What's New in VMware Workspace Portal 2.1

VMware's Workspace Portal was just brought to version 2.1. This release comes with some exciting changes and new features that make this the best Workspace release yet.

Simplified Deployment - Workspace is now a single VM (still deployed as an OVA). This architectural change makes SO MANY things easier including log locations, configuration changes (like Proxy settings), and much more. The single Connector-va service within the vApp is capable to handle most AD environments. Additional instances can be cloned for high availability and unique domain configurations.

Another handy tidbit is that (finally!) the Bind DN account used during deployment to perform the initial user sync will be added/synced itself by default. Hooray!

AirWatch and Desktone integration - AirWatch 7.3 and Desktone 6.1 can be fully integrated with SSO using Workspace Portal 2.1

All new Dashboard with reporting - I might be the most excited about this one. Out of the box, the new Admin Dashboard shows incredibly useful reporting data such as user engagement, historical trends, system health, and active users. I'm happy to report that this dashboard also dynamically updates - no need for manual refresh (not pointing fingers... Horizon View...)

Also new is the Administrative Service Links (aka, QuickLinks). Going to https://:8443 will take you to a shortcuts page to perform administrative tasks like configure SSL certificates, administer user entitlements, and manage user authentication.