Setup a banner message on ESXi 4.1

[DyJohnnY]

Hi,

Is it possible to setup a banner message that appears when users connect to SSH (an access restricted like message?) (before entering credentials?)

We have a requirement to implement such banner messages but sofar I have not been able to find a way to do it for ESXi

Thanks,

Ionut

[Troy_Clavell]

see page 49

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_esxi_i_vc_setup_guide.pdf

...although I don't think it will be seen for SSH connections.

[DyJohnnY]

Hi,

Yes I see that, however it is not quite what we are looking for. We'd like that anyone attempting to connect remotely via SSH to the ESXi host to receive a security warning.

The welcome message applies to the physical console from what I have just tested.

[Troy_Clavell]

I know the below works for ESX, however, i've never tried adding a security banner for ESXi, but it may be worth a shot

http://xtravirt.com/xd10046

[DyJohnnY]

We've tried that, it doesn't work, the files do not exist on ESXi...

Anyone having a solution please share your thoughts.

[Troy_Clavell]

It may only be possible to change the DCUI of ESXi.

[lamw]

If you are referring to the following message when you login to TSM:

You have activated Tech Support Mode.
The time and date of this activation have been sent to the system logs.

VMware offers supported, powerful system administration tools.  Please
see www.vmware.com/go/sysadmintools for details.

Tech Support Mode may be disabled by an administrative user.
Please consult the ESXi Configuration Guide for additional
important information.

You can easily do so by editing /etc/motd, I don't believe you can do it before entering the credentials

If you want to update what the DCUI displays, you can take a look at the following blog post - http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2010/09/how-to-add-splash-of-color-to-esxi-dcui.html

[DyJohnnY]

Hi,

Thanks for the info.

What we need is the equivalent of the banner used in ssh on esx.

We want to display a warning prohibiting unauthorized access when a user attempts to logon, NOT after he is logged on, which is what motd does.

Thanks

[lamw · Accepted solution]

Take a look at this blog post for the solution - http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2011/03/how-to-enable-ssh-security-banner-on.html