VMware VDI (Horizon View) Troubleshooting - Part I

 Usually we think it's so easy to change most of the server's name! Just a little configuration changes like editing FQDN value maybe destroy all of your configuration and setting. It's going to sounds like a disaster if you change computer name/account of a server without any consideration or checklist about how to do it. But sometimes you may be wrong in initial server name configuration and after service setup and startup, then you will understand what's happened (forget to change the default name or choose a suitable name based on your design worksheets). Now let's check this matter about a VMware Horizon View Connection Server. First of all you should answer some of questions like:

   1. What should we do if we need to change computer account?

   2. What will happen if we change computer account? 

   3. What should we do as the post-execution after renaming the server? 

 As the first step, you have to review the service documentary specially troubleshooting documents. Then investigate side effects in your virtual desktop infrastructure objects like desktop pools or provided and in-used virtual desktops. Naturally none of them cannot connect to the server anymore, especially if you change the primary connection server nor any of replica servers. As the best and safest way to configure server after renaming it, you can uninstall VMware Horizon 7 Connection Server component (and also HTML Access) and install it again without any concern about losing VDI data and structure. Because there is another important application on provisioned connection server: AD LDS Instance VMware VDMDS that as it's name demonstrate, it's the directory service for VMware VDI suite and is a separated component from Horizon View Connection Server

So let me explain about structure of Horizon View. It's fundamental is based on Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (So you cannot install this service on a domain controller). View LDAP is a data repository and consists of all of it's configuration information and it will be created when you install the first View connection server. This repository will be replicated to other View replica servers. Like other LDAP service it has some partitions, objects and attributes of objects and can be edited by ADSIEdit, just remember if you want to do it, type the Distinguished Name like :

dc=vdi, dc=vmware, dc=int

And then you can find connection server object on these Sub OUs: 'Properties\Server' and 'Properties\LVM\Server'.

The second way to check and change VDI configurations on connection servers is doing by windows registry editor. You can see related path (HKLM\ Software\ VMware, Inc.\VMware VDM) about Horizon View on second picture:

 But regardless of these two rough and dangerous methods, VMware recommended vdmadmin CLI for troubleshooting of Horizon View (note using regedit is not a suitable way). If you refer to following path you can also see other useful CLI like vdmexport and vdmimport:

%ProgramFiles%\ VMware\ VMware View\ Server\ tools\ bin\

Absolutely we know all of gathered information from each of these troubleshooting methods must be same, for example if you check the system GUID , all ways must return the same value:

 Reinstalling the connection server component is the fastest and easiest way, but if risks assessment and information security policies of your organization prevents you from that, now what method you will Choose to reconfigure your virtual desktop infrastructure servers? We will review more about Horizon View troubleshooting on another parts of this series.