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Reference articleWorkspace Desktops (Legacy)

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Workspace Desktops (Legacy)

This article contains details about legacy Workspace Desktops, their quirks and how to use them.

These particulars are no longer provided side-by-side with information for the other types of Tehama Desktops, as Workspace Desktops are approaching their end of life and their use is discouraged.

Details about Workspace Desktops are provided here as a reference, for Tehama organizations that have not yet completely removed this type of Desktop from their Rooms.

Overview

Workspaces are approaching their end of life within Tehama.

Currently, Tehama offers three types of Desktops - "Windows Desktops" and "Linux Desktops", which are both based on PCoIP infrastructure, and "Workspace Desktops", which is based on AWS Workspace® bundles.

Starting March 1st 2022:

  • New Rooms will not be able to create Workspace Desktop templates.
  • Rooms (those created before March 1st 2022) that have existing Workspace Desktop templates, will still be able to generate Workspace Desktops from them.
  • Tehama will no longer allow users to request custom images based on Workspace Desktops.

Starting October 1st 2022:

  • Workspace Desktops will no longer function and will be removed.

For more information, read the following announcement:

The purpose of this article is to provide usage details for Workspace Desktops, to allow those Tehama organizations still using these types of Desktops to continue to work until they complete the migration process to Tehama's other Desktop types.

Contact Tehama Support to disable Workspace Desktops in your Room.

This article contains the following Workspace-related information:

What are Workspace Desktops

Workspace Desktops are virtual desktops built on Amazon WorkSpaces® bundles. They provide a Windows 10 Desktop experience (powered by Windows Server 2016). See Amazon WorkSpaces® - Features for more details.

If the name of your Desktop's specification begins with "Windows 10 - ", then your Desktop is a Workspace Desktop.

Add/Create a Desktop with type 'Workspace'

Only the Org Admin user and Org Managers and Room Managers (who are members of the Room) of a Room's owner organization (owner+connected or user+owner) can add a new Desktop template to the Room directly. Check the description of your custom role, to see if you can perform this action.

Workspaces are approaching their end of life within Tehama. Rooms created after March 1st 2022 are unable to create templates for Workspace Desktops.

For now, older Rooms can still create Workspace Desktop templates, but all Workspace Desktops will stop functioning and be removed from Tehama on October 1st 2022.

Consider adding a Windows Desktop template instead.

If you have an older Room (created before March 1st 2022) and wish to prevent the creation of Workspace Desktop templates, you can contact Tehama Support to disable this feature in your Room.

Workspace Desktop templates represent a desktop configuration document from which Workspace Desktop instances are generated. They have type 'Workspaces' and offer a selection of different specification/image options (CPU/memory/apps: standard, pro, custom etc.) and various other characteristics (multi-user etc.). They also contain a list of assigned Room members. Each assigned Room member has a Desktop instance (in some cases shared) generated from the Desktop template to connect to.

To add a new Desktop template of type 'Workspace', do the following:

