VMware have released a new version of VMware Horizon 8 (2203), and this release is general available from April 2022. This is a major release, so I hope you like this article I put together. VMware have made some huge improvements in this release, which customers/partners are going to benefit from. Lets dig into what is new.

What is new in VMware Horizon 8 (2203)

VMware Horizon 8 2203 provides the following new features and enhancements

• VMware Horizon Connection Server
• VMware Horizon Agent for Linux
• VMware Horizon Agent for Windows
• VMware Horizon GPO Bundle
• VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 2203
• VMware Unified Access Gateway 2203
• VMware Horizon Clients 2203 for Android, Linux, iOS, Mac, Windows, HTML Access
• VMware Horizon Cloud services 2203

VMware Horizon Connection Server On-Premises

There are no updates to Horizon Connection Server for this release.

VMware Horizon Agent 8 2203 for Linux

• This release adds support for the following Linux distributions. See System Requirements for Horizon Agent for Linux.

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Workstation 8.5

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Server 8.5

• Beginning with this release, the following Linux distributions are no longer supported.

  • RHEL Server 8.3

  • CentOS 8.x

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) 15 SP1

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 15 SP1

• You can configure application pools hosted on single-session virtual desktops. Each application can support one user session at a time. See Create a Single-Session Linux Application Pool Manually and Create a Single-Session Linux Application Pool from a List of Installed Applications.

• The RemoteDisplay.maxBandwidthBurstMsec option in /etc/vmware/config configures the bandwidth bursting interval for data sent to clients. This option specifies the interval of time during which the network bandwidth can temporarily exceed the bandwidth cap set by RemoteDisplay.maxBandwidthKbps. See Setting Options in Configuration Files on a Linux Desktop.

• The printSvc.printerFilter option in /etc/vmware/config lets you configure a search filter that prevents specific client printers from being redirected to the Linux desktop. This option supports search query syntax based on the name of the printer, the driver, or the driver vendor. See Setting Options in Configuration Files on a Linux Desktop.

VMware Horizon Agent 8 2203 for Windows

• The MaxBandwidthBurstMsec registry key sets the bandwidth bursting interval for data sent to clients. This option specifies the interval of time during which the network bandwidth can temporarily exceed the bandwidth cap set by the MaxBandwidthKbps configuration option.

VMware Horizon 8 2203 GPO Bundle

• Support for hardware acceleration for webcam video codec for some Nvidia and Intel QSV GPUs.

• Customizable settings for watermark text color and font size.

• Higher performance for scenarios like file/folder copy from shared drives.

Windows OS Optimization Tool for Horizon

• Windows OS Optimization Tool for Horizon
  The Windows OS Optimization Tool for Horizon optimizes Windows images for virtual desktops and RDS hosts by disabling or tuning unnecessary services, tasks, settings and features typically present in a default Windows installation. As a result, the Windows OS Optimization Tool improves the performance of Horizon virtual desktops and published applications, reducing resource consumption and improving user experience.

VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 2203

• Support for overriding existing “hide drives” configuration.
• Support for using environment variable settings in folder redirection configuration.
• Support for Amazon WorkSpaces (Windows)

VMware Unified Access Gateway 2203

VMware Unified Access Gateway 2203 provides the following new features and enhancements:

