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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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hyvokar
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You would kinda think that the problems would've been fixed in three years, but no.

I just installed 6.5. Thick client gives me an error every time I click my sas-adapters and wont show paths and wwns. Then again, the host client shows only the model and driver of the HBA. So I need to ssh to the host and dig that vital piece of information manually.

Then again, after creating and powering a virtual machine in thick client, the console doesnt work; black screen only. The left columns says that the VM isnt even powered on. When logging to a host client, I'll get an error with no information or description.

Then again, I cant add a floppy image from the host client, but I need to do that in thick client. Now how handy is that!

Would be about a time for vmware to get it's shit together. If it was me, I'd be omw migrating all the producion to Hyper-V, and hopefully in there near future it'll be just me.

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dennisluvm
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Hi hyvokar,

It sounds like you are using the Thick Client to connect directly to a Host?  This is not supported in 6.5 as that client has been discontinued.  We're aware the 6.0 version currently connects to 6.5 Hosts, but it's not been tested.

You mentioned a couple additional features/attributes you'd like to see in the Host Client view:

  • "sas-adapters and wont show paths and wwns"
  • "add a floppy image"

Is there anything else?  Also a little more detail as to what you're trying to accomplish would be helpful (troubleshooting something, Flash bios, etc).

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Labsy2
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Hi Dennisluvm,

just to add my 5 cents to overall picture and suggest few improvements to 6.5 Web client:

  1. Self-Adjusting TREE view on left side is by all means counter-intuitive. I do not like tree branches and options disappearing and appearing by themselves. I like to have my selected structure intact on left, so I can easily switch from sub-items in a branch by my will - not to follow the will of some counter-intuitive logic of Web interface, which shows and hides items as I click them. So please, add an option to left tree menu to SHOW ALL sub-tree items, not just ones I clicked recently.
    Also "MORE XY" in navigation tree just wastes space. It has the same effect as clicking the main branch, so please, get rid of it.
  2. I do not know who suggested you DATASTORE BROWSER design, but the very right-hand sub-window (which shows clicked file ICON) is by my opinion useless. Or at least on the wrong place. Maybe you could put it into LOWER TRAY section of datastore browser? Doing so, I would have all longer filenames always visible in top 3 sub-windows:
    - STORE in first left-hand window
    - FOLDERS in 2nd window
    - and folder CONTENT / FILES in 3rd window
    I think we do not need 4th window in datastore browser.
  3. NETWORKING tab should show topology of all vSwitches. This was the main advantage of thick client in previous versions against Hyper-V, so please, add it again. Like it is showing topology when you click on each individual network vSwitch, the main NETWORKING tab should have overview of them all.

Thanx

franktroeger
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Hi Dennis,

heres my point of view.

What you can do is bring back a single Admin frontend without refresh and caching issues where i can see the same good information as in c# client.

For real i dont care what i have to use but i dont use two webfrontends to see less usefull things than before.

Here some examples what you have done so far to make my job more difficult:

1. Remove maps and give us all "Related Objects" -> which is the hell of a nightmare if you just want to bring together scsi identifiers and wwns -> okay backend developer gave us esxcli to solve this.

2. The Download Folder button in Webclient 6.5 and /ui 6.5 doesnt work anymore and there is no client integration plugin for this job so i have to download single files?

3. with vc 5.5u3 and in higher editions i lost the ALUA Path information "Active" i can see after upgrade x Paths online but active is only visible with esxcli.

4. you waste time in the webconsoles and i have to deal with keyboard layout (pain in the ass!!!!) setting, proxy settings of the browser and so on.

5. on top you dont solve existing issues mentioned above you just programming a overlay for the 6th Power on Button on top of the console if your webclient is in the opinion the vm is powered off -> in my world 90% the vm is powered on and the messi console just loose the connection from time to time now i have to click in the console to wake up the console which results in an error message "This is not allowed in the current state" because your console think i want to power on the vm. What the hell i dont need 10k power on buttons i need a functional client interface.

6. Permission concept messed up -> doesnt seem to work to manage licenses even if i am member of sso admins, but sso admins are member of license admin group.

