nice dcv - administrator guide · 2020-04-24 · • windows 7 — requires nvfbc compatible nvidia...

NICE DCVAdministrator Guide

NICE DCV Administrator Guide

NICE DCV: Administrator GuideCopyright © 2020 Amazon Web Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Amazon's trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service that is notAmazon's, in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among customers, or in any manner that disparages ordiscredits Amazon. All other trademarks not owned by Amazon are the property of their respective owners, who mayor may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by Amazon.


Table of ContentsWhat Is NICE DCV? .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

How NICE DCV Works .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Features .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Requirements .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Server Requirements .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Client Requirements .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Pricing .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Setting Up .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Installing .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Licensing .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23NICE DCV on Amazon EC2 .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23NICE DCV on On-premises and Other Cloud-based Servers ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Installing an Extended Evaluation License .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Installing a Production License .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Upgrading .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Upgrading the NICE DCV Server on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Upgrade the NICE DCV Server on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Managing the Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Starting the Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Starting the Server on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Starting the Server on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Stopping the Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Stopping the Server on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Stopping the Server on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Changing the TCP Port ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Changing the Server TCP Port on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Changing the Server TCP Port on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Disconnecting Idle Clients ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Changing the Idle Timeout Period on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Changing the Idle Timeout Period on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Enabling GPU Sharing on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Changing the TLS Certificate .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Enabling USB Remotization .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Adding Devices to an Allow List on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Adding Devices to an Allow List on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Configuring Smart Card Caching .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Enabling Session Storage .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Enabling Session Storage on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Enabling Session Storage on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Configuring the Clipboard on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Pasting Client Clipboard Content to the Primary Selection .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Copying Primary Selection Content to the Client Clipboard .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Enabling Touchscreen and Stylus Support ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Configuring the HTTP headers .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Configuring HTTP Headers on a Windows NICE DCV Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Configuring HTTP Headers on a Linux NICE DCV Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Configuring Authentication .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Configuring Authentication on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Configuring Authentication on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Configuring Authorization .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Default Permissions File ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Custom Permissions File ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

iii


Working with Permissions Files ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Managing Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Introduction to NICE DCV Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Console Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Virtual Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Using the Command Line Tool to Manage Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Using the Command Line Tool on a Windows NICE DCV Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Using the Command Line Tool on a Linux NICE DCV Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Starting Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Manually Starting Console and Virtual Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Enabling Automatic Console Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Stopping Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Managing Running Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Managing Session Storage .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Managing Session Authorization .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Managing the Session Display Layout .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Viewing Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64How To.. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Find and Stop Idle Sessions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Enable Remote X Connections to the X Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Enable Remote X Connections to the X Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Troubleshooting .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Using the Log Files ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Changing Log File Verbosity on Windows .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Changing Log File Verbosity on Linux .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Common Issues .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Cursor Issues on a Windows NICE DCV Server ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Parameter Reference .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72connectivity Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72session-management Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74session-management/defaults Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75session-management/automatic-console-session Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76security Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76license Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80input Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81display Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81display/linux Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84audio Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85log Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86windows Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87clipboard Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87smartcard Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Modifying Configuration Parameters ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Windows NICE DCV Servers ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Linux NICE DCV servers ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Document History .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

iv

NICE DCV Administrator GuideHow NICE DCV Works

What Is NICE DCV?NICE DCV is a high-performance remote display protocol. It lets you securely deliver remote desktopsand application streaming from any cloud or data center to any device, over varying network conditions.By using NICE DCV with Amazon EC2, you can run graphics-intensive applications remotely on AmazonEC2 instances. You can then stream the results to more modest client machines, which eliminates theneed for expensive dedicated workstations.

Topics• How NICE DCV Works (p. 1)• Features of NICE DCV (p. 1)• NICE DCV Requirements (p. 2)• NICE DCV Pricing (p. 4)

How NICE DCV WorksTo use NICE DCV, install the NICE DCV server software on a server. The NICE DCV server software isused to create a secure session. You install and run your applications on the server. The server uses itshardware to perform the high-performance processing that the installed applications require. Yourusers access the application by remotely connecting to the session using a NICE DCV client application.When the connection is established, the NICE DCV server software compresses the visual output ofthe application and streams it back to the client application in an encrypted pixel stream. The clientapplication receives the compressed pixel stream, decrypts it, and then outputs it to the local display.

Features of NICE DCVNICE DCV offers the following features:

• Shares the entire desktop — Uses the high-performance NICE DCV protocol to share full control ofthe entire remote desktop.

• Transport images only — Transports rendered images as pixels instead of geometry and sceneinformation. This provides an additional layer of security as no proprietary customer information issent over the network.

• Supports H.264-based encoding — Uses H.264-based video compression and encoding to reducebandwidth consumption.

• Supports lossless quality video compression - Supports lossless quality video compression when thenetwork and processor conditions allow.

• Matches display layouts — Automatically adapts the server's screen resolution and display layout tomatch the size of the client window.

• Supports multi-screen — Lets you expand the session desktop across up to four monitors.• Adapts compression levels — Automatically adapts the video compression levels based on the

network's available bandwidth and latency.• Enables collaboration — Provides dynamic sessions that support multiple collaborative clients. Clients

can connect and disconnect at any time during the session.• Supports multiple sessions per server (Linux NICE DCV servers only) — Supports multiple virtual

sessions per Linux NICE DCV server to maximize cost savings.

1

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/adminguide/managing-sessions.html

NICE DCV Administrator GuideRequirements

• Supports GPU sharing (Linux NICE DCV servers only) — Lets you share one or more physical GPUsbetween multiple virtual sessions running on a Linux NICE DCV server.

• Supports USB, smart card, and stylus remotization — Lets you use your peripherals in a NICE DCVsession just like you would on your local computer.

• Supports audio in and out, printing, and copy and paste — Lets you perform these key actionsbetween the session and your local computer.

• Supports file transfer — Lets you transfer files between the session and your local computer.• Provides an HTML5 client - Offers an HTML5 client that can be used with any modern web browser on

Windows and Linux.• Supports modern Linux desktop environments — Supports modern Linux desktops, such as Gnome 3

on RHEL 7.

NICE DCV RequirementsFor a good user experience with NICE DCV, ensure that the server and client computers meet thefollowing minimum requirements. Keep in mind that your users' experience is largely dependent on thenumber of pixels streamed from the NICE DCV server to the NICE DCV client.

Contents• NICE DCV Server Requirements (p. 2)• NICE DCV Client Requirements (p. 3)

NICE DCV Server RequirementsIf you are installing the NICE DCV server on an Amazon EC2 instance, we recommend that you use anAmazon EC2 G3 or G4 instance type. These instance types offer NVIDIA GPUs that support hardware-based OpenGL and GPU sharing. For more information, see Amazon EC2 G3 Instances and Amazon EC2G4 Instances. You can install the NICE DCV server on any other instance type, but there might be screenresolution limitations. A third-party driver can be used to bypass this limitation. If you need the third-party driver, request it from NICE Support.

NICE DCV servers must meet the minimum requirements listed in the following table.

Windows server Linux server

Operatingsystem

• Windows 7 — Requires NvFBCcompatible NVIDIA GPU

• Windows Server 2008 R2 — RequiresNvFBC compatible NVIDIA GPU

• Windows 8.1• Windows Server 2012 R2• Windows 10• Windows Server 2016

NoteAll supported Windows operatingsystems require .NET Framework4.5 and must support the x86-64architecture.

• Amazon Linux 2• CentOS 6.7 or later• CentOS 7.5 or later• RHEL 6.7 or later• RHEL 7.5 or later• SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 with SP2 or

later• Ubuntu 18.04

NoteAll supported Linux operatingsystems must support the x86-64architecture.

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https://support.nice-software.com/support/login/

NICE DCV Administrator GuideClient Requirements

Windows server Linux server

CPU 64-bit processors only

(Optional) An NVIDIA GPU that supports NVIFR or NVENC is required for hardware-based OpenGL. Software-based OpenGL is used if the server does not have an NVIDIAGPU.

GPU

An NVIDIA GPU is required for GPU sharingacross virtual sessions.

Network By default, the NICE DCV server communicates over port 8443. The port is configurablebut must be greater than 1024. Ensure that the server allows communication over therequired port.

NICE DCV Client RequirementsThe following table lists the minimum system requirements for the NICE DCV clients.

Native Windowsclient

Web browser client Linux client macOS client

SoftwareThe Native Windowsclient is supportedon 32-bit and 64-bit versions of thefollowing operatingsystems:

• Windows 7• Windows 8.1• Windows 10

The client alsorequires the followingadditional software:

• .NET Framework4.6.2

• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributablefor VisualStudio. For moreinformationand downloadinstructions, seethe MicrosoftSupport website.

The web browserclient is supportedon the followingbrowsers across alldesktop operatingsystems:

• Firefox• Chrome• Edge• Internet Explorer

11• Safari 11

The web browserclient also requiresWebGL and asm.js.

NoteThe webbrowserclient is notsupportedon mobileoperatingsystems,such asAndroid andiOS.

The Linux client issupported on thefollowing modernLinux operatingsystems:

• RHEL 7.x andCentOS 7.x

• SUSE LinuxEnterprise 12.x

• Ubuntu 16.04 and18.04

The macOS clientrequires macOS HighSierra or later.

NetworkThe client must be able to connect to the NICE DCV server, and it must be able tocommunicate over the required port (8443 by default).

3

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

NICE DCV Administrator GuidePricing

NICE DCV PricingThere is no additional charge for using the NICE DCV server on an Amazon EC2 instance. You pay thestandard rates for the instance and other Amazon EC2 features that you use.

A license is required to install the NICE DCV server on an on-premises or alternative cloud-based server.For more information, see Licensing the NICE DCV Server (p. 23).

4

NICE DCV Administrator GuideInstalling

Setting Up the NICE DCV ServerTo use NICE DCV, install the NICE DCV server software on the server where you intend to host NICE DCVsessions and ensure that it is properly licensed.

The following topics explain how to install and license the NICE DCV server. The Licensing (p. 23) topicapplies to installations on on-premises and alternative cloud-based servers only, because you don't needa license to use the NICE DCV server on an Amazon EC2 instance.

Topics

• Installing the NICE DCV Server (p. 5)

• Licensing the NICE DCV Server (p. 23)

• Upgrading the NICE DCV Server (p. 33)

Installing the NICE DCV ServerThe NICE DCV server is available for Windows and Linux. Both servers offer similar features, but there aresome differences. Choose the NICE DCV server that best meets your needs. The following table comparesthe features supported by the Windows and Linux NICE DCV servers.

Feature WindowsNICE DCVserver (p. 6)

Linux NICE DCVserver (p. 9)

Console sessions (p. 56) x x

Virtual sessions (p. 56) - x

Custom TCP port (p. 38) x x

Idle client disconnection (p. 39) x x

GPU sharing (p. 40) - x

Custom TLS certificates (p. 41) x x

USB remotization (p. 42) x x

Smart card support (p. 43) - x

Session storage and file transfer (p. 44) x x

Copying and pasting (p. 45) x x

Custom HTTP headers (p. 48) x x

Printing from sessions x x

Stereo 2.0 audio playback x x (Not supportedwith CentOS 6)

5

NICE DCV Administrator GuideWindows

Feature WindowsNICE DCVserver (p. 6)

Linux NICE DCVserver (p. 9)

Surround sound up to 7.1 audio playback x -

Stereo 2.0 audio recording x -

Touchscreen support (p. 47) x (Windows 8 andServer 2012 andlater)

x

Stylus support (p. 47) x (Windows 10and Server 2019 )

x

The following topics explain how to install the latest version of the NICE DCV server on Windows andLinux. Follow these steps if you are installing NICE DCV on an Amazon EC2 instance or on an on-premisesor alternative cloud-based server.

NoteIf you are upgrading from an earlier version of the NICE DCV server to the latest version, seeUpgrading the NICE DCV Server (p. 33).

Topics• Installing the NICE DCV Server on Windows (p. 6)• Installing the NICE DCV Server on Linux (p. 9)

Installing the NICE DCV Server on WindowsThis section explains how to install the NICE DCV server on Windows.

Topics• Prerequisites for Windows NICE DCV Servers on Amazon EC2 Instances (p. 6)• Installing the NICE DCV Server on Windows (p. 8)

Prerequisites for Windows NICE DCV Servers on Amazon EC2InstancesThis topic explains how to configure your Windows Amazon EC2 instance before you install the NICEDCV server. If you're not installing the NICE DCV server on an Amazon EC2 Windows instance, skip theseprerequisites.

Topics• Prerequisites for Accelerated Computing Instances (p. 6)• Prerequisites for Other Instance Families (p. 7)

Prerequisites for Accelerated Computing Instances

Prerequisites for GPU Graphics Instances

If you're using a GPU graphics instance, such as G2, G3, or G4, we recommend that you install andconfigure the appropriate NVIDIA GPU drivers. The NVIDIA GPU drivers enable the following:

6


• DirectX and OpenGL hardware acceleration for applications

• Hardware acceleration for H.264 video streaming encoding

• Customizable server monitor resolutions

• Increased maximum resolution for server monitors— up to 4096x2160

• Increased number of server monitors

For more information about installing NVIDIA GPU drivers on your GPU graphics instance, see Installingthe NVIDIA Driver on Windows in the Amazon EC2 User Guide for Windows Instances.

Prerequisites for Other Accelerated Computing Instances

If you're using an accelerated computing instance that is not a GPU graphics instance, such as P2, P3, orP3dn, we recommend that you install and configure the appropriate NVIDIA GPU drivers. The NVIDIAGPU drivers enable hardware acceleration for H.264 video streaming encoding.

For more information about installing NVIDIA GPU drivers on your accelerated computing instance, see Public NVIDIA Drivers in the Amazon EC2 User Guide for Windows Instances.

Unlike the GPU graphics instance, installing the NVIDIA GPU drivers on an accelerated computinginstance does not enhance server monitor limits or resolutions in any way. To add the additional servermonitor resolution support, you can install the NVIDIA GRID drivers. For more information, see NVIDIAvGPU Software on the NVIDIA website.

Prerequisites for Other Instance Families

For instances other than accelerated computing instances, such as instances in the general purpose,compute-optimized, memory-optimized, and storage-optimized instance families, we recommend thatyou install the Amazon WDDM Hook driver.

Installing the Amazon WDDM Hook driver does the following:

• Increases the maximum number of server monitors to three.

• Enables custom server monitor resolutions.

• Increases maximum supported server monitor resolution to 2560x1600.

Server monitors attached by the NICE DCV server cannot be managed using Windows Control Panel.

NoteAmazon WDDM Hook driver is supported on Windows Server 2012 R2 and later.

ImportantInstalling Amazon WDDM Hook driver with any other GPU drivers, such as NVIDIA GPU drivers,might cause conflicts. To avoid conflicts, we recommend that you do not install the AmazonWDDM Hook driver with any other GPU drivers.

To install the Amazon WDDM Hook driver on your instance

1. Download the Amazon WDDM Hook driver installer.

2. Open or double-click the installation file to run the wizard. Or, use the following command to run anunattended installation.

C:\> Amazon_WDDM_Hook_Driver.1.0.0.56.msi /quiet /norestart

3. Reboot the instance, and then reconnect to it.

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https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/install-nvidia-driver.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/install-nvidia-driver.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/install-nvidia-driver.html#public-nvidia-driver

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/install-nvidia-driver.html#public-nvidia-driver

https://www.nvidia.com/object/vGPU-software-driver.html

https://www.nvidia.com/object/vGPU-software-driver.html

https://s3.amazonaws.com/host-drivers-installer/Amazon_WDDM_Hook_Driver.1.0.0.56.msi


Installing the NICE DCV Server on WindowsYou can use an installation wizard to install the NICE DCV server on a Windows host server. The wizardwalks you through a series of steps that let you customize your NICE DCV server installation. Or, you canuse the command line to perform an unattended installation, which uses default settings to automatethe installation procedure.

NoteThe NICE DCV server installer is signed by an SHA-256 certificate. If you are using a serverrunning Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, you must install a Microsoft security updateto support this certificate type. For more information, see Microsoft Security Advisory 3033929and Microsoft Windows Support.

Contents• Using the Wizard (p. 8)• Unattended Installation (p. 8)

Using the Wizard

Use the NICE DCV server installation wizard for a guided installation.

To install the NICE DCV server on Windows using the wizard

1. Launch and connect to the server on which to install the NICE DCV server.2. Download the NICE DCV server installer from the NICE website.

NoteThe NICE DCV server is available only in a 64-bit version and supported on 64-bit Windowsoperating systems.

3. Run nice-dcv-server-x64-Release-2020.0-version_number.msi.4. On the Welcome screen, choose Next.5. On the End-User License Agreement screen, read the license agreement. If you accept the terms,

select the I accept the terms in the License Agreement check box, and choose Next.6. (Optional) On the Drivers Selection screen, select USB device remotization, and choose Will be

installed on local hard drive, Next. This installs the drivers required to support some specializedUSB devices, such as 3D pointing devices and graphic tablets.

7. On the DCV Service Configuration screen:

a. (Optional) To manually configure your server's firewall to allow communication over therequired port, select No, I will manually configure my firewall later.

b. (Optional) To manually start the NICE DCV server after the installation, select No, I wantto start a DCV Service manually. If you select this option, you can't start a console sessionautomatically after the installation is complete. If you select this option, step 9 is skipped.

8. Choose Next.9. On the DCV Session Management Configuration screen, specify the owner for the automatic console

session. Or, to prevent the automatic console session from starting after the installation is complete,select No, I will create the session manually.

NoteComplete this step only if you previously chose to allow the server to start automatically.