  1. Log in to the Tehama Web UI.
  2. Click on the ROOMS tab.
  3. Click on the name of the Room you want to access. You will see the Room's interface.
  4. Click the Room's CONFIGURE tab.
  5. Click the WINDOWS DESKTOPS sidebar item.
  6. Click the ADD WINDOWS DESKTOP TEMPLATE button at the top right of the page. This will display the ADD WINDOWS DESKTOP TEMPLATE dialog.
  7. If your Room has enabled desktops of type 'Tehama Windows Desktop', then the first dialog you see will show you two choices.
    ◯ Tehama Windows Desktop
    ◯ Workspace
    Select 'Workspace' and then click CHOOSE TEMPLATE. You will see the ADD WINDOWS DESKTOP TEMPLATE dialog with the fields required for desktops of type 'Workspace'.
    • Note: If the first dialog you see is ADD WINDOWS DESKTOP TEMPLATE, then your Room only supports the 'Workspace' type of Windows-based desktop. In that case, the dialog will have the fields required for desktops of type 'Workspace'. Continue to the next step.
  8. Enter the name for your Desktop template.
  9. The default mode for a new Desktop template is 'Individual'. If you see the Mode field, then you may opt to change the mode. If this field is visible, select
    EITHER
    Individual, – which gives each user Room access (a Desktop) that is uniquely available to them,
    OR
    Shared, – which requires you to specify the number of people who will have access to the Desktop, and provides Room access that can be pooled/shared among all users in the access list field, one at a time.
    (See "Note on Shared Desktops" below.)
  10. In the Number of Desktops field which is visible only if you have chosen a Shared mode, enter the number of Desktop instances that will be shared.
  11. In the Image field, choose one of the supported CPU and memory configurations for your virtual machine.
    Note: Not all Desktop images are available in all regions. Read through the list of supported Desktop specifications/images by region.
  12. Under Power Management, select
    EITHER
    On Demand, – which sets the behaviour of the Desktop instances built from this template such that they will be suspended when they are not in use.
    OR
    Always On, – which sets the behaviour of the Desktop instances built from this template such that they will not be suspended when they are not in use.
    (The Power Management selection is not available for the GPU image for Workspaces.)
  13. Click on the CREATE DESKTOPS FOR MEMBERS button. The CREATE DESKTOP(S) dialog will appear. (Click on the arrow to the left of the dialog title to return to the previous dialog.)
  14. Click on the Users field to open the list of Room members that you can assign to this Desktop template.
  15. Select the name(s) of the Room members that you wish to assign to this Desktop template. (There must be at least one name specified. At this time, a template cannot be created without at least one Room member assigned to it.) A separate Desktop instance will be created for each user unless you have opted to create 'Shared' desktop instances.
    • Note that the user(s) assigned to this Workspace Desktop template will be given desktop admin rights on the Desktop instance built for them from the template only if the Room was created with "Desktop Administrator privileges" for Workspaces enabled.
  16. Click REVIEW. The REVIEW dialog will appear.
  17. Read the disclaimer (if any) and review the specification details.
  18. Click CREATE. The SUCCESS dialog will appear.
  19. Click on CLOSE. An entry for the new Desktop template will appear in the list of Desktop templates on the page. Room members that are assigned to the Desktop template will be able to connect to the Desktop instance built from this template for them from the MY DESKTOPS page under the WORK tab in the Room.

A Note on Shared Desktops
    (for the Windows-based 'Workspace' Desktop type only)

An individual Workspace Desktop instance is accessed through a unique username for that Desktop. The username is NOT unique to the individual user (the user logging in to the instance). Multiple users who wish to access the same Windows Desktop instance will do so using a shared/common username. This will impose the following risks in the Windows environment:

  1. There is no user level local file space on the Desktop. All files, application settings and personalization configured within the windows host will be accessible to ALL individuals who access that Desktop. For Example:
    1. Application Specific Configuration, Including:
      1. Saved hosts/password settings entered into PuTTY or WinSCP
      2. Personal Details
      3. Browsing Data (Cookies, Cache, History)
    2. Saved usernames and passwords stored in the browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Google Chrome)
    3. Windows Personalizations
    4. Files added/created
  2. No individual user logging/traceability. Windows log files will be unable to identify a specific individual logged into Windows when searching for a specific event. All user logs will appear from the shared username (unique to the Windows VM).
The Tehama platform DOES however offer the following individual user level feature:

  • Session Recordings. Stored session recordings are stored and associated to an individual Tehama user. For ease of playback, the recordings are marked with the individual usernames.
If a per-user Desktop experience is required, it is recommended to instantiate an Individual Desktop.

 

Connect to a Workspace (with credentials) via AWS Web Client

All members of a Room that have been assigned to a Desktop template in the Room can connect to their instance of the Desktop template (possibly a shared instance).

The preferred way to connect to any Desktop (Workspace Desktops included), is through the Connect to a Desktop (single click) procedure.

However, another option for connecting to Workspace Desktops is through the Amazon Workspaces® Web Client with manually entered credentials.

(Note, this is ONLY available for Desktops of type 'Workspace'.)