7. Errormessages in the vmotion dialog "page cannot displayed" (seen yesterday)

8. No permissions error in Tags panel (normally log in agaim work)

9. Permission Page empty in /ui client with vcenter admin role assigned

These are just my painpoints.

dennisluvm
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Hi Labsy2,

Need some clarification:

1) Is this referring to (what we internally call) "aggregation nodes" or "rollup nodes", when large number of VMs are rolled up into a single line?  This threshold was increased from a way too low 20 to 100 VMs in vSphere 6.0, so that should be occuring less.  This is a user-controllable setting you can tweak in webclient.properties as well: VSphere Web Client - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

In the new HTML5 based vSphere Client we have not implemented this.  We are keeping an eye on performance to see whether a solution is needed at all.

If you're referring to something else please let me know.  A screenshot would be helpful.  Also I'm not sure what you're referring to for "MORE XY", can you clarify that?

2) We have made changes to the datastore browser in the new vSphere Client.  If you've tried that one we're very interested to hear if those changes offer sufficient improvement, or not.  6.5.0b: First vSphere Client (HTML5) update in vSphere 6.5.0b! - VMware vSphere Blog or the Fling: vSphere HTML5 Web Client

3) I believe the removal was due to scaling issues, but we do have it on our plate to investigate how we can bring these types of views back.  Can you tell us how many vSwitches you have in your environment in total?

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dennisluvm
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Hi franktroeger,

Our primary goal right now is to make the new HTML5 based vSphere Client the only client you will need for accessing vCenter to manage your environment.

1) Can you elaborate on this use case "scsi identifiers and wwns", and whether this was the only reason you were using vCenter Maps?

2) How often are you downloading an entire folder?  In vSphere Client we have a 'select all files' button which should make this easy.  We will look into bringing 'Download Folder' back.

3) " ALUA Path information "Active" " how often do you need to refer to this information, and what do you use the information for?

4) We are trying to work on improving the webconsole (aka. WebMKS, HTML5 console).  In the meantime have you tried VMRC and does it improve the situation?

5) What version of VC is this on?  Incorrect inventory status should have improved significantly in 6.5 vs 6.0, with the removal of Inventory Service.

6) I will pass this onto the Permissions and Licensing groups.

7) If this occurs again please paste a screenshot here.  Have you submitted a support ticket for this?

😎 I don't think I understand the statement.  Did you expect to get a permissions error and did not, then after logout/login it worked as expected?

9) Are you referring to the new vSphere Client at /ui in 6.5?  And are you referring to the "Administration -> Access Control -> Global Permissions" view, or another view?  Again, a screenshot here would be helpful too.

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Labsy2
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vmware1.JPG

Hi Dennis,

I am mostly dealing with SMALL sites, having just a pair of hosts and maximum a dozen of VMs. So I would like to have an option to turn off the limited TREE view under each segment (VM, Storage, Networking), which currently shows only limited number of sub-items.

Like in the image - under STORAGE in tree view I see only 2 storages, but there are 5 of them. Why not show them all...or at least to have an option to setup this?

Also clicking on More VMs, More storage, More networks... is the same as clicking on VM, Storage or Networking main branch. So why to have duplicated function link in tree, only consuming space?

I know, in full Enterprise vSphere when dealing with hundreds of VMs, maybe there such an approach would be handy, as you maybe do not need show all of them in tree view. But in smaller setups it looks kinda counter-productive.

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franktroeger
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Hi Dennis,

1. for me its way more easy to check the Lun Number and WWN to find the Lun i want to extend in Storage than to search for the scsiid so it was nice to have the connection between fc source wwn + lun id + scsi id. I just opened storage admin website / app + maps in client and expand lund or unmap and took a look on scsi identifiery to verify. now i click on several luns in storage to compare long identifier.

Second huge thing in maps for me is to see errors in vmotion config. Its just more easy than to migrate one vm during error occours.

2.  i do it from time to time, usecase 1. migrate from cloud datacenter into lokal dc with nearly no access to source vc.

usecase 2. makeing a backup of a non functional vm caused by snapshot issues. in this case i normally try to fix the files. edit files on cli means i want to go back to the source.

usecase 3. making a offline backup on hdd for archiveing for a customer out of backup solution. or just to be independent of ova or ovf format.