10. Choose Install.

Unattended Installation

The unattended installation does the following by default:

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https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2921916/the-untrusted-publisher-dialog-box-appears-when-you-install-a-driver-i

http://download.nice-dcv.com

NICE DCV Administrator GuideLinux

• Adds a firewall rule to allow communication over port 8443.

• Enables NICE DCV server auto-start.

• Creates an automatic console session.

• Sets the console session owner to the user who performs the installation.

You can override the default actions by appending the following options to the installation command:

• DISABLE_FIREWALL=1 — Prevents the installer from adding the firewall rule.

• DISABLE_SERVER_AUTOSTART=1 — Prevents the NICE DCV server from starting automatically afterthe installation.

• DISABLE_SERVER_AUTOMATIC_SESSION_CREATION=1 — Prevents the installer from starting theautomatic console session.

• AUTOMATIC_SESSION_OWNER=owner_name — Specifies a different owner for the automatic consolesession.

• ADDLOCAL=ALL — Installs the DCV drivers required for USB remotization.

To install the NICE DCV server on Windows using an unattended installation

1. Launch and connect to the server on which to install the NICE DCV server.

2. Download the NICE DCV server installer from the NICE website.

NoteThe NICE DCV server is available only in a 64-bit version and supported on 64-bit Windowsoperating systems.

3. Open a command prompt window and navigate to the folder where you downloaded the installer.

4. Run the unattended installer:

C:\> msiexec.exe /i nice-dcv-server-x64-Release-2020.0-version_number.msi /quiet /norestart /l*v dcv_install_msi.log

Installing the NICE DCV Server on LinuxThis section explains how into install the NICE DCV server on Linux.

Topics

• Prerequisites for Linux NICE DCV Servers (p. 9)

• Install the NICE DCV Server on Linux (p. 16)

• Post-Installation Checks (p. 21)

Prerequisites for Linux NICE DCV ServersNICE DCV enables clients to access a remote graphical X session on a Linux server, which provides accessto the corresponding Linux desktop. NICE DCV supports two types of Linux desktop streaming: consolesessions and virtual sessions. For more information about console and virtual sessions, see ManagingNICE DCV Sessions (p. 56).

This topic explains how to install the prerequisites required to use NICE DCV on a Linux server.

Contents

9



• Install a Desktop Environment and Desktop Manager (p. 10)

• Configure the X Server (p. 12)

• Install the glxinfo Utility (p. 14)

• Verify OpenGL Software Rendering (p. 14)

• Install and Configure NVIDIA Drivers (p. 15)

Install a Desktop Environment and Desktop Manager

To help improve your experience with NICE DCV on a Linux server, you can install a desktop environmentand desktop manager.

A desktop environment is a graphical user interface (GUI) that helps you to interact with the Linuxoperating system. There are several desktop environments, and NICE DCV works with many of them.A desktop manager is a program that manages the user login screen, and starts and stops the desktopenvironment sessions and the X server.

The following tabbed content shows the steps for installing the default desktop environment anddesktop manager on the supported operating systems.

RHEL 7.x

The default desktop environment for RHEL 7.x is Gnome3 and the default desktop manager is GDM.

To install and configure the desktop environment and desktop manager on RHEL 7.x

1. Install the desktop environment and the desktop manager packages.

$ sudo yum groupinstall 'Server with GUI'

2. Update the software packages to ensure that the Linux server is up to date.

$ sudo yum upgrade

3. Reboot the Linux server.

$ sudo reboot

CentOS 7.x

The default desktop environment for CentOS 7.x is Gnome3 and the default desktop manager isGDM.

To install and configure the desktop environment and desktop manager on CentOS 7.x


$ sudo yum groupinstall "GNOME Desktop"


$ sudo yum upgrade


10


$ sudo reboot

RHEL 6.x and CentOS 6.x

The default desktop environment for RHEL 6.x and CentOS 6.x is Gnome and the default desktopmanager is GDM.

To install and configure the desktop environment and desktop manager on RHEL 6.x andCentOS 6.x


$ sudo yum groupinstall\"X Window System" "Desktop" "General Purpose Desktop"


$ sudo yum upgrade


$ sudo reboot

Amazon Linux 2

The default desktop environment for Amazon Linux 2 is Gnome3 and the default desktop manageris GDM.

To install and configure the desktop environment and desktop manager on AmazonLinux 2


$ sudo yum install gdm gnome-session gnome-classic-session gnome-session-xsession

$ sudo yum install xorg-x11-server-Xorg xorg-x11-fonts-Type1 xorg-x11-drivers

$ sudo yum install gnome-terminal gnu-free-fonts-common gnu-free-mono-fonts gnu-free-sans-fonts gnu-free-serif-fonts


$ sudo yum upgrade


$ sudo reboot

Ubuntu 18.x

The default desktop environment for Ubuntu 18.x is Gnome3 and the default desktop manager isGDM3. GDM3 is currently not supported with NICE DCV console sessions. We recommend that youuse the LightDM desktop manager if you plan to work with NICE DCV console sessions.

11


To install and configure the desktop environment and desktop manager on Ubuntu 18.x


$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop

Install LightDM.

$ sudo apt install lightdm


$ sudo apt upgrade


$ sudo reboot

SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x

The default desktop environment for SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x is SLE Classic and the defaultdesktop manager is GDM.

To install and configure the desktop environment and desktop manager on SUSE LinuxEnterprise 12.x


$ sudo zypper install -t pattern gnome-basic

$ sudo sed -i "s/DISPLAYMANAGER=\"\"/DISPLAYMANAGER=\"gdm\"/" /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager

$ sudo sed -i "s/DEFAULT_WM=\"\"/DEFAULT_WM=\"sle-classic\"/" /etc/sysconfig/windowmanager


$ sudo zypper update


$ sudo reboot

Configure the X Server

If you intend to use a console session or GPU sharing, you must ensure that your Linux server has aproperly configured and running X server.

NoteIf you intend to use virtual sessions without GPU sharing, you do not need an X server.

12


The X server packages are typically installed as dependencies of the desktop environment and thedesktop manager. We recommend that you configure the X server to start automatically when your Linuxserver boots.

The following tabbed content shows how to configure and start the X server on the supported operatingsystems.


To configure and start the X server on RHEL 6.x and CentOS 6.x

1. Configure the X server to start automatically when the Linux server boots.

$ cat /etc/inittab | grep "id.*initdefault"

If the command returns id:5:initdefault, the X server is already configured to startautomatically. Continue to the next step.

If the command returns id:3:initdefault, the X server is not configured to startautomatically. Run the following command.

$ sudo sed -i "s/id:3:initdefault:/id:5:initdefault:/" /etc/inittab

2. Start the X server.

$ sudo init 5

3. Verify that the X server is running.

$ ps aux | grep X | grep -v grep

The following shows example output if the X server is running.

root 1891 0.0 0.7 277528 30448 tty7 Ssl+ 10:59 0:00 /usr/bin/Xorg :0 -background none -verbose -auth /run/gdm/auth-for-gdm-wltseN/database -seat seat0 vt7

RHEL 7.x, CentOS 7.x, Amazon Linux 2, Ubuntu 18.x, and SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x

To configure and start the X server on RHEL 7.x, CentOS 7.x, Amazon Linux 2, Ubuntu18.x, and SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x

1. Configure the X server to start automatically when the Linux server boots.

$ sudo systemctl get-default

If the command returns graphical.target, the X server is already configured to startautomatically. Continue to the next step.

If the command returns multi-user.target, the X server is not configured to startautomatically. Run the following command:

$ sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target

2. Start the X server.

13


$ sudo systemctl isolate graphical.target

3. Verify that the X server is running.

$ ps aux | grep X | grep -v grep

The following shows example output if the X server is running.

root 1891 0.0 0.7 277528 30448 tty7 Ssl+ 10:59 0:00 /usr/bin/Xorg :0 -background none -verbose -auth /run/gdm/auth-for-gdm-wltseN/database -seat seat0 vt7

Install the glxinfo Utility

The glxinfo utility provides information about your Linux server's OpenGL configuration. It can beused to determine whether your Linux server is configured to support OpenGL hardware or softwarerendering, and it provides information about the drivers and supported extensions.

The glxinfo utility is installed as a package dependency of DCV GL. Therefore, if you installed DCV GL,the glxinfo utility is already installed on your Linux server.

To install the glxinfo utility

Run the following command:

• RHEL 6.x/7.x, CentOs 6.x/7.x, and Amazon Linux 2

$ sudo yum install glx-utils

• Ubuntu 18.x

$ sudo apt install mesa-utils

• SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x

$ sudo zypper in Mesa-demo-x

Verify OpenGL Software Rendering

On non-GPU Linux servers, OpenGL is only supported in software rendering mode using the Mesadrivers. If you're using a non-GPU Linux server, and you intend to use OpenGL, ensure that the Mesadrivers are installed and properly configured on your Linux server.

NoteThis applies to non-GPU Linux servers only.

To verify that OpenGL software rendering is available

Make sure that the X server is running, and use the following command:

$ sudo DISPLAY=:0 XAUTHORITY=$(ps aux | grep "X.*\-auth" | grep -v grep | sed -n 's/.*-auth $[^ ]\+$.*/\1/p') glxinfo | grep -i "opengl.*version"

14


The following shows example output if OpenGL software rendering is available:

OpenGL core profile version string: 3.3 (Core Profile) Mesa 17.0.5OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 3.30OpenGL version string: 3.0 Mesa 17.0.5OpenGL shading language version string: 1.30OpenGL ES profile version string: OpenGL ES 3.0 Mesa 17.0.5OpenGL ES profile shading language version string: OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.00

Install and Configure NVIDIA Drivers

With Linux servers that have a dedicated NVIDIA GPU, you must ensure that the appropriate NVIDIAdrivers are installed and properly configured. For more information about installing the NVIDIA driverson an Amazon EC2 Linux instance, see Installing the NVIDIA Driver on Linux Servers in the Amazon EC2User Guide for Linux Instances.

NoteThis applies to Linux servers with NVIDIA GPUs only.

After you have installed the NVIDIA drivers on your Linux server, you must update the xorg.conf.

To generate an updated xorg.conf

1. Run the following command.

nvidia-xconfig --preserve-busid --enable-all-gpus

If you are using a G3 or G4 Amazon EC2 instance and you want to use a multi-monitor consolesession, include the --connected-monitor=DFP-0,DFP-1,DFP-2,DFP-3 parameter as follows.

nvidia-xconfig --preserve-busid --enable-all-gpus --connected-monitor=DFP-0,DFP-1,DFP-2,DFP-3

NoteMake sure that your server does not have the legacy /etc/X11/XF86Config file. If it does,nvidia-xconfig updates that configuration file instead of generating the required /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Run the following command to remove the legacy XF86Config file:

rm -rf /etc/X11/XF86Config*

2. Restart the X server for the changes to take effect.

• RHEL 7.x, CentOs 7.x, Amazon Linux 2, Ubuntu 18.x, and SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x

$ sudo systemctl isolate multi-user.target


• RHEL 6.x and CentOs 6.x

$ sudo init 3

$ sudo init 5

You must also ensure that OpenGL hardware rendering is available on the Linux server.

15

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/install-nvidia-driver.html


To verify that OpenGL hardware rendering is available

Use the following command to ensure that the X server is running.

$ sudo DISPLAY=:0 XAUTHORITY=$(ps aux | grep "X.*\-auth" | grep -v grep | sed -n 's/.*-auth $[^ ]\+$.*/\1/p') glxinfo | grep -i "opengl.*version"

The following shows example output if OpenGL hardware rendering is available.

OpenGL core profile version string: 4.4.0 NVIDIA 390.75OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.40 NVIDIA via Cg compilerOpenGL version string: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 390.75OpenGL shading language version string: 4.60 NVIDIAOpenGL ES profile version string: OpenGL ES 3.2 NVIDIA 390.75OpenGL ES profile shading language version string: OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.20

Install the NICE DCV Server on LinuxThe NICE DCV server is installed using a series of RPM or .deb packages, depending on your host server'soperating system. The packages install all required packages and their dependencies, and perform therequired server configuration.

NoteYou must be signed in as the root user to install the NICE DCV server.

Install the NICE DCV Server


To install the NICE DCV server on a RHEL 6.x and CentOS 6.x

1. Launch and connect to the server on which to install the NICE DCV server.2. The NICE DCV server packages are digitally signed with a secure GPG signature. To allow the

package manager to verify the package signature, you must import the NICE GPG key. To do so,open a terminal window and import the NICE GPG key.

$ sudo rpm --import https://d1uj6qtbmh3dt5.cloudfront.net/NICE-GPG-KEY

3. Download the packages from the NICE website. The RPM and deb packages are packaged into a.tgz archive. Ensure that you download the correct archive for your operating system.

$ wget https://d1uj6qtbmh3dt5.cloudfront.net/2020.0/Servers/nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-el6.tgz

4. Extract the contents of the .tgz archive.

$ tar -xvzf nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-el6.tgz

5. Navigate into the extracted folder.

$ cd nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-el6

6. Install the NICE DCV server.

$ sudo yum install nice-dcv-server-2020.0.8428-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

7. (Optional) If you plan to use virtual sessions, install the nice-xdcv package.

16



$ sudo yum install nice-xdcv-2020.0.296-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

8. (Optional) If you plan to use GPU sharing, install the nice-dcv-gl package.

$ sudo yum install nice-dcv-gl-2020.0.759-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

NoteYou can optionally install the nice-dcv-gltest package. This package includes asimple OpenGL application that can be used to determine whether your virtual sessionsare properly configured to use hardware-based OpenGL.

9. (Optional) If you plan to use NICE DCV with NICE EnginFrame, install the nice-dcv-simple-external-authenticator package.

$ sudo yum install nice-dcv-simple-external-authenticator-2020.0.87-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

10. (Optional) If you plan to support specialized USB devices using USB remotization, install theDCV USB drivers.

To install the DCV USB drivers, you must have Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) installedon your server. Use the following commands to install DKMS.

DKMS can be installed from the Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository. Run thefollowing command to enable the EPEL repository:

$ sudo yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm

After you have enabled the EPEL repository, run the following command to install DKMS:

$ sudo yum install dkms

After you have installed DKMS, run the following command to install the DCV USB drivers:

$ sudo dcvusbdriverinstaller

Amazon Linux 2, RHEL 7.x, and CentOS 7.x

To install the NICE DCV server on Amazon Linux 2, RHEL 7.x, and CentOS 7.x


2. The NICE DCV server packages are digitally signed with a secure GPG signature. To allow thepackage manager to verify the package signature, you must import the NICE GPG key. To do so,open a terminal window and import the NICE GPG key.



$ wget https://d1uj6qtbmh3dt5.cloudfront.net/2020.0/Servers/nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-el7.tgz

17




$ tar -xvzf nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-el7.tgz


$ cd nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-el7


$ sudo yum install nice-dcv-server-2020.0.8428-1.el7.x86_64.rpm


$ sudo yum install nice-xdcv-2020.0.296-1.el7.x86_64.rpm


$ sudo yum install nice-dcv-gl-2020.0.759-1.el7.x86_64.rpm



$ sudo yum install nice-dcv-simple-external-authenticator-2020.0.87-1.el7.x86_64.rpm



DKMS can be installed from the Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository. Run thefollowing command to enable the EPEL repository:

$ sudo yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm

After you have enabled the EPEL repository, run the following command to install DKMS:

$ sudo yum install dkms



18


SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x

To install the NICE DCV server on SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.x





$ curl -O https://d1uj6qtbmh3dt5.cloudfront.net/2020.0/Servers/nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-sles12.tgz


$ tar -xvzf nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-sles12.tgz


$ cd nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-sles12


$ sudo zypper install nice-dcv-server-2020.0.8428-1.sles12.x86_64.rpm


$ sudo zypper install nice-xdcv-2020.0.296-1.sles12.x86_64.rpm


$ sudo zypper install nice-dcv-gl-2020.0.759-1.sles12.x86_64.rpm



$ sudo zypper install nice-dcv-simple-external-authenticator-2020.0.87-1.sles12.x86_64.rpm



Run the following command to install DKMS:

19



$ sudo zypper install http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Ximi1970:/Dkms:/Staging/SLE_12_SP4/noarch/dkms-2.5-11.1.noarch.rpm



Ubuntu 18.04

To install the NICE DCV server on Ubuntu 18.04



$ wget https://d1uj6qtbmh3dt5.cloudfront.net/NICE-GPG-KEY

$ gpg --import NICE-GPG-KEY


$ wget https://d1uj6qtbmh3dt5.cloudfront.net/2020.0/Servers/nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-ubuntu1804.tgz


$ tar -xvzf nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-ubuntu1804.tgz


$ cd nice-dcv-2020.0-8428-ubuntu1804


$ sudo apt install ./nice-dcv-server_2020.0.8428-1_amd64.ubuntu1804.deb


$ sudo apt install ./nice-xdcv_2020.0.296-1_amd64.ubuntu1804.deb


$ sudo apt install ./nice-dcv-gl_2020.0.759-1_amd64.ubuntu1804.deb



20



$ sudo apt install ./nice-dcv-simple-external-authenticator_2020.0.87-1_amd64.ubuntu1804.deb



DKMS is available in the official Ubuntu repository. Run the following command to install DKMS:

$ sudo apt install dkms



Post-Installation ChecksThis topic provides some post-installation checks that you should perform after installing NICE DCV toensure that your NICE DCV server is properly configured.

