It’s the news most of you have been waiting for about the FSLogix release 🙂
Now I’ve talked a lot about FSLogix since Microsoft made their announcements about making the acquired solution available to most of their customers. I’ve also had a lot of people in contact with me regarding how to start using it straight away. It was recommended to use a trial key which would expire in August and this would act as a stopgap until the official release from Microsoft came along. I know that a lot of people used this, and that also a lot of people that decided to wait for the official MS release. Whichever camp you were in, now is the time to take some action, because Microsoft have now released it as FSLogix version 1907.
Here’s the details (yes, this is a dump from the release notes) :-
What is happening?
The FSLogix software is officially being released as a Microsoft product. At the same time, new entitlements to use the software are being announced and will be effective as of July 1. The new FSLogix release will be referred to as FSLogix version 1907.
The new entitlements for the FSLogix software:
You are eligible to access FSLogix Profile Container, Office 365 Container, Application Masking, and Java Redirection tools if you have one of the following licenses:
- Microsoft 365 E3/E5
- Microsoft 365 A3/A5/Student Use Benefits
- Microsoft 365 F1
- Microsoft 365 Business
- Windows 10 Enterprise E3/E5
- Windows 10 Education A3/A5
- Windows 10 VDA per user
- Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Client Access License (CAL) (SA not required)
- Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Subscriber Access License (SAL)
Are there any restrictions on where the FSLogix software can be used?
No. If the entitlement requirements are met, the software may be used in any environment.
What happens to my existing FSLogix contract?
Nothing. Your existing contract will remain in place until it expires.
What happens when my existing contract ends?
You may continue to use the FSLogix software if you meet the new entitlement requirements.
What if I need to increase the number of FSLogix seats in my organization?
You can use the FSLogix software with new seats if they meet the new entitlement requirements.
Can I now use all the FSLogix products and features even if my FSLogix contract did not allow for that?
Yes, if your users meet the new entitlement requirements. This includes features like Search Roaming and Cloud Cache.
Where will I get new releases?
Downloads of the FSLogix software are moving to a public Microsoft download location. Information about using, downloading, and installing the FSLogix software is here: https://aka.ms/fslogix.
How can I get notified about new releases?
We anticipate that you will be able to register for notifications through the Download Center notification system.
Will I be able to use the latest version of FSLogix?
Yes. At this time, we plan on only having one version of the FSLogix software that will be used everywhere (WVD, on-prem, etc.)
Will I be required to upgrade the FSLogix software in my environment?
No, but we recommend that customers always upgrade to the latest version of the software.
Is a machine reboot required to upgrade the FSLogix software?
Yes. As always, FSLogix upgrades require a reboot.
Where do I get support?
Customer support for FSLogix will be provided via the same process as other Microsoft commercial applications and services. https://support.fslogix.com will always get you to the right place. There is also a new discussion forum on MSDN here: https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-us/home?forum=FSLogix.
How can I tell if and/or when my current license key expires?
Run the command, “frx validate-key”. The frx.exe utility is in the “C:\Program Files\FSLogix\Apps” folder.
What happens if my license key expires?
If your license key expires and you are not using the 1907 (July 1) release or later, the FSLogix software will stop working. We recommend that you upgrade the FSLogix software to the current release which will remove the requirement for a product key. If you are unable to do that, we are providing a non-expiring, all products FSLogix key that can be used until upgrade is possible for you. Details are in the installation information at https://aka.ms/fslogix.
Are there technical changes in the FSLogix software that I need to know about?
Beginning in the 1907 (July 1) release, the software will no longer use a product key. There are no longer any functionality limitations or expiration dates in the software.
The 1907 release will upgrade over previous versions of the FSLogix software the same as new versions always have.
There are no changes to configuration locations, etc. The way the software is configured remains the same.
Will FSLogix software be available for sale?
No.
How does the new FSLogix versioning work?
