Using Virtualbox as a thin client to connect to VMware View

[Pocketsidewalk]

The company I work for recently implemented VMware View. I work from home on a regular basis and would like to access my virtual desktop when working from home. My company currently has no plans to setup a View Security Server, so the only way to connect to the View Connection Server remotely is by first establishing a VPN connection to the company network.

 

I would prefer not to run the VPN client directly on my home PC. Instead, I would like to create a thin client inside a Virtualbox VM and use that thin client to access the VPN and the View Connection Server.

 

Before I dive in, I have a few questions:

 

 

1. Is there an alternative setup that I might be overlooking?
   
2. What is the best thin client OS to use for the Virtualbox VM? I'm using the Cisco VPN Client which claims to work on Linux.
   

[EduTech]

Hi,

 

Take a look at this: Make your Own VMware View Thin Client in 30 Minutes i think that should do what you want :-)

 

Regards,

James.

[kmount]

Hello,

 

Whilst the Security Server would be the best solution, James' suggestion is viable as long as the Meego OS can use a VPN too.

 

I personally do this on a daily basis with a Windows 7 VirtualBox VM which uses the Cisco VPN Client (amongst other clients for other systems) to connect into other systems. This means that my main 'workstation' isn't on the VPN and as such I can be sure of security etc because it's just a disposable VM.

[Pocketsidewalk]

This means that my main 'workstation' isn't on the VPN and as such I can be sure of security etc because it's just a disposable VM.

 

This is precisely my reason for wanting to use this method. I don't want my personal machine to be on the company VPN. I realize that VPN connections can be setup to use split tunneling so that corporate traffic is routed through the VPN and all other traffic is routed through the ISP's gateways, but from a security and privacy standpoint I'd rather have the machine sandboxed inside a VM that is only used for telework purposes.

 

I'm currently using a Windows XP VM running on Virtualbox for all my remote connections. But since we have Windows 7 desktops available through VMware View (and will soon be rolling out thin clients across our offices), I thought it would be a good idea to start researching a way to access my virtual desktop from home.

 

I hope that eventually my employer will implement a Security Server, but in the mean time this information has been very helpful.