Contents• Ensure the NICE DCV Server Is Reachable (p. 21)• Ensure That the X Server Is Accessible (p. 21)• Verify That DCV GL Is Properly Installed (p. 23)

Ensure the NICE DCV Server Is Reachable

By default, the NICE DCV server is configured to communicate over port 8443. Ensure that the server isreachable over this port. If you have a firewall that prevents access over port 8443, you must change theport over which the NICE DCV server communicates. For more information, see Changing the NICE DCVServer TCP Port (p. 38).

Also, if you're setting up NICE DCV on an EC2 instance, create a security group to enable access to theport over which the NICE DCV server communicates. For more information, see how to configure securitygroups on EC2.

Ensure That the X Server Is Accessible

You must ensure that NICE DCV console and virtual sessions can access the X server.

Console Sessions

When the NICE DCV server is installed, a dcv user is created. You must ensure that this user can accessthe X server.

To verify that the dcv user can access the X server


$ sudo DISPLAY=:0 XAUTHORITY=$(ps aux | grep "X.*\-auth" | grep -v grep | sed -n 's/.*-auth $[^ ]\+$.*/\1/p') xhost | grep "SI:localuser:dcv$"

21

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-network-security.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-network-security.html


If the command returns SI:localuser:dcv, the dcv user can access the X server.

If the command does not return SI:localuser:dcv, the dcv user does not have access to the X server.Run the following commands to restart the X server:





$ sudo init 3

$ sudo init 5

Virtual Sessions

If you installed the DCV GL package, you must ensure that local users can access the X server. Thisensures that OpenGL hardware acceleration works correctly with virtual sessions.

To verify that local users can access the X server


$ sudo DISPLAY=:0 XAUTHORITY=$(ps aux | grep "X.*\-auth" | grep -v grep | sed -n 's/.*-auth $[^ ]\+$.*/\1/p') xhost | grep "LOCAL:$"

If the command returns LOCAL:, local users can access the X server.

If the command does not return LOCAL:, local users do not have access to the X server. Run thefollowing commands to restart the X server, and to disable and re-enable DCV GL:



$ sudo dcvgladmin disable

$ sudo dcvgladmin enable



$ sudo init 3

$ sudo dcvgladmin disable

$ sudo dcvgladmin enable

22

NICE DCV Administrator GuideLicensing

$ sudo init 5

Verify That DCV GL Is Properly Installed

The dcvgldiag utility is automatically installed when you install the DCV GL package. You can use thisutility to check that the Linux server configuration meets the DCV GL requirements.

To run the dcvgldiag utility

Use the following command:

$ sudo dcvgldiag

The utility returns a list of warnings and errors, along with the possible solutions.

Licensing the NICE DCV ServerThe NICE DCV licensing requirements differ depending on where you are installing and using the NICEDCV server.

ImportantThe following licensing requirements only apply to NICE DCV version 2017.0 and later.

NICE DCV on Amazon EC2You do not need a license server to install and use the NICE DCV server on an EC2 instance. The NICEDCV server automatically detects that it is running on an Amazon EC2 instance and periodically connectsto an S3 bucket to determine whether a valid license is available.

Make sure that your instance:

• Can reach the Amazon S3 endpoint. If it has access to the internet, it connects using the Amazon S3public endpoint. If your instance does not have access to the internet, configure a gateway endpointfor your VPC with an outbound security group rule or access control list (ACL) policy that allows you toreach Amazon S3 through HTTPS. For more information, see Gateway VPC Endpoints in the AmazonVPC User Guide. If you experience any issues connecting to the S3 bucket, see Why can’t I connect to anS3 bucket using a gateway VPC endpoint? in the AWS Knowledge Center.

• Has permission to access the required Amazon S3 object. Add the following Amazon S3 access policyto the instance's IAM role and replace the region placeholder with your AWS Region (for example,us-east-1). For more information, see Create IAM Role.

{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "s3:GetObject", "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::dcv-license.region/*" } ]}

• If you are using a Windows instance, ensure that the instance can access the instance metadata service.Access to this service is required to ensure that the NICE DCV server can be properly licensed. For more

23

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/vpce-gateway.html

https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/connect-s3-vpc-endpoint/

https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/connect-s3-vpc-endpoint/

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_create_for-service.html

NICE DCV Administrator GuideNICE DCV on On-premises and Other Cloud-based Servers

information about the instance metadata service, see Instance Metadata and User Data in the AmazonEC2 User Guide for Windows Instances.

If you are using a custom Windows AMI, you must install either EC2Config Service (Windows Server2012 R2 and earlier) or EC2Launch (Windows Server 2016 and later). This ensures that your instancecan access the instance metadata service. For more information, see Configuring a Windows InstanceUsing the EC2Config Service or Configuring a Windows Instance Using EC2Launch in the Amazon EC2User Guide for Windows Instances.

If you are installing and using the NICE DCV server on an Amazon EC2 instance, you can skip the restof this chapter. The rest of this chapter only applies to using the NICE DCV server on an on-premises oralternative cloud-based server.

NICE DCV on On-premises and Other Cloud-basedServersA license is required to install and use the NICE DCV server on an on-premises or alternative cloud-basedserver. The following licensing options are available:

• Automatic evaluation license— Automatically installed when you install the NICE DCV server. Theselicenses are valid for a period of 30 days from the date of installation. After the license expires, you areno longer able to create and host NICE DCV sessions on the server. These licenses are ideal for short-term testing and evaluation. To test for a longer period, request an extended evaluation license.

NoteThe NICE DCV server defaults to the automatic evaluation license if no other license has beenconfigured.

• Extended evaluation license— An extended evaluation license is an evaluation license that extendsthe initial 30-day evaluation period provided by the automatic evaluation license. The period isdetermined by NICE on a case-by-case basis. Extended evaluation licenses become invalid when theyreach their expiration date, and you are no longer able to create and host NICE DCV sessions on theserver. Extended evaluation licenses must be requested from a NICE distributor or reseller listed on theHow to Buy page of the NICE website. The licenses come as a license file that must be installed on theNICE DCV server.

• Production license—A production license is a full license that you purchase from NICE. Productionlicenses are floating licenses that are managed by a license server. Floating licenses allow you to runmultiple NICE DCV servers in your network and limit the number of concurrent NICE DCV sessionsyou can create across all of the servers. You need one license for each concurrent NICE DCV session.Production licenses are distributed as a license file that you must install on a Reprise License Manager(RLM) server. There are two types of production licenses:• Perpetual Licenses— Perpetual licenses do not have an expiration date and can be used for an

indefinite period.• Subscriptions— Subscriptions are valid for a limited period of time, typically one year. The

expiration date of the license is indicated in the license file. After the license expires, you are nolonger able to create and host NICE DCV sessions on your NICE DCV servers.

For information about how to purchase a NICE DCV perpetual license or a subscription, see How to Buyon the NICE website and find a NICE distributor or reseller in your region.

NoteNICE DCV clients do not require a license.

Note

• NICE DCV server version 2020 is not compatible with production license and extendedevaluation files from NICE DCV server version 2019 and earlier. If you upgrade to NICE DCV

24

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/ec2-instance-metadata.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/ec2config-service.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/ec2config-service.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/ec2launch.html

https://www.nice-software.com/index.html#buy


NICE DCV Administrator GuideInstalling an Extended Evaluation License

server version 2020, you must request compatible license files. For more information, contactyour NICE DCV distributor or reseller.

• NICE DCV server version 2020 license files are backward compatible with NICE DCV serverversions 2017 and 2019.

• NICE DCV clients do not require a license.

Topics

• Installing an Extended Evaluation License (p. 25)

• Installing a Production License (p. 26)

Installing an Extended Evaluation LicenseWhen you request an extended evaluation license from NICE, you receive a license.lic file thatdefines the license.

To install the extended evaluation license

Place the license.lic file in the following folder on your server:

• Windows server

C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\license\license.lic

• Linux server

/usr/share/dcv/license/license.lic

Or, to place the license.lic in a different folder on the server, you must update the license-fileconfiguration parameter so that it specifies the license file's full path.

Topics

• Changing the License Path on a Windows Server (p. 25)

• Changing the License Path on a Linux Server (p. 26)

Changing the License Path on a Windows Server

To update the license-file configuration parameter on a Windows server

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.

2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/license/ keyand select the license-file parameter.

If there is no license-file parameter in the registry key, create one:

a. Open the context (right-click) menu for the license key in the left pane and choose New, StringValue.

b. For Name, enter license-file and press Enter.

3. Open the license-file parameter. For Value data, enter the full path to the license.lic file.

4. Choose OK and close the Windows Registry Editor.

25

NICE DCV Administrator GuideInstalling a Production License

Changing the License Path on a Linux ServerTo update the license-file configuration parameter on a Linux server

1. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.2. Locate the license-file parameter in the [license] section, and replace the existing path with

the new full path to the license.lic file.

If there is no license-file parameter in the [license] section, add it manually using thefollowing format:

license-file = "/custom-path/license.lic"

3. Save and close the file.

Installing a Production LicenseThe following sections in this topic explain how to purchase and use a production license (perpetuallicense or subscription).

Topics• Step 1: Install the RLM Server (p. 26)• Step 2: Get the RLM Server's Host ID (p. 27)• Step 3: Purchase the Perpetual License or Subscription (p. 28)• Step 4: Modify the License File (p. 28)• Step 5: Configure the RLM Server (p. 29)• Step 6: Configure the NICE DCV Server (p. 32)

Step 1: Install the RLM ServerWhen you purchase a perpetual license or subscription, you get a license file that defines the terms ofyour license. You must install the license file on a Reprise License Manager (RLM) server.

For more information about RLM, see the Reprise Software website.

Topics• Install the RLM Server on Windows (p. 26)• Install the RLM Server on Linux (p. 26)

Install the RLM Server on Windows

To install the RLM server on Windows

1. Download the RLM License Administration Bundle from the Reprise Software website.2. Install the RLM License Administration Bundle to C:\RLM.

Install the RLM Server on Linux

To install the RLM server on Linux

1. Download the RLM License Administration Bundle from the Reprise Software website.

26

http://www.reprisesoftware.com/products/license-manager.php

http://www.reprisesoftware.com/admin/software-licensing-download.php

http://www.reprisesoftware.com/admin/software-licensing-download.php


2. Create a user group and an rlm user. This can be any valid user or service account. We stronglyrecommend that you do not use the root account for this value.

$ groupadd -r rlm

$ useradd -r -g rlm -d "/opt/nice/rlm" -s /sbin/nologin -c "RLM License Server" rlm

3. Create the /opt/nice/rlm and /opt/nice/rlm/license directories required for the RLM server.

$ mkdir -p /opt/nice/rlm/license

4. Extract the contents of the RLM License Administration Bundle to /opt/nice/rlm/, and ensurethat the files are owned by the rlm user.

$ tar xvf x64_l1.admin.tar.gz -C /opt/nice/rlm/ --strip-components 1

$ chown -R rlm:rlm /opt/nice/rlm

Step 2: Get the RLM Server's Host IDAfter you install the RLM server, you must get the RLM server's host ID. You'll need to provide this host IDwhen purchasing a perpetual license or subscription.

Get the RLM Server Host ID on Windows

To get the server's host ID, open the command prompt,

Navigate to C:\RLM\, and then run the following command.

C:\> rlmutil.exe rlmhostid ether

The command returns the RLM server's host ID as follows.

Hostid of this machine: 06814example

Record the host ID. You need it for the next step.

Get the RLM Server Host ID on Linux

To get the server's host ID

Navigate to /opt/nice/rlm/, and run the following command.

$ ./rlmutil rlmhostid ether

The command returns the RLM server's host ID as follows.

Hostid of this machine: 06814example

Record the host ID. You need it for the next step.

27


Step 3: Purchase the Perpetual License or SubscriptionFor information about how to purchase a NICE DCV perpetual license or a subscription, see How to Buyon the NICE website and find a NICE distributor or reseller in your region.

You must provide your RLM server's host ID. The host ID is embedded in the license file that NICEprovides.

Step 4: Modify the License FileWhen you purchase a NICE DCV perpetual license or subscription, you receive a license.lic file thatdefines the license. The license.lic file includes the following information:

• The RLM server's hostname.• The RLM server's host ID, which you provided when you purchased the license.• The RLM server's TCP port number. The default is 5053.• The ISV port number. This is an optional port on which the RLM server listens for NICE DCV license

requests.• The NICE DCV products covered by the license, along with the following details for each product:

• The major version covered by the license (for example, 2017 for the 2017 NICE DCV products).• The expiration date. Permanent indicates that the license does not expire.• The maximum number of concurrent sessions (for example, 10 for 10 concurrent sessions on the

server).• The license checksum.• The license signature.

The following code block shows the format of the license.lic file:

HOST RLM_server_hostname RLM_server_host_id RLM_server_portISV nice port=port_numberLICENSE product_1 major_version expiration_date concurrent_sessions share=hi _ck=checksum sig="signature"LICENSE product_2 major_version expiration_date concurrent_sessions share=hi _ck=checksum sig="signature"

The following code block shows an example of a license.lic file with the ISV port omitted. Thelicense file includes licenses for two NICE products, DCV and dcv-gl.

HOST My-RLM-server abcdef123456 5053ISV niceLICENSE nice dcv 2017 permanent 10 share=hi _ck=456789098a sig="abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890ab"LICENSE nice dcv-gl 2017 permanent 10 share=hi _ck=123454323x sig="1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz12"

To edit the license.lic file

1. Open the file with your preferred text editor.2. Add your RLM server's hostname and the TCP port number to the first line in the file, which starts

with HOST.

WarningThe RLM_server_host_id is the host ID that you provided when you purchased thelicense. You cannot edit the RLM_server_host_id.

28



3. (Optional) Add the ISV port number in the second line in the file, which starts with ISV, by addingport=port_number.

If you do not want to specify an ISV port, omit port=port_number. If you do not specify a port, arandom port is used. Using a random port might cause conflicts with your firewall configuration.


WarningEditing any other part of the license file corrupts the file's signature and invalidates the license.

Step 5: Configure the RLM ServerAfter you have modified the license file, you must place it on your RLM server and then start the RLMservice.

Topics• Configure the RLM Server on Windows (p. 29)• Configure the RLM Server on Linux (p. 30)

Configure the RLM Server on Windows

To configure the RLM server on Windows

1. Connect to your RLM sever.2. Copy the edited license.lic file to C:\RLM\license\.3. Copy the C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\license\nice.set file from your NICE DCV

server and place it in the C:\RLM\ folder on your RLM server.4. Install the RLM server as a Windows service.

C:\> rlm.exe -nows -dlog C:\RLM\rlm.log -c C:\RLM\license -install_service -service_name dcv-rlm

For more information about the RLM startup options, see the RLM License Administration Manual.5. Start the RLM server.

C:\> net start dcv-rlm

6. Confirm that the RLM server is running.

a. Open C:\RLM\nice.dlog with your preferred text editor and confirm that the following lineappears.

date_time (nice) Server started on license1 (hostid: host_id) for: dcv dcv-gl

NoteThe contents of the rlm.log file might vary slightly depending on the RLM serverversion.

b. Run the following command.

C:\RLM\rlmutil rlmstat -a -c rlm_server_hostname@5053

The command should return information about the RLM server.

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http://www.reprisesoftware.com/RLM_Enduser.html


Configure the RLM Server on Linux

To configure the RLM server on Linux

1. Copy the edited license.lic file to /opt/nice/rlm/license/.

2. Copy the /usr/share/dcv/license/nice.set file from your NICE DCV server and place it in /opt/nice/rlm on your RLM server.

3. Create an RLM server service and make sure that it starts automatically at startup.

a. Create a file named dcv-rlm in the /opt/nice/rlm/ folder:

$ touch /opt/nice/rlm/dcv-rlm

b. Open the file using your preferred text editor and add the following script. Save and close thefile.

#! /bin/sh# chkconfig: 35 99 01# description: The Reprise License Manager daemon.# processname: dcv-rlm

### BEGIN INIT INFO# Provides: dcv-rlm# Required-Start: $local_fs $remote_fs $syslog# Required-Stop: $local_fs $remote_fs $syslog# Default-Start: 3 4 5# Default-Stop: 0 1 2 6# Short-Description: The Reprise License Manager daemon.# Description: A service that runs the Reprise License Manager daemon.### END INIT INFO

# user used to run the daemonRLM_USER="rlm"

# root of rlm installationRLM_ROOT="/opt/nice/rlm"

# license directory (license files should have .lic extension)RLM_LICENSE_DIR="/opt/nice/rlm/license"

# log fileRLM_LOG_FILE="/var/log/rlm.log"

_getpid() { pidof -o $$ -o $PPID -o %PPID -x "$1"}

start() { echo -n "Starting rlm: " touch ${RLM_LOG_FILE} chown "${RLM_USER}" ${RLM_LOG_FILE} su -p -s /bin/sh "${RLM_USER}" -c "${RLM_ROOT}/rlm -c ${RLM_LICENSE_DIR} \ -nows -dlog +${RLM_LOG_FILE} &" if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then echo "FAILED" return 1 fi echo "OK"}

stop() { echo -n "Stopping rlm: "

30


pid=`_getpid ${RLM_ROOT}/rlm` if [ -n "$pid" ]; then kill $pid >/dev/null 2>&1 sleep 3 if [ -d "/proc/$pid" ] ; then echo "FAILED" return 1 fi fi echo "OK"}

status() { pid=`_getpid ${RLM_ROOT}/rlm` if [ -z "$pid" ]; then echo "rlm is stopped" return 3 fi echo "rlm (pid $pid) is running..." return 0}

restart() { stop start}

case "$1" in start) start ;; stop) stop ;; status) status ;; restart) restart ;; *) echo $"Usage: $0 {start|stop|status|restart}" exit 1esac

exit $?