Its not a big deal and i know there are 10k methods to get around of it (use scp, or cp on esxi shell) but i had the chance in early versions and i used it and now its gone for no reason.

3.Every time i fix alua and path settings and make failover tests in sync mirror environments i want to see this information.

Classic scenario customer complains about frozen or unresponsive vms during failover i check psp on the datastores and active paths to check if i see what i expect.

few days ago i see fixed with default active active on datacore luns. now i had to change on datacoreside to alua and on vsphere side to roundrobin and want to see if alua works as designed and failover too. This is just not possible if there is just an online led on the path.

If you want to see a driver / firmware / setting issue easy and clear its an awesome information.

No big deal i am aware of esxcli. But same here i have seen this for years and one guy decide "its not important to see this information" makes me kind of wondering why the guy ten years ago took it into a gui.

4. Yes i am just using VMRC because Webconsole sucks so hard i cant describe my feelings if i dont want to be impolite.

But fact is that you claim to be an enterprise only company for huge datacenters and i have to INSTALL a plugin into a corp browser to use the console. Webconsole is a mess if you use a keyboard layout or browser language different from en-us. Especially /ui interface in vcenter has different effects than /ui on esx or flash client.

Gives me the feeling 3 teams try to make it fly.

In many of my customer environments i can handle this but in the huge environments where i am not allowed to use the browser i want nor disable proxy or change setting or i am not allowed to install plugins i am kind of lost. but funny that this are the enterprise environments you claim to make your software for.

5. This issue happened in my ICM 6.5 class i dont think its out of date inventory but its a sleep in console if you dont interact for few minutes, now you have to click into console but there is the power on button. And for real i have seen out of sync inventory or grey out vmotion in 6.5 in real world and in lab environments.

Thats the point you cant trust your admin interface anymore cause it can be an issue or its just your browser/gpo/proxy/cache messing around.

6. seems to work in my 6.5d environment. maybe its a 6.5b on windows issue or browser or proxy i dont know i will investigate.

7. ok ill paste a screenshot next time but this was in our environment 6.5d and admin pc was macbook. no i didnt open a ticked i just reload the website.

8. sorry to clarify i have a customer who has a "no permissions" error message in the "Tags" box if he click on a VM from time to time. in my mind its a 6.0x version. reload or relogin solve it.

9. This is an error i dont understand and i will update from 6.5b to 6.5d (on windows) asap. customer has a active directory group which is member of the sso admin group. but he cant see anything in any permission tab (VC/DC/Cluster/Hosts/VMs). It was a fresh installation, maybe i open a support request. But its not a big deal they can do any other task in vcenter, just permissions seems to be broken. and the link in the licenses and global permissions due to membership in sso aministrators group seem not to work too.

One additional point "open support request" even the support has often no idea why permissions not work, few weeks ago i had a veeam / vmware issue and i had to deal with a workaround to add a local os user in linux because support on both sides just fingerpointing on each other.

Problem was that windows user with admin group membership in vmware could log in and make everything but used by veeam snapshots did not work.

Thanks for your attention

Kind regards

Frank

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franktroeger
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10.

autoscale issue

pastedImage_0.png

Update manager just half visible. seen before issues you cant click menu.

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hyvokar
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I also have the scaling issue.


Also, on monitor -> performance, I cannot change time range from 1 day to current on overview page.

On advanced page I cannot change CPU for any other stat.

Web client just keeps on giving.

Btw. every time I migrate my vcenter server, the web client makes me log back in again. And I cant upload anything to datastores with web client. fts.

using ie 11

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iLikeMoney
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I went to 6.5 recently and I'm finally forced to feel the pain of the web client.  I avoided it for so many years and now there's no way out.

The best I could do to help mitigate some of the headaches is to use my VMware Workstation installation to connect to my vcenter server so at least my VMs show up in a thick interface again. It helps a bit but this is really unfortunate.  I hope VMware does the right thing and maintains several clients.  Is it that costly to maintain several client applications?  Not only that if you had to kill off one of them I would think you'd choose the least popular one.      

