Enterprise Clients Guide¶
Preface¶
This document describes the Inuvika Enterprise Clients which allow a user to start an OVD session from their desktop or mobile device.
Introduction¶
Inuvika provides an Enterprise Desktop Client (EDC) for Windows, macOS and Linux as well as an Enterprise Mobile Client (EMC) for Android and iOS devices. The information in this document is based on the latest release of Inuvika OVD and subsequent releases. If any of the information requires updating as a result of a future change in behavior, the document will be updated and re-released.
Overview¶
The EDC is a standalone application that can be used instead of a browser to provide a tighter integration with the platform on which it is running. The EDC allows users to run an OVD session in either Desktop or Application mode. Application mode provides a seamless interaction with the applications published by OVD on the user's device. This mode also offers a local integration feature that combines the user's locally installed applications with the applications published by OVD. Similarly, the EMC is a standalone application that can be used instead of a browser on mobile devices powered by iOS and Android. It provides a platform specific user interface that enhances the user interaction with OVD applications. The EMC provides desktop mode only.
Requirements¶
EDC clients are provided for platforms running:
- Microsoft Windows 8 and higher.
- macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and higher.
- Linux Desktop (64-bit):
- Ubuntu 14.04 and higher.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and higher.
The recommended configuration is based on running RemoteFX with a Windows 2019/2016/2022 Application Server.
- A CPU with 2 cores and a clock speed of 2.2 GHz or higher
- 1 GB RAM
- 400 MB of free disk space
If only Linux Application Servers are used, then the CPU requirements can be reduced.
EMC clients are provided for platforms running:
- Apple iOS 13.0+ arm64
- Android 5.0+ armv7, arm64, x86-64
- ChromeOS 61+ armv7, arm64, x86-64
Note
For a list of compatible ChromeOS devices, please refer to Chrome OS Systems Supporting Android Apps.
Smart Card support:
Smart cards may be used by published applications to provide additional authentication functionality within an OVD session. Support for smart cards is provided for Windows OAS servers only. The EDC is compliant with PC/SC or PC/SC Lite smart card readers. You must install the required driver to support the type of smart card in use from one of several open source or commercial third-party providers. Compatible smart cards devices are supported on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS clients running the EDC.
Video support:
The EDC supports the RemoteFX Adaptive Graphics and RemoteFX Progressive Codec, and RemoteFX for WAN (TCP only) on Windows Application Servers. Video and audio synchronization is supported on Windows clients.
Audio support:
The EDC also supports audio in using the built-in microphone or microphones connected using the audio input or usb when connected to Windows Application Servers. The EDC supports audio out on Linux and Windows Application servers. The EDC supports the PCM and ADPCM audio codecs.
Enterprise Desktop Client¶
The EDC is available for all versions of Microsoft Windows from, and including, Windows 8. The EDC can also be installed on macOS Maverick and higher and on all Linux Desktop. The EDC software can be downloaded from the Inuvika website.
Installing the EDC on Windows¶
Premium Device Redirection support¶
The EDC on Windows is compatible with Premium Device Redirection. Windows EDC client supports Scanner, Webcam, USB, Printer, Audio and Biometric devices.
Installers¶
Inuvika provides two Windows installers:
- An
.exe
setup (recommended) - An
.msi
package
While .exe
package contains all dependencies (e.g. Premium Device Redirection),
the .msi
installation is provided for automation purposes (auto-deployment) and
requires manual installation of additional components."
Installation using .exe
¶
During the installation, the installer will prompt you to:
-
Accept the terms in the License Agreement
-
Select which components of Premium Device Redirection you want to install alongside EDC
-
Select a destination folder for installation
Installation using .msi
package¶
Before installing the MSI package, you will need to install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017 - x86. Visit the Microsoft website for the latest version.
Note
For automation scenarios, you might want to use Chocolatey deployment of vcredist2017.
To install .msi
package, launch PowerShell with administrator privileges and execute
following command, replacing {VERSION_CODE}
with the specific version of the EDC:
During the installation, the installer will prompt you to accept the terms in the License Agreement.
