Configuring Session Collaboration on Linux Desktops

With the Session Collaboration feature, users can invite other users to join an existing Linux remote desktop session.

System Requirements for Session Collaboration

To support the Session Collaboration feature on Linux desktops, your Horizon 8 deployment must meet certain requirements.

System Requirements for Session Collaboration

Component	Requirements
Linux remote desktops	The Session Collaboration feature is supported on remote desktops running the following Linux distributions and desktop environments: Ubuntu with Gnome Ubuntu or MATE desktop environment Debian with Gnome desktop environment RHEL with Gnome Classic desktop environment Rocky Linux with Gnome desktop environment
Horizon Connection Server	The Horizon Connection Server instance uses an Enterprise license.
Display protocol	Omnissa Horizon Blast

Note: RHEL, Rocky Linux, and Debian desktops require more system configuration to enable Session Collaboration. For more information, see the following sections.

For information about how to use the Session Collaboration feature, see the Horizon Client documentation.

Enabling Session Collaboration on a RHEL or Rocky Linux 9.x Desktop

For RHEL 9.x and Rocky Linux 9.x desktops, you must install the libappindicator-gtk3 package and install the required GNOME Shell extension.

To enable the Session Collaboration feature and make the Session Collaboration icon available on a RHEL 9.x or Rocky Linux 9.x desktop, complete the following procedure.

1. To install the libappindicator-gtk3 package, perform the installation procedure described in Install Linux Dependency Packages for Horizon Agent.

2. To enable AppIndicator support, download the required GNOME shell extension to the system.

   1. Download the GNOME shell extension from https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/615/appindicator-support/. Select 40 for the shell version and 42 for the extension version.

   2. Extract the contents of the downloaded package and rename the extension directory as appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com (the "uuid" value in the metadata.json file in the package).

   3. Use the mv command to move the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com extension directory to this location: /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions.

      By default, the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com extension is only readable to the root user. To support Session Collaboration, you must make this extension readable to other users as well.

3. Make the metadata.json file in the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com directory readable to all users.

   sudo chmod a+r metadata.json
   

   Proceed to the next step of this procedure, based on your desktop pool type.

   • If you are configuring an automated full-clone desktop pool, go to step 4.
   • If you are configuring any other type of desktop pool, go to step 5.

4. (For automated full-clone desktop pools) Make the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com extension readable to all users.

   1. Open the extension configuration file for editing.

      sudo vi /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-extensions
      

   2. Modify the configuration file to include appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com in the enabled-extensions list, as shown in the following example.

      # List all extensions that you want to have enabled for all users
      enabled-extensions=['background-logofedorahosted.org' , 'appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com']
      

   3. Run the following sequence of commands.

      sudo chmod 755 /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-extensions
      sudo dconf update
      

   The session collaboration feature is now enabled for the desktop. You can skip the remaining steps of this procedure.

5. (For desktop pools besides automated full-clone) Make the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com extension readable to the logged-in user.

   1. Install gnome-extensions-app.

   2. In the desktop environment, restart GNOME Shell by pressing the following sequence of keys on the keyboard.

      Alt+F2
      r
      Enter
      

   3. In the desktop environment, run gnome-extensions-app and then enable AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support. The session collaboration feature is now enabled for the desktop.

Enabling Session Collaboration on a RHEL or Rocky Linux 8.x Desktop

For RHEL 8.x and Rocky Linux 8.x desktops, you must install the required GNOME Shell extension to enable AppIndicator support.

1. Download the required GNOME shell extension to the system from https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/615/appindicator-support/. Select 3.32 for the shell version and 29 for the extension version.

2. Extract the contents of the downloaded package and rename the directory as appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com (the "uuid" value in the metadata.json file in the package).

3. Use the mv command to move the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com directory to this location: /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions.

   By default, the metadata.json file in the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com directory is only readable to the root user. To support Session Collaboration, you must make this file readable to other users as well.

