Note: This article is provided as early access, and the functionality described here is guaranteed only with the use of Rainbow Desktop 2.149.2 or higher, which will be released soon.
Omnissa Horizon media optimization overview
The audio optimization is achieved via integration of the Omnissa Horizon WebRTC Redirection SDK.
Applicable for the following Rainbow usages:
- Rainbow Desktop application used in Telephony mode
- Or any profile where :
- Use IP video in individual or multi-party conversations is set to Not Allowed
- Use screen and application sharing in individual or multi-party conversations is set to Not Allowed
- Rainbow Business Telephony for Microsoft Teams.
Omnissa Horizon compatibility
Minimum Omnissa Horizon component version to use Omnissa Horizon optimization with Rainbow are:
- Horizon 8: 2206 (8.6) or later
- Horizon Client (Windows): 2206 or later
- Operating Systems:
- Windows 11
- Windows 10
- Linux and macOS are not supported
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The virtual machine for each remote desktop meets the following requirements:
-
Equipped with 2 vCPUs, at minimum
-
Configuration
- Run Rainbow Desktop application v2.149.2 or higher, with the Omnissa Horizon WebRTC Redirection SDK integrated by default.
- The Rainbow Desktop application automatically detects the Horizon environment and the capability to activate optimization, no configuration to do on Rainbow side except for the company administrator to manage the users profile to forbid video calls and screensharing.
- The capability is driven by the appropriate configuration by the IS/IT on the Horizon environment, as detailed below.
Horizon configuration
Omnissa is currently updating its documentation and is expected to publish a new setup guide for Administrators for deploy and monitor activation of the Horizon WebRTC Redirection SDK.
Some information are however given below for guidance, awaiting the official pointer to Omnissa documentation.
Note that since Horizon 2412 and following the rebranding to Omnissa, file and registry path names have changed by using “Omnissa” instead of “VMWARE”.
Horizon agent setup
The Horizon WebRTC Redirection feature is installed by default with Horizon Agent as part of the core feature set.
However, the feature is installed in deactivated state. You must manually activate or enable the feature using the Group Policy Management Editor (GPO editor).
Refer to your Omnissa documentation to ensure the latest Horizon GPO bundle is downloaded, using the Horizon-Extras-Bundle zip file, and set up the GPO policy to include Horizon ADMX template files.
Using the GPO Editor, locate the “WebRTC Redirection Features” template in the “HTML5 Features” directory (prefixed with “Omnissa” or “VMWARE” depending on the Horizon version).
Set the “Enable Media Optimization for general Electron Apps” policy to the state of Enabled.
To verify that WebRTC Redirection GPO policy is enabled on the agent machine:
- On the agent machine, navigate to
- \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Omnissa\Horizon\WebRTCRedir (from 2412)
- \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\VMware, Inc.\Vmware WebRTCRedir (prior 2412)
- Verify that the electronAppEnabled registry key is present in that folder
Horizon client installation
The Horizon WebRTC Redirection option is installed and enabled in Horizon Client for Windows by default.
The user can turn off this option from the Horizon Client settings as shown in the following screenshot.
User Profile Configuration
The Omnissa Horizon optimisation is perfectly adapted for a Rainbow usage with a Telephony only profile but any profile can be used as soon as video calls and screensharing are not allowed.
Configuration check
Status check
- In the Rainbow Desktop app you can see if the Omnissa Redirection is used.
Known restrictions
- Vocal message in instant messages are not yet working (collaboration feature)