Workspace One UEM and DEM Integration????
With the introduction of VMware Dynamic Environment Manager 2106 and Workspace One UEM 2109, it is possible to combine these two tools. With this it is now also possible to use the power of Dynamic Environment Manager on your non-domain-joined Windows cloud managed devices. You can use VMware Dynamic Environment Manager in integration mode, which refers to an integration of VMware Dynamic Environment Manager and Workspace ONE UEM.
VMware Dynamic Environment Manager uses configuration files to manage user and Windows settings and to dynamically configure the desktop. In standalone mode, the configuration files are stored in a VMware Dynamic Environment Manager configuration share. In integration mode, which is used in combination with Workspace One UEM, the configuration files are contained in a VMware Dynamic Environment Manager config profile file (*.DEMConfig). After you create a VMware Dynamic Environment Manager config profile file, you use Workspace ONE UEM to distribute the file to Workspace ONE UEM endpoints.
Let’s get started!
To see what it takes to integrate VMware DEM in Workspace One UEM, it is best to navigate to:
Groups & Settings –> Configurations –> Dynamic Environment Manager
Here you can see that the following 3 things need to be arranged:
- Install the VMware Dynamic Management Console
- Create Configuration Files
- Deploy the DEM agent to your endpoints and Deliver the config with a UEM device profile
In the next 3 chapters I will discuss these steps one by one.
Step1 : Install the management console
Download the .msi from the VMware site –> right click Install –> Next
I accept the terms in the License Agreement –> Next
Browse to the desired location –> Next
Select Custom –> Next
Deselect VMware DEM FlexEngine and Select VMware DEM Management Console –> Next
Install
Step2 : Create Configuration Files
After the management console has been installed, the management console must be put in integration mode. Then you can press the configure button in the top right of the ribbon.
Click the integration tab and select Workspace One UEM integration mode and click OK”.
Click OK and restart the Management Console. Now it will start in Workspace One UEM integration
Now it will start in Workspace One UEM integration mode.
Before configuring can be started, the following 2 items must first be imported:
- NoAD.XML
- License File
The license file is included in the VMware DEM download and a sample NoAD .XML is included in the download as well. I used this sample file during my tests.
After importing the license and NoAd.xml it is time to start configuring your DEM Settings. In this example I configured a few ADMX settings and three Start Menu shortcuts.
Ater configuring your settings it is time to save the configuration file. The file is saved as a .DEMConfig file.
Step3 : Deploy the DEM agent to your endpoints and Deliver the config with a UEM device profile
Deploy the DEM Agent to your endpoints
In Workspace One UEM navigate to Apps & Books –> Native and select add application
Upload the application file (.msi)
Fill all the required fields and navigate to the Deployment Options Tab and use the following install command to install the agent in Integration Mode:
msiexec /i “VMware Dynamic Environment Manager Enterprise <your version>.msi” /qn INTEGRATION_ENABLED=1
Save the configuration and assign the application to the appropriate device group.
Deliver the config with a UEM device profile
Now it is time to deliver the previous create .DEMConfig file to your endpoints by using a profile.
In Workspace One UEM navigate to Device –> Profiles & Resources –> Profiles
Select Add Profile
Select Windows
Select Windows Desktop
Select Device Profile
Give the Profile a name and select a smart group.
Scroll down to Dynamic Environment Manager and upload the .DEMConfig file and press Save and Publish
Now that all things are configured, it’s time to see if it actually works. In my case a few ADMX based settings, like the wallpaper, are set and the shortcuts are available.
Troubleshooting
In case something doesn’t go as planned or even doesn’t work at all, you can troubleshoot this by examining the logs in the following location.
- Archive –> %LOCALAPPDATA%\VMware\DEM\Archives
- LOG –> %LOCALAPPDATA%\VMware\DEM\Logs
All configuration files are located at C:\Programdata\Airwatch\DEM.
I hope I was able to explain how easy it is to configure, test and troubleshoot the integration between VMware DEM and Workspace One UEM. If there are any questions, please let me know.
Hi Roderik, useful info here. I was able to setup DEM in my campus environment and push out printer mappings and desktop shortcuts. Thanks. Is there a way to remove the settings after you deploy ? Say the printer or URL shortcut changed since you built the profile. Can you uninstall the settings ? It doesn’t appear to be the same as removing a native Windows profile built in WSO. Kindly let me know if you have any suggestions.
Thank you for your time and the helpful info.
Hi William,
For example, you could use a logon task that cleans up these things by using a PowerShell script. Here you could create a condition set that checks whether a certain file is present.