4. Run the command to make metadata.json readable to other users, as shown in the following example.

   sudo chmod a+r metadata.json
   

   Proceed to the next step of this procedure, based on your desktop pool type.

   • If you are configuring an automated full-clone desktop pool, go to step 5.
   • If you are configuring any other type of desktop pool, go to step 6.

5. (For automated full-clone desktop pools) Make the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com extension readable to all users.

   1. Open the extension configuration file for editing.

      sudo vi /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-extensions
      

   2. Modify the configuration file to include appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com in the enabled-extensions list, as shown in the following example.

      # List all extensions that you want to have enabled for all users
      enabled-extensions=['appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com']
      

   3. Run the following sequence of commands.

      sudo chmod 755 /etc/dconf/db/local.d/00-extensions
      sudo dconf update
      

   The session collaboration feature is now enabled for the desktop. You can skip the remaining steps of this procedure.

6. (For desktop pools besides automated full-clone) Make the appindicatorsupport@rgcjonas.gmail.com extension readable to the logged-in user.

   1. Install gnome-tweaks.

   2. In the desktop environment, restart GNOME Shell by pressing the following sequence of keys on the keyboard.

      Alt+F2
      r
      Enter
      

   3. In the desktop environment, run gnome-tweaks and then enable KStatusNotifierItem/AppIndicator Support. The session collaboration feature is now enabled for the desktop.

Enabling Session Collaboration on a Debian Desktop

To enable the Session Collaboration feature on a Debian desktop, complete the following procedure.

1. Install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator.

   sudo apt-get install -y gnome-shell-extension-appindicator
   

2. Open the Extensions window.

   gnome-extensions-app
   

3. In the Extensions window, enable Ubuntu AppIndicators.

Enabling Session Collaboration on a Debian 13.x Desktop

To enable the Session Collaboration feature on a Debian 13.x desktop, complete the following procedure.

1. Install libayatana-appindicator3-1.

   sudo apt-get install -y libayatana-appindicator3-1
   

2. Install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator.

   sudo apt-get install -y gnome-shell-extension-appindicator
   

3. Open the Extensions window.

```

gnome-extensions-app
```

4. In the Extensions window, enable Ubuntu AppIndicators.

Setting Session Collaboration Options in Configuration Files

Set the following option in the /etc/omnissa/viewagent-custom.conf file to enable or deactivate the Session Collaboration feature.

• CollaborationEnable

Set the following options in the /etc/omnissa/config file to configure the settings used during a collaboration session.

• collaboration.logLevel
• collaboration.maxCollabors
• collaboration.enableEmail
• collaboration.serverUrl
• collaboration.enableControlPassing

See Edit Configuration Files on a Linux Desktop for more information.

Session Collaboration Feature Limitations

The following general limitations apply to the Session Collaboration feature:

• Users cannot use the following remote desktop features in a collaboration session.

  • USB redirection
  • Audio input redirection
  • Client drive redirection
  • Smart card redirection
  • Clipboard redirection

• Users cannot change the remote desktop resolution in a collaboration session.

• Users cannot have multiple collaboration sessions on the same client machine.

Troubleshooting Issues with Session Collaboration

Use the following remedies to troubleshoot issues related to Session Collaboration.

• (RHEL and Rocky Linux 9.x) If the Session Collaboration icon fails to appear in the system tray, perform the configuration steps described above in "Enabling Session Collaboration on a RHEL or Rocky Linux 9.x Desktop".

• If the Session Collaboration icon fails to appear in the system tray after a user logs in for the first time to the remote desktop, instruct the user to try one of the following remedies.

  • Disconnect from and reconnect to the desktop. The Session Collaboration icon usually appears after reconnection to the desktop.
  • Restart GNOME Shell using the following steps.
    1. Press Alt+F2 to display the Run a Command dialog box.
    2. Type "r" in the dialog box.
    3. Press Enter.