How To Manage VMware Server 2.0.x ?
When VMware released the free product VMware Server 2.0.0 version, they decided to get rid of the Console client application.
Was this a good thing? Some say no, some say that it was, personally - I think it was a mistake to ditch the Console.
A bit of background.
When you install Server 2.0.x, bundled with it you get an Apache/Tomcat installation on your host.
Now this is something that I find personally annoying. Take for example a Windows Host. Windows has IIS built in. So why do I need to add another Web server to the machine. Same goes for Linux by the way, this will install its own Web Server, regardless if you are already using Apache on you Linux host
And it uses resources..
This is the management console that you receive.
There are certain use cases for running Server instead of ESXi, to name a few - non compatible hardware, access to USB devices, sound etc. that you cannot get with using ESXi
But never fear, and this is not a very well documented feature, but it is available. Some of you might have heard about a management tool that can help. It is free, it is a VMware product and most of you are already using it.
If you have not already guessed, I am talking about the vSphere Infrastructure Client.
So how would you go about doing this? Well it is pretty simple. When managing your host through the Web interface you went to the following ling (my host IP = 10.0.0.5) https://10.0.0.5:8333/ui/#
So what you should do is open the VIC and in the host field connect to the host but on port 8333 like this:
Login with your credentials and then you get a familiar screen
Note the subtle differences though
And last but not least a remote console to a working VM
This is fully functional. You can create VM's, change resources, Snapshots, the works!
And of course I do not need apache running and using resources.
Why did I find it important to bring this to your attention? With this method it allows you use a single tool and application to manage all your virtual hosts, be they:
- VMware Server
- ESXi
- vCenter
I find it useful in my mixed VMware environment.
Hope you Enjoyed the ride!
Comments (16)
23/9/09 13:40
Very usefull tip! I hate that JAVA client!
23/9/09 16:54
When I try your method (thanks for the information btw) I recieve a dialog to download client support files, and when I click to download I recieve a 404 file not found error. What am I missing?
23/9/09 17:55
Where exactly are you getting the download client support files from?
Which version of Server are you using?
23/9/09 22:51
I am using Vmware Server 2.0.1 and downloaded vmware vsphere trial and installed the vsphere client from the package. When I try to connect using your method I recieve a dialog stating that I should upgrade my client. You can see it at http://www.xonom.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/vsphere_error.png
I read some messages at the forums and I have downloaded vmware server 2.0 and try to use the VI client from that package. Will let you know of the outcome.
24/9/09 02:45
This is great if your hosted solution is on Windows. However a lot of people were disappointed with the loss of the Console portion because there is still no VIC/vSphere client for Linux.
24/9/09 10:22
Thanks for the input Forbes.
I do feel for all those Linux based shops that cannot use this method because of the lack of support for Linux clients.
Since I a most Windows-based shop, this is not an issue for me.
I do sincerely hope that VMware will create a cross platform client (that is not web based!!) for the benefit of all its customers
21/10/09 20:08
I had the same issue with this that Cenk Kulacoglu had. It turns out that on a fresh install, the VI Client (or vSphere Client) is missing the necessary v2.5 DLLs to talk to VMware server 2.0. I have rar'd up the ones I used to get my vSphere client talking to my Server. They are located here: http://www.tidder.net/vmware/2.5.rar
This rar needs to be extracted to C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client or C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client if 64-bit. Inside of that folder you'll notice there is already a 4.0 folder. After extracting this rar to the previously mentioned location, you'll notice a 2.5 folder as well. This should fix anyone with the issue of the Server complaining you need to download an "update".
3/11/09 04:42
14/11/09 19:39
Tidder, thanks a lot for the tips, it works, it really works.
I was googleing for several days, and your info was the only good shot.
Kind regards
19/11/09 07:59
Tidder's fix works.
I accidentally discovered that by installing both the 2.5 VCenter client and 4.0 VSphere client into the same directory (/VMware/infrastructure/) you get the same results, 2 folders 2.5 and 4.0.
But the "about" tab shows the version as 2.5 Vclient, while the log-in splash says Vsphere which is 4.0. Not sure if there is a way to tell which version is actually running, but i do seem to notice new features that i don't recall seeing before.
The resulting client works great, but I cannot edit the web client created VMs. Just remove them from inventory (save the drive) and rebuild, using the original web created v-drive. This seems to fix whatever Vsphere-Vclient needs that web client created VMs don't have.
19/11/09 10:36
Thank you all for your comments. The workarounds for your solutions.
19/11/09 19:09
The "whatever" the Vsphere client needs is a VM created with the correct hardware version.
The Vsphere client VMs are hardware version 4.
Web interface created VMs are HW ver. 7.
Vsphere client HW versions are supposed to be version 7 too. http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_40_new_feat.html
So i am not running the Vsphere 4 but the 2.5 Vclient.
Sooo, any good ideas how to force the 7 issue with this Frankenstein client i have created? I am guessing there are a couple of dll files that need to go directly from the 2.5 folder into the 4.0 folder.
28/11/09 22:30
I didn't notice this, but I also didn't check. Good find on that problem, now to find a workaround...
29/11/09 21:27
I tried dumping all the files from 4.0 folder into the 2.5 folder and vice-versa. Same results. The dirty hack i have been using is to create the VMs with the web client, and run them with the Vsphere/Vclient. Not ideal, but works.
Hope this helps...
4/12/09 00:18
Hey again Hayes. I did a BUNCH of testing trying to get around it. If there is a way, I can't find it. The issue is that the vSphere Client gets an API version from the VMware Server, and then starts the old v2.5 version of the VI Client. I changed quite a few things server-side to try and fool vSphere into using the new API v4, but in doing so broke almost all functionality from the client. With all the config changes I've made, I have now lost the ability to use the vSphere Client at all as well as the web client because of the hacks and changes. Not a big deal for me since this isn't my production machine. I just don't think there is a way around it. So I've been doing what you are, and using the web client to create them, then managing them with the vSphere client. Good enough, and thanks for the tip. :)
11/12/09 23:01
The virtual machine 4 you can create with the Vshpere/Vclient does everything i need it to do so far.
I think VM7 better supports snapshots and migration that VmwareServer 2 doesnt support anyway, so i may just use the ver 4 machines with the old client.
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