Note
For a silent, unattended installation, append the optional /qn
flag:
For installation for current user only, remove ALLUSERS
flag:
Premium Device Redirection Installation (optional)¶
To install specific premium device support, download and install required .msi
packages:
Installing the EDC on macOS¶
To install the EDC, download the .pkg
installer, run it, and follow the
on-screen instructions.
This package is compatible with Premium Device Redirection. It supports Scanner, Audio and Webcam. You will be prompted to select which devices you would like to activate.
Installing the EDC on Linux¶
Inuvika provides a .run
package to install the EDC on any Linux desktop
platforms.
This package is compatible with Premium Device Redirection. It supports Scanner, Webcam, USB, and Biometric devices. Depending on the platform, you will be prompted to select which devices you would like to activate or you will have to run a configuration tool to do so.
Download the .run
package and run the following instructions.
Install in graphical environment¶
-
Open the file manager and find the
.run
package (most likely in yourDownload
folder) -
Edit the file property and set the
execution
flag (e.g. Allow executing file as program) -
Double click on the file and follow the on-screen instructions
Install in command line¶
-
Open a terminal emulator and find the
.run
package (most likely in yourDownload
folder) -
Set the
execution
flag -
Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions
Settings¶
The default settings displayed upon starting the EDC include the following parameters:
- Server: The IP or FQDN of the Session Manager. If you are using
the Enterprise Secure Gateway, enter the IP or FQDN of the
Enterprise Secure Gateway. The EDC can also be used to login
directly to a Windows OAS by using the RDP protocol without going
through the OSM. Enter the address of the Windows OAS in the format
rdp://user:pass@server:port
. - Login: The login id to be used.
- Password: The associated password.
- Remember me: if the checkbox is selected, the current configuration is saved in a configuration file, or the Microsoft registry if using Windows.
By default, the EDC allows additional configuration parameters to be set by the user by clicking the Advanced options button in the main EDC window. The following options will be displayed:
- Mode: This option allows you to select which session mode you
would like to use.
- Desktop: The client will display a full desktop with OVD applications integrated within it.
- Application: The client will display a window with a list of the published OVD applications. The applications will be presented to the user as though they were running on the local machine.
- Auto-publish shortcuts: Select this option if you would like to have shortcuts for the published OVD applications created on your local desktop at the start of the session. This option applies only when using the application mode.
- Automatic network detection: By default, the network connection capabilities will be detected automatically. However, if you want to use RemoteFX with a Windows Server Application Server, this option should be unchecked and the corresponding option in the Administration Console selected to enable RemoteFX.
- Language: This option allows you to select which language your OVD session will use.
- Keyboard: This option allows you to select which keyboard language your OVD session will use.
The appearance and functionality of the User Interface for the login screen can be modified by specifying various parameters in a configuration file as described in the next section.
EDC Configuration File¶
A pre-defined configuration file may be provided for the EDC that can be used to enable or disable various parts of the login UI. The possible settings are:
- server: IP or FQDN for the Session Manager. If you are using the Enterprise Secure Gateway, use its IP or FQDN. A custom port can be added using the following syntax: IP_OR_FQDN:PORT.
- login: the login you would like to use.
- mode: the session mode can application or desktop.
- width: specifies the width in pixels for the desktop window.
- height: specifies the height in pixels of the desktop window.
- fullscreen: specifies to start the desktop session in fullscreen mode.
- autopublish: set to true by default. For application mode only, if set to true, the EDC will create shortcuts for the published OVD applications on the Desktop and also associate OVD applications with files based on the file type.
-
systray: set to true by default. For application mode only, when set to true, a systray is shown on the system toolbar that allows you to show the applications list and close the EDC if needed.
Note
set to false with Unity (Ubuntu Desktop) in order to prevent an issue with the systray management done by the Window manager.
-
language: specifies the language to use based on the IETF language code.
- autosave: set to false by default. If set to true, the EDC will operate as though the Remember me checkbox has been selected.
