In This Article |
The information in this article is meant to be used in the sales process. |
This article provides guidance for running Microsoft Teams in the Evolve IP Cloud. Specifically, Workspaces (powered by Citrix) and DaaS (Powered by VMware).
While most applications will function in a properly sized virtual desktop or hosted application environment, below are considerations for any real-time audio / video compatibility (RTAV).
Microsoft Teams can be used within a web browser on nearly any device that includes real-time audio and video. For information and limitations of the browser based Teams client, please see link here.
For customers wishing to utilize the fully installed Microsoft Teams client within an Evolve IP Workspace or DaaS product, please refer to the following compatibility information.
The Citrix Workspace app makes use of a technology called WebRTC. This open standard is capable of redirecting video, voice, and also data in a peer-to-peer fashion from one instance/endpoint to another. In Teams, this works by making a connection for the audio and video streams directly to/from the end-users’ workstation. Because the connection is made directly between the devices, the audio and video streams do not have to be re-encoded to/from the VDA, which would add latency and degrade quality.
WebRTC is an open standard and is available for all major OSes. However, at this time, Citrix has only deployed the technology in the Windows 10 version of the Workspace app. Mac and Linux are on the roadmap, but there is no release date yet.
It is not just a matter of simply including or enabling this open standard. Citrix has made WebRTC aware of Teams and Jabber so that the applications can provide feedback regarding the experience. Finally, WebRTC performance seems to also be dependent on media capabilities of the peers and because of all of the components and connections involved, reliability establishing the connection is less than perfect.
VMware’s new optimizations also use the WebRTC components to accomplish the same effect, but this solution is not yet officially recognized by Microsoft as optimized.
Resources
The table below provides guidance w/ general end-user experience running Teams inside DaaS and Workspaces. VMware (DaaS) and Citrix (Workspace) have a different approach to handling RTAV, see experience estimates below.
Metric | Local Endpoint (Desktop, Laptop******) | DaaS (Windows 10 Endpoint*) | DaaS (Thin/Zero Client***) | Workspace Elite (Windows 10 Endpoint**) | Workspace Elite (Thin/Zero Client***) | AVD w/ RDP (Win 10 Endpoint) | AVD w/ RDP (Thin/Zero Client***) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Outbound Video Quality | Not Supported ***** | TBD Pending Future Update **** | Not Supported **** | ||||
Inbound Video Quality | Not Supported ***** | TBD Pending Future Update **** | Not Supported **** | ||||
Audio Quality (In/Out) | Not Supported ***** | TBD Pending Future Update **** | Not Supported **** | ||||
Overall RTAV Experience | |||||||
Screen Sharing | |||||||
File Sharing | |||||||
Chat |
*Win10 Home w/ VMware Horizon 5.4.2, w/ Media Optimization for MS Teams, DaaS View Agent 7.3.1
**Win10 Home w/ Citrix Workspace Client 20.2.0.25, MS Teams HDX Optimized on VDA
*** ThinOS or ZeroOS, Win10 IOT thin client not in scope for testing. ThinOS version 8.x, used for testing.
**** Based on 3/19/20 Azure WVD KB
***** Does not support RTAV or RTA for Dell Wyse 3040
****** The best RTAV experience utilizes the local endpoint resources versus leveraging the resources and RTAV optimizations of a virtualized environment.
Evolve IP recommends client testing of any RTAV experience before purchase via sales demo platform (available for DaaS and WS). |
The details below are specific to Workspaces and DaaS seat levels. Certain seat types will be a better choice for clients depending on their user behavior / work habits. Also there are several differences and caveats of each solution noted below.
Workspaces Desktop | RTAV Support | Microsoft Certified | Optimized for MS Teams | Important Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Workspaces Std | NA | NA | NA | Microsoft does not support Microsoft Teams as a Published application. |
Workspaces Pro | Workspace Pro meets the minimum requirements for MS Teams WITHOUT RTAV enabled. | |||
Workspaces Elite | Workspaces Elite supports all MS Teams features. |
Feature Limitations
Resources
Citrix currently does not support Dual Tone Multi Frequency. DTMF allows a Teams user to send a dial tone to their voicemail to log in and set up their greeting.
The fix for DTMF is included in a new Teams API version that will auto-update once Microsoft enables it in Ring 4.
As of June 2021, when a Citrix VDI user calls into the meeting using the dial-in number, the call is connected, but users are not admitted to the meeting because DTMF tone is not sent.
Once the feature is supportable, when the same user enters the conference ID, DTMF will recognize the ID being entered and admit user to the meeting.
The CWA versions that will support DTMF are:
The below VMware Horizon DaaS support matrix provides information as it relates to MS Teams. Note, Evolve IP DaaS is a dedicated one-to-one deployment model providing clients with a dedicated CPU/RAM desktop.
Desktop | Specs | RTAV Support | MS Teams Experience | Important Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
DaaS Standard Seat | 2vCPU, 4GB RAM | MS Teams will function. However, RTAV performance may saturate the DaaS standard seat. Heavy multi-tasking is not recommended while on a video call. Inbound video performance and bi-directional audio quality tested excellent. Outbound video performance may be slow and grainy at times depending on users behavior and system configuration. | ||
DaaS Premium Seat | 2vCPU, 8GB RAM | MS Teams will function. Light multi-tasking OK on a video call. Inbound video performance and bi-directional audio quality tested excellent. Outbound video performance is acceptable. User experience and performance will vary based on users behavior and system configuration. | ||
DaaS Ultimate Seat | 2vCPU, 16GB RAM | MS Teams will function. Most multi-tasking OK on a video call. Inbound video performance and bi-directional audio quality tested excellent. Outbound video performance is good. User experience and performance will vary based on users behavior and system configuration. |
Other considerations:
EvolveIP will troubleshoot DaaS performance issues with RMM and advise clients on what applications are utilizing DaaS resources.
Microsoft Teams offers three levels of noise suppression to help keep meeting participants focused. Presently this feature is not supported in Workspaces.
This is the link to the article that explains where to go to select the setting and the differences between the three suppression levels.