Author: Craig

We are on a roll, this is the fourth post in the upgrading to Horizon View 5.2.  To upgrade the Transfer Server we use the Connection Server installer from here and at the time of writing the latest release is VMware-viewconnectionserver-x86_64-5.2.0-987719.exe

Before we start the upgrade process, it’s a good idea to place the Transfer Server into Maintenance Mode, to do this, login to View Administrator and go to View Configuration > Servers > Transfer Servers > Enter Maintenance Mode

Now that’s done, lets crack on and launch the installer

Click Next

As always, accept the EULA

Double check your domain details, transfer server FQDN and your administrators email address and click Next

Select ‘Configure Windows Firewall automatically’ and hit Next

Then click Install

This is going to take a few minutes, so time for  a quick brew.

Let’s double check Programs & Features to make sure we are on the correct Horizon View version.

At this point, I suggest you reboot your Transfer Server just to make sure everything is ‘tickety boo’.

Now it’s back online let’s go into View Administrator and go to View Configuration > Servers > Transfer Servers > Exit Maintenance Mode

The good news is that to upgrade the Security Server we use the Connection Server installer from here and at the time of writing the latest release is VMware-viewconnectionserver-x86_64-5.2.0-987719.exe

Launch the installer

Click Next

Accept the EULA

Verify that your Connection Server FQDN is correct

Next we need to jump into the View Administrator and go to View Configuration > Servers > Connection Servers > More Commands > Specify Security Server Pairing Password

Cool, once you have done this, enter the same password on the Security Server installation and click Next

Verify your URL’s for your Security Server and click Next

Choose ‘Configure Windows Firewall Automatically’

Now let’s click Install

Quite a quick installation, hopefully you should have the Finish button available.

As always, we are going to give the server a reboot and check Programs & Features to make sure we are running the correct version.

In the last blog post we upgraded our Composer Server which was straight forward (great job VMware).  Next we need to upgrade the Connection Server.

The upgrade process is in two parts, first of all we need to upgrade the Connection Server and then install HTML Access.

Connection Server

The first thing we are going to need is the right installer.  These can be found from here and at the time of writing the latest release is VMware-viewconnectionserver-x86_64-5.2.0-987719.exe

Launch the installer

Click Next

Accept the EULA

We are now ready to install.  Hit the button!

This is going to take a little while, so I suggest you make a quick brew.

All done, now you don’t have to reboot, I just prefer to do this to make sure everything is correct.

Just to verify, let’s check Programs & Features to make sure View Connection Server is on the right release.

Horizon View 5.2 HTML Access

Right then, let’s crack on with the Horizon View HTML Access.  This can be found from here and at the time of writing the latest release is VMware-Horizon-View-HTML-Access_x64-1.0.0-1049726.exe

Launch the installer

Click Next

As always, we need to Accept the EULA

Choose your installation folder, as always stick to the defaults unless you have a good reason not too.

Voila, let’s click the Install button

The install is really quick, hopefully you should see Finish.

All done, now you don’t have to reboot, I just prefer to do this to make sure everything is correct.

Just to verify, let’s check Programs & Features to make View Horizon HTML Access is installed.

Horizon View 5.2, brings with it a host of new features.  The one which I’m most excited about is being able to access your desktop from any HTML5 browser without the need for the View Client.  A list of enhancements is shown below (source VMware View 5.2 release notes)

What’s New with End User Experience

• Support for Windows 8 based desktops¹
• Hardware Accelerated 3D Graphics¹
• Improved video and VOIP communications with Microsoft Lync 2013 support⁴
• Streamlined access to View Desktops from Horizon²
• Easily connect to desktops from any device with HTML Access³
• Enhanced productivity from mobile devices with new ‘Unity Touch’ functionality^{3 and 4}

What’s New with Ease of Management

• Large pool creation with elimination of 8 host limits, and multiple vLAN support
• View Administrator performance improvements with large numbers of desktops
• Accelerated provisioning and recompose operations.
• Tech Preview of a new Integrated Service Console in the vSphere Web Client¹
• Support for vCenter Server Virtual Appliance based deployments

What’s New with Total Cost of Ownership

• Substantial storage capacity savings for persistent desktops with space-efficient (SE sparse) disk technology¹

¹ Requires use of vSphere 5.1 and subsequent patches
² Requires use of VMware Horizon Suite
³ Requires use of additional VMware Horizon View 5.2 Feature Pack
⁴ Requires use of latest VMware Horizon View Clients

Upgrade Process

Before we embark on this upgrade process, the number one rule is to get a good backup.  Once you have this, then the number two rule is to follow the official documentation which can be found here.

The order in which I’m going to tackle the upgrade is as follows:

1. View Composer
2. View Connection Server including Horizon View Feature Pack 1
3. View Security Server
4. View Transfer Server
5. View Agent
6. View Client

View Composer

In my home lab, View Composer is sitting on my vCenter Server, so the first thing we are going to do is download the correct installer.  These can be found from here and at the time of writing the latest release is VMware-viewcomposer-5.2.0-983460.exe

Launch the installer

Click Next

As always we need to accept the EULA

Select the install location, I advise leaving this as the default unless you have a good reason not to.

The next bit could be tricky, if you have forgotten your passwords as View needs to upgrade the database.  Enter your credentials and click Next

We are gong to create a new default SSL certificate and click Next

If everything is golden, you should see the Install button.  Give it a Click.

The install takes a few minutes so you might want to get yourself a cup of tea.

After hitting finish, we need to give our vCenter Server a reboot.  Click Yes and I will see you on the other side.

To make sure everything is ‘tickety boo’ if you check Programs & Features to verify your install package.