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VMware Horizon 8 (2303)

VMware have released a new version of VMware Horizon 8 (2303), and this release is general available from March 2023. 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 (2303)

VMware Horizon 8 2303 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 2303
  • VMware Unified Access Gateway 2303
  • VMware App Volume 2303
  • VMware Horizon Clients 2303 for Android, Linux, iOS, Mac, Windows, HTML Access
  • VMware Horizon Cloud services 2303

VMware Horizon 8 version 2303 is a Current Release (CR), and is supported until 30-03-2026.

VMware Horizon 8 version 2303 includes the following new features and enhancements.

IMPORTANT: Horizon 8 2303 is not supported with vSphere 6.5 or vSphere 6.7, which are both past the end of General Support.  Horizon 8 2303 Instant Clones are incompatible with vSphere 6.5 and vSphere 6.7 so you must upgrade to vSphere 7.0 or later before upgrading to Horizon 8 2303 if you are using Instant Clones.

WARNING: This Microsoft security update (KB5014754) will impact customers using certificate-based authentication such as smartcards. If you have applied this update to your windows OS and if you have not mapped certificates to one of the strong mapping types described in the Microsoft KB, then users will be denied authentication when the full enforcement mode is activated by Microsoft, currently planned for November 2023. To address this issue the Horizon 8 2306 release will allow admins to configure certificate mappings to one of the strong types from the Horizon console. If you are using certificate-based authentication, then we recommend that you upgrade to this release to configure certificate mappings. See VMware KB 91595 for details

Virtual Desktops & Applications

  • A vTPM device can be added to instant clones when using ClonePrep or Microsoft Sysprep guest customization. If you are using Sysprep customization and have either Smart Provisioning or Mode B (Instant clones without parent VM) enabled, make sure that all the hosts in the cluster are running ESXi 7.0 Update 3f or later. If your hosts are running a lower version of ESXi 7.0, Instant clone provisioning will default to Mode A (Instant clones with parent VM). Instant clone provisioning will fail if you explicitly set the provisioning to Mode B for the lower version of ESXi 7.0.

  • Administrators can now create internal template VMs as full clones  by setting the value of the  new ‘pae-FullCloneTemplate’ attribute in the ADAM database to ‘1’. This removes the linkage between a parent image and template, preventing a lock on the vmdk files.

  • Administrators can now see the timestamp along with pool provisioning errors in the Horizon Console. This makes it easier to locate relevant error logs while troubleshooting.

  • You can select the Active Directory site for an instant clone desktop pool in a multi-site environment if the desktop network is at a different site than the Connection Server.

VMware Horizon Connection Server On-Premises

  • Hybrid Azure Active Directory for SSO is now supported on instant clone desktop pools. See KB 89127 for details

VMware Horizon Agent 8 2303 for Linux

  • This release adds support for the NVIDIA L40 and L4 GPU.

  • Starting with this release, Ubuntu 18.04 is no longer supported.

  • Starting with this release, Horizon Agent for Linux supports the cursor warping detection feature. When this feature is activated, the remote agent detects sudden mouse position changes initiated on the agent and reflects them to the client by moving the user’s local mouse cursor. Administrators can activate the feature using the RemoteDisplay.enableCursorWarping option in the /etc/vmware/config configuration file.

  • The printSvc.jobOwnerAsLocal option in the /etc/vmware/config configuration file lets administrators control the definition of the print job owner name for the VMware Integrated Printing feature. The print job owner name can be defined as either the local user name or the name used to log in to the remote session.

VMware Horizon Agent 8 2303 for Windows

  • This release adds support for the NVIDIA L40 and L4 GPU.

  • UNC Path Redirection has enhanced security.

  • The Screen Capture feature allows users to take screenshots of their Windows remote desktop.

  • Starting with this release, Horizon Agent for Windows supports the cursor warping detection feature. When this feature is activated by setting a registry key, the remote agent detects sudden mouse position changes initiated on the agent and reflects them to the client by moving the user’s local mouse cursor.

  • Media optimization for Microsoft Teams offers individual application sharing in VDI and RDSH desktop sessions for VMware Blast display protocol (Windows clients).

  • VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business is no longer supported in this release. When using this release of Horizon Client with Horizon Agent 2212 or earlier, VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business will continue to run in fallback mode.

  • You can redirect a Windows print server from the client side to the agent side by activating the group policy setting Enable server printer redirection.

  • You can enter a specific IP address or IP address range with Microsoft Edge Chromium and Google Chrome and IPv4.

  • This release supports AV1 encoding on desktops with Intel ATS-M GPUs for more efficient compression and high-quality video streaming

VMware Horizon 8 2303 GPO Bundle

  • no new features

Windows OS Optimization Tool for Horizon

  • Supports Windows 11 22H2.

  • Includes additional built-in functions.