# ex:ts=4:et:

c. Make the script executable, copy it to /etc/init.d/, and then add it to the chkconfig utility:

chmod +x /opt/nice/rlm/dcv-rlm

cp -a /opt/nice/rlm/dcv-rlm /etc/init.d/

chkconfig --add dcv-rlm

4. Start the RLM server:

$ service dcv-rlm start

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5. Verify that the RLM server is running and functioning as expected. Open var/log/rlm.log withyour preferred text editor and confirm that the following line appears:

date_time (nice) Server started on license1 (hostid: host_id) for: dcv dcv-gl

NoteThe contents of the rlm.log file might vary slightly depending on the RLM server version.

Step 6: Configure the NICE DCV ServerConfigure your NICE DCV server to use the RLM server. To do this, you must configure the license-file configuration parameter on your NICE DCV server.

Topics

• Windows NICE DCV Server Configuration (p. 32)

• Linux NICE DCV Server Configuration (p. 32)

Windows NICE DCV Server Configuration

To configure the license-file configuration parameter on a Windows server


2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/license/ keyand select the license-file parameter.

If there is no license-file parameter in the registry key, you must create it:

a. Open the context (right-click) menu for the license key in the left pane and choose New, StringValue.

b. For Name, enter license-file and press Enter.

3. Open the license-file parameter. For Value data, enter the RLM server's port number and hostnamein the 5053@RLM_server_hostname format.

NoteYou can use the RLM server IP address instead of its hostname.


Linux NICE DCV Server Configuration

To configure the license-file configuration parameter on a Linux server

1. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.

2. Locate the license-file parameter in the [license] section, and replace the existing path withthe RLM server's port and hostname in the 5053@RLM_server_hostname format.

If there is no license-file parameter in the [license] section, add it manually using thefollowing format:

license-file = "5053@RLM_server_hostname"

NoteYou can use the RLM server IP address instead of its hostname.

32

NICE DCV Administrator GuideUpgrading


Upgrading the NICE DCV ServerThe following topic explains how to upgrade the NICE DCV server.

Considerations

• NICE DCV server versions 2017 and later are compatible with NICE DCV client versions 2017 and later.

• NICE DCV server version 2020 is not compatible with production license and extended evaluation filesfrom NICE DCV server version 2019 and earlier. If you upgrade to NICE DCV server version 2020, youmust request compatible license files. For more information, contact your NICE DCV distributor orreseller.

• NICE DCV server version 2020 license files are backward compatible with NICE DCV server versions2017 and 2019.

Contents• Upgrading the NICE DCV Server on Windows (p. 33)

• Upgrade the NICE DCV Server on Linux (p. 33)

Upgrading the NICE DCV Server on WindowsTo upgrade the NICE DCV server on Windows

1. Using an RDP client, connect to the NICE DCV server as the administrator.

2. Ensure that there are no running NICE DCV sessions. Use the dcv list-sessions NICE DCVcommand to check for any running sessions. If there are running sessions, use the dcv closesession NICE DCV command to stop them.

3. After you confirm that there are no running sessions, stop the NICE DCV server. For moreinformation see Stopping the NICE DCV Server on Windows (p. 37).

4. Back up your NICE DCV server configuration. Open the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv, right-click the dcv key, and choose Export.

5. Download the latest version of the NICE DCV Server from the NICE website.

6. Follow the steps described in Using the Wizard (p. 8), starting at step 3.

7. After the installation is complete, confirm that the NICE DCV server configuration is still correct.Open the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv and compare the parameters to the configuration that you exported in step 4.

8. Test the NICE DCV server by starting a new NICE DCV session. For more information, see StartingNICE DCV Sessions (p. 58).

Upgrade the NICE DCV Server on LinuxTo upgrade the NICE DCV server on Linux

1. Use SSH to sign in to the server using the root user.

2. Ensure that there are no running NICE DCV sessions. Use the dcv list-sessions NICE DCVcommand to check for any running sessions. If there are running sessions, use the dcv closesession NICE DCV command to stop them.

33


NICE DCV Administrator GuideUpgrade the NICE DCV Server on Linux

3. After you confirm that there are no running sessions, stop the NICE DCV server. For moreinformation, see Stopping the NICE DCV Server on Linux (p. 37).

4. Back up your NICE DCV server configuration. Copy the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file to safe location.5. Follow the steps described in Install the NICE DCV Server (p. 16).6. After the installation is complete, confirm that the NICE DCV server configuration is still correct.

Open the file that you copied in step 4 and compare it to the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file.7. Test the NICE DCV server by starting a new NICE DCV session. For more information, see Starting

NICE DCV Sessions (p. 58).

34

NICE DCV Administrator GuideStarting the Server

Managing the NICE DCV ServerThe NICE DCV server runs as an operating system service. You must be signed in as the administrator(Windows) or root (Linux) to start, stop, or configure the NICE DCV server.

Topics

• Starting the NICE DCV Server (p. 35)

• Stopping the NICE DCV Server (p. 36)

• Changing the NICE DCV Server TCP Port (p. 38)

• Disconnecting Idle Clients (p. 39)

• Enabling GPU Sharing on a Linux NICE DCV Server (p. 40)

• Changing the TLS Certificate (p. 41)

• Enabling USB Remotization (p. 42)

• Configuring Smart Card Caching (p. 43)

• Enabling Session Storage (p. 44)

• Configuring the Clipboard on a Linux NICE DCV Server (p. 45)

• Enabling Touchscreen and Stylus Support (p. 47)

• Configuring HTTP Headers (p. 48)

• Configuring NICE DCV Authentication (p. 49)

• Configuring NICE DCV Authorization (p. 51)

Starting the NICE DCV ServerThe NICE DCV server must be running in order to host sessions.

By default, the NICE DCV server is configured to start automatically when the server it is hosted on startsup. If you chose to disable automatic startup when you installed the NICE DCV server, you must start theserver manually using the following procedures.

Topics

• Starting the NICE DCV Server on Windows (p. 35)

• Starting the NICE DCV Server on Linux (p. 36)

Starting the NICE DCV Server on WindowsUse the following procedure to manually start the NICE DCV server using the Services snap-in for theMicrosoft Management Console.

To start the NICE DCV server on Windows

1. Open the Services snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console.

2. In the right pane, open DCV Server.

35

NICE DCV Administrator GuideStarting the Server on Linux

3. Choose Start.

NoteIf the server is already running, the Start button is disabled.

Use the following procedure to configure the NICE DCV server to start automatically using the Servicessnap-in for the Microsoft Management Console.

To configure the NICE DCV server to start automatically on Windows

1. Open the Services snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console.2. In the right pane, open DCV Server.3. For Startup service, choose Automatic.

Starting the NICE DCV Server on LinuxUse the following procedure to manually start the NICE DCV server using the command line.

To start the NICE DCV server on Linux

Use the following commands:

• RHEL 6.x and CentOS 6.x

$ sudo service dcvserver start

• RHEL 7.x, CentOS 7.x, SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, and Ubuntu 18.x

$ sudo systemctl start dcvserver

Use the following procedure to configure the NICE DCV server to start automatically using the commandline.

To configure the NICE DCV server to start automatically on Linux



$ sudo chkconfig —add dcvserver

• RHEL 7.x, CentOS 7.x, SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, and Ubuntu 18.x

$ sudo systemctl enable dcvserver

Stopping the NICE DCV ServerYou can stop the NICE DCV server at any time. Stopping the server terminates all active NICE DCVsessions. You can't start new sessions until the server is restarted.

Topics• Stopping the NICE DCV Server on Windows (p. 37)

36

NICE DCV Administrator GuideStopping the Server on Windows

• Stopping the NICE DCV Server on Linux (p. 37)

Stopping the NICE DCV Server on WindowsUse the following procedure to stop the NICE DCV server using the Services snap-in for the MicrosoftManagement Console.

To stop the NICE DCV server on Windows

1. Open the Services snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console.2. In the right pane, open DCV Server.3. Choose Stop.

NoteIf the server is already stopped, the Stop button is disabled.

Use the following procedure to disable automatic NICE DCV server startup using the Services snap-in forthe Microsoft Management Console.

To prevent the NICE DCV server from starting automatically on Windows

1. Open the Services snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console.2. In the right pane, open DCV Server.3. For Startup service, choose Manual.

Stopping the NICE DCV Server on LinuxUse the following procedure to stop the NICE DCV server using the command line.

To stop the NICE DCV server on Linux



$ sudo service dcvserver stop

• RHEL 7.x, CentOS 7.x, and SUSE Linux Enterprise 12

$ sudo systemctl stop dcvserver

Use the following procedure to disable automatic NICE DCV server startup using the command line.

To prevent the NICE DCV server from starting automatically on Linux



$ sudo chkconfig —del dcvserver

• RHEL 7.x, CentOS 7.x, and SUSE Linux Enterprise 12

37

NICE DCV Administrator GuideChanging the TCP Port

$ sudo systemctl disable dcvserver

Changing the NICE DCV Server TCP PortBy default, the NICE DCV server is configured to communicate over port 8443. You can specify a customTCP port after you have installed the NICE DCV server. The port must be higher than 1024.

To allow NICE DCV clients to access your NICE DCV server over the standard HTTPS port (443), werecommend that you use a web proxy or load balancer as a frontend gateway to redirect clientconnections to the server.

Ensure that you communicate any port changes to your clients. They need the port number to connect tosessions.

Topics• Changing the NICE DCV Server TCP Port on Windows (p. 38)• Changing the NICE DCV Server TCP Port on Linux (p. 38)

Changing the NICE DCV Server TCP Port on WindowsTo change the port used by the NICE DCV server, you must configure the web-port parameter using theWindows Registry Editor.

To change the server's TCP port on Windows

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/

connectivity/ key and select the web-port parameter.

If there is no web-port parameter in the registry key, create one:

a. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the connectivity key and choose New,DWORD (32-bit) value.

b. For Name, enter web-port and press Enter.3. Open the web-port parameter. For Value data, enter the new TCP port number.

NoteThe TCP port number must be higher than 1024.

4. Choose OK and close the Windows Registry Editor.5. Stop (p. 36) and restart (p. 35) the NICE DCV server.

Changing the NICE DCV Server TCP Port on LinuxTo change the port used by the NICE DCV server, you must configure the web-port parameter in thedcv.conf file.

To change the server's TCP port on Linux

1. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.2. Locate the web-port parameter in the [connectivity] section and replace the existing TCP port

number with the new TCP port number.

38

NICE DCV Administrator GuideDisconnecting Idle Clients

If there is no web-port parameter in the [connectivity] section, add it manually using thefollowing format:

[connectivity]web-port=port_number

NoteThe TCP port number must be higher than 1024.

3. Save and close the file.4. Stop (p. 36) and restart (p. 35) the NICE DCV server.

Disconnecting Idle ClientsYou can configure NICE DCV to disconnect idle clients that have not sent any keyboard or pointer inputto the NICE DCV server for a specified period. By default, the NICE DCV server disconnects NICE DCVclients that have been idle for a period of 60 minutes.

You can also configure the NICE DCV server to send a notification to idle clients to inform them thattheir session is about to disconnect. Timeout notifications are supported only with NICE DCV servers andclients version 2017.4 and later.

You can use the following procedures to specify a custom idle timeout period.

Topics• Changing the Idle Timeout Period on Windows (p. 39)• Changing the Idle Timeout Period on Linux (p. 40)

Changing the Idle Timeout Period on WindowsTo change the NICE DCV server's idle timeout period, you must configure the idle-timeout parameterusing the Windows Registry Editor.

To change the idle timeout period on Windows

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/

connectivity/ key and select the idle-timeout parameter.

If the parameter does not exist, use the following steps to create it:

a. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the connectivity key, and choose New,DWORD (32-bit) value.

b. For Name, enter idle-timeout and press Enter.3. Open the idle-timeout parameter. For Value data, enter a value for the idle timeout period (in

minutes). To avoid disconnecting idle clients, enter 0.4. Choose OK and close the Windows Registry Editor.

(Optional) To configure the NICE DCV server to send timeout notifications to idle clients

1. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/connectivity/ key and select the idle-timeout-warning parameter.

39

NICE DCV Administrator GuideChanging the Idle Timeout Period on Linux

If the parameter does not exist, use the following steps to create it:

a. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the connectivity key and choose New,DWORD (32-bit) value.

b. For Name, enter idle-timeout-warning and press Enter.2. Open the idle-timeout-warning parameter. For Value data, enter (in seconds) the amount of time

before idle timeout disconnection that the notification should be sent. For example, if you want thenotification to be sent two minutes before the idle timeout is reached, enter 120.


Changing the Idle Timeout Period on LinuxTo change the NICE DCV server's idle timeout period, you must configure the idle-timeout parameterin the dcv.conf file.

To change the idle timeout period on Linux

1. Open /etc/dcv/dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.2. Locate the idle-timeout parameter in the [connectivity] section and replace the existing

timeout period with the new timeout period (in minutes).

If there is no idle-timeout parameter in the [connectivity] section, add it manually using thefollowing format:

[connectivity]idle-timeout=timeout_in_minutes

To avoid disconnecting idle clients, enter 0.3. (Optional) To configure the NICE DCV server to send timeout notifications to idle clients, add the

idle-timeout-warning parameter to the [connectivity] section and specify (in seconds) theamount of time before idle timeout disconnection that the notification should be sent.

idle-timeout-warning=seconds_before_idle_timeout

For example, if you want the notification to be sent two minutes before the idle timeout is reached,specify 120.


Enabling GPU Sharing on a Linux NICE DCV ServerGPU sharing enables you to share one or more physical GPUs between multiple NICE DCV virtualsessions. For more information about sessions, see Managing NICE DCV Sessions (p. 56). Using GPUsharing enables you to use a single NICE DCV server and host multiple virtual sessions that share theserver's physical GPU resources.

NoteGPU sharing is only supported on Linux NICE DCV servers.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, complete the following prerequisites:

40

NICE DCV Administrator GuideChanging the TLS Certificate

• Install the NICE DCV server on a Linux server.

• Install the NICE DCV dcv-gl and nice-Xdcv packages on the server.

• Ensure that the server has at least one supported NVIDIA GPU.

• Install the NVIDIA GPU driver on the server. Official NVIDIA drivers are required. The open-sourceNVIDIA drivers are not supported.

• Ensure that the NVIDIA GPU driver supports hardware-accelerated OpenGL.

• Install an X Server and configure the Device and Screen sections in the xorg.conf file.

NoteYou can use the nvidia-xconfig NVIDIA utility to automatically create an xorg.conf fileand configure it for all the available NVIDIA GPUs.

• Ensure that the X Server is running.

• (Optional) Verify the NICE DCV server configuration by running the dcvgldiag tool. For moreinformation, see Post-Installation Checks (p. 21).

You can also install the nice-dcv-gltest package and run the dcvgltest test application to checkwhether the server is properly configured for GPU sharing.

To enable GPU sharing, you must specify the list of GPUs to be used by the virtual sessions. If you do notspecify the GPUs, only the GPU used by the standard X Server, with the display name :0.0, is used.

You must specify the GPUs in the gl-displays parameter in the dcv.conf file after you complete theprerequisites described earlier in this topic.

To enable GPU sharing on a Linux NICE DCV server

1. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf file with your preferred text editor.

2. Add the [display/linux] section and the gl-displays parameter, and then specify theavailable GPUs in the following format:

[display/linux]gl-displays = [':xserver_port.screen_number_1',':xserver_port.screen_number_2', ...]

Where xserver_port is the server and screen_number is the number associated with the screenthat is associated with the GPU. screen_number starts from 0.

The following example shows the gl-displays parameter for two GPUs running on the default XServer session:

[display/linux]gl-displays = [':0.0',':0.1']


4. Stop (p. 36) and restart (p. 35) the NICE DCV server.

Changing the TLS CertificateNICE DCV automatically generates a self-signed certificate that is used to secure traffic between the NICEDCV client and NICE DCV server. This certificate is used by default if no other certificate is installed onyour NICE DCV server. The default certificate includes two files, the certificate itself (dcv.pem) and a key(dcv.key).

41

NICE DCV Administrator GuideEnabling USB Remotization

You can replace the default NICE DCV certificate and its key with your own certificate and key.

To change the NICE DCV server's TLS certificate

• Windows NICE DCV server

Place the certificate and its key in the following location on your Windows NICE DCV server:

C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\NICE\dcv\

• Linux NICE DCV server

Place the certificate and its key in the following location on your Linux NICE DCV server:

/etc/dcv/

Grant ownership of both files to the dcv user, and change their permissions to 600 (only the ownercan read or write to them).

$ sudo chown dcv certificate_filename.pem key_filename.key

$ sudo chmod 600 certificate_filename.pem key_filename.key

Enabling USB RemotizationNICE DCV enables clients to use specialized USB devices, such as 3D pointing devices or graphic tablets.The devices are physically connected to their computer to interact with an application running on a NICEDCV server.

NoteUSB remotization is only supported with the Windows client. It is not supported with theportable Windows client or the web browser client. Additional configuration might be requiredon the NICE DCV client. For more information, see Using USB Remotization in the NICE DCV UserGuide.

The NICE DCV server uses an allow list to determine which USB devices clients are allowed to use. Somecommonly used USB devices are added to the allow list by default. This enables clients to connect theseUSB devices to their computer and use them on the server without any additional configuration.

However, some specialized devices might not be added to the allow list by default. These devices mustbe manually added to the allow list on the NICE DCV server before they can be used by the client. Afterthey have been added, they appear in the Windows client Settings menu.

