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Horizon – Upgrade Horizon Connection Server to v.2406

Release date: August 13th 2024

Welcome to my Omnissa Horizon series.  In this session I will describe how I upgraded my Horizon Connection Servers to v. 2406. According to the Horizon 8 2406 Release Notes, these are some of the changes to the Horizon Connection Server:

  • Horizon Connection Server
    • Horizon 8 now integrates with Amazon WorkSpaces Core allowing customers to take advantage of Amazon’s global Workspaces infrastructure for virtual desktops. Customers can use Horizon 8 console to provision automated pools, perform lifecycle management of VMs, and utilize WorkSpaces Core power management capabilities to manage costs with Windows 10 and 11 instances of Amazon WorkSpaces Core. See Deploying VMware Horizon with Amazon EC2 and Amazon Workspaces.
    • The Horizon 8 server-side configuration now defaults to TLS 1.3, allowing for end-to-end TLS 1.3 encryption for all communications between Horizon components.
    • With the introduction of new Lifecycle Management REST APIs in this release, administrators can now build automated workflows to install and upgrade Horizon Connection Servers. They can also integrate the new APIs with an orchestration engine of their choice. See Horizon 8 APIs for more details and examples on how to use the new APIs.
  • Note: The following considerations apply to perpetual licenses when you install or upgrade to Horizon 8 2406:
    • You must follow the on-screen prompt to consent to the license activation. If you do not provide consent, the license activation will not proceed and Horizon Console will be switched to restricted mode.
    • For upgrade installations, a red banner notifies you that the Horizon Console has been updated and you must reactivate your perpetual license. Follow these instructions to reactivate the license.

Previously I have shown how to do this manually, in this session I will show how to do this with PowerShell and PowerCLI, remotely from a management server. Before I start, I review Omnissa’s documentation describing this topic:

As I have a Cloud Pod Architecture, I also check that replication is flowing without errors, as described by Omnissa here:

In some cases, I have seen upgrade errors caused by replication problems and has had to seize the schema master node, as described by Omnissa here:

To identify the server holding the FSMO Schema Master role, I run LDAP Browser (ldp.exe), as described by Omnissa here:

According to Omnissa’s official documentation, this should be done as step 7 in the supported update sequence.

Horizon 8 Upgrade Overview

 I start out by downloading the installation media from Omnissa Customer Connect

First, I verify the installed version:

Before I start I make myself a little workflow as show below.

Prerequisites:

  • PowerShell Administrative access to the Connection-server

I first created the following credentials to be used in the script:

  • vCenter admin-user:
New-VICredentialStoreItem -User <user> -Password <user> -Host <server> -File C:<your location.xml>
  • Horizon admin-user:
$credential = Get-Credential
$credential | Export-CliXml -Path '<path>hz_admin.xml'

Now that I had the credentials created, I was good to go. (PS: I know I’m no programmer and a lot of this script have the potential for improvement, but, it gets the job done, and that’s good enough for me. If You have input to making this script even better, please leave a comment below, it will be very much appreciated!)

UpgradeCS.ps1

# --- Initialize PowerCLI Modules --- 

Import-Module VMware.VimAutomation.Core
Import-Module VMware.VimAutomation.Common
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -Scope User -ParticipateInCeip $false -Confirm:$false
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction ignore -Confirm:$false
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -DefaultVIServerMode Multiple -Confirm:$false

# --- Connect to vCenter with Get-VICredentialStoreItem ---

$viserver = "vCenter fqdn"
$viuser = Get-VICredentialStoreItem -File "<path to vCenter Credentials>.xml" -host $viserver
Connect-viserver -Server $viserver -User $viuser.user -Password $viuser.password

$cs = "cs fqdn"

# Check for Snapshots and remove any
Get-Snapshot $cs | Remove-Snapshot -confirm:$false

# --- Shut Down VM ---

Try{
   $vm = Get-VM -Name $cs -ErrorAction Stop
   switch($vm.PowerState){
   'poweredon' {
  Shutdown-VMGuest -VM $vm -Confirm:$false
   while($vm.PowerState -eq 'PoweredOn'){
  sleep 5
   $vm = Get-VM -Name $cs
   }
   }
   Default {
   Write-Host "VM '$($cs)' is not powered on!"
   }
   }
   Write-Host "$($cs) has shutdown. It should be ready for configuration."
}
Catch{
   Write-Host "VM '$($cs)' not found!"
}

