Adding a vCenter server

[brechbuehler]

This is very basic:  When I connect to vSphere Web Client, all inventories are empty -- no hosts, no virtual machines, nothing!

I think I should add the server, but get this discouraging message:

There is no need to manually register vCenter Server 5.1 systems with the vSphere Web Client.

If you do not have access to a vCenter Server 5.1 system, do the following:

• Verify that the vCenter Server system was registered with the vSphere Web Client's Lookup Service.
• Verify that the SSO Administrator has granted you permission to access the vCenter Server system.

How do I verify that the server was registered?

How do I verify whether the Administrator has granted permission?

I can log in to individual virtual machines using ssh, they're up and running happily, but vCenter / vSphere is not aware of them.  How can I manage them?

[a_p_]

Did you configure permissions on the vCenter Server object yet. With vCenter 5.1 use the admin@system-domain account (in vCenter 5.5 it's administrator@vsphere.local) to login to configure SSO, and to set the required permissions.

André

[brechbuehler]

Thanks!

The vSphere Web Client tells me there are 0 (zero) vCenter Servers.  I assume those would be the vCenter Server objects.  As I said, *ALL* inventories are empty.

Without an object, how could I configure its permissions?  I do not have the password for admin or administrator.  As a user (not installer), I should not need it, right?

[a_p_]

You should not need these passwords if the installer did his job!

From your initial post: "Verify that the SSO Administrator has granted you permission to access the vCenter Server system."

André

[admin]

Can the user you are using log in to vCenter server with the Classic Client? If yes the installation of the Web Client was done against a different SSO than vCenter is installed against, either reinstall or repoint the Web Client.

If no your user will need vCenter permissions to be set from a vCenter Server administrator. By default this is either the local "Administrators" group or admin@system-domain in 5.1 depending on the SSO installation mode.

[brechbuehler]

André,

As you can tell, I'm an absolute beginner on ESXi.  (I've been using VMware Server for many years, it works great, but ESXi feels like it ties my hands behind my back!)

You were right, a vCenter Server object is what I needed, and what the Web Client calls a "vCenter Servers".  But as the client did'nt show it, I was unable to configure permissions on it.  Very frustrating!  Apparently single sign-on (SSO) administrator privilege does NOT give one access to the vcenter server.  (But I could change password policies, the admin's password, etc.)

Finally our admin added privileges for me, and suddenly I can see hosts, a datacenter, networks, datastores etc.  And now that I don't need to, I could configure permissions on the vCenter Server.

[brechbuehler]

Frank,

Well, it's kind-of resolved, though not through my doing.  Still I wonder...

What is the Classic Client?  On a hunch, I tried vmware-server-console it cannot connect, as the vCenter machine isn't listening on port 902, and the physical host accepts the connection, but rejects my credentials.

Not sure what our SSO installation mode is, or how I'd determine it.  I think it's the former, but in our case, all users are Administrator users.

[kashifkarar01]

Hey,

I had exactly the same problem.

If I login to my vCenter 5.1 using vSphere client I can see the clusters > hosts and VMs. However, when I login to same vCenter using Webclient I see 0 hosts > 0 VM etc even thought I am loggin with administrator@system-domain. The same problem is seen in vCenter 5.5 where user name is administrator@vsphere.local

All I did is add my domain users to SSO with admin privileges and got it worked as expected. We can also add the local users of vCenter machine in SSO.

Please check the screen shot where we can add the domain users or local users of vCenter: Once you add the desired users logoff from webclient and login back it will work.

[a_p_]

What you can do depends on the permissions granted be the SSO administrator. Starting with vSphere 5.1, the local system Administrators group doesn't have permissions for the vCenter Server objects by default, to allow a proper separation of administrative roles. After the SSO administrator granted you permissions on the vCenter Server object (from what you said, he gave you full administrative permissions) you are now able to see and perform tasks on the objects.

André

[brechbuehler]

Thanks for the screenshot.  I see how you can give privileges to users.  But your screenshot also reveals "vCenter Servers 1" at the top left -- that's the easy case, you're already "in".  My question was about 0 servers.  In that case, you may just be stuck.

[brechbuehler]

Nope.  As it turns out, in permissions I see role "Administrator" for every single user except myself.  Mine is "Read Only".  I cannot even create a virtual machine!

[kashifkarar01]

Login with administrator account and change the permission for u r account

[kashifkarar01]

Plz change Ur users permission to admin by logging with administrator@vsphere.local account

[brechbuehler]

kashifkarar01,

I do not know the password of administrator@vsphere.local and I think I shouldn't know it.  (But I have his cell phone number!)

So I think as far as escalating privileges inside ESXi, I'm pretty much stuck.

(Technically, I would have had the power all along to change the admin's password to something I know and he doesn't -- but that's blatantly wrong.)

Still figuring out the ESXi permissions philosophy ...

[kashifkarar01]

I understand please contact the vcenter admin or a user who has full access at webclient and get your account configured as admin.