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franktroeger
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Error from today vc 6.5b on windows:

pastedImage_0.png

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UberGeek1
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I have to agree, best post title so far.  As for the web client, I definitely have to agree there is no good option.  The C# client has become so bloated it's almost useless and the web client has never been very good.  I have tried vSphere 6.5 and the HTML client, but even not having the Flash component the experience is not the greatest.

Through both my work setup (17 vCenters, 500+ hosts, 10k+ VMs globally) and the home lab I am pretty sure that no matter what, this problem will persist until the underlying Java code is fixed.  I can't even begin to count how many times we have to tweak the java heap settings because we added a plugin, or a few extra folks are logging in, or someone's using the Perl or Python SDK's (please make those go away!).  Almost every other day we have to restart the webclient service on the VCSA due to either an SSO failure, taking 5 minutes to switch from the summary tab to the management tab on a host, or just getting the lovely "something happened, reload " error message.

My only viable solution thus far, use PowerCLI for management tasks.  I'm comfortable with CLI, having a strong Unix/Linux background, but PowerCLI seems to be rock solid, does what I need without hesitation, and I don't need to constantly restart services or wait 5 minutes just to switch to the management tab.  I will admit it was a learning curve but way back when VMware first hinted at dumping the C# client I made the switch.

Hopefully VMware does fix the web client and makes it rock solid because it's the central focus of 90% of the vRealize and vCloud suites and is an integral part of the product overall.  Don't let someone else eat your lunch because of a bad UI...

Sincerely, Jody L. Whitlock
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dennisluvm
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Hi Labsy2,

Thank you for the screenshot, and now I get it.  We refer to this as the 'Host Client', and it has slightly different usability than the vSphere Web Client which is for vCenter.  I will pass your feedback onto the appropriate folks, apologies for my misunderstanding.

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dennisluvm
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Hi hyvokar, franktroeger,

A) Regarding Scaling issues: Usually this type of issue happens when using browser zoom.  Are you using a browser zoom, OS desktop scaling, or anything that might affect this?  This works much better in the new HTML5 based vSphere Client as well, since it's not dependent on the way Flash player decides to scale.

B) "Btw. every time I migrate my vcenter server, the web client makes me log back in again." - How often are you migrating your vCenter, and what's the reason?

C) Uploading: Do you receive an error message?  What version of VC is this on?

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dennisluvm
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Hi franktroeger,

1) "Error on 6.5b" - Can you tell me what screen this is?  It looks like [vCenter] -> Configure -> General, is that right?

2) Is the error repeatable?

3) Does the page ever load?  Is a screenshot of that shareable that might indicate something unique to your environment that might be generating the error?

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hyvokar
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a) I have desktop scaling set to 125

B) for host maintenance, at this point more often than I'd like to, but this is because of dell.

c) latest vc (6.5d)

The operation failed for an undetermined reason. Typically this problem occurs due to certificates that the browser does not trust. If you are using self-signed or custom certificates, open the URL below in a new browser tab and accept the certificate, then retry the operation.

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franktroeger
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Hi Dennis,

update to 6.5d fixed the error message and the permissions and the empty permission tabs, now everything seems to work as expected.

Scaling issue is confirmed -> my fault. thanks for the hint.

1) "Error on 6.5b" - Can you tell me what screen this is?  It looks like [vCenter] -> Configure -> General, is that right? -> Yes this i right!

And yes Page loaded successully in 99 out of 100. i guess its an issue in 6.5b on Win with ad as machine account.

But heres the point i wasted 2 days seeking browser issues because i am not shure anymore if this effects are browser related or vcenter bug related.

Which is a mess for real. And thats what this Topic about you take us the chance to decide if its a configuration issue or bug in vcenter because we see 1000 errors in different browsers and 999 just dissappear on refresh / reload.

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hyvokar
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Hi!

can you make configure -> networking -> virtual switches work like in the thick client where you can instantly see, what networks are in which switch. Now I have to click each switch to figure out what they contain.

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unsichtbare
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One of the biggest issues for me is that the web-client is based on proprietary and insecure platforms (Flash), which means that the Browser and/or Adobe could make changes at any time, rendering client connectivity impossible.

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