  1. Locate the entry for the Desktop (of type Workspace) to which you want to connect in the Tehama Web UI.
  2. Select the "Connect via AWS web client" menu item in the Actions menu for the entry. The Amazon WorkSpaces® Web Access interface will appear in a new browser tab.
  3. The CONNECT WITH CREDENTIALS dialog with credentials for your desktop will appear in the Tehama Web UI. Note the Host Address/Registration Code, the User Name and the Password values. (To view the Password value as plaintext, click on the 'eye' symbol in the field.)
    Note: Desktop credentials are dynamic. The password is automatically rotated every five minutes.
    Note: For convenience, in Tehama, copy buttons are available that automatically place the Host Address/Registration Code, User Name or Password into the clipboard.
  4. Copy the host address/registration code and paste it into the Amazon WorkSpaces® Web Access interface as indicated.
  5. Click Register.
  6. Copy the User Name and Password and paste them into the Amazon WorkSpaces® Web Access interface as indicated.
  7. Click Sign In. (If you are prompted with a Remember Me option, click No.) Your Workspace Desktop session will begin.

Workspace Desktops are approaching end-of-life, and you should consider replacing them with 'Windows Desktops'.

Connect to a Workspace (with credentials) via AWS Client

All members of a Room that have been assigned to a Desktop template in the Room can connect to their instance of the Desktop template (possibly a shared instance).

The preferred way to connect to any Desktop (Workspace Desktops included), is through the Connect to a Desktop (single click) procedure.

However, another option for connecting to Workspace Desktops is through the Amazon Workspaces® Client with manually entered credentials.

(Note, this is ONLY available for Desktops of type 'Workspace'.)

  1. Locate the entry for the Desktop (of type Workspace) to which you want to connect in the Tehama Web UI.
  2. Select the "Connect via AWS client" menu item in the Actions menu for the entry.
  3. The CONNECT WITH CREDENTIALS dialog with credentials for your desktop will appear in the Tehama Web UI. Note the Host Address/Registration Code, the User Name and the Password values. (To view the Password value as plaintext, click on the 'eye' symbol in the field.)
    Note: Desktop credentials are dynamic. The password is automatically rotated every five minutes.
    Note: For convenience, in Tehama, copy buttons are available that automatically place the Host Address/Registration Code, User Name or Password into the clipboard.
  4. Launch the Amazon WorkSpaces® Client in your device. You should see its user interface appear.
  5. Copy the host address/registration code and paste it into the Amazon WorkSpaces® Client's Registration Code field, then click Register. (If there is no field visible for this value, you may need to click the "Change Registration Code" link in order to enter/update this value.)
  6. Copy the User Name and Password and paste them into the Amazon WorkSpaces® Client's Username and Password fields, respectively.
  7. Click Sign In. (If you are prompted with a Remember Me option, click No.) Your Workspace Desktop session will begin.

Workspace Desktops are approaching end-of-life, and you should consider replacing them with 'Windows Desktops'.

Workspace Desktop Connection Troubleshooting

Important Notes about possible issues connecting your Workspace Desktop session:

  • Your Workspace Desktop may be restarting or rebooting. If so, wait a few minutes and try again.
  • For Windows users, if prompted to allow firewall access, click Allow Access.
    The connection can take a minute to be fully established.
  • Upon launch, your Workspace Desktop will begin initializing/starting. The Workspace Agent application (also known as the Desktop Agent) will start up in the background, but will not be displayed. You can display the Workspace Agent by clicking on its icon in the tray or on the desktop. If the Workspace Agent detects an update, the update will be downloaded automatically but the Workspace Agent will not restart. Restart your Desktop session to run the new version of the agent.

Note: When logging off your Workspace Desktop, use the Start menu's "Log off" instead of X'ing out of the Desktop. This ensures that the virtual Desktop is properly logged out of and is available in a timely manner for re-login. This is particularly important in shared Workspaces.

Workspace Desktops are approaching end-of-life, and you should consider replacing them with 'Windows Desktops'.

Force Logout of a Shared Workspace

All members of a Room that have been assigned to a shared Workspace instance in the Room can force the logout of that Desktop.