- unicode-keyboard: enables unicode keyboard support
-
ignore-remote-keyboard: Applicable when the unicode-keyboard is disabled. This parameter can be used if you encounter issues typing with your keyboard. You must set this to 0.
Note
When this parameter is set to 0, the Windows Application server must have the parameter windows_ignore_remote_keyboard set to false in the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\OVD\SlaveServer\ApplicationServer
and vice versa. -
grab-keyboard: set to false by default. If set to true, the EDC will take control of the keyboard. This means that any key or key combination will be redirected to the OVD session. This includes OS specific key combination such as
Alt+Tab
orCommand+Tab
.Limitation
Using this setting means that all key combinations entered on the client side will be sent to the remote desktop. That means it is not recommended to use this setting when using local IME.
-
disable-static-shares: set to false by default. If true, local folders such as Desktop and Documents are not redirected to the RDP session. Only USB drives can be seen in the session if enabled in the Session Manager. This setting may be particularly useful when the EDC is installed on a thin client device.
- log: specifies the logging level. Possible levels are:
- 1: Debug
- 2: Info
- 3: Warn
- 4: Error
- console-log: logging will be redirected to standard error if set to true.
- rdp-client: specifies the RDP client to use. Must be freerdp for normal use. See Pilot Mode in the advanced section below for other values.
- hide-advanced: set to false by default. If set to true, the Advanced options UI will be disabled so the user cannot modify the associated settings.
- hide-remember-me: set to false by default. If set to true, the Remember me checkbox will not be displayed so the user cannot modify the setting in the default configuration file.
- hide-toolbar-button: set to false by default unless kiosk mode is enabled. If set to true, the button to show the toolbar will not be displayed.
- hide-session-manager: set to false by default. If set to true, the Server input field will not be displayed so the user cannot modify the value in the default configuration file.
-
toolbar: when a certain key combination is pressed, the EDC will display a toolbar with some shortcuts for toggling the Unicode keyboard, grabbing/releasing the keyboard, and logging out. The default key combination is
Ctrl+Alt+B
for Windows and Linux,Command+Option+B
for macOS. Any other key combination can be specified (e.g.Ctrl+Alt+Meta+F3
).Note
The
Meta
key is usually theMicrosoft Logo
key located betweenCtrl
andAlt
on Windows and Linux.On macOS,
Meta
is theControl
key,Alt
is theOption
key, andCtrl
is theCommand
key. -
jpeg: True by default. Informs the Linux ApS that the client can handle jpeg encoding. Normally does not need to be modified.
- network-auto-detect: True by default which will enable automatic network detection. If set to false, then if the session has been configured to use RemoteFX via the Session Manager settings, a LAN connection will be specified. If the session has not been configured to use RemoteFX, a WAN connection will be specified.
- h264: reserved for future use.
- cpassword: this value is user specific, for internal use only. Do not distribute this value in the default configuration file.
- remotefx: enable or disable RemoteFX. This is useful for thin clients with limited CPU resources, when we want the other access points to continue using RemoteFX. If enabled, the Session Manager setting will take precedence. The default value is True.
- clipboard: enable or disable the local clipboard redirection. If running on a thin client in full-screen, it is not desirable to transfer the clipboard to the local OS, as no applications can make use of it. If enabled, the Session Manager setting will take precedence. The default value is True.
- kiosk: enable or disable kiosk mode. If enabled, the EDC will stop running after the user ends their session. This prevents any data to be preserved between users in a public access environnement. The default value is False.
EDC Configuration Directory¶
By default, the configuration settings are stored as follows, depending on the system being used:
-
Windows: The configuration data can be stored in the registry and in a json file.
If using the registry, the EDC reads the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
first and then theHKEY_CURRENT_USER
tree. The path to the registry data isSoftware\ovd\client
.The boolean settings should be represented as a DWORD key where '1' and '0' equal true and false respectively.
In addition, the configuration is also loaded from the json file.