Topics• Adding USB Devices to an Allow List on a Windows NICE DCV Server (p. 42)• Adding USB Devices to an Allow List on a Linux NICE DCV Server (p. 43)

Adding USB Devices to an Allow List on a WindowsNICE DCV ServerTo add a USB device to the allow list, you must obtain the USB device's filter string from the client andadd it to the usb-devices.conf file.

42

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideAdding Devices to an Allow List on Linux

To add a USB device to the allow list on a Windows NICE DCV server

1. Ensure that you have installed the latest version of the NICE DCV server and that you opted toinstall the USB remotization drivers. For more information, see Installing the NICE DCV Server onWindows (p. 6).

2. Install the USB device's hardware drivers on the NICE DCV server.3. Request the filter string from the client. For more information, see Using USB Remotization in the

NICE DCV User Guide.4. Open C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\conf\usb-devices.conf using your preferred

text editor and add the filter string to a new line at the bottom of the file.5. Save and close the file.6. Stop and restart the NICE DCV server.

Adding USB Devices to an Allow List on a Linux NICEDCV ServerTo add a USB device to the allow list, you must obtain the USB device's filter string from the client andadd it to the usb-devices.conf file.

Adding USB devices to the allow list on a Linux NICE DCV server

1. Ensure that you have installed the latest version of the NICE DCV server and the DCV USB driver. Formore information, see Installing the NICE DCV Server on Linux (p. 9).

2. Install the USB device's hardware drivers on the NICE DCV server.3. Request the filter string from the client. For more information, see Using USB Remotization in the

NICE DCV User Guide.4. Open /etc/dcv/usb-devices.conf using your preferred text editor and add the filter string to a

new line at the bottom of the file.5. Save and close the file.6. Stop and restart the NICE DCV server.

Configuring Smart Card CachingThe smart card caching feature enables the NICE DCV server to cache smart card values. When thisfeature is enabled, the NICE DCV server caches the results of recent calls to the client's smart card. Futurecalls are retrieved directly from the server's cache, instead of from the client. This helps to reduce theamount of traffic that is transferred between the client and the server and improves performance. It isespecially useful if the client has a slow internet connection.

NoteSmart card functionality is only supported with Linux NICE DCV servers.

Smart card caching is disabled by default. Clients can manually enable smart card caching for eachapplication they run by setting the DCV_PCSC_ENABLE_CACHE environment variable. For moreinformation, see Using a Smart Card in the NICE DCV User Guide. Or, you can configure the NICE DCVserver to permanently enable or disable smart card caching, regardless of the value specified for theDCV_PCSC_ENABLE_CACHE environment variable.

To permanently enable or disable smart card caching


43


https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/adminguide/manage-stop.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/adminguide/manage-start.html


https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/adminguide/manage-stop.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/adminguide/manage-start.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/userguide/using-smartcard.html

NICE DCV Administrator GuideEnabling Session Storage

2. Locate the enable-cache parameter in the [smartcard] section. To permanently enable smartcard caching, enter 'always-on'. To permanently disable smart card caching, enter 'always-off'.

If there is no enable-cache parameter in the [smartcard] section, add it manually using thefollowing format:

[smartcard]enable-cache='always-on'|'always-off'


Enabling Session StorageSession storage is a folder on the NICE DCV server that clients can access when they are connected toa specific NICE DCV session. When you enable session storage for a session, clients can download filesfrom, and upload files to, the specified folder. This feature enables clients to share files while connectedto a session.

Topics• Enabling Session Storage on a Windows NICE DCV Server (p. 44)• Enabling Session Storage on a Linux NICE DCV Server (p. 45)

Enabling Session Storage on a Windows NICE DCVServerTo enable session storage, first create the folder to use for session storage. Then, configure thestorage-root parameter using the Windows Registry Editor.

To enable session storage on Windows

1. Create the folder to use for session storage (for example, c:\session-storage).2. Configure the storage-root parameter.

a. Open the Windows Registry Editor.b. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/session-

management/automatic-console-session key and select the storage-root parameter.

If there is no storage-root parameter in the registry key, create one as follows:

i. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the session-management/automatic-console-session key and choose New, String.

ii. For Name, enter storage-root and press Enter.c. Open the storage-root parameter. For Value data, enter the full path to the folder created in

step 1.

You can also use %home% in the path to specify the home directory of the user who is currentysigned in. For example, the following path uses c:\Users\username\storage\ as thesession storage directory.

%home%/storage/

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideEnabling Session Storage on Linux

NoteIf the specified subdirectory does not exist, then session storage is disabled.

d. Choose OK and close the Windows Registry Editor.

e. Stop (p. 36) and restart (p. 35) the NICE DCV server.

3. Start the session and specify the --storage-root option. For more information, see Starting NICEDCV Sessions (p. 58).

Enabling Session Storage on a Linux NICE DCV ServerTo enable session storage, you must create the folder to use for session storage and then configure thestorage-root parameter in the dcv.conf file.

To enable session storage on Linux

1. Create the folder to use for session storage (for example, /opt/session-storage/).

2. Configure the storage-root parameter.

a. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.

b. Locate the storage-root parameter in the [session-management/automatic-console-session] section. Replace the existing path with the full path to the folder that you created instep 1.

If there is no storage-root parameter in the [session-management/automatic-console-session] section, add it manually using the following format.

[session-management/automatic-console-session]storage-root="/opt/session-storage/"

You can also use %home% in the path to specify the home directory of the user who is currentysigned in. For example, the following parameter uses the $HOME/storage/ directory forsession storage.

[session-management/automatic-console-session]storage-root="%home%/storage/"

NoteIf the specified subdirectory does not exist, then session storage is disabled.



5. Start the session and specify the --storage-root option. For more information, see Starting NICEDCV Sessions (p. 58).

Configuring the Clipboard on a Linux NICE DCVServer

Linux operating systems feature two buffers that you can use when copying and pasting content: theprimary selection and the clipboard. To copy content into the primary selection, highlight the contentusing the mouse cursor. To then paste it from the primary selection, use either the mouse's middle

45

NICE DCV Administrator GuidePasting Client Clipboard Content to the Primary Selection

button or the Shift+Insert keyboard shortcut. To copy content into the clipboard, highlight the contentand select Copy from the context (right-click) menu. To paste it from the clipboard, select Paste from thecontext (right-click) menu.

On a Linux NICE DCV server, you can configure the server to use either the primary selection or clipboardwhen performing copy and paste actions between the client and the server.

Topics

• Pasting Client Clipboard Content to the Primary Selection (p. 46)

• Copying Primary Selection Content to the Client Clipboard (p. 46)

Pasting Client Clipboard Content to the PrimarySelectionBy default, content that is copied in the client is placed in the clipboard. To paste this content on theserver, you must paste it from the clipboard using the context (right-click) menu.

You can configure the server to place the clipboard content into the primary selection. This enablesusers to paste the copied content from both the clipboard, using the context (right-click) menu, and theprimary selection, using either the mouse's middle button or the Shift+Insert keyboard shortcut.

To configure the server to place clipboard content into the primary selection


2. Locate the primary-selection-paste parameter in the [clipboard] section and set the valueto true.

If there is no primary-selection-paste parameter in the [clipboard] section, add it manuallyusing the following format:

[clipboard]primary-selection-paste=true


4. Stop (p. 60) and restart (p. 58) the NICE DCV session.

Copying Primary Selection Content to the ClientClipboardBy default, users can copy content only from the server to the client using the clipboard. This means thatcontent copied into the primary selection cannot be pasted on the client.

You can configure the server to place the primary selection content into the clipboard. This means thatwhen a user copies content to the primary selection on the server, the content is also copied into theclipboard. This enables the user to paste the content from the clipboard into the client.

To configure the server to place primary selection content into the clipboard


2. Locate the primary-selection-copy parameter in the [clipboard] section and set the valueto true.

46

NICE DCV Administrator GuideEnabling Touchscreen and Stylus Support

If there is no primary-selection-copy parameter in the [clipboard] section, add it manuallyusing the following format:

[clipboard]primary-selection-copy=true

3. Save and close the file.4. Stop (p. 60) and restart (p. 58) the NICE DCV session.

Enabling Touchscreen and Stylus SupportTouchscreen is supported with all of the supported Windows operating systems. Stylus is supported withWindows 10 and Windows Server 2019 only. The features are enabled by default on Windows NICE DCVservers. No additional configuration is required.

Touchscreen and stylus are supported with all of the supported Linux operating systems. The featuresare enabled by default on virtual sessions hosted on Linux NICE DCV servers. However, some additionalconfiguration is required to enable the features on console sessions hosted on Linux NICE DCV servers.

To enable touchscreen and stylus support for console sessions hosted on a Linux NICE DCVserver

1. Open /etc/X11/xorg.conf using your preferred text editor.2. Add the following sections to the file.

Section "InputDevice" Identifier "DCV Stylus Pen" Driver "dcvinput"EndSection

Section "InputDevice" Identifier "DCV Stylus Eraser" Driver "dcvinput"EndSection

Section "InputDevice" Identifier "DCV Touchscreen" Driver "dcvinput"EndSection

3. Add the following to the end of the ServerLayout section.

InputDevice "DCV Stylus Pen"InputDevice "DCV Stylus Eraser"InputDevice "DCV Touchscreen"

For example:

Section "ServerLayout" ...existing content... InputDevice "DCV Stylus Pen" InputDevice "DCV Stylus Eraser" InputDevice "DCV Touchscreen"EndSection

4. Save the changes and close the file.

47

NICE DCV Administrator GuideConfiguring the HTTP headers

5. Restart the X server.





$ sudo init 3

$ sudo init 5

6. To ensure that the input devices are properly configured, run the following command.

$ sudo DISPLAY=:0 xinput

The DCV stylus pen, DCV stylus eraser, and DCV touchschreen should appear in the commandoutput. The following is example output.

| Virtual core pointer id=2 [master pointer (3)]| | Virtual core XTEST pointer id=4 [slave pointer (2)]| | dummy_mouse id=6 [slave pointer (2)]| | dummy_keyboard id=7 [slave pointer (2)]| | DCV Stylus Pen id=8 [slave pointer (2)]| | DCV Stylus Eraser id=9 [slave pointer (2)]| | DCV Touchscreen id=10 [slave pointer (2)]| Virtual core keyboard id=3 [master keyboard (2)] | Virtual core XTEST keyboard id=5 [slave keyboard (3)]

Configuring HTTP HeadersYou can configure the NICE DCV server to send additional HTTP response headers to the NICE DCVclient when users connect to a session using the web browser client. The response headers can provideadditional information about the NICE DCV server that users are connecting to.

Topics

• Configuring HTTP Headers on a Windows NICE DCV Server (p. 48)

• Configuring HTTP Headers on a Linux NICE DCV Server (p. 49)

Configuring HTTP Headers on a Windows NICE DCVServerTo configure the HTTP headers on Windows, configure the web-extra-http-headers parameter usingthe Windows Registry Editor.

To configure the HTTP headers on Windows


48

NICE DCV Administrator GuideConfiguring HTTP Headers on a Linux NICE DCV Server

2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/connectivity/ key.

3. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the connectivity key, and choose New,String.

4. For Name, enter web-extra-http-headers and press Enter.

5. Open the web-extra-http-headers parameter. For Value data, enter the HTTP header name andvalue in the following format:

[("header-name", "header-value")]

To specify multiple headers, add them in a comma-separated list. For example:

[("header1-name", "header1-value"), ("header2-name", "header2-value")]



Configuring HTTP Headers on a Linux NICE DCVServerTo configure the HTTP headers on Linux, configure the web-extra-http-headers parameter in thedcv.conf file.

To configure the HTTP headers on Linux

1. Open /etc/dcv/dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.

2. Locate the [connectivity] section. Specify the HTTP header name and value in the followingformat:

[connectivity]web-extra-http-headers=[("header-name", "header-value")]

To specify multiple headers, add them in a comma-separated list. For example:

[connectivity]web-extra-http-headers=[("header1-name", "header1-value"), ("header2-name", "header2-value")]



Configuring NICE DCV AuthenticationBy default, clients are required to authenticate against the server on which NICE DCV is hosted beforeconnecting to a NICE DCV session. If the client fails to authenticate, it is prevented from connecting tothe session. Client authentication requirements can be disabled to allow clients to connect to a sessionwithout authenticating against the server.

NICE DCV supports the following authentication methods:

49

NICE DCV Administrator GuideConfiguring Authentication on Windows

• system — This is the default authentication method. Client authentication is delegated to theunderlying operating system. For Windows NICE DCV servers, authentication is delegated toWinLogon. For Linux NICE DCV servers, authentication is delegated to PAM. Clients provide theirsystem credentials when connecting to a NICE DCV session. Ensure that your clients have thecredentials for the appropriate user accounts on the NICE DCV server.

• none — No client authentication is required when connecting to a NICE DCV session. The NICE DCVserver automatically grants access to all clients attempting to connect to a session.

Make sure that your clients are aware of the authentication method used by the NICE DCV server andthat they have the information required to connect to the session.

Topics• Configuring Authentication on Windows (p. 50)• Configuring Authentication on Linux (p. 51)

Configuring Authentication on WindowsTo change the NICE DCV server's authentication method, you must configure the authenticationparameter using the Windows Registry Editor.

To change the authentication method on Windows

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/security/

key and select the authentication parameter.

If there is no authentication parameter in the registry key, create one:

a. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the authentication key and chooseNew, string value.

b. For Name, enter authentication and press Enter.3. Open the authentication parameter. For Value data, enter either system or none.4. Choose OK and close the Windows Registry Editor.

Windows Credentials ProviderWindows Credentials Provider enables users to bypass the Windows login if they successfullyauthenticate against the DCV server.

Windows Credentials Provider is only supported if the DCV authentication parameter is set tosystem. If the DCV authentication parameter is set to none, users must manually sign in to Windowsafter they have been automatically authenticated against the DCV server.

Windows Credentials Provider is enabled by default when you install the NICE DCV server.

To disable Windows Credentials Provider

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.2. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

\Authentication\Credential Providers\{8A2C93D0-D55F-4045-99D7-B27F5E263407} key.3. Choose Edit, New, DWORD Value.4. For the name, enter Disabled.

50

NICE DCV Administrator GuideConfiguring Authentication on Linux

5. Open the value. For Value data, enter 1 and choose OK.6. Close the Windows Registry Editor.

To re-enable Windows Credentials Provider

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.2. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

\Authentication\Credential Providers\{8A2C93D0-D55F-4045-99D7-B27F5E263407} key.3. Open the Disabled value. For Value data, enter 0 and choose OK.4. Close the Windows Registry Editor.

Configuring Authentication on LinuxTo change the NICE DCV server's authentication method, you must configure the authenticationparameter in the dcv.conf file.

To change the authentication method on Linux

1. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.2. Locate the authentication parameter in the [security] section, and replace the existing value

with either system or none.

If there is no authentication parameter in the [security] section, add it manually using thefollowing format:

[security] authentication=method


Configuring NICE DCV AuthorizationAuthorization is used to grant or deny NICE DCV clients permissions to specific NICE DCV features. InNICE DCV, authorization is configured using a permissions file. The permissions file defines the NICE DCVfeatures to which users have access when they connect to a session.

NICE DCV supports two types of permissions files:

Topics• Default Permissions File (p. 51)• Custom Permissions File (p. 52)• Working with Permissions Files (p. 52)

Default Permissions FileThe default permissions file is used for all sessions if you do not specify a custom permissions file whencreating a session. The default permissions file grants only the session owner full access to all features.

You can customize the default permissions file to include custom authorizations. The default permissionsfile is located in C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\conf\default.perm on Windows NICEDCV servers and /etc/dcv/default.perm on Linux NICE DCV servers.

51

NICE DCV Administrator GuideCustom Permissions File

For information about customizing the default permissions file, see Working with PermissionsFiles (p. 52).

Custom Permissions FileA custom permissions file lets you explicitly define the features that specific users or groups have accessto when they connect to a NICE DCV session. When you use a custom permissions file, you override thedefault permissions file.

To use a custom permissions file, you must first create the permissions file. Next, specify it when youstart the session using the --permissions-file option with the dcv create-session command.For more information about starting sessions, see Starting NICE DCV Sessions (p. 58).

For information about creating a custom permissions file, see Working with Permissions Files (p. 52).

Working with Permissions FilesYou can create a custom permissions file or update an existing permissions file using your preferred texteditor. A permissions file typically takes the following format:

#import file_to_import

[groups]group_definitions [aliases]alias_definitions [permissions]user_permissions

The following sections explain how to populate the sections when updating or creating a permissionsfile.

Contents• Import a Permissions File (p. 52)• Create Groups (p. 53)• Create Aliases (p. 54)• Add Permissions (p. 54)

Import a Permissions FileThe imports section is typically the first section of the permissions file. This section lets you referenceand include existing permissions files. This enables you to incorporate previously defined NICE DCVpermissions into your permissions file.

A permissions file can include multiple imports. An imported permissions file might import otherpermissions files.

To import a permissions file into your permissions file

• Use the #import statement and specify the location of the file with an absolute or a relative path..

• Windows NICE DCV server:

52

NICE DCV Administrator GuideWorking with Permissions Files

#import ..\file_path\file

• Linux NICE DCV server:

#import ../file_path/file

Example

The following statement imports a permissions file named dcv-permissions.file that is located inthe NICE DCV installation folder on a Windows NICE DCV server using an absolute path:

#import c:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\dcv-permissions.file

Create GroupsThe [groups] section of the permissions file lets you define user groups for users that have similar usecases or permissions requirements. Groups can be assigned specific permissions. Permissions assigned toa group apply to all of the users that are included in the group.

To create groups in your permissions file, you must first add the groups section heading to the file.