Occasionally a shared Workspace instance may remain in a logged-in state even though no user is actually using the Desktop. For example, a user may have neglected to log themselves out before leaving on vacation. Or a user may have closed the Workspace application window instead of explicitly logging out. To free up a desktop, so it can be used again, follow these steps:

  1. Locate the entry for the Desktop (of type Workspace - shared) to which you want to connect in the Tehama Web UI.
  2. Click on the Log out current user ... button in the entry. The LOG OUT warning dialog will appear.
  3. Place a checkmark in the checkbox next to the "I understand" statement.
  4. Click LOG OUT.

Workspace Desktops are approaching end-of-life, and you should consider replacing them with 'Windows Desktops'.

Start Desktop Agent on a Workspace Desktop

All members of a Room that have been assigned a Workspace Desktop in the Room can start the Desktop Agent from the menu of a connected session for that Desktop.

The Desktop Agent, AKA the Workspace Agent, will normally start up automatically in a Workspace Desktop session, and run in the background. It provides access to tools and services in the Room through its user interface. You can bring up its interface, (or, if it is not running, start it up) as follows:

Note: The Desktop/Workspace Agent no longer has a shortcut on Workspace Desktops. Use one of the three methods shown below to bring up its interface.

From a connected session:

(See instructions to connect to a Desktop of type 'Workspace' here: Connect to a Desktop of type Workspace with single click.)

 

Method 1 - from the system tray

  1. Look for the Desktop Agent icon in the system tray: desktop agent icon
  2. Click on the icon to bring up the interface.

Method 2 - from the start menu's Tehama folder

  1. Open the start menu.
  2. Scroll down to the Tehama folder. You will see the Workspace Agent within the folder.
  3. Click on it to bring up the interface.

Method 3 - from the start menu's search

  1. Open the start menu.
  2. Type Workspace Agent in the start menu's search bar.
  3. Click on the "Workspace Agent" result to bring up the interface.

If your organization is participating in the Tehama Tools rollout, see the note below for a fourth alternative.

Workspace Desktops are approaching end-of-life, and you should consider replacing them with 'Windows Desktops'.

Access to Desktop/Workspace Agent through Tehama Tools

Certain organizations may be selected to participate in the rollout of a new Tehama feature called Tehama Tools. Users of Desktops in these organizations will see a shortcut on their Desktops for a new application called 'Tehama Tools' that is part of the Tehama Tools feature. This application is a container within which Tehama places tools to make the Desktop user's life easier. The Desktop/Workspace Agent, whose interface provides access to a number of tools, can be accessed from within Tehama Tools.

If your Desktop belongs to one of the organizations participating in the rollout of Tehama Tools, you may click on the Agent from within the 'Tehama Tools' application to bring up its interface.

Contact Tehama Support for more information about Tehama Tools.

View a Workspace Desktop's status

All members of a Room that have been assigned a Workspace Desktop in the Room can view the status of that Desktop.

You need to be assigned to a Workspace Desktop to see its status.

  1. Locate the entry for the Desktop for which you want to view the status in the Tehama Web UI.
  2. Look for the status icon for the entry under the Status column.

You can see the status icon in the Workspace Desktop's entry:

  • in use: in use status icon
    for shared Desktops only, indicates someone is connected to the Desktop, the tooltip displays the user name(s)
  • available: available status icon
    indicates you can connect to the Desktop

Workspace Desktops are approaching end-of-life, and you should consider replacing them with 'Windows Desktops'.

Supported Workspace Desktop Specifications/Images by Region

Currently, all Workspace Desktop specifications/images are available in all the Amazon regions where Tehama provisions Rooms, with the following exceptions:

The following regions do NOT offer the GPU memory configuration options for Workspace Desktops:

  • EU (London)
  • Canada (Montreal)
  • Asia Pacific (Mumbai)

You can find a list of AWS regions where Tehama provisions Rooms in the Room Regions section of the Rooms User Guide.

You can view the region for a Room in the View a Room's region section of the Room/Desktop Connectivity - Types, Status and Settings guide.

Workspace Desktops are approaching end-of-life, and you should consider replacing them with 'Windows Desktops'.

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