# --- Take Snapshot ---

$SnapshotName = "Pre-Upgrade"
Get-VM $cs | New-Snapshot -Name $SnapshotName

# --- Power On VM ---

Start-VM -VM $cs
# Wait 5 minutes - SLOW LAB :)
Start-Sleep 300

# --- Configure PSSession ---

$credential = Import-CliXml -Path "<path to horizon admin>hz_admin_${env:USERNAME}_${env:COMPUTERNAME}.xml"
$session = New-PSSession -ComputerName $cs -Credential $credential -Authentication CredSSP

# --- Define, Copy and Run Installer ---

Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {

# Variables
    $InstallDir = "C:Install"
    $ExeName = "VMware-Horizon-Connection-Server*"
    $ExeFile = "<Network-Path>Latest$ExeName"
    $Vendor = "VMware"
    $Product = "Horizon Connection Server"

# Creating temp-folder, copy installer
    New-Item -Path $InstallDir -type directory -Force
    Copy-Item -Path $ExeFile -Destination $InstallDir -Force

# VMware Connection Server MSI Switches
    $MsiArgs = @(
        "/qn"
        "VDM_SERVER_INSTANCE_TYPE=1" # Connection Server
        "VDM_INITIAL_ADMIN_SID=S-1-5-32-544"
    )

# Upgrade Connection Server
    Write-Host "Upgrading $Vendor $Product" -ForegroundColor Green
    $Exe = (Get-ChildItem -Path $InstallDir | Where-Object {$_.name -like $ExeName}).Fullname
    $Install = (Start-Process -Filepath $Exe -Wait -ArgumentList "/s /v""$MsiArgs" -PassThru)
    $Install.ExitCode
    if ($Install.ExitCode -ne '0')
        {
        Write-Host "The upgrade failed, revert to snapshot, remediate error and try again" -ForegroundColor Red
        #exit
        [System.Environment]::Exit(0)
        }

# Copy locked.properties to .sslgatewayconf folder - Just in case....    
    $LockedPropertiesFile = "<Network Path>locked.properties"
    $SslGatewayDir = "C:Program FilesVMwareVMware ViewServersslgatewayconf"
    Copy-Item -Path $LockedPropertiesFile -Destination $SslGatewayDir -Force
    Remove-Item –path $installDir –Recurse -Force
}
Remove-PSSession $session

Get-VM $cs | Restart-VMGuest

# Wait 3 minutes - SLOW LAB :)
Start-Sleep 180

# --- Remove Temp folder and install media ---
Write-Verbose "Remove temp folder and snapshot" -Verbose
$session = New-PSSession -ComputerName $cs -Credential $credential -Authentication CredSSP

Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {

# Waiting for VMware Horizon View Connection Server Service to start"
    $SvcName = 'wsbroker'
    $SvcDisplayName = "VMware Horizon View Connection Server Service"
    $Svc = Get-Service -Name $SvcName
    Write-Host "Waiting for VMware Horizon View Connection Server Service to start" -ForegroundColor Green
    if ($Svc.Status -eq 'Running')
        {
        Write-Host "$SvcDisplayName is Running" -ForegroundColor Green
        }

    if ($Svc.Status -ne 'Running')
        {
        Write-Host "Waiting for $SvcDisplayName to start" -ForegroundColor Green
        $Svc.WaitForStatus("Running")
        Write-Host "$SvcDisplayName is now running" -ForegroundColor Green
        }

# Tidying up
    $installDir = "C:Install"
    Remove-Item –path $installDir –Recurse -Force
}
Remove-PSSession $session

# Remove Snapshot
Read-Host "Press Any Key to remove Snapshot"
Get-VM $cs | Get-snapshot -Name $SnapshotName | Remove-Snapshot  -Confirm:$false

# Disconnect from vCenter
write-host "Disconnecting from vCenter" -ForegroundColor Green
Disconnect-VIServer -Server $viserver -Confirm:$false

Once the script finishes, I can now verify the new version.

With the Connection Servers upgraded, I can now proceed with upgrading the Horizon Enrollment Server, covered here: Horizon – Upgrade Enrollment Server to v. 2406

Omnissa Documentation:

Horizon – Upgrades

Horizon planning, deployment etc.

Disclaimer: Every tips/tricks/posting I have published here, is tried and tested in different it-solutions. It is not guaranteed to work everywhere, but is meant as a tip for other users out there. Remember, Google is your friend and don’t be afraid to steal with pride! Feel free to comment below as needed.

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