Each configuration reading overwrites existing data, so the configuration file takes precedence over registry and the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
tree takes precedence over theHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
tree.The regular location of the configuration file is
%LOCALAPPDATA%\ovd\client\config.json
-
macOS: The regular location of the configuration file is
~/Library/ovd/client/config.json
-
Linux: The regular location of the configuration file is
~/.config/ovd/client/config.json
Regardless of the system being used, the json configuration file is first searched for in the current working directory, then in the application folder, then in the regular location (system dependent). Only the first configuration file found is processed.
Warning
The json file must be validated before using it. This can be done by using an online syntax validator. Some examples of validators available online are https://jsonlint.com/ or https://codebeautify.org/jsonvalidator
Logs¶
The log files are located on specific places depending on the Operating System.
- On Windows:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\ovd\client
- On macOS:
~/Library/ovd/client
- On Linux:
~/.config/ovd/client
Command line¶
It is possible to pass the majority of the configuration through command line arguments in the following way:
To display a list of the possible arguments, use the -help option.
Single Sign-On¶
On a Microsoft Windows client with an Active Directory domain user, it is possible to enable Single Sign-on (SSO) to OVD using the local credentials. For further information, please refer to the document Single Sign-On with Microsoft Active Directory using Kerberos.
Printing¶
Printing with redirected printers uses the default printer settings. Currently, there is no support to manage the printer settings from an OVD session. This means that the printer settings required must be set as the default settings on the redirected printer. For example, if you wish to print in color, the default printer setting must be set to Color. During the print processing, a pdf file is generated by OVD and transmitted to the redirected printer. So if the printer is configured to only print in black & white and the actual print request has been defined to use color printing in the OVD session, the pdf file will be printed in black & white.
Multi-monitor¶
The multi-monitor feature allows users to start an OVD session across all the available screens on their machine when full screen mode is selected. This setting (available on the OVD Administration Console) is only supported by the Enterprise Desktop Client when connecting to a Windows desktop session. A maximum of four screens are supported. The cursor position indicates where the session will start so place it on whichever screen you would prefer it to start on while the session is initializing.
Special Considerations for macOS¶
When using the EDC for macOS, an additional change is required in the workstation's system settings in order for multi-monitor to function correctly.
- Go to System Preferences on the macOS workstation.
- Open the Dock settings.
- Set the Prefer tabs when opening documents option to Manually.
Note
This tab preference feature is only available starting from macOS Mojave 10.14. Older macOS versions do not support this setting and require no other modifications.
Pilot Mode¶
The OVD EDC provides a built-in RDP client but, in certain cases, you may require the use of the native RDP client available on the workstation.
This is possible by setting the rdp-client option to cmdline
.
Depending on the Operating System, the EDC will use the following RDP client:
- Windows: Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc)
- Linux / macOS: FreeRDP
Customize parameters¶
In pilot mode, OVD session information must be passed from the EDC to the external RDP client in a format that is comprehensible to it.
That information is passed automatically by default. However if you wish to customize the given parameters, you can create a cmdline.hbs
in the EDC installation folder by copying the example-cmdline.hbs
file located in the doc
folder.
Note
The file cmdline.hbs
can be placed in:
- installation directory
- working directory
- EDC configuration directory
This file will be processed by a templating system to replace the variables with the OVD session information. For example: {{login}}
is replaced by the user's login.
For more information about the template processing, please refer to https://mustache.github.io/mustache.5.html.
Compatibility with OVD Gateway¶
When combining the EDC Pilot Mode with the Enterprise Secure Gateway, the following requirements apply:
- FreeRDP version 2.3+
Note
Windows pilot mode is based on mstsc. This client enforce the usage of a valid SSL certificate on Enterprise Secure Gateway.
Windows¶
On Windows, the content of the cmdline.hbs
file is an mstsc configuration file (.rdp extension).
For more information about the mstsc configuration and available settings, please refer to https://www.donkz.nl/overview-rdp-file-settings/.
Linux / macOS¶
On Linux and macOS, the content of the cmdline.hbs
file is a command line that will be executed.
For more information about the available FreeRDP settings, please refer to the xfreerdp
man page.
Premium Device Redirection¶
This feature is only compatible with Windows Application Servers and the EDC. Dy default, EDC deployment installs additional plugins in order to improve support of particular devices with Windows Application Server.