  • This release adds support for MDT Environment Automation that simplifies the process of creating an MDT server and setting up the base image. The tool automates the installation of the required applications and configures the Optimization tool MDT plugin.

  • Optimization Tool MDT plugin includes:

    • Ability to gather optimization result reports.

    • Support for importing customized extension to the optimization template.

    • Support for multiple deployment shares.

Horizon RESTful APIs

  • New REST APIs for CEIP, Gateway, Monitoring, Secondary Credentials, Virtual Center, User or Group Global Summary were introduced in this release for automating workflows.

VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 2303

Important:

OneDrive for Business integration is removed. For more information, contact your account team.

  • Updated Components. This release updates the main product components. Application Profiler, Helpdesk Support Tool, and SyncTool are not updated for the 2303 release.

  • Support for searching across config files from the VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Management Console.

  • Support for running custom commands in SYSTEM context before or after the DEM agent performs a path-based import or path-based export.

  • Support for FlexEngine command-line option to apply NoAD settings on-demand.

VMware Unified Access Gateway 2303

VMware Unified Access Gateway 2303 provides the following new features and enhancements:

  • Enhancements to the existing command line utilities for making configuration changes:

    • adminpwd command (used to reset password of admin and monitoring users) now supports an option to force the user to change the password on first login.

    • adminreset command (used to reset the admin interface settings back to the default settings for password authentication) now supports granular options to reset the individual configurations (like admin TLS certificate, admin SAML configuration, and TLS settings).

  • Added an option in VMware Per-App Tunnel Settings to control if automatic configuration updates from Workspace ONE UEM console are applied.

  • Added support to allow configuration of TLS settings used in communication with Workspace ONE UEM console for pulling initial configurations of VMware Per-App Tunnel, Content Gateway, and Secure Email Gateway edge services. Perpetual API communications for each service still require TLS setting configuration in their source configurations in Workspace ONE UEM.

  • Added support for deployment with PowerShell version 7.3 from an Ubuntu machine.

  • End of Support Life for VMware Tunnel Proxy. The VMware Per-App Tunnel component includes support for the same use cases as VMware Tunnel Proxy component. For more information, see the Knowledge Base (KB) article VMware Tunnel Proxy End of Support Life Announcement (87345).

  • Logging improvements and troubleshooting enhancements.

  • Updates to Photon OS package versions and Java component versions.

Supported versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11 on Horizon Agent Including All VDI Clones (Full Clones, Instant Clones, and Linked Clones on Horizon 8 2303)

  • Windows 11 22H2 GAC (Pro, Education, Enterprise) Full support
  • Windows 11 21H2 GAC (Pro, Education, Enterprise) Full support
  • Windows 10 22H2 GAC (Pro, Education, Enterprise) Full support
  • Windows 10 21H2 GAC (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) Not Supported
  • Windows 10 1909 SAC (Pro,Education,Enterprise) Not Supported
  • Windows 10 1903 SAC and earlier (Pro,Education,Enterprise) Not Supported
  • Windows 10 LTSC 2021 (Enterprise) Full support
  • Windows 10 LTSC 2019 (Enterprise) Full support
  • Windows 10 LTSB 2016 (Enterprise) Not Supported
For more additional information please read this knowledge article

VMware Cloud Connector

Applicable to customers with VMware Horizon Universal Subscription, Horizon Enterprise Plus Subscription, Horizon Standard Plus Subscription, Horizon Apps Universal Subscription, or Horizon Apps Standard Subscription.

The Horizon Cloud Connector virtual appliance is a required component for VMware Horizon to support the management of Horizon pods using Horizon Cloud Service.

Horizon 8 Deployed on Public Cloud SDDCs

Horizon 8 Deployed on Azure VMware Solution

For a list of VMware Horizon 8 features supported on Azure VMware Solution (AVS), see Deploying VMware Horizon 8 on Azure VMware Solution.

Horizon 8 Deployed on VMware Cloud on AWS

For a list of VMware Horizon features supported on VMware Cloud on AWS, see VMware Knowledge Base article 58539.

Horizon 8 Deployed on Google Cloud VMware Engine

For a list of VMware Horizon 8 features supported on Google Cloud VMware Engine, see VMware Knowledge Base article 81922

Horizon 8 Deployed on Oracle Cloud VMware Solution

For a list of VMware Horizon 8 features supported on Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, see VMware Knowledge Base article 88202.

VMware App Volumes 4 2303

Admins can specify credentials for the App Volumes agent to use to access the file shares when using VHD In-Guest operation mode.

This feature allows users also to explore the solution preview for deploying App Volumes Manager to Azure. For information about how to deploy App Volumes Manager to Azure, see the VMware App Volumes Manager Deployment Guide for Azure at VMware Docs.

Horizon Client 2303 – new features

VMware Horizon Client 2303 for Android

Horizon Client for Android 2303 has the following new features.

  • Support for Horizon Cloud Service – next-gen

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

  • Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) printer path in location-based printing

    Horizon Client now supports UNC printer path for location-based printing.

