User manual

Using USB devices with remote desktops has the following limitations:
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When you access a USB device from a menu in Horizon Client and use the device in a remote desktop,
you cannot access the device on the local computer.
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USB devices that do not appear in the menu, but are available in a remote desktop, include human
interface devices such as keyboards and pointing devices. The remote desktop and the local computer
use these devices at the same time. Interaction with these devices can sometimes be slow because of
network latency.
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Large USB disk drives can take several minutes to appear in the desktop.
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Some USB devices require specific drivers. If a required driver is not already installed on a remote
desktop, you might be prompted to install it when you connect the USB device to the remote desktop.
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If you plan to attach USB devices that use MTP drivers, such as Android-based Samsung smart phones
and tablets, you must set Horizon Client to automatically connect USB devices to your remote desktop.
Otherwise, if you try to manually redirect the USB device by using a menu item, the device will not be
redirected unless you unplug the device and then plug it in again.
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Webcams are not supported for USB redirection using the Connect USB Device menu. To use a
webcam or audio input device, you must use the Real-Time Audio-Video feature. This feature is
available when used in conjunction with View 5.2 Feature Pack 2 or a later release. See “Using the Real-
Time Audio-Video Feature for Webcams and Microphones,” on page 60.
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The redirection of USB audio devices depends on the state of the network and is not reliable. Some
devices require a high data throughput even when they are idle. If you have the Real-Time Audio-
Video feature, included with View 5.2 Feature Pack 2 or a later release, audio input and output devices
will work well using that feature, and you do not need to use USB redirection for those devices.
You can connect USB devices to a remote desktop either manually or automatically.
NOTE Do not redirect USB devices such as USB Ethernet devices and touch screen devices to the remote
desktop. If you redirect a USB Ethernet device, your client system will lose network connectivity. If you
redirect a touch screen device, the remote desktop will receive touch input but not keyboard input. If you
have set your virtual desktop to autoconnect USB devices, you can configure a policy to exclude specific
devices. See the topic "Configuring Filter Policy Settings for USB Devices" in the Setting Up Desktop and
Application Pools in View document.
IMPORTANT This procedure describes how to use the Horizon Client menu to connect USB devices and to
configure connecting USB devices automatically. You can also configure USB redirection by using a
configuration file or by creating a group policy. For more information about using a configuration file, see
Chapter 6, “Configuring USB Redirection on the Client,” on page 69. For more information about creating
group policies, see the Setting Up Desktop and Application Pools in View document.
Prerequisites
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To use USB devices with a remote desktop, the View administrator must have enabled the USB feature
for the remote desktop.
This task includes installing the USB Redirection component of the agent, and can include setting
policies regarding USB redirection. For more information, see the View Administration document if you
are using Connection Server and Agent 5.3.x. See Setting Up Desktop and Application Pools in View if you
are using Connection Server and Agent 6.0 or later.
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When Horizon Client was installed, the USB Redirection component must have been installed. If you
did not include this component in the installation, uninstall the client and run the installer again to
include the USB Redirection component.
Chapter 4 Using a Microsoft Windows Desktop or Application on a Linux System
VMware, Inc. 59