Using these plugins requires installation of additional components on all Windows Application Servers. Please contact Inuvika Support for further details and support for this functionality.
Currently, the following devices are supported:
- Scanner: available on all supported plaforms
- Webcam: available on all supported plaforms
- USB: available on Windows and Linux platforms
- Printer: only available on Windows platforms
- Biometric: available on Windows and Linux platforms
- Audio: available on Windows and MacOS platforms
Important
Audio support requires the session settings Play audio on remote server
.
Enterprise Mobile Client¶
Installing the EMC¶
The EMC is available on Google Play for Android and the App Store for iOS. For further information, please check the Google Play and App Store sites.
To connect to OVD, the following fields must be entered:
- Login
- Password
- Session Manager: IP:PORT (if not specified the default port used will be 443)
Using the EMC with ChromeOS¶
The EMC can be used with any Chromebook compatible with Android applications.
Note
For a list of compatible ChromeOS devices, please refer to Chrome OS Systems Supporting Android Apps.
Once you have a Chromebook, do the following to enable the Google Play Store:
- Update your Chromebook software so it is at version 61 or higher
-
Sign into the Google Play Store
- Click your account photo
- Click Settings
-
Go to the "Google Play Store" section and turn on Enable Google Play Store on your Chromebook.
Note
If you don't see this option, your Chromebook is not compatible with Android applications.
-
Follow the instructions to sign into your Google account
- When you are done, the Google Play Store application will open. Click Accept to finish.
Once the Google Play Store application has been installed, open it and search for "inuvika" and install the EMC application. When it is successfully installed, it will work the same way as it would on an Android device (i.e. follow Android settings documentation below).
Settings for Android¶
The EMC provides the following settings for the Android platform:
- Hide session manager in login screen: The Session Manager field, normally presented in the login screen, is not displayed. The Session Manager details are stored for re-use.
- Session manager URL (visible if the previous setting is disabled): IP or FQDN for the Session Manager. If you are using the Enterprise Secure Gateway, use its IP or FQDN. A custom port can be added using the following syntax: IP_OR_FQDN:PORT
- Save the password: Allows the user to save the password on his device.
- Fullscreen: Enable or disable fullscreen mode. In fullscreen mode, the Android UI controls are hidden.
- Manual resolution: Allows the user to set the resolution manually
- Session resolution: When the Manual resolution setting is enabled, you can also set the screen dimensions to be used for the OVD session.
- Force wide screen: Enforce usage of the wide screen resolution.
- Adapt resolution: If 'Force wide screen' is not enabled, the session will automatically rotate and resize.
- Dim system bar: If enabled, the system tray (with clock) is dimmed on the desktop.
- Enhanced keyboard: If enabled, predictive text for the keyboard is enabled.
- RDP Compression: Enabling compression may provide better bandwidth utilization.
- Connection type: Select the connection type that best reflects
the actual available bandwidth.
- Not specified (default)
- Modem (56 Kbits/s)
- Broadband Low (256 Kbits/s)
- Satellite (2 Mbits/s)
- Broadband High (10 Mbits/s)
- WAN (10 Mbits/s)
- LAN (100 Mbits/s)
Settings for iOS¶
The EMC provides the following settings for the iOS platform:
- Save the password: Allows the user to save the password on your device.
- Screen Zoom: Change the zoom level for the OVD Session. The Default value will adapt to the size of the screen. The value 1:1 corresponds to the native screen size of the device while other values are fractions of this size.
- Force Landscape: Enforces landscape mode while in an OVD session.
- Adapt resolution: If 'Force Landscape' is not enabled, the session will automatically rotate and resize.
- RDP Compression: Enabling compression may provide better bandwidth utilization.
- Connection type: Select the connection type that best reflects
the actual available bandwidth.
- Not specified (default)
- Modem (56 Kbits/s)
- Broadband Low (256 Kbits/s)
- Satellite (2 Mbits/s)
- Broadband High (10 Mbits/s)
- WAN (10 Mbits/s)
- LAN (100 Mbits/s)