[groups]

You can then create your groups under the section heading. To create a group, provide the group name,and then specify the group members in a comma-separated list. Group members can be individual users,other groups, and operating system user groups.

group_name=member_1, member_2, member_3

To add a user to a group

Specify the user name.

NoteYou can prefix the user name with user:. Windows domain user names can include a domainname.

group_name=user_1, user:user_2, domain_name\user_3

To add an existing group to a group

Specify the group name prefixed with group:

group_name=group:group_1, group:group_2

To add an operating system user group to a group

Specify the group's name prefixed with osgroup:

group_name=osgroup:os_group_1, osgroup:os_group2

Example

53


The following example adds the groups section heading and creates a group named my-group thatincludes individual users named john and jane, an existing group named observers, and an operatingsystem user group named guests:

[groups]my-group=john, user:jane, group:observers, osgroup:guests

Create AliasesThe [aliases] section of the permissions file lets you create sets of NICE DCV features. After an aliashas been defined, you can grant or deny groups or individual users permissions to use it. Granting ordenying permissions to an alias grants or denies permissions to all of the features that are included in it.

To create aliases in your permissions file, you must first add the aliases section heading to the file.

[aliases]

You can then create your aliases under the section heading. To create an alias, provide the alias name,and then specify the alias members in a comma-separated list. Alias members can be individual NICEDCV features or other aliases.

alias_name=member_1, member_2, member_3

Example

The following example adds the aliases section heading and creates an alias named file-managementthat includes the file-upload and file-download features and an existing alias named clipboard-management.

[aliases]file-management=file-upload, file-download, clipboard-management

Add PermissionsThe [permissions] section of the permissions file lets you control user and group access to specificfeatures or aliases.

To add permissions to your permissions file, first add the permissions section heading to the file.

[permissions]

You can then add your permissions under the section heading. To add a permission, specify the actorthat it governs, the rule to be applied, and the features that it applies to.

actor rule features

The actor can be a user, a group, or an operating system group. Groups must be prefixed with group:.Operating system groups must be prefixed with osgroup:. NICE DCV includes a built-in %owner%reference that can be used to refer to the session owner and a built-in %any% reference that can be usedto refer to any user.

The following rules can be used in permissions statements:

• allow — Grants access to the feature.

54


• disallow — Denies access to the feature, but can be overridden by subsequent permissions.• deny — Denies access to the feature and cannot be overridden by subsequent permissions.

The features can include individual NICE DCV features, aliases, or a combination of both. The list offeatures must be separated by a space. NICE DCV includes a built-in builtin alias that includes all ofthe NICE DCV features.

The following features can be referenced in the permissions file:

• display — Receive visual data from the NICE DCV server.• clipboard-copy — Copy data from the NICE DCV server to the client clipboard.• clipboard-paste — Paste data from the client clipboard to the NICE DCV server.• file-download — Download files from the session storage.• file-upload — Upload files to the session storage.• mouse — Input from the client pointer to the NICE DCV server.• keyboard — Input from the client keyboard to the NICE DCV server.• keyboard-sas — Use the secure attention sequence (CTRL+Alt+Del). Requires the keyboard

feature. Supported on version DCV 2017.3 and later.• touch — Use native touch events. Supported on version DCV 2017.3 and later. Not supported on

Linux NICE DCV servers.• stylus — Input from specialized USB devices, such as 3D pointing devices or graphic tablets.• usb — Read the smart card from the client.• pointer — View NICE DCV server mouse position events and pointer shapes. Supported on version

DCV 2017.3 and later.• audio-out — Play back NICE DCV server audio on the client.• audio-in — Insert audio from the client to the NICE DCV server.• printer — Print PDFs or XPS files from the NICE DCV server to the client.• smartcard — Read the smart card from the client.• builtin — All features.

Example

The following example adds the permissions section heading and adds four permissions. The firstpermission grants a user named john access to the display, file-upload, and file-downloadfeatures. The second permission denies the observers group access to the audio-in and audio-out features, and the clipboard-management feature alias. The third permission grants the guestsoperating system group access to the clipboard-management and file-management aliases. Thefourth permission grants the session owner access to all features.

[permissions]john allow display file-upload file-download group:observers deny audio-in audio-out clipboard-managementosgroup:guests allow clipboard-management file-management%owner% allow builtin

55

NICE DCV Administrator GuideIntroduction to NICE DCV Sessions

Managing NICE DCV SessionsYou must create a NICE DCV session on your NICE DCV server that your clients can connect to. Clients canonly connect to a NICE DCV server if there is an active session.

Topics• Introduction to NICE DCV Sessions (p. 56)

• Using the Command Line Tool to Manage NICE DCV Sessions (p. 57)

• Starting NICE DCV Sessions (p. 58)

• Stopping NICE DCV Sessions (p. 60)

• Managing Running NICE DCV Sessions (p. 61)

• Viewing NICE DCV Sessions (p. 64)

Introduction to NICE DCV SessionsEvery NICE DCV session has the following attributes:

• ID — Used to uniquely identify the session on the NICE DCV server.

• Owner — The NICE DCV user who created the session. By default, only the owner can connect to thesession.

NICE DCV clients need this information to connect to the session.

NICE DCV offers two types of sessions.

Console SessionsConsole sessions are supported on Windows and Linux NICE DCV servers.

Only one console session can be hosted on the NICE DCV server at a time. Console sessions are createdand managed by the Administrator on Windows NICE DCV servers and the root user on Linux NICE DCVservers.

With console sessions, NICE DCV captures the content of the X server. NICE DCV console sessions havedirect access to the NICE DCV server's GPU. Only one X server session can run at a time, and therefore,only one NICE DCV console session can run at at time.

NoteYou can't run console and virtual sessions on the same NICE DCV server at the same time.

Virtual SessionsVirtual sessions are supported on Linux NICE DCV servers only.

A NICE DCV server can host multiple virtual sessions simultaneously. Virtual sessions are created andmanaged by NICE DCV users. NICE DCV users can only manage sessions that they have created. The rootuser can manage all virtual sessions that are currently running on the NICE DCV server.

56

NICE DCV Administrator GuideUsing the Command Line Tool to Manage Sessions

With virtual sessions, NICE DCV starts an X server instance and runs a desktop environment inside the Xserver. NICE DCV starts a new dedicated X server instance for each virtual session. Each virtual sessionuses the display provided by its X server instance.

If the dcv-gl package is installed and licensed, NICE DCV virtual sessions share access to the server'sGPUs. To share hardware-based OpenGL across multiple virtual sessions, you must connect the virtual Xserver instance to the GPU by configuring the dcv-gl.conf file.

NoteYou can't run console and virtual sessions on the same NICE DCV server at the same time.

Using the Command Line Tool to Manage NICEDCV Sessions

The NICE DCV server includes a command line tool that can be used to start, stop, and view NICE DCVsessions.

Using the Command Line Tool on a Windows NICEDCV ServerTo use the command line tool on a Windows NICE DCV server, you must run the commands from theNICE DCV installation directory or you must add the NICE DCV directory to the PATH environmentvariable. If you add the NICE DCV directory to the PATH environment variable, you can use thecommands from any directory.

To use the command line tool from the NICE DCV installation directory

Navigate to the folder in which the dcv.exe file is located, C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\bin\ by default, and open a command prompt window.

Or you can specify the full path when running a command from a different directory. For example:

C:\> "C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\bin\dcv.exe" list-sessions

To add the NICE DCV directory to the PATH environment variable

1. In File Explorer, right-click This PC and choose Properties.2. Choose Advanced system settings.3. On the Advanced tab, choose Environment Variables.4. In the System variables section, select the Path variable and choose Edit.5. Choose New and specify the full path to the bin folder in the NICE DCV installation directory (for

example, C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\bin\).6. Choose OK and close the Environment Variables window.

Using the Command Line Tool on a Linux NICE DCVServerOn Linux NICE DCV servers, the command line tool is automatically configured in the $PATHenvironment variable. This enables you to use the command line tool from any folder. Open a terminalwindow and enter the command to run.

57

NICE DCV Administrator GuideStarting Sessions

Starting NICE DCV SessionsBy default, a console session is automatically created on Windows NICE DCV servers after installation.The default console session is owned by Administrator and has a default session ID of console. Ifyou chose to prevent the automatic console session when you installed the NICE DCV server, you mustcreate one manually. You can enable or disable the automatic console session at any time after youinstall the NICE DCV server.

NoteLinux NICE DCV servers do not get a default console after installation.

If you are using a floating license on an on-premises or alternative cloud-based server and you exceedthe maximum number of concurrent sessions supported by your license, you might get a no licenseserror. If you get this error, stop an unused session to release the license and try again.

The NICE DCV server must be running to start a session. For more information, see Starting the NICE DCVServer (p. 35).

Contents• Manually Starting Console and Virtual Sessions (p. 58)

• Examples (p. 58)• Enabling Automatic Console Sessions (p. 59)

Manually Starting Console and Virtual SessionsYou can start a NICE DCV session at any time. You can only run one console session at a time. If you areusing a Linux NICE DCV server, you can run multiple virtual sessions simultaneously.

To create a console or virtual session on a Windows or Linux NICE DCV server

Use the dcv create-session command and specify the session type and a unique session ID.

The following options can be used with the dcv create-session command:

--type=console|virtual

This option is supported on Linux NICE DCV servers only. It specifies the type of session to becreated and can be either console or virtual.

--user

This option is supported with virtual sessions on Linux NICE DCV sessions only. This value is the userto be used to create the session. Only the root user can impersonate other users.

--owner

Specifies the session owner. Defaults to the currently signed in user if omitted.--permissions-file

Specifies a path to a custom permissions file. Defaults to the server defaults if omitted.--storage-root

Specifies the path to the folder used for session storage.

You can use %home% to specify the home directory of the user who is currently signed in. Forexample, the following sets the directory for session storage as c:\Users\username\storage\for Windows servers or $HOME/storage/ for Linux servers.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideEnabling Automatic Console Sessions

--storage-root %home%/storage/

NoteIf a specified subdirectory does not exist, session storage is disabled.

--gl

This option is supported with virtual sessions on Linux NICE DCV sessions only. It overrides thedefault dcv-gl state and can be either on or off.

--max-concurrent-clients

Specifies the maximum number of NICE DCV clients that are allowed to connect to the session.Defaults to unlimited connections if omitted.

--init

This option is supported with virtual sessions on Linux NICE DCV servers only. It specifies the pathto a custom init script. The script can be used to start a specific desktop environment and launchspecific applications automatically when the session starts. The script must be executable. Defaultsto a script that starts the default desktop environment if omitted.

ExamplesExample 1 - Console session

The following command creates a console session owned by dcv-user with a unique session ID my-session. It specifies a permissions file named perm-file.txt:

• Windows NICE DCV server

C:\> dcv create-session --owner dcv-user --permissions-file perm-file.txt my-session

• Linux NICE DCV server

$ sudo dcv create-session --type=console --owner dcv-user --permissions-file perm-file.txt my-session

Example 2 - Virtual Session (Linux NICE DCV servers only)

The following command creates a virtual session using the root user to impersonate the intendedsession owner, dcv-user. The session is owned by dcv-user even though it is created by the root user.

$ sudo dcv create-session --owner dcv-user --user dcv-user my-session

Example 3 - Virtual Session (Linux NICE DCV servers only)

The following command creates a virtual session owned by the user who creates it:

$ dcv create-session my-session

Enabling Automatic Console SessionsEnabling an automatic console session ensures that a console session is automatically created each timethat the NICE DCV server starts. The automatic console session is owned by the NICE DCV user specifiedby the owner configuration parameter. Its session ID is always console.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideStopping Sessions

Other parameters affecting automatic console sessions are max-concurrent-clients,permissions-file, and storage-root. For more information about these parameters, seesession-management/automatic-console-session Parameters (p. 76).

NoteNICE DCV does not support automatic virtual sessions.

To enable an automatic console session on a Windows NICE DCV server

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/session-

management key.3. Create a create-session parameter:

a. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the session-management key andchoose New, DWORD (32-bit) Value.

b. For Name, enter create-session and press Enter.c. Open the create-session parameter. For Value data, enter 1, and choose OK.

4. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/session-management/automatic-console-session key.

5. Create an owner parameter:

a. In the left pane, open the context (right-click) menu for the automatic-console-session key andchoose New, String Value.

b. For Name, enter owner and press Enter.c. Open the owner parameter. For Value data, enter the session owner's name and choose OK.

6. Choose OK and close the Windows Registry Editor.7. Stop (p. 36) and restart (p. 35) the NICE DCV server.

To enable an automatic console session on a Linux NICE DCV server

1. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.2. Add the create-session and owner parameters to the [session-management/automatic-

console-session] section using the following format:

[session-management]create-session = true

[session-management/automatic-console-session]owner="session-owner"


Stopping NICE DCV SessionsA console session can only be stopped by the administrator on Windows NICE DCV servers, and the rootuser on Linux NICE DCV servers. A virtual session on a Linux NICE DCV server can only be stopped by theroot user or the NICE DCV user who created it.

NoteStopping a session closes all of the applications that are running in the session.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideManaging Running Sessions

To stop a console or virtual session on a Windows or Linux NICE DCV servers

Use the dcv close-session command and specify the unique session ID:

dcv close-session session-id

For example, the following command stops a session with the unique ID of my-session:

dcv close-session my-session

Managing Running NICE DCV SessionsThe following section provides information about managing running NICE DCV sessions.

Topics

• Managing NICE DCV Session Storage (p. 61)

• Managing NICE DCV Session Authorization (p. 62)

• Managing the NICE DCV Session Display Layout (p. 63)

Managing NICE DCV Session StorageSession storage is a directory on the NICE DCV server that clients can access when they are connected toa NICE DCV session.

If session storage has been enabled on the NICE DCV server, you can use the dcv set-storage-rootcommand to specify the directory to be used for session storage. For more information about enablingsession storage on the NICE DCV server, see Enabling Session Storage (p. 44).

To set the session storage path

Use the dcv set-storage-root command and specify the session ID and the path to the directory touse.

dcv set-storage-root --session session_id path/to/directory

You can use %home% to specify the home directory of the user who is currently signed in. For example,the %home%/storage/ path resolves to c:\Users\username\storage\ on Windows servers. Itresolves to $HOME/storage/ on Linux servers.

ExampleWindows NICE DCV Server Example

The following example sets to storage path to c:\session-storage for a session with a session ID ofmy-session.

C:\> dcv set-storage-root --session my-session c:\session-storage

Linux NICE DCV Server Example

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideManaging Session Authorization

The following example sets to storage path to a directory named session-storage in the currentuser's home directory, for a session with a session ID of my-session.

$ dcv set-storage-root --session my-session %home%/session-storage/

Managing NICE DCV Session AuthorizationAuthorization is used to grant or deny NICE DCV clients permissions to specific NICE DCV features.Typically, authorization is configured when a NICE DCV session is started. However, it is possible toedit the permissions for a running session. For more information about NICE DCV authorization, seeConfiguring NICE DCV Authorization (p. 51).

To modify the permissions for a running session

Use the dcv set-permissions command. The following options can be used with the dcv set-permissions command.

--session

Specifies the ID of the session for which to set the permissions.--reset-builtin

Resets the session's permissions to the default session permissions. The default permissions grantsonly the session owner full access to all features.

--none

Revokes all permissions for the session.--file

Specifies the path to a custom permissions file. If the specified file is empty, all permissionsare revoked. For more information about creating a custom permissions file, see Working withPermissions Files (p. 52).

ExamplesExample 1—Revoking all permissions

The following example revokes all client permissions for a session with an ID of my-session.

C:\> dcv set-permissions --session my-session --none

Example 2—Specifying custom permissions

The following example specifies a custom permissions file named perm-file.txt, which is located inthe c:\dcv\ directory, for a session with an ID of my-session.

C:\> dcv set-permissions --session my-session --file c:\dcv\perm-file.txt

Example 3—Resetting the permissions

The following example resets the permissions to the defaults for a session with an ID of my-session.

C:\> dcv set-permissions --session my-session --reset-builtin

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideManaging the Session Display Layout

Managing the NICE DCV Session Display LayoutYou can set the display layout for a running NICE DCV session. The display layout specifies the defaultconfiguration that is used when clients connect to the session. However, clients can manually overridethe layout using the NICE DCV client settings or the native operating system display settings.

If the host server's hardware and software configuration does not support the specified resolution or thenumber of screens, the NICE DCV server does not apply the specified display layout.

Topics• Restricting the Display Layout (p. 63)• Specifying the Display Layout (p. 63)• Viewing the Display Layout (p. 64)

Restricting the Display LayoutYou can configure the NICE DCV server to prevent clients from requesting display layouts that areoutside of a specified range. To restrict display layout changes, configure the following NICE DCV serverparameters.

• enable-client-resize (p. 82)—To prevent clients from changing the display layout, set thisparameter to false.

• min-head-resolution (p. 83) and max-head-resolution (p. 82)—Specifies the minimumand maximum allowed resolutions respectively.

• web-client-max-head-resolution (p. 83)—Specifies the maximum allowed resolution forweb browser clients. The max-head-resolution limitation is applied on top of web-client-max-head-resolution limitation.

• max-num-heads (p. 83)—Specifies the maximum number of displays.• max-layout-area (p. 82)— Specifies the maximum number of pixels allowed for the screen

area. Requests in which the total screen area expressed in pixels exceeds the specified value areignored.

For more information about these parameters, see display Parameters (p. 81) in the ParameterReference.