FSLogix releases will now be referred to by the date they were released. These will consist of 4 digits. The first 2 digits refer to the year, and the last 2 digits refer to the month. For example, the release of the software that happened on July 1, 2019 will publicly be referred to as “1907”.
That’s it for the release notes, and they pretty much cover everything I can think of.
Summary
If you’re using the trial licenses, start working to get them upgraded as soon as possible. You don’t have that much time to get it done.
If you’re using an existing licensed version of FSLogix, check the date of expiry and work to get your installation upgraded to 1907 ahead of that date.
You can use this anywhere, without restriction, so you can put it into on-premises, hybrid, or any major cloud provider, as long as you meet the entitlement criteria.
This does also cover the Redirection area of the product, even though it isn’t officially called out in the release notes above. It’s more of a sub-category of the Application side of things.
There’s no mention specifically of it being used for per-device licensing, but given that nothing has been said around this I would assume that the details in my earlier piece on this still stand unchanged.
I can’t see anything radically different in the new version which would suggest a huge change in behaviour or functionality, so I would say that upgrading carries a fairly low risk – but obviously, follow your processes of due diligence and change review as necessary.
If you’re not using FSLogix, you can now take advantage of everything in the suite, so there’s no reason not to go and download it and see what you can do!
For planning and maintenance, you don’t need look any further than Aaron Parker’s blog, he’s done some great community work in the FSLogix space.
If you need any advice or help getting it up and running, you can always drop me a line at kz20fl [at] gmail [dot] com or leave a comment below 🙂
Thanks for putting this all togher? Do you know where is the release notes on fixes ect?
Is it in the download on https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/fslogix/install-ht#download-fslogix ?
The read me seems to not reflect what the product shows
Support Forum and Known Issues
==============================
The support forum is located on our website at: https://support.fslogix.com
The list of Known Issues with the product is maintained there
New versions of this product are announced in the Announcements section of the Forum
Hallo James,
is there a place I start learning Fslogic. By sheer coincidence I came across your linkedin profile and then fxlogic. We are fed up (like everyone else) with Roaming profile. We would like to move to profile management solution but we are not so big to buy enterprise version of VDI product. Therefore would like to see if there is PoC guide available. I think Aron’s guide is not for beginners.
There are tons of guides out there in the community – here’s a quick video I did a while ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3aHnEfMCtA
Hi,
I read that there is Java redirection support. I would like to know is it possible to do %userprofile%\javafolder redirection as well ? Sorry to ask you a question (probably stupid one), I have very little know of Fxlogic.
Yes, there is Java redirection which redirects to specific versions. try this but for what you are describing you might want the straight Redirection feature instead?
You right. I have configured using your your video and some resource online. it worked. Out of the box (OOBE). Looks perfect for us. Thanks a lot. I cannot imagine, anything can be so simple to configure. Now we are facing interesting challenge and that is how to migrate Windows 7 profile to Windows 10.
Eligible using Server 2016 RDS with O365?
Hi,
I am evaluating the Java redirection in FSLogix on Windows 10, but have seen that the IE plugin shows Incompatible and will not redirect or work as expected.
As a workaround when we disable the Enhanced Protected Mode under Advanced IE settings it works fine.
Any thoughts or ideas of how it can be dealt without disabling the Enhanced Protected Mode setting.
If a vhdx is attached, and the profile server reboots. Does the profiles flake? Or continue to work?
You’d need Cloud Cache maybe for that, or maybe take a look at James Kindon’s article on this – https://jkindon.com/2019/08/26/architecting-for-fslogix-containers-high-availability/
Are you allowed to use FSLogix when using Windows Server 2016 as a single session virtual desktop? And if not, how would you acquire the needed license for FSLogix?
You can use FSLogix on Windows Server 2016 as single session if you have the required Office365 or Microsoft365 licenses, I would think. Even if you didn’t – I dare say you could speak to your MS account manager and they would let you do it.