Release date: July 19th 2022
Welcome to my VMware Horizon series. In this session I will show how I configured the Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams feature. With this enabled, audio and video calls, and viewing viewing desktops, are redirected to the client system. This offloads workload from the virtual infrastructure and network. This feature does not rely on Real-Time Audio-Video (RTAV).
Requirements:
Client system: The Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams feature is installed by default with Horizon Client for Windows when using the GUI installation. If using scripted installation, make sure to add the correct parameter. For my Wyse clients, I make sure to install the latest ThinOS VMware Horizon package, as described here: Dell WMS – Application Upgrade
Horizon Desktops: The Horizon Agent must be installed before MS Teams. As I use MDT to create my Golden Images, I move Teams to after the Horizon Agent stage,
The actual configuration of the Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams feature, is done using admx in Active Directory. In this example I have created a separate Group Policy for Redirection, which I have connected to the OU where my VDI’s computer accounts reside.
Navigate to the “Computer Configuration – Policies – Administrative Templates – VMware View Agent Configuration – VMware HTML5 Features – VMware WebRTC Redirection Features” folder.
Enable the “Enable Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams” setting, OK
Testing: To check that MS Teams is running in optimized mode, I log in on a Horizon Desktop and launch MS Teams. When I click the user icon and About->Version, I can see a banner describing the Microsoft Teams version and pairing modes.
As show above, the actual configuration is quite simple, but be aware, there are quite a lot of limitations when using this feature, as shown below.
Official VMware Documentation about this topic:
Configuring Media Optimization for Microsoft Teams
Technical Overview of Media Optimization for MS Teams (Tech Zone)
VMware Horizon planning, deployment etc.
Official VMware Horizon 8 Documentation
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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