VMware Cloud Community
kgottleib
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
Jump to solution

vSphere Web Client is so bad that my experience managing and supporting VMware has turn to....

Purpose of this post is simple and obvious...  bring back development to thick client.  THANKS!

720 Replies
golddiggie
Champion
Champion
Jump to solution

Check your AV software and make exceptions for the web url. I've found that AV software can be the source/cause of a LOT of the perceived issues with the web client. To the point that I had to make several changes to my current [home] AV software (Kaspersky) so that the client would launch properly, and reliably. This is no reflection on what VMware has released, but the fact that the AV software is being a douche bag. To the point where I'm planning to switch to another product that I've had reports of acting far better. IIRC, there are a couple of other browser settings that make it load easier. I'm not in front of my system at this point, nor do I recall exactly what they were. IIRC, they were more security type exceptions for the local URL. Keep in mind, the AV product I have blocked local network url's even though I had set a broad exception. I had to add individual exceptions to the settings for the web client. I also had to do that for other local web consoles, so it's NOT just the VMware product being impacted (one of the reasons I'm going to switch AV products even though I bought another year worth of the software/subscription just a few months back).

edgarasdjhsa
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

No I did not Smiley Happy

However, latest SECURITY updates to vc adds button inside flash client:: Launch vSphere Client (HTML5)

which is strange seeing as those are security updates with critical severity

TinkDTV
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

Picking up Black T-Shirts tonight and already have printable Iron on pages.  I am thinking Black with with VMware green for the letters.

gbeaudoin
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
Jump to solution

Yeah, I've noticed it for a while now. Every time I get asked about feedback from vmware, to explain my negative feedback or why I stopped recommending it, I keep giving the url to this thread. So maybe after a while someone from vmware who received that feedback got tired and tried to hide this discussion under the carpet? Maybe.. Well, maybe I'm paranoid also.

mmango
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

I'm not a damn beta tester for vmware, give me back a fu.ing working client and assemble a beta tester team to test your 90% unfinished products, thanks

tkolbe
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

"I'm not a damn beta tester for vmware, give me back a fu.ing working client "

This 100%. I am absolutely fed up with this web client crap as well.... 6.7 is out and the best they can say is: "the html5 client is better than before, but you still need to use the flex client".

VMWare, blow me. This is neither efficient nor acceptable for what we pay you.

SANGuru20111014
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

I've been using VMWare since version 3, and it used to be the best thing ever.

I started a new job about 5 years ago, vSphere 5 was around at that time but my manager insisted on using Citrix Xen. It took me 3 years to convince him that if we move from Citrix Xen to VMWare the money we spend will be well worth it. So eventually he agreed and we bought Enterprise Plus licenses for our production and DR datacentres (about 50 hosts, so it's a massive investment). I implemented it all and migrated all our workloads from Citrix Xen to VMWare over a 2-year long project. As we were going through the project I upgraded from 5.0 to 5.5, to 6.0 and then to 6.5, each time hoping and praying that the web client would get better.

Then one day my manager wanted to create a VM, to see what was so cool about it and why I had been hounding him about VMWare for so long. The web client crashed when he tried to use it, so I told him to use the HTML5 client, he logged in and created a VM from a template using a customization spec. The VM came up, but it's hostname and IP didn't automatically get set as I told him it would (it had worked with other VMs, although inconsistently). Then he opened up the web console to try and login to set the hostname and IP, only to find out that his French keyboard is not supported. He spent a good 2 hours of cursing and battling trying to get that VM up, and then he asked me, "is this what we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on?". It was utterly embarrassing. I raved about VMWare for so long, that it's the best thing, only to have VMWare let me down at the end.

I must say that VMWare no longer delivers value for the money that it costs. The C# client was awesome, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. Why discontinue it without a properly working replacement?

To VMWare I say, "We are NOT your beta testers. We are your #@%$ customers and we pay a LOT of money for what has become an inferior product." This shyte client looks and works like it has been put together by amateurs, and I'm sorry, but 4 years has been quite long enough. I have done literally hundreds of VMWare implementations in my life, and it's a sad thing to say, but I'll be recommending Hyper-V in the future, because it's MY reputation you've damaged.

klutch14u
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
Jump to solution

I still contend that a good web client is necessary and useful but the C# client is imperative to actual administrator duties.  Quickly logging in from anywhere to do something, giving a link to a developer so they can log in and manipulate their VM's and that sort of thing is great for the web client but if you have 100's of hosts that you're trying to manage, what a nightmare.  Flex or HTML5.  The C# is critical.

The worst part is when you have a dog and pony with VMware reps and they talk it all up or act like it's the first they've heard of people not liking the web client.   Clearly never having had to actually manage an environment with it and use it for sales demos and whatnot.  Just keep both, geesh

ttecs
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

Well this is a good thread. I thought it was just me doing something wrongly.

I have had to roll back my 6.5s to 6.0 so I can use the thick client.

As 6.0 is EOL is less than two years I suppose I will have to look at alternatives.

I wonder if VMware actually think they are "so big" that they cannot lose.

I have been in this game a LONG time and remember:

Zilog

Digital Research

Santa Cruz Operation

Commodore

Novell

Word Perfect

Lotus

just to name a few.

All of them basically dominated their part of the IT world.

All of them made stupid decisions that pissed of their users.

Where are they now?

klutch14u
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
Jump to solution

I'd love to be able to just switch but they do make a good product.  I just don't understand why they are so bound and determined to be tone deaf about this.  Not only does it suck but it's taken YEARS to replace.  Is it some team of 2 guys that do it after hours?  To top it all off they've felt the need to move everything around.  Again, they need a GOOD web client but it should be a secondary tool, not the primary.  I emailed Pat Gelsinger several years ago which actually got me a response from his "office" and a guy reached out to me but it was just canned BS.  Reminds me of Microsoft deciding a start button was no longer of use, at least they listened...