• Added support for Horizon SAML authentication flows in the FIPS version of Unified Access Gateway. Earlier versions supported Horizon SAML authentication only for the standard version.
• Improved protection to block URL Path Traversals for Horizon and Web Reverse Proxy based on proxy pattern definitions and a new configuration setting to enable canonical proxy pattern matching.
• The OPSWAT endpoint compliance feature now supports optional flag values to determine how the downloaded on-demand OPSWAT agent is run. This is supported by newer 2203 Windows Horizon lients and can allow control of whether downloaded code runs on the client in the context of the user or system.
• The CSRF feature for Horizon HTML Access introduced in Horizon 2006 did not support the combination of a pre-login message configured on Connection Server with Multi-Factor authentication configured on Unified Access Gateway. Unified Access Gateway 2203 now includes the CSRF protection requirements to support this combination.
• Improved logging and communication of analysis data to Horizon brokers for cases where a Horizon Client is detected as idle, and for cases where misrouting of Horizon Client protocols occurs.
• Improved audit logging when trusted certificates are added by the administrator. This includes comprehensive logging of the certificate details.
• Unified Access Gateway syslog events can now be sent to an MQTT server using the MQTT IoT messaging protocol. This is in addition to existing support for standard syslog protocols using UDP, TCP or TLS. Improvements to Syslog Admin UI for simplifying configurations where multiple syslog and/or MQTT servers are used.
• The UAG stats monitoring API now provides information on Unified Access Gateway uptime and version number.
• Improved control over proxyPattern configuration for Horizon. This makes it possible to block Horizon Webclient reverse proxy forwarding to the Horizon broker if required. If Horizon edge service proxyPattern is configured with an empty expression “()”, then requests to Horizon Webclient with /portal URLs will be blocked. This would not affect native Horizon Clients. By default, the proxyPattern for Horizon includes /portal to allow the use of the Horizon HTML Access Webclient.
• Update Interval in Workspace ONE Intelligence Data settings are now pre-populated with the default value.
• Console root login idle time auto-disconnect value is now configurable.
• The Horizon Client HTTP 307 redirect feature now allows TCP port number to be used in addition to FQDN and IP address.
• Added automatic disk space monitoring so that syslog events are automatically sent if disk usage is excessively high.
• General improvements to the functionality for forwarding data to Workspace ONE Intelligence.
• Enhanced certificate-based authentication for Content Gateway Repository to support all Active Directory (AD) entities. Earlier versions supported only UPN.
• TLS_RSA ciphers have been removed by default on the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) service.
• Updates to Photon OS package versions and Java component versions. These updates include openssl version updates to remediate a potential non-critical DoS attack vulnerability CVE-2022-0778.

Supported versions of Windows 10 on Horizon Agent Including All VDI Clones (Full Clones, Instant Clones, and Linked Clones on Horizon 8 2203)

• Windows 10 21H2 SAC (Pro, Education, Enterprise) Full support
• Windows 10 21H1 SAC (Pro, Education, Enterprise) Full support
• Windows 10 20H2 SAC (Pro,Education,Enterprise) Full support
• Windows 10 2004 SAC (Pro,Education,Enterprise) Full support
• Windows 10 1909 SAC (Pro,Education,Enterprise) Full support
• Windows 10 1903 SAC and earlier (Pro,Education,Enterprise) Not Supported
• Windows 10 LTSC 2019 (Enterprise) Full support
• Windows 10 1607 LTSB (Enterprise) Full support

For more additional information please read this knowledge article

VMware Horizon Client 2203 – new features

VMware Horizon Client 2203 for Android

Horizon Client for Android 2203 includes the following new features.

• Flex mode support for Samsung Fold phonesFor the Galaxy Z Fold3 or other full size Samsung phones, the keyboard displays in the bottom screen and the application displays in the top screen when the phone is half open in table top (horizontal) mode.
• Automatically enable redirection for all USB devices at startupYou can automatically connect USB devices to remote desktops and published applications at startup.
• Support for PIV-D Android Derived Credentials on managed devicesYou can now use VMware PIV-D Manager to issue a certificate to the client device.

VMware Horizon Client 2203 for ChromeOS

Horizon Client for Chrome 2203 includes the following new features.