Specifying the Display LayoutTo configure the display layout for a running NICE DCV session

Use the dcv set-display-layout command and specify the session for which to set the displaylayout and the display layout descriptor.

dcv set-display-layout --session session-id display-layout-descriptor

The display layout descriptor specifies the number of displays and the resolution and position offset foreach display. The description must be specified in the following format:

widthxheight+|-x-position-offset+|-y-position-offset

If you specify more than one screen, separate the screen descriptors by a comma. The screen positionoffsets specify the position of the top-left corner of the screen relative to screen 1. If you do not specifya position offset for a screen, it defaults to x=0 and y=0.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideViewing Sessions

ImportantIf you're specifying more than one screen, ensure that you properly set the position offset foreach screen to avoid screen overlaps.

For example, the following display layout descriptor specifies two screens:

• Screen 1: 1920x1080 resolution offset to x=0, y=0• Screen 2: 800x600 resolution offset to x=1920, y=0 so that it appears to the right of screen 1.

1920x1080+0+0,800x600+1920+0

The following display layout descriptor specifies three screens.

• Screen 1: 1920x1080 resolution offset to x=0, y=0• Screen 2: 1920x1080 resolution offset to x=1920, y=0 so that it appears to the right of screen 1.• Screen 3: 1024x768 resolution offset to x=-1024, y=0 so that it appears to the left of screen 1.

1920x1080+0+0,1920x1080+1920+0,1024x768-1024+0

Viewing the Display LayoutTo view the display layout for a session

Use the dcv describe-session command and review the display layout element in the output.For more information, see Viewing NICE DCV Sessions (p. 64).

Viewing NICE DCV SessionsThe administrator on a Windows NICE DCV server or the root user on a Linux NICE DCV server can viewall active sessions running on the server. NICE DCV users can only view sessions that they have created.

To list the active console or virtual sessions on a Windows or Linux NICE DCV server

Use the dcv list-sessions command:

dcv list-sessions

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The command returns a list of active sessions in the following format:

Session: session-id (owner: session-owner)

To view information about a session

Use the dcv describe-session command and specify the unique session ID.

$ dcv describe-session session-id

In the following example output, the display-layout element indicates that the session's displaylayout is set to use two 800x600 screens, with the second screen offset to x=800 (to the right) of the firstscreen.

Session: test owner: session-id x display: :1 x authority: /run/user/1009/dcv/test.xauth display layout: 800x600+0+0,800x600+800+0

You can also include the --json (or -j) option to force the command to return the output in JSONformat. The JSON output provides additional details about the session.

$ dcv describe-session session-id --json

The following is example JSON output.

{ "id" : "session-id", "owner" : "dcvuser", "num-of-connections" : 0, "creation-time" : "2020-03-02T16:08:50Z", "last-disconnection-time" : "", "licenses" : [ { "product" : "dcv", "status" : "licensed", "check-timestamp" : "2020-03-02T16:08:50Z", "expiration-date" : "2020-03-29T00:00:00Z" }, { "product" : "dcv-gl", "status" : "licensed", "check-timestamp" : "2020-03-02T16:08:50Z", "expiration-date" : "2020-03-29T00:00:00Z" } ], "storage-root" : "", "type" : "virtual", "x11-display" : ":2", "x11-authority" : "/run/user/1009/dcv/vsession.xauth", "display-layout" : [ { "width" : 800, "height" : 600, "x" : 0, "y" : 0 }, { "width" : 800,

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"height" : 600, "x" : 800, "y" : 0 } ]}

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideFind and Stop Idle Sessions

How to...Topics

• Find and Stop Idle Sessions (p. 67)• Enable Remote X Connections to the X Server (p. 68)

Find and Stop Idle SessionsYou can identify idle NICE DCV sessions using the dcv describe-sessions CLI command with the-j command option. Specifying the -j option configures the command to return the output in JSONformat, which provides additional details about the session.

For example, the following command returns information about a session named my-session.

$ dcv describe-session my-session -j

Output:

{ "id" : "my-session", "owner" : "dcvuser", "x11-display" : ":1", "x11-authority" : "/run/user/1009/dcv/test3.xauth", "num-of-connections" : 1, "creation-time" : "2019-05-13T13:21:19.262883Z", "last-disconnection-time" : "2019-05-14T12:32:14.357567Z", "licensing-mode" : "DEMO", "licenses" : [ { "product" : "dcv", "status" : "LICENSED", "check-timestamp" : "2019-05-14T12:35:40Z", "expiration-date" : "2019-05-29T00:00:00Z" }, { "product" : "dcv-gl", "status" : "LICENSED", "check-timestamp" : "2019-05-14T12:35:40Z", "expiration-date" : "2019-05-29T00:00:00Z" } ]}

In the command output, the num-of-connections parameter indicates the number of active clientconnections. A value of 0 indicates that there are no active client connections, and that the session iscurrently idle. You can also use the last-disconnection-time parameter to determine when thesession last had an active client connection.

You can create a script or cron job that uses this information to identify idle sessions. Then you can stopusing them by using the dcv stop-session (p. 60) command.

NoteStopping a session closes all of the applications that are running in the session.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideEnable Remote X Connections to the X Server

Enable Remote X Connections to the X ServerBy default, NICE DCV 2017 prevents the use of X forwarding, because of inherent security risks. NICEDCV inherits this behavior from the newer versions of the Xorg server. The NICE DCV server implementsthe following default inherited mitigations to minimize the security risks:

• The NICE DCV server prevents X connections from the network. The NICE DCV server is configuredto start with -nolisten tcp command line option. However, it is possible to change the defaultbehavior to enable remote X connections to the X server. For more information about this workaround,see Enable Remote X Connections to the X Server (p. 68).

• The X server disables GLX indirect contexts. Because of conflicts with DCV-GL, there is currently noworkaround to enable GLX indirect contexts.

For more information about the security risks and the mitigations, see the X.Org Security Advisory.

Enable Remote X Connections to the X ServerBy default, NICE DCV is configured to start with the -nolisten tcp command line option to reduceexposure to the security risks. However, it is possible to change the default behavior to enable Xforwarding.

To enable X forwarding

Open /etc/dcv/dcv.conf using your preferred text editor. Add the following to the end of the file:

• To enable X forwarding over IPv4 and IPv6

[session-management]virtual-session-xdcv-args="-listen tcp"

• To enable X forwarding over IPv4 only

[session-management]virtual-session-xdcv-args="-listen tcp -nolisten inet6"

NoteEnabling X forwarding does not affect existing sessions, but only the new sessions started afterit's enabled.

To test the X forwarding

1. Connect the NICE DCV session.2. Confirm that the NICE DCV server is listening on a port in the range between 6000-6063.

$ netstat -punta | grep 600

3. Retrieve the NICE DCV session display number.

$ dcv describe-session session_name | grep display

4. SSH into the remote server on which the application is hosted.

$ ssh user@remote_server_ip

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideEnable Remote X Connections to the X Server

5. From the remote server, export the display environment variable to point to the X server of the NICEDCV session.

$ export DISPLAY=dcv_server_ip:display_number

6. From the remote server, run an application to test the X forwarding functionality. For example:

xterm

The test application, in this case xterm, should appear in NICE DCV server's desktop environment.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideUsing the Log Files

Troubleshooting NICE DCVThis chapter explains how to identify and troubleshoot problems that you might have with NICE DCV.

Topics• Using the Log Files (p. 70)• Common Issues (p. 71)

If you need additional help, you can log a support ticket on the NICE Support Portal.

Using the Log FilesThe NICE DCV log files can be used to identify and troubleshoot problems with your NICE DCV server.The NICE DCV log files can be found in the following location on your NICE DCV server:

• Windows server

C:\ProgramData\NICE\dcv\log\

• Linux server

/var/log/dcv/

The NICE DCV server enables you to configure the verbosity level of the log files. The following verbositylevels are available:

• error — Provides the least detail. Includes errors only.• warning — Includes errors and warnings.• info — The default verbosity level. Includes errors, warnings, and information messages.• debug — Provides the most detail. Provides detailed information that is useful for debugging issues.

Changing Log File Verbosity on WindowsTo configure the log file verbosity, you must configure the level parameter using the Windows RegistryEditor.

To change the log file verbosity on Windows

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor.2. Navigate to the HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/log/ key.3. Open the level parameter by double-clicking. For Value data, type either error, warning, info, or

debug, depending on the required verbosity level.4. Choose OK and close the Windows Registry Editor.

Changing Log File Verbosity on LinuxTo configure the log file verbosity, you must configure the level parameter in the dcv.conf file.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideCommon Issues

To change the log file verbosity on Linux

1. Navigate to /etc/dcv/ and open the dcv.conf with your preferred text editor.2. Locate the level parameter in the [log] section, and replace the existing verbosity level with

either error, warning, info, or debug.

[log]level="verbosity_level"


Common IssuesThis topic lists some common issues.

Topics• Cursor Issues on a Windows NICE DCV Server (p. 71)

Cursor Issues on a Windows NICE DCV ServerWith NICE DCV servers running on Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8 and later, the mouse cursoralways appears as an arrow. This happens even when pausing on text entry fields or single-clicknavigation items. This could happen if there is no physical mouse attached to the server, or if there is nomouse device listed in Device Manager.

To resolve the issue

1. Open Control Panel, and choose Ease of Access Center.2. Choose Make the mouse easier to use.3. Select Turn on Mouse Keys.4. Choose Apply, OK.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guideconnectivity Parameters

NICE DCV Server ParameterReference

The following table lists the parameters that can be configured to customize the NICE DCV server.

NoteThe Reload context column in each table indicates when the parameter is reloaded. Possiblecontexts include:

• server—The parameter is loaded once when the server is started. If the parameter value isupdated, the new value is loaded when the server is restarted.

• session—The parameter is loaded when the session is created. If the parameter value isupdated, the new value is loaded for subsequent sessions.

• connection—The parameter is loaded when a new client connection is established. If theparameter value is updated, the new value is used for subsequent client connections.

• custom—The conditions under which the parameter loads is unique to this parameter. Seethe parameter description for more information.

Topics

• connectivity Parameters (p. 72)

• session-management Parameters (p. 74)

• session-management/defaults Parameters (p. 75)

• session-management/automatic-console-session Parameters (p. 76)

• security Parameters (p. 76)

• license Parameters (p. 80)

• input Parameters (p. 81)

• display Parameters (p. 81)

• display/linux Parameters (p. 84)

• audio Parameters (p. 85)

• log Parameters (p. 86)

• windows Parameters (p. 87)

• clipboard Parameters (p. 87)

• smartcard Parameters (p. 88)

• Modifying Configuration Parameters (p. 89)

connectivity ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [connectivity] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the connectivity registry key for WindowsNICE DCV servers.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guideconnectivity Parameters

Parameter Type(Windowsonly)

Reloadcontext

Default value Description

web-port DWORD(32-bit)

server 8443 TCP port for the web client —Specifies the TCP port on whichthe DCV server listens for clientconnections. The port numbermust be between 1024 and65535.

web-url-path String server '/' URL path for the embeddedweb server — Specifies the URLpath for the embedded webserver, must start with '/'. Forexample, setting it to /test/foomeans that the web server isreachable at https://host:port/test/foo.

web-root String server '' Document root for theembedded web server —Specifies the document root forthe embedded web server.

web-use-hsts DWORD(32-bit)

server true Whether to use HSTS —Enables this to force browsersto prevent any communicationbeing sent over HTTP. Alltransfer to the webpage (and allsubdomains) will be done usingHTTPS instead.

ws-keepalive-interval

DWORD(32-bit)

server 10 Websocket keepalive interval— Specifies the interval (inseconds) after which to senda keepalive message. If set to0, the keepalive message isdisabled.

idle-timeout DWORD(32-bit)

custom 60 Idle timeout — Specifies thenumber of minutes to waitbefore disconnecting idle clients.Specify 0 to never disconnectidle clients. This parameter valueis read every 5 seconds.

idle-timeout-warning

DWORD(32-bit)

custom 350 Idle timeout warning —Specifies the number of secondsrelative to idle-timeout to waitbefore warning idle clients aboutidle timeout disconnection.Specify 0 to never warn idleclients.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidesession-management Parameters

session-management ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [session-management] section ofthe /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the session-management registry keyfor Windows NICE DCV servers.


Reloadcontext


max-concurrent-sessions

DWORD(32-bit)

server 0 Maximum number ofconcurrent sessions — Specifiesthe maximum number ofallowed concurrent sessions.This limit currently applies onlyto virtual sessions, becauseconsole sessions are intrinsicallylimited to one. Specify 0 to notenforce any limit.

create-session DWORD(32-bit)

server false Create a console session atserver startup — Specifieswhether to automatically createa console session (with ID"console") at server startup.

max-concurrent-clients

DWORD(32-bit)

session -1 Maximum number ofconcurrent clients per session— Specifies the maximumnumber of concurrent clientsper session. If set to -1, no limitis enforced. To set the limitonly for the automatic session,use 'max-concurrent-clients' ofsection 'session-management/automatic-console-session'.

enable-gl-in-virtual-sessions

String session 'default-on' Whether to employ dcv-glfeature — Specifies whether touse the dcv-gl feature (a licenseis required). Allowed values:'always-on', 'always-off', 'default-on', 'default-off'.

virtual-session-font-path

String session '' Whether to add special fontpaths — Specifies the path ofspecial fonts. Some applicationsrequire a special font to bepassed to the X server.

virtual-session-default-layout

String session [] Default layout for virtualsessions — If this is set, Xdcvis configured to create thespecified layout at startup. Eachmonitor can be configured withresolution (w,h) and position(x,y). All specified monitors are

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidesession-management/defaults Parameters


Reloadcontext


enabled. Default layout examplevalue: [{'w':<800>, 'h':<600>,'x':<0>, 'y': <0>}, {'w':<1024>,'h':<768>, 'x':<800>, 'y':<0>}]For this setting, the maximumnumber of monitors (specifiedin the virtual-session-monitorssetting) has more priority thanthe number of elements inthe array. For example, if fivemonitors have been set, but themaximum number of monitors isfour, only the first four monitorsare created. If this key is set, thenumber of enabled monitors(specified in the virtual-session-monitors setting) is ignored.

virtual-session-xdcv-args

String session '' Additional arguments topass to Xdcv — Specifies anyadditional arguments to bepassed to Xdcv.

session-management/defaults ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [session-management/defaults]section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the session-management/defaults registry key for Windows NICE DCV servers.


Reloadcontext


permissions-file String session '' Default permissions includedin all sessions — Specifies thepath to the permissions file tobe automatically merged withthe permissions selected by theuser for each session. If empty,use the 'default.perm' file, whichis located in /etc/dcv/ for Linux,or in the DCV installation folder(for example, 'C:\Program Files\NICE\DCV\Server\conf') forWindows.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidesession-management/automatic-

console-session Parameters

session-management/automatic-console-session Parameters

The following table describes the configuration parameters in the [session-management/automatic-console-session] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers,and the session-management/automatic-console-session registry key for Windows NICE DCVservers.


Reloadcontext


max-concurrent-clients

DWORD(32-bit)

server -1 Maximum number ofconcurrent clients per session— Specifies the maximumnumber of concurrent clientsallowed per session. If set to -1,no limit is enforced.

permissions-file String server '' Permissions file for theautomatic "console" session— Specifies the path to thepermissions file to be usedto check user access to DCVfeatures. If empty, only theowner has full access to thesession.

owner String server '' Owner of the automaticallycreated "console" session —Specifies the username of the"console" session owner. Ifempty, the owner is the userwho started the DCV server. Thissetting is applied only to the"console" session automaticallycreated at server startup whenthe create-session setting is setto true.

storage-root String server '' Path to file storage root folder— Specifies the full path to thefolder to be used for consolesession storage. If the storage-root is empty or the folder doesnot exist, file storage is disabled.

security ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [security] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the security registry key for Windows NICE DCVservers.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidesecurity Parameters


Reloadcontext


authentication String server 'system' Authentication method— Specifies the clientauthentication method used bythe DCV server. Use 'system' todelegate client authenticationto the underlying operatingsystem. Use 'none' to disableclient authentication and grantaccess to all clients.

authentication-threshold

DWORD(32-bit)

server 3 Authentication threshold —Specifies how many times eachclient can fail authenticationbefore the connection is closedby the server. To allow unlimitedauthentication attempts, use 0.

passwd-file String server '' Password file — Specifies thepassword file to be used tocheck user credentials (onlywith dcv authentication mode).If empty, use the default filein ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/NICE/dcv/passwd for Linux, or%CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA%\NICE\dcv\passwd for Windows.

pam-service-name String server 'dcv' PAM service name —Specifies the name of the PAMconfiguration file used by DCV.The default PAM service name is'dcv' and corresponds with the /etc/pam.d/dcv configurationfile. This parameter is only usedif the 'system' authenticationmethod is used.

enable-gssapi DWORD(32-bit)

server false Enable GSSAPI SASLmechanism — Enablesor disables GSSAPI SASLmechanism, that allows DCVauthentication with kerberos.

service-name String server 'dcv' Service Name — The registeredname of the service (usually theprotocol name).

server-fqdn String server '' Server FQDN — Server fullyqualified domain name. Emptymeans gethostname().

user-realm String server '' Server user realm — Specifies auser realm for the server.