SANGuru20111014
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

For those of you looking for a decent thick client, give VMWare Workstation a try. You can use it to connect to your Virtual Center, see all your VMs, connect using remote console, edit settings etc. Its really sleek and fast, and for day to day management of your virtual machines, it's a damn lot better than the web clients.

Obviously, it's limited to managing virtual machines, if you need to manage your ESXi infrastructure, clusters, datastores, networks etc, you will still need to use the web client, but VMWare Workstation has definitely made about 70% of my work a LOT more pleasurable. I'm not shilling it, this is just from one administrator to another.

I think you also get a free Workstation license if you have a VCP, so no harm in trying it out.

TinkDTV
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

The short answer is they are choosing to be tone def and blind to customer feedback out of ignorance and stubbornness, even at vmworld they were dismissive.

I have asked the developers repeatedly to look at the C# aka Fat client and compare and contrast, when in person you can literally see that this never once occurred to them.  It's not hard to see that the developers have never actually managed an environment of any size with these tools they are creating.

jleopold
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

Chiming in. The vSphere thick client is far superior to the web client with respect to reliability, functionality, appearance, feel, and ease of use.  The web client is completely awful.

hostasaurus
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
Jump to solution

Come on, the web client makes for a much more exciting environment.  You never quite know if you are about to apply a change to the wrong system since half the time what you click on and what it displays are two different things.  Vmware is doing a great job ensuring maintenance is no longer routine, and that change control meetings are much more interesting when staff have to explain how they could possibly have done what they did.

TBKing
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
Jump to solution

Still at 6.0 and using c# for most things.  But on occasion we have to fire up the web pos.

On one such occasion, the web client was hosed - again.  I called for support and they said Use the thick client until they figure out what's wrong.

Dreading the day we move to 6.5 or 6.7 and all will have to be web.

Reply
0 Kudos
techuser78
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

Hello all, I am just checking in here, is the web client still a complete POS as of Jan 2019?  

We are still on 6.0 due to the absolute mess the web console was with 6.5.  I initially tried to use 6.5 but very quickly decided to stay with 6.0 due to the number of issues discussed in this thread.

I would like to try to move forward this year with finally upgrading our old 6.0 vcenter and hosts, but I am still quite hesitant.

What is the general consensus now, are most still avoiding the upgrade from 6.0 or has the web client become somewhat useable?

Reply
0 Kudos
kwg66
Hot Shot
Hot Shot
Jump to solution

Minor issues still exist and crop up periodically.   But I don't really expect they will be properly fixed at this point but are simply things to live with.  VMware is too busy moving forward to fix what's been broken in the past.  I wouldn't hold up an upgrade based on the functionality of the web client, you just have to get used to it. 

Reply
0 Kudos
billwhe
Contributor
Contributor
Jump to solution

I'll start by saying that no one hated the web client as much as I did when it first came out.  Even in 6.0 it was terrible.

We are now running 6.5 U2 and I have to say... the web client is pretty good.  Many of the items have been re-arranged again to better match the layout of the C# client and overall it's pretty quick and responsive.

One of the things I hated most about the web client was how long it took the "recent tasks" panel to update (if it even updated at all.)  We run Horizon View and I heavily relied on "recent tasks" being in real time to help troubleshoot View when things went wrong.  In the latest 6.5 client, I'm getting pretty much real time scrolling of events, which makes managing View a lot easier.

The original web client was released way too early and it wasn't even close to ready for prime-time, but at this moment, I'm fairly pleased with how it has panned out.

sk84
Expert
Expert
Jump to solution

What is the general consensus now, are most still avoiding the upgrade from 6.0 or has the web client become somewhat useable?

I think the most people are at least on 6.5 U2 or 6.7. At least, all infrastructures I know.

But I find it interesting that in the year 2019 and at the time of vSphere 6.7 U1 ( ! ) this discussion is still going on and that there are still people who stopped at version 6.0 because they didn't like the vSphere Web client or because a single feature was broken. Especially if it's just the web console. I mean, who needs this console longer than 5 minutes? Apart from that, there was always an alternative: VMRC.

And the first release of the vSphere Web Client with ESXi 5.1 is now 4 or 5 years ago. And it has been constantly developed and improved. Of course there were always new bugs and regressions. That's how it is in the software development of complex programs. And one can argue surely whether it was not already foreseeable that Flash is a dead horse at that time.

But let's be honest. The HTML5 based vSphere client exists now for almost 2 years and meanwhile (at the time of vSphere 6.7) all common features are implemented with very few exceptions. That means that the new vSphere client can be used for at least 95% of all daily work.

By the way, End of general support for vSphere 6.0 is March, 2020. I hope by then this annoying topic about the ugly, unusable, slow, whatever vSphere Web Client will finally be done. 😉

--- Regards, Sebastian VCP6.5-DCV // VCP7-CMA // vSAN 2017 Specialist Please mark this answer as 'helpful' or 'correct' if you think your question has been answered correctly.
Reply
0 Kudos
continuum
Immortal
Immortal
Jump to solution

> I hope by then this annoying topic about the ugly, unusable, slow, whatever vSphere Web Client will finally be done. 😉

I believe this post is necessary.
A product management that replaces a solid working implementation of their main-admin interface with a work-in-progress project deserves and apparently needs a post like this one.

> The HTML5 based vSphere client exists now for almost 2 years and meanwhile (at the time of vSphere 6.7) all common features are implemented with very few exceptions.
> That means that the new vSphere client can be used for at least 95% of all daily work.

Thats still 5 % less than expected after 2 long years. Not everybody would call that progress.


________________________________________________
Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...