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kgottleib
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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!

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AlphapIT
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RVTools vSnapshot tab does the trick.  Yay! I can manage my snapshots again.  Not that I really use the vmware snapshots that often.  Veeam was the best purchase I have made in a while.  As for tools upgrade I use the update manager in the vsphere fat client.  The update manager is a separate add-on that needs to be installed on the vcenter server.  Last I checked the update manager was not compatible with the vcenter server appliance.  You can also go to the vsphere client and under the Host and Clusters click on your cluster and go to the virtual machines tab.  There you can right click on the columns and add "VMware Tools Version Status"  that will tell you if the machine is out of date on the tools.  I am waiting for vmware to come back and say that you need to purchase this new management tool to get all these features back.  This is starting to remind me of logmein free.  They just keep pulling stuff away until you have nothing left.

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ArjanSchepers
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I'm running 5.5 at the moment still, but I can rightclick on a VM, go to Guest -> Install/Upgrade VM tools.

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Morgenstern72
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Mass upgrades, not single upgrades Smiley Happy

Like "all windows 2012 server" or "all not critical VMS"

Easy to do in RVtools, since you can sort for all kind of things, select all you want and press "update now"

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williambishop
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While the 6 webclient is infintely better than the previous version...Guess which version I won't be going to until they have fully baked a client or patched VIC to run with 6? Yeah...that one. I can't go in missing stuff I need to work. I shouldn't have to use RVtools to get what I used to get.

--"Non Temetis Messor."
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kgottleib
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In c# client if you select cluster / then virtual machines tab / you then select all VMs at once and perform some mass operations, vmtools update may be an option with this technique.   restart is an option when selecting all VMs at once perhaps a 1 line script to configure each VM to update tools to match host on restart is a way.  

AFter all all the posts on my thread, even by VMware product engineers, I can't believe they are still on this crash course.  

ssharpen up on scripting it is where all the money is being spent in and around consulting engagements. 

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gottr
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Dear VMware,

I am trying really hard to embrace the web client but it is lacking in everyway compared to the thick client. It is entirely too slow to use, in regards to productivity, versus the thick client. Please stop! We are getting ready to start a POC with hyper-v, which is already licensed, and I would hate to use the web client as a reason to switch...but I will.

Please keep in mind that I am not a regular poster on any of these forums and I took the time out of my day to post this message because I feel without a shadow of a doubt that this path you are going on is not the right one for the end users. I am a long time fan of your products so please don't make us switch to another vendor.

Thanks for carefully understanding this message!

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Skydiver61
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I guess I have to put in my 2 cents too. HV is clunky, but the vSphere web client?  My first car that I bought for 200 bucks back in 76, that only ran on three cylinders ran faster than the web client does.  I can deal with it because I don't have hundreds of VMs I have to manage, but if I did, I'd be using System Center and Hyper-V.   One second to open "Edit Settings" in the thick client, 9 seconds in the web client?  That's just poor code..

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IIIusion
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I will agree - Web Client sucks. If we will switch to Hyper-V the web client will be the reason.

Don't forget to mark your topic resolved if you got right answer. Thank you! Regards Ray
JMachieJr
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We have been looking at possibly dropping VMware and going to Hyper V as well. VMware better get their head out of their a$$ soon.

VCP-DCV | MCP | Linux+ Twitter: @James_Machie_Jr LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmachiejr
MMcDonald_EWS
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Please add my signature to the disdain for the VMware Web Client.  Please release an updated thick client.  I prefer it so much more.  I hate the web client so much I care not to even go into why.  It's worthless.

jgudnason
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well as near two years and no changes seem to be proving, I dont think vmware is listening to their clients on this regard, but for  what it's worth, i'll add my voice to the chorus.

please please please either give us a working fully featured fat client, or at least make the web client usable.  (a navigation tree that works, no flash, and about 10 less clicks per process..)

reminds me of blackberry.  BES 4 had an awesome interface.  then they released BAS, and a bunch of other steaming piles of ....,  such a sad story from an industry leader.  Would be nice if vmware would wake up and smell what they are trying to shovel at us.

adamjg
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dennisluvm wrote:

The Web Client by itself works without NPAPI.  The issue is with the Client Integration Plugin, which provided some additional functionality.  Some of this functionality has been moved into the standalone VMware Remote Console application (VMRC).  You can see more specifics in this KB article:

Downloading and Installing the standalone VMware Remote Console (VMRC) in vSphere 5.x and 6.0 (2091284):

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=209128...

