Configuring sites: Workstations

This article will explain how to configure your Lens site to correctly display workstations and to tune how the workstations are managed.

Broker options

Configuring a broker

Once you have configured a broker in Lens, this broker then needs to be associated with a site. This is is because a single broker can be responsible for multiple sites. Or each site may need it’s own broker. It completely depends on the environment and the configuration of the Lens platform.

To set a broker for the site:

Login to the application
In the left sidebar, select Configuration then click the Settings option
Select the Manage site item from the Sites and Collectors section
Select the site you would like to edit from the dropdown menu
Click the Workstations tab
In the Use broker configuration field, select the broker configuration you created previously. See this article for more.
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Click the Save button

Webhooks

Webhooks help make the Lens application smarter. As Lens is not a connection broker, we do not always know when certain events happen. If the broker supports it, then it’s highly recommended to configure webhooks.

Workstation reservations

Workstation reservations are a new concept in Lens 2023. When a user connects to a workstation via the Lens application, Lens ‘reserves’ that workstation for that particular user. This stops that workstation from being offered to another user.

Disconnecting bypassing users

A ‘bypassing’ user is a user that has connected to a workstation without going via the Lens application. It’s the same concept as a ‘rouge’ user. Lens can also automatically disconnect bypassing users who is connected to a workstation that they are not assigned to.

The Disconnect bypassing users option should only be used when the users Lens username matches their Windows login username exactly. If they are different, Lens has no way of knowing they are the same user and will attempt to disconnect the user each time the connect.

Before enabling this, it’s highly recommended that webhooks have already been setup in the PCoIP broker.

Login to the application
In the left sidebar, select Configuration then click the Settings option
Select the Manage site item from the Sites and Collectors section
Select the site you would like to edit from the dropdown menu
Click the Workstations tab
Scroll down to the Workstation reservations section
Check the Disconnect bypassing users toggle
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Click the Save button

Automatically remove reservations on disconnect

When Lens detects that a display protocol session has finished, it can automatically clear the reservation on a workstation to allow other users to connect. For this to work, webhooks need to have been setup in the PCoIP broker.

Login to the application
In the left sidebar, select Configuration then click the Settings option
Select the Manage site item from the Sites and Collectors section
Select the site you would like to edit from the dropdown menu
Click the Workstations tab
Scroll down to the Workstation reservations section
Check the Remove reservation on session disconnect toggle
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Click the Save button

Configuring reservation clean-up

When Lens does not automatically remove reservations on a display protocol session disconnect, the workstation will remain reserved for a defined amount of time after Lens detects that no session in in progress. The delay between Lens noticing a session is disconnected, and a reservation being removed can be configured.

Login to the application
In the left sidebar, select Configuration then click the Settings option
Select the Manage site item from the Sites and Collectors section
Select the site you would like to edit from the dropdown menu
Click the Workstations tab
Scroll down to the Workstation reservations section
Enter the number of minutes you want the delay to before in the Reservation removal delay field
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Click the Save button