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Reloadcontext


ca-file String server '' CA file — Specifies the filecontaining the certificateauthorities (CAs) trusted by theDCV server. If empty, use thedefault trust store provided bythe system.

auth-token-verifier String server '' The endpoint of theauthentication token verifier— Specifies the endpoint(URL) of the authenticationtoken verifier used by the DCVserver. If empty, the internalauthentication token verifier isused.

no-tls-strict DWORD(32-bit)

server false Disable strict certificatevalidation — Enables or disablesstrict certificate validationwhen connecting to an externalauthentication token verifier.Strict certificate validation mustbe disabled if the authenticationtoken verifier uses a self-signedcertificate.

allowed-http-host-regex

String server '^.+$' Allowed host regularexpression — Specifies a regularexpression pattern representingthe host names that this DCVserver can serve. If the Hostheader of an incoming HTTPrequest does not match thispattern, the request itself failswith a 403 Forbidden statuscode. This is a security measureto prevent HTTP Host headerattacks. The pattern must bea valid Javascript-like regularexpression. Letters in thepattern match both uppercaseand lowercase letters. Example:'^(www\.)?example\.com$']

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Reloadcontext


allowed-ws-origin-regex

String server '^https://.+$' Allowed origins — Specifiesa regular expression patternrepresenting the origins thatthis DCV server accepts. Whenestablishing a WebSocketconnection, the Origin headerfield in the client's handshakeindicates the origin of the scriptestablishing the connection.If the Origin header of anincoming HTTP request doesnot match this pattern, therequest itself fails with a 403Forbidden status code. This isa security measure to preventcross-site WebSocket hijacking(CSWSH) attacks. The patternmust be a valid Javascript-likeregular expression. Letters in thepattern match both uppercaseand lowercase letters. TheOrigin header has the form:<scheme> "://" <host> [ ":"<port> ]. Example: '^https://(www\.)?example\.com(:443)?$'

max-connections-per-user

DWORD(32-bit)

server 10 Maximum number of user'sconnections — Specifies themaximum number of allowedconcurrent connections peruser. Exceeding connections arerejected.

connection-estab-timeout

DWORD(32-bit)

server 5 Connection establishmenttimeout — Specifies the amountof time (in seconds) allowed forthe connection procedure to becompleted before timing out. Ifthe procedure takes more, thenthe connection is closed. If set to0, the connection establishmentdoes not time out.

connection-setup-timeout

DWORD(32-bit)

server 5 Channel connection setuptimeout — Specifies the amountof time (in seconds) allowed forthe channel connection setupprocedure to be completedbefore timing out. If theprocedure takes more, then thechannel is closed. If set to 0, thechannel connection setup doesnot time out.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidelicense Parameters


Reloadcontext


auth-connection-setup-timeout

DWORD(32-bit)

server 120 Authentication channelconnection setup timeout— Specifies the amount oftime (in seconds) allowed forthe authentication channelconnection setup procedure tobe completed before timing out.If the procedure takes more,then the channel is closed. If setto 0, the authentication channelconnection setup timeout isdisabled.

ciphers String server 'ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384'

Cipher list used on the TLSconnections — Specifiesthe cipher list used on TLSconnections. The cipher list mustbe separated using the character":" and must be supported byopenssl and the clients.

os-auto-lock DWORD(32-bit)

custom true Whether to lock the OS sessionwhen last client connectionends — If enabled, the OSsession is locked when the lastclient connection is closed. Thissetting is read every time thesession is going to be closed.

license ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [license] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the license registry key for Windows NICE DCV servers.


Reloadcontext


license-file String session '' License — Specifies a demolicense file or RLM server portand hostname. If you are usinga floating license on an RLMserver, use this parameter

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NICE DCV Administrator Guideinput Parameters


Reloadcontext


to specify the RLM server'sport and hostname in theport@hostname format. If youare using an extended demolicense, and you have not placedthe license.lic file in the defaultlocation, use this parameter tospecify the full path of license.liclicense file. If the default filedoes not exist, a demo license isused. This value is read from theconfiguration and updated everytime a new session is created.

input ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [input] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the input registry key for Windows NICE DCV servers.


Reloadcontext


enable-relative-mouse

DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether to allow relativemouse movements — Whetherto allow relative mousemovements.

enable-autorepeat DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether to allow autorepeaton Linux — Specifies whetherto allow autorepeat for a singlekey. Excludes key combinationsand key modifiers.

enable-touch DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether to allow touch input— Specifies whether touch isenabled.

enable-stylus DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether to allow stylus input— Specifies whether a stylus isenabled.

display ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [display] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the display registry key for Windows NICE DCV servers.

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Reloadcontext


max-compressor-threads

DWORD(32-bit)

session 4 Max compressor threads —Specifies the maximum numberof compressor threads.

target-fps DWORD(32-bit)

session 25 Target frames per second —Specifies the maximum allowedframes per second. A value of 0means no limit.

grabber-target-fps DWORD(32-bit)

session 0 Target frames per second offrame grabber — The upperlimit to grab frames per second.A value of 0 defaults to target-fps. Note that this setting willnot be recognized by all framecapture backends.

enable-qu DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether to send qualityupdates — Specifies whether tosend quality updates.

enable-client-resize DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether to allow clients to setthe display layout — Specifieswhether clients are allowed toset the display layout.

max-layout-area DWORD(32-bit)

custom 0 Max layout area in pixels —The maximum area in pixels ofa display layout requestableby the client. Layouts that arelarger than this limit will beignored. This maximum is meantto provide an upper bound tothe amount of display data thatmust be sent, without providingconstraints on the display layoutgeometry. If set to 0, no limitis applied to layout area. Thesetting is reloaded at each clientlayout request.

max-head-resolution String custom (4096, 2160) Max head resolution — Themaximum resolution of a displayhead requestable by the client.A display head is equivalent toa host monitor. The setting isreloaded at each client layoutrequest. When a bigger headresolution is requested by aclient, the server adjusts theresolution to make sure that itmatches the maximum width

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidedisplay Parameters


Reloadcontext


and height values set by thisoption.

web-client-max-head-resolution

String custom (1920, 1080) Max head resolution forweb client — The maximumresolution of a display headrequestable by a web client. Adisplay head is equivalent toa host monitor. The setting isreloaded at each client layoutrequest. This setting is ignoredin case the web client is settingthe max resolution explicitly. Themax-head-resolution limitationsoption is applied on top of themax width and height values setby this option. In case the valueis set to (0, 0), it is ignored.

min-head-resolution String custom (640, 480) Min head resolution — Theminimum resolution of a displayhead requestable by the client.A display head is equivalentto a host monitor. The settingis reloaded at each clientlayout request. When a smallerresolution is requested by aclient, the server adjusts theresolution to make sure that itmatches the minimum widthand height values set by thisoption.

max-num-heads DWORD(32-bit)

custom 4 Max number of heads —Specifies the maximum numberof display heads requestableby the client. A display head isequivalent to a host monitor.The setting is reloaded at eachclient layout request. Whena greater number of heads isrequested by a client, the serveradjusts the number of heads sothat the value does not exceedthe value set by this option.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidedisplay/linux Parameters


Reloadcontext


console-session-default-layout

String session [] Default screen resolution andposition for console sessions— Specifies the default screenresolution and position forconsole sessions. If this is set,DCV sets the requested layoutat startup. Each monitor canbe configured with resolution(w,h) and position (x,y). Allspecified monitors are enabled.Default layout example value:[{'w':<800>, 'h':<600>, 'x':<0>,'y': <0>}, {'w':<1024>, 'h':<768>,'x':<800>,'y':<0>}]

use-grabber-dirty-region

DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether to use dirty regions— Specifies whether to use dirtyscreen regions. If enabled, thegrabber tries to compute newframes out of the dirty regionsfrom the screen.

cuda-devices String connection [] CUDA devices used for streamencoding — Specifies the list oflocal CUDA devices which DCVuses to distribute encoding andCUDA workloads. Each device isidentified by a number that canbe retrieved from the nvidia-smicommand. For example, cuda-devices=['0', '2'] indicates thatDCV uses two GPUs, with IDs0 and 2. This setting is similarto the CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICESenvironment variable, but it onlyapplies to DCV. If the option isnot set, DCV uses an incrementalsession index starting from 0 topick the next device to use.

display/linux ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [display/linux] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the display/linux registry key for WindowsNICE DCV servers.

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Reloadcontext


gl-displays String session [':0.0'] 3D accelerated X displays —Specifies the list of local 3Daccelerated X displays andscreens used by DCV for OpenGLrendering in virtual sessions. Ifthis value is missing, you can'trun OpenGL applications invirtual sessions. This setting isignored for console sessions.

h264-encoder-displays

String connection [] H.264 encoder X displays— Specifies the list of localX displays and screens thatsupport accelerated H.264encoding. If empty, DCV usesthe same display selected forOpenGL rendering. This settingis useful only in cases whensome of the GPUs installedon the system do not provideacceleration for H.264 encodingusing one of the supportedtechnologies.

audio ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [audio] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the audio registry key for Windows NICE DCV servers.


Reloadcontext


source-channels DWORD(32-bit)

session 2 Number of channels playedon the source device. — Thenumber of channels that shouldbe considered when grabbingaudio from the source device.A device provided by a drivercan support many channels, forinstance the DCV driver support8 channels, but DCV needs toknow how many are effectivelyused in order to mix correctly.The setting must lower or equalthan the number of channelssupported by the device. 0 (useall channels), 2 (stereo), 4 (4.0quadriphonic), 6 (5.1 surround),

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidelog Parameters


Reloadcontext


8 (7.1 surround). Default value 2(stereo)

log ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [log] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the log registry key for Windows NICE DCV servers.


Reloadcontext


directory String server '' Log output directory —Specifies the destination towhich logs are saved. If notspecified it defaults to "C:\ProgramData\NICE\DCV\log\"on Windows and to "/var/log/dcv/" on Linux.

level String custom 'info' Log level — Specifies the logfile verbosity level. The verbositylevels (in order of the amount ofdetail they provide) are: 'error','warning', 'info', and 'debug'.The new value is effective assoon as it is changed on theconfiguration and propagated tothe DCV agent processes. Withversions <= 2019.1, the log levelon the DCV agent processes isonly set when they start.

rotate DWORD(32-bit)

server 10 Number of log file rotations —Specifies the number of timesthat log files are rotated beforebeing removed. If the value is 0,old versions are removed ratherthan rotated.

transfer-audit String server 'none' Transfer direction to audit— Specifies which transferdirection to audit. If thisparameter is enabled, a new CSVfile logs transfers between theserver and clients. The allowedvalues are: 'none', 'server-to-client', 'client-to-server', and 'all'.If this value is missing or equalto 'none', transfer audits aredisabled and no file is created.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidewindows Parameters

windows ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [windows] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the windows registry key for Windows NICE DCV servers.


Reloadcontext


disable-display-sleep DWORD(32-bit)

session true Prevent display from enteringpower-saving mode — Specifieswhether to prevent the displayfrom entering power-savingmode.

printer String session 'DCV printer' Printer to be set as default —Specifies the name of the virtualDCV printer. Defaults to 'DCVprinter'.

clipboard ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [clipboard] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the clipboard registry key for Windows NICE DCVservers.


Reloadcontext


enabled DWORD(32-bit)

session true Whether the clipboard featureshould be enabled. — Ifclipboard feature is disabled,users will not be able to usethe clipboard remotization.Clipboard monitoring will bedisabled too.

max-payload-size DWORD(32-bit)

session 20971520 Maximum size of clipboard'sdata — Specifies the maximumsize (in bytes) of clipboard datathat can be transferred fromserver to clients. If this value ismissing, the default limit of 20MB is enforced.

max-text-len DWORD(32-bit)

session -1 Maximum number ofcharacters of clipboard's text —Specifies the maximum numberof characters of clipboard textthat can be transferred fromserver to clients. If this value ismissing or set to -1, no limit isenforced.

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NICE DCV Administrator Guidesmartcard Parameters


Reloadcontext


max-image-area DWORD(32-bit)

session -1 Maximum area of clipboard'simage — Specifies themaximum area (number ofpixels) of clipboard images thatcan be transferred from serverto clients. If this value is missingor set to -1, no limit is enforced.

primary-selection-paste

DWORD(32-bit)

session false Enables the primary selectionpasting on linux — Linuxdesktops support multipleclipboards: the clipboard and theprimary selection. The primaryselection is updated or copiedwhen content is selected. Itcan then be pasted using themouse's middle button or theShift+Insert key combination.When enabled, the client'sclipboard content will bealso inserted in the primaryselection.

primary-selection-copy

DWORD(32-bit)

session false Enables the primary selectioncopy from linux — Linuxdesktops supports multipleclipboards: the clipboard andthe primary selection. Theprimary selection is updated orcopied when content is selected.It can then be pasted usingthe mouse's middle buttonor with the Shift+Insert keycombination. When enabled, theprimary selection is monitoredand updates are propagated tothe client.

smartcard ParametersThe following table describes the configuration parameters in the [smartcard] section of the /etc/dcv/dcv.conf file for Linux NICE DCV servers, and the smartcard registry key for Windows NICE DCVservers.


Reloadcontext


enable-cache String custom 'default-off' Whether to enable smartcardcaching messages. — Enablesor disables smart card caching.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideModifying Configuration Parameters


Reloadcontext


When enabled, the NICE DCVserver caches the last valuereceived from the client's smartcard. Future calls are retrieveddirectly from the server's cache,instead of from client. This helpsto reduce the amount of trafficthat is transferred betweenthe client and the server,and improves performance.Allowed values include 'always-on', 'always-off', 'default-on',and 'default-off'. This value isread from the configurationevery time a client smartcardapplication is started.

Modifying Configuration ParametersThis section describes how to modify the configuration parameters for your NICE DCV server. For moreinformation about the registry keys for Windows servers, sections for Linux servers, parameter names,types, and valid values, see the NICE DCV Server Parameter Reference (p. 72).

Topics

• Windows NICE DCV Servers (p. 89)

• Linux NICE DCV servers (p. 90)

Windows NICE DCV ServersFor Windows NICE DCV servers, modify the configuration parameters using the Windows Registry Editor,PowerShell, or the command line.

To modify a configuration parameter using the Windows Registry Editor


2. Navigate to the following registry path:

HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-18/Software/GSettings/com/nicesoftware/dcv/

3. Select the registry key in which the parameter exists. If the registry key does not exist, create it usingthe exact key name described in the NICE DCV Server Parameter Reference (p. 72).

4. Open (double-click) the parameter. If the parameter does not exist, add it using the type and namedescribed in the NICE DCV Server Parameter Reference (p. 72).

To modify a configuration parameter using the PowerShell

1. Run PowerShell as the administrator.

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NICE DCV Administrator GuideLinux NICE DCV servers

2. Add the registry key using the key name described in the NICE DCV Server ParameterReference (p. 72).

PS C:\> New-Item -Path "Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Software\GSettings\com\nicesoftware\dcv\" -Name registry_key -Force

3. Create the parameter in the registry key using the type and name described in the NICE DCV ServerParameter Reference (p. 72).

PS C:\> New-ItemProperty -Path "Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Software\GSettings\com\nicesoftware\dcv\registry_key" -Name parameter_name -PropertyType parameter_type -Value parameter_value -Force

To modify a configuration using the command line

1. Run the command line as the administrator.2. Create the registry key and add the parameter using the key name, and parameter type and name

described in the NICE DCV Server Parameter Reference (p. 72).

C:\> reg.exe ADD "HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Software\GSettings\com\nicesoftware\dcv\registry_key" /v parameter_name /t parameter_type /d parameter_value /f

Linux NICE DCV serversFor Linux NICE DCV servers, the configuration parameters can be modified using a text editor or acommand line tool, such as crudini.

To modify a configuration parameter using a text editor

1. Open /etc/dcv/dcv.conf using your preferred text editor.2. Locate the appropriate section in the file. If the section does not exist, add it using the section name

described in the NICE DCV Server Parameter Reference (p. 72).

[section]

3. Locate the parameter in the section and modify the value. If the parameter does not exist inthe section, add it using the parameter name described in the NICE DCV Server ParameterReference (p. 72).

parameter_name="parameter_value"


To modify a configuration parameter using crudini

Create the section and add the parameter using the section and parameter names described in the NICEDCV Server Parameter Reference (p. 72).

$ sudo crudini --set /etc/dcv/dcv.conf section_name parameter_name 'parameter_value'

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Document History for NICE DCVThe following table describes the documentation for this release of NICE DCV.

Change Description Date

NICE DCV Version 2020.0 NICE DCV 2020.0 includessupport for surround sound7.1, touch and stylus, andmulti-monitor using the newMicrosoft Edge browser. Formore information, see Installingthe NICE DCV Server (p. 5).

April 16, 2020

HTTP response headers The NICE DCV server can beconfigured to send additionalHTTP response headers.

August 26, 2019

macOS client NICE DCV now offers a macOSclient. For more information, seemacOS Client in the NICE DCVUser Guide.

April 18, 2019

Smart card caching The NICE DCV server cannow cache smart card datareceived from the client to helpimprove performance. For moreinformation, see ConfiguringSmart Card Caching (p. 43).

October 08, 2018

Linux client NICE DCV offers Linux clients forRHEL 7, CentOS 7, SLES 12, andUbuntu 16.04/18.04. For moreinformation, see Linux Client inthe NICE DCV User Guide.

August 29, 2018

Updated Parameter Reference The Parameter Referencehas been updated. Formore information, see NICEDCV Server ParameterReference (p. 72).

August 07, 2018

USB remotization NICE DCV enables clients touse specialized USB devices,such as 3D pointing devicesor graphic tablets. For moreinformation, see Enabling USBRemotization (p. 42).

August 07, 2018

Initial release of NICE DCV First publication of this content. June 05, 2018

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https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/userguide/client-mac.html

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dcv/latest/userguide/client-linux.html

nice dcv - administrator guide · 2020-04-24 · • windows 7 — requires nvfbc compatible nvidia...

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