia GRID accelerated graphics on VMware Horizon View. In this post I’ll outline the details, installation, configuration, and thoughts. And of course I’ll have plenty of pictures below!
The focus will be to use this card both with vGPU, as well as 3D accelerated vSGA inside in an HPE server running ESXi 6.5 and VMware Horizon View 7.8.
Please Note: Some, most, or all of what I’m doing is not officially supported by Nvidia, HPE, and/or VMware. I am simply doing this to learn and demo, and there was a real possibility that it may not have worked since I’m not following the vendor HCL (Hardware Compatibility lists). If you attempt to do this, or something similar, you do so at your own risk.
For some time I’ve been trying to source either an Nvidia GRID K1/K2 or an AMD FirePro S7150 to get started with a simple homelab/demo environment. One of the reasons for the time it took was I didn’t want to spend too much on it, especially with the chances it may not even work.
Essentially, I have 3 Servers:
HPE DL360p Gen8 (Dual Proc, 128GB RAM)
HPE DL360p Gen8 (Dual Proc, 128GB RAM)
HPE ML310e Gen8 v2 (Single Proc, 32GB RAM)
For the DL360p servers, while the servers are beefy enough, have enough power (dual redundant power supplies), and resources, unfortunately the PCIe slots are half-height. In order for me to use a dual-height card, I’d need to rig something up to have an eGPU (external GPU) outside of the server.
As for the ML310e, it’s an entry level tower server. While it does support dual-height (dual slot) PCIe cards, it only has a single 350W power supply, misses some fancy server technologies (I’ve had issues with VT-d, etc), and only a single processor. I should be able to install the card, however I’m worried about powering it (it has no 6pin PCIe power connector), and having ESXi be able to use it.
Finally, I was worried about cooling. The GRID K1 and GRID K2 are typically passively cooled and meant to be installed in to rack servers with fans running at jet engine speeds. If I used the DL360p with an external setup, this would cause issues. If I used the ML310e internally, I had significant doubts that cooling would be enough. The ML310e did have the plastic air baffles, but only had one fan for the expansion cards area, and of course not all the air would pass through the GRID K1 card.
The Purchase
Because of a limited budget, and the possibility I may not even be able to get it working, I didn’t want to spend too much. I found an eBay user local in my city who had a couple Grid K1 and Grid K2 cards, as well as a bunch of other cool stuff.
We spoke and he decided to give me a wicked deal on the Grid K1 card. I thought this was a fantastic idea as the power requirements were significantly less (more likely to work on the ML310e) on the K1 card at 130 W max power, versus the K2 card at 225 W max power.
We set a time and a place to meet. Preemptively I ran out to a local supply store to purchase an LP4 power adapter splitter, as well as a LP4 to 6pin PCIe power adapter. There were no available power connectors inside of the ML310e server so this was needed. I still thought the chances of this working were slim…
I also decided to go ahead and download the Nvidia GRID Software Package. This includes the release notes, user guide, ESXi vib driver (includes vSGA, vGPU), as well as guest drivers for vGPU and pass through. The package also includes the GRID vGPU Manager. The driver I used was from: https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/144909/en-us
To install, I copied over the vib file “NVIDIA-vGPU-kepler-VMware_ESXi_6.5_Host_Driver_367.130-1OEM.650.0.0.4598673.vib” to a datastore, enabled SSH, and then ran the following command to install:
The command completed successfully and I shut down the host. Now I waited to meet.
We finally met and the transaction went smooth in a parking lot (people were staring at us as I handed him cash, and he handed me a big brick of something folded inside of grey static wrap). The card looked like it was in beautiful shape, and we had a good but brief chat. I’ll definitely be purchasing some more hardware from him.
Hardware Installation
Installing the card in the ML310e was difficult and took some time with care. First I had to remove the plastic air baffle. Then I had issues getting it inside of the case as the back bracket was 1cm too long to be able to put the card in. I had to finesse and slide in on and angle but finally got it installed. The back bracket (front side of case) on the other side slid in to the blue plastic case bracket. This was nice as the ML310e was designed for extremely long PCIe expansion cards and has a bracket on the front side of the case to help support and hold the card up as well.