We are also working on the rest of the functionality in various ways.

The above quote was posted on April 20th.  I started using the VMRC that day and have been using it since then.  I have to say, this thing is as buggy if not worse than the web client itself.  Why does it take 2 times to close it for it to actually close the window?  I won't even get into all of the other issues we've had with it.  I mean I'm all for using something else because the original solution is buggy, but when the alternative is just as bad, it makes VMware look even worse.

unsichtbare
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The Web Client is what happens when the MBA types in the corner offices start running the company and stop listening to users. The Web Client is VMwares' "Windows 8", but VMware is too stubborn to realize it.

In about half of the environments I manage, I will not be able to qualify vSphere 6 ever because:

  1. The Web Client uses Flash
  2. The C# Client has fewer features than in vSphere 5.5 (specifically health status)

Our own SSAE 16 statement to auditors, which was created long before the Web Client, mandates that we not adopt new software versions which are a regression on previous versions.

+The Invisible Admin+ If you find me useful, follow my blog: http://johnborhek.com/
foodandbikes
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This is ridiculous.

Accessing the web client from a computer that has never accessed it before...

-Need to update browser - ugh, fine whatever.

-Need flash - ugh

-Need some application in order to view remote console, which requires logging into the VMware site...for a web plugin. This is lame. It's just a plug-in, please DO NOT require someone to login to the VMware site in order to get the plugin, that NEEDS to be something freely available without the login hoops. Like the thick client is when there's an updated version needed.

But since I am logged in, I will come ere and contribute my distaste for the web client.

I initially liked the v6 web client, but now I cannot manage my VMs because I can't get a f&*king console to open to them!

David_Y
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ARE YOU HEARING US YET VMWARE???  THE WEB CLIENT STILL SUCKS.


Sorry for the ridiculous font but holy smokes....  The web client is cute and would probably be ok for giving misc people access to a set of their vm's.  IT IS AWFUL for people that actually manage a VMware environment.....


Fine, keep it around for the above mentioned people.  We get it, you need a cross platform "thing".  Just keep the MAIN administrative tool C#.  I think you guys can afford to develop both.

tricountyit
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It's making Hyper-V look pretty nice right now.  I hear version 6 is better, but what about the people that don't want to upgrade their license just to be able to use features they previously had!!!!!!!!  I see 27 pages of people that are about to jump ship to Microsoft!!  At least they are free!!

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micahvm
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I am posting here to agree with all of the frustration expressed with the web client.  I HATE IT! 

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zoran4afc
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I also hate vSphere Web Client.

To VMware: Just cancel the Web Client and give us fully featured C# client.

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mikkofinland
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This web client is an awful piece of s***! I've tried to adapt, but after a year of frustration i hate it even more than Oracle's licensing politics.

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hostasaurus
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I can almost set my watch by the monthly critical Flash vulnerability discoveries and patches:

Synopsis:          Critical: flash-plugin security update

Advisory ID:       RHSA-2015:1086-01

Product:           Red Hat Enterprise Linux Supplementary

Advisory URL:      https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1086.html

Issue date:        2015-06-10

CVE Names:         CVE-2015-3096 CVE-2015-3098 CVE-2015-3099

                   CVE-2015-3100 CVE-2015-3102 CVE-2015-3103

                   CVE-2015-3104 CVE-2015-3105 CVE-2015-3106

                   CVE-2015-3107 CVE-2015-3108

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