Access remote VM from web browser

[cazmo]

Is there a vmware solution to access a remote VM desktop from a web browser. Remote system may be Linux or Windows. Would like to use a vmware solution instead of VNC, RDP, vino, etc.

VI Web Access documentation very vaguely mentions this abilty but provides no guidance on setting it up. So, I'm not sure its mentioning the same capability I'd like to enable for my VMs.

Thanks.

[weinstein5]

Web access is the solution - it will require the host machine to ESX or ESXi.

Log In to vSphere Web Access

vSphere Web Access uses a Web interface and an Internet connection to access your ESX/ESXi host or vCenter Server system. vSphere Web Access does not have its own concept of users or permissions. Use the same login credentials you would use to log in to the vSphere Client.

Procedure

1. Launch your Web browser.

2. Enter the URL of your ESX/ESXi or vCenter Server installation: https://<host or server name>/ui

3. Type your user name and password, and click Log In. After your user name and password are authorized by vSphere Web Access, the vSphere Web Access home page appears.

The above is from the BAsice System Administration Guide - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_admin_guide.pdf, pg 28 - If you are using ESX 3.5/VC2.5 the instructions are very similar.

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[azn2kew]

By default, vSphere WebAccess is disabled and when you login to web browser with IP address, you will see "503 Service Unavailable" and you can neither start the service or have it automatically started using "chkconfig --level 123 typofserviceshere start" to have it running all time.

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanks!!!

Regards,

Stefan Nguyen

VMware vExpert 2009

iGeek Systems Inc.

VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant

[msemon1]

I am having an issue Web Access also. Trying to logon to the Virtual Center via Web Access with . I applied the recommenations in . Checked to make sure services have started. Was getting certificate error and installed certficate. Still getting cert error and unable to logon to site. We are using ESX 3.5 U3. Suggestions?

Mike

[Texiwill]

Hello,

It is not recommended that you allow access to the VMs via webAccess or Remote Console for non-administrator users. Several reasons exist for this.

1) There are a limited number of remote consoles (including webAccess) allowed.... 12-20 I believe

2) You are crossing security zones to do this. webAccess and Remote Console require access to the ESX service console or ESXi management appliance which are a separate security zone than user desktops.

Instead you may want to look into using RDP exclusively including Linux VMs via xrdp which you can find ways of setting up using http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Terminal_Server_Clients_and_Servers

This way you use one protocol NOT involving crossing security zones.