For information about new remote desktop features for Android 2303, see the VMware Horizon 8 2303 Release Notes.

VMware Horizon Client 2303 for ChromeOS

Horizon Client for Chrome 2303 includes the following new features.

  • Support for Chromebox devices

    You can now use Horizon Client on Chromebox devices.

  • Enhanced language support for keyboard shortcut mappings

    This release expands the functionality of keyboard shortcut mappings by allowing you to specify the language and layout of the client keyboard and to enable language-specific key mappings.

  • Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) printer path in location-based printing

    Horizon Client now supports UNC printer path for location-based printing.

For information about new remote desktop features, see the VMware Horizon 8 2303 Release Notes.

VMware Horizon Client 2303 for iOS

Horizon Client for iOS 2303 has the following new features.

  • Support for Horizon Cloud Service – next-gen

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

  • Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) printer path in location-based printing

    Horizon Client now supports UNC printer path for location-based printing.

For information about new remote desktop features, see the VMware Horizon 8 2303 Release Notes.

VMware Horizon Client 2303 for Mac

Horizon Client for Mac 2303 includes the following new features.

  • BlastCodec now supported on Apple ARM-based Mac

    VMware Horizon Client for Mac now supports BlastCodec on ARM-based Macs.

  • Scanner redirection support on 64-bit TWAIN

    Scanner Redirection for Mac is now supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit TWAIN driver on Horizon Agent.

  • Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) printer path in location-based printing

    Horizon Client now supports UNC printer path for location-based printing.

  • Support for scanner redirection in nested mode

    You can use scanner redirection to scan information from a Mac client to a remote desktop, and then use the Windows client on the remote desktop to send the information to another remote desktop.

For information about new remote desktop features, see the VMware Horizon 8 2303 Release Notes.

VMware Horizon Client 2303 for Linux

Horizon Client for Linux 2303 includes the following new features.

  • Improvements to remote session focus

    Remote session windows remain in focus on the client system, even if the mouse pointer moves outside the session window. Users can position the mouse pointer outside the window and still send keyboard input to the remote session.

  • Support for HID headset controls with Microsoft Teams

    When using Teams in a remote session, you can use the HID controls (such as the mute button) on a Teams-compatible headset that is connected to the client system.

  • Support for Browser Redirection

    Horizon Client supports the redirection of web page content when the page is opened in a Chrome or Microsoft Edge (Chromium) browser on a remote desktop.

  • Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) printer path in location-based printing

    Horizon Client now supports UNC printer path for location-based printing.

For information about new remote desktop features, see the VMware Horizon 8 2303 Release Notes.

Beginning with this release, the following features are no longer supported.

  • Ubuntu 18.04

    Horizon Client is no longer supported on devices running on Ubuntu 18.04.

  • VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business

    VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business is no longer supported in this release. When using this release of Horizon Client with Horizon Agent 2212 or earlier, VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business will continue to run in fallback mode.

VMware Horizon Client 2303 for Windows

Horizon Client for Windows 2303 includes the following new features:

  • GPO to control server session time out message display

    The Horizon Client for Windows includes a new GPO (called Disable server session time out message) to control server session time out message display.

  • Screen captures of remote desktops

    The VMware View Agent Configuration ADMX template file includes a new setting to enable screen shots of remote desktops from the Horizon Client for Windows.

  • Sharing Individual Applications during a Remote Desktop session

    You can share individual applications during a remote desktop session if the feature is enabled.

  • Support for proxy server authentication

    The Horizon Client for Windows now supports proxy servers configured with Negotiate and NTLM authentication protocols.

  • Improved Blast connection failure diagnostic information

    If the Horizon Client for Windows is unable to connect to the remote desktop or published application via 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. For more information about Blast connection failure errors, see Knowlege Base article 91013.

  • Support for AV1 video decoding

    The Horizon Client for Windows now supports AV1 decoding on client devices with NVIDIA or Intel GPUs for more efficient compression and high-quality video streaming.

  • Support for connecting specific USB devices to a remote desktop or published application

    You can now connect specific USB devices automatically at startup or at insertion to a remote desktop or published application.

  • Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) printer path in location-based printing

    Horizon Client now supports UNC printer path for location-based printing.

  • Unstable internet connection message

    The Horizon Client for Windows displays a message when your internet conenction is unstable.

For information about new remote desktop features, see the VMware Horizon 8 2303 Release Notes.

VMware Horizon Client 2303 for HTML5

HTML Access 2303 includes the following new features:

  • Enhanced language support for keyboard shortcut mappings

    This release expands the functionality of keyboard shortcut mappings by allowing you to specify the language and layout of the client keyboard and to enable language-specific key mappings.

  • Support for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) printer path in location-based printing

    HTML Access now supports UNC printer path for location-based printing.

For information about new remote desktop features, see the VMware Horizon 8 2303 Release Notes.

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