For power I disconnected the DVD-ROM (who uses those anyways, right?), and connected the LP5 splitter and the LP5 to 6pin power adapter. I finally hooked it up to the card.
I laid the cables out nicely and then re-installed the air baffle. Everything was snug and tight.
Please see below for pictures of the Nvidia GRID K1 installed in the ML310e Gen8 V2.
ML310e with GRID K1 Side Shot
ML310e with GRID K1 Side Shot (with Flash)
ML310e w/ Air Baffle and cabling
ML310e LP4 Splitter for GRID K1
Nvidia GRID K1 in ML310e w/ Air Baffle
Nvidia GRID K1 Installed and Running
Nvidia GRID K1 in ML310e w/o Air Baffle
Host Configuration
Powering on the server was a tense moment for me. A few things could have happened:
Server won’t power on
Server would power on but hang & report health alert
Nvidia GRID card could overheat
Nvidia GRID card could overheat and become damaged
Nvidia GRID card could overheat and catch fire
Server would boot but not recognize the card
Server would boot, recognize the card, but not work
Server would boot, recognize the card, and work
With great suspense, the server powered on as per normal. No errors or health alerts were presented.
I logged in to iLo on the server, and watched the server perform a BIOS POST, and start it’s boot to ESXi. Everything was looking well and normal.
After ESXi booted, and the server came online in vCenter. I went to the server and confirmed the GRID K1 was detected. I went ahead and configured 2 GPUs for vGPU, and 2 GPUs for 3D vSGA.
ESXi Host Graphics Devices Settings
VM Configuration
I restarted the X.org service (required when changing the options above), and proceeded to add a vGPU to a virtual machine I already had configured and was using for VDI. You do this by adding a “Shared PCI Device”, selecting “NVIDIA GRID vGPU”, and I chose to use the highest profile available on the K1 card called “grid_k180q”.
VM Settings to add NVIDIA GRID vGPU
After adding and selecting ok, you should see a warning telling you that must allocate and reserve all resources for the virtual machine, click “ok” and continue.
Power On and Testing
I went ahead and powered on the VM. I used the vSphere VM console to install the Nvidia GRID driver package (included in the driver ZIP file downloaded earlier) on the guest. I then restarted the guest.
After restarting, I logged in via Horizon, and could instantly tell it was working. Next step was to disable the VMware vSGA Display Adapter in the “Device Manager” and restart the host again.
Upon restarting again, to see if I had full 3D acceleration, I opened DirectX diagnostics by clicking on “Start” -> “Run” -> “dxdiag”.
dxdiag on GRID K1 using k180q profile
It worked! Now it was time to check the temperature of the card to make sure nothing was overheating. I enabled SSH on the ESXi host, logged in, and ran the “nvidia-smi” command.
“nvidia-smi” command on ESXi Host
According to this, the different GPUs ranged from 33C to 50C which was PERFECT! Further testing under stress, and I haven’t gotten a core to go above 56. The ML310e still has an option in the BIOS to increase fan speed, which I may test in the future if the temps get higher.
With “nvidia-smi” you can see the 4 GPUs, power usage, temperatures, memory usage, GPU utilization, and processes. This is the main GPU manager for the card. There are some other flags you can use for relevant information.
“nvidia-smi vgpu” for vGPU Information“nvidia-smi vgpu -q” to Query more vGPU Information
Final Thoughts
Overall I’m very impressed, and it’s working great. While I haven’t tested any games, it’s working perfect for videos, music, YouTube, and multi-monitor support on my 10ZiG 5948qv. I’m using 2 displays with both running at 1920×1080 for resolution.
I’m looking forward to doing some tests with this VM while continuing to use vGPU. I will also be doing some testing utilizing 3D Accelerated vSGA.
The two coolest parts of this project are:
3D Acceleration and Hardware h.264 Encoding on VMware Horizon
Getting a GRID K1 working on an HPE ML310e Gen8 v2
Highly recommend getting a setup like this for your own homelab!
Uses and Projects
Well, I’m writing this “Uses and Projects” section after I wrote the original article (it’s now March 8th, 2020). I have to say I couldn’t be impressed more with this setup, using it as my daily driver.
Since I’ve set this up, I’ve used it remotely while on airplanes, working while travelling, even for video editing.
Some of the projects (and posts) I’ve done, can be found here:
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