• Support for URL Content RedirectionWith the URL Content Redirection feature, URL content can be redirected from the client machine to a remote desktop or published application (client-to-agent redirection), or from a remote desktop or published application to the client machine (agent-to-client redirection). See Configuring URL Content Redirection.
• Support for Browser RedirectionWith Browser Redirection, when an end user opens a website in a Chrome or Microsoft Edge (Chromium) browser in a remote desktop, the web page is rendered on the client system instead of the agent system, and it is displayed as an overlay on the remote browser’s window. See Configure Browser Redirection.
• Restart and Reset Capabilities from Desktop Selector ScreenUsers can restart and reset remote desktops directly from the desktop selector screen. See Restart a Remote Desktop and Reset Remote Desktops or Published Applications.
• Disable USB Redirection for Specific DevicesYou can now filter USB redirection by release number in addition to vendor and product IDs. See Disabling USB Redirection for Specific Devices.
• Configure File Association for Enrolled ChromebooksThe File Association feature is enabled by default. Using the Google Admin console with the enableFileAssociation JSON configuration option, you can deactivate File Association for enrolled Chromebook devices. See Client Features.
• Mouse Forward and Back ButtonsYou can use the forward and back buttons on an external mouse to navigate the user interface in a remote desktop. See Touchpad, Touchscreen, Keypad, and Mouse Gestures.
• Support for Numeric KeypadsYou can use an external numeric keypad to enter input in a remote desktop. See Touchpad, Touchscreen, Keypad, and Mouse Gestures.

VMware Horizon Client 2203 for iOS

Horizon Client for iOS 2203 includes bug fixes and security updates

VMware Horizon Client 2203 for Mac

Horizon Client for Mac 2203.1 fixes an issue with HTTP 307 redirections.

VMware Horizon Client 2203 for Linux

Horizon Client for Linux 2203 includes the following new features.

• Displayed Names for Real-Time Audio-Video DevicesIn virtual desktop sessions, the Real-Time Audio-Video feature displays the actual names of redirected devices, but with (VDI)appended, for example, C670i FHD Webcam (VDI). See Configuring Real-Time Audio-Video.
• Touchscreen Functionality in Remote Sessions and Client User InterfaceClient users can use touchscreen gestures in remote desktop and application sessions. Touchscreen functionality is supported in both full-screen mode and window mode. Touchscreens also work with the Horizon Client user interface. See Keyboards, Monitors, and Touchscreens.
• Disable USB Redirection for Specific DevicesYou can now filter USB redirection by release number in addition to vendor and product IDs. See Disabling USB Redirection for Specific Devices.

VMware Horizon Client 2203 for Windows

Horizon Client for Windows 2203 includes the following new features:

• Give and Take screen control for Microsoft Teams

  This release supports the ability to give control of screenshares on VDI and RDSH sessions for VMware Horizon Client for Windows. Take control is supported from version 2111 and later. For additional details and dependency, see Configuring Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams.

• Support for full range color and improved color fidelity

  VMware Horizon Client for Windows now supports full range color and improved color fidelity when using H264 4:4:4 or HEVC 4:4:4.

• Disable USB Redirection for Specific Devices

  You can now filter USB redirection by release number in addition to vendor and product IDs.

• Anti keylogger support

  This release introduces the Enable Keylogger Blocking feature for custom installation of the VMware Horizon Client for Windows. This feature enables anti keylogger.

• Universal Printer Driver now includes the VMware Universal XPS Driver option

  This release supports a new option for UPD – the VMware Universal XPS Driver.

• Support for Horizon Cloud Service – next-gen

  VMware Horizon Client for Windows now supports Horizon Cloud Service – next-gen.

• Support for new settings in Unified Access Gateway

  VMware Horizon Client for Windows now supports the new settings in Unified Access Gateway. You can run the OPSWAT MetaAccess application as an administrator or as a user.

• VMware Integrated Printing supports watermark

  With the VMware Integrated Printing feature, you can add a watermark when printing a document from a remote desktop.

• Support to stop screen updates when window is minimized

  VMware Horizon Client for Windows now has the ability to detect when the viewclient window is minimized to stop encoding screen updates, saving network traffic and CPU usage on both agent and client.

• Improved performance for GPU accelerated decoding of H264 and HEVC

  With this release, there are performance improvements for low powered machines (e.g. thin clients) or when using multiple 4K monitors.

VMware Horizon Client 2203 for HTML Access

There is no release version 2203 for Horizon HTML Access.

Source

• VMware Horizon 8 (2203)
• VMware Horizon Cloud Services
• VMware Horizon Cloud Service on IBM Cloud 20.2.0