Windows 7 patches break VMware View connection

VDI already has enough challenges to overcome before it can become as widely adopted as its more mature sibling, server virtualization. But last week, another log may have been thrown on the virtual fire, validating some of the fears being faced by many IT administrators who are currently on the fence as to whether to move forward with this type of desktop virtualization technology.

According to a VMware Knowledge Base article, VMware said there had been a conflict with two security bulletins issued for Windows 7, causing disruptions for VMware’s View Client and creating connection failures for users attempting to access the View Client Server.

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VMware quickly traced the issue down to two specific Microsoft Patches: 2482017 (a cumulative security update for Internet Explorer) and 2467023 (an update to address an issue with the handling of system binaries in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 systems). Both updates were released as part of Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday last week, and the problem affected both 32- and 64-bit versions of Microsoft’s latest Windows 7 operating system running VMware View.

VMware responded to the issue, posting an advisory on its Knowledge Base, giving users two options to move past the problem:

• Users who have already installed the patches can either upgrade to VMware View Client build 353760, or they can uninstall the two Microsoft patches (probably not a good idea since the patches fix a security vulnerability).
• VMware also recommended that if the newest Microsoft security updates had not yet been installed, users should download and install the View Client patch before updating their Windows 7 machines with Microsoft’s security fixes.

How did this happen?

“VMware and Microsoft have an ongoing collaboration to ensure interoperability and have been working closely for the past several months in preparation for the release of Windows 7 Service Pack 1,” said Pat Lee, director of clients and end-user computing at VMware.

But Lee said the Patch Tuesday security updates included the early release of updates anticipated in Windows 7 SP1, which wasn’t due for release until February 22.

Lee added that in order to remedy this with their customers, VMware issued the VMware View update referenced in the Knowledge Base article “within 24 hours of the Microsoft Security Patch, in an effort to minimize customer impact.”

While this incompatibility issue between Microsoft’s updates and VMware’s software was quickly remedied, Gartner’s research vice president Chris Wolf took the opportunity to provide a warning to companies considering a BYOD (bring your own device) delivery model. While this model can help companies save on hardware costs and reduce the number of devices employees use on a regular basis, this scenario also shows how BYOD comes with its own set of support issues and management challenges.

“For organizations planning BYOD scenarios, this week’s Windows 7 patch issue should make you consider the potential for a large-scale break created on Patch Tuesday,” writes Wolf on his Gartner blog. “If we fast-forward a couple of years, it’s possible for an IT organization to have to deal with remediating this type of problem for thousands of users.

“Contingency planning, remediation testing, and training that may also include patch distribution through personal email is an essential, but sometimes overlooked aspect of deploying BYOD solutions,” advised Wolf. “Organizations that are fixing broken VMware View connectivity on user-owned Windows 7 devices are learning that lesson the hard way.”

At the end of the day, it seems as though this particular situation was really more bark than bite. Sure, if affected, it may have appeared to be a major ordeal when it happened. But technically speaking, the problem seems pretty minor after the fact. VMware was quick to respond with an easy-to-follow solution and work-around, and even if affected, nobody should have lost any data or seen any permanent damage from this bug.

Of course, that’s also little consolation to anyone using VMware View who hadn’t heard the news or found the solution to the problem, but instead, remained idle because they couldn’t connect to their environment.

Does an event like this give you pause as you contemplate moving your organization from a thick client, managed PC to a virtual hosted desktop environment? Or was this much ado about nothing?

This article, “Windows 7 patches break VMware View connection,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in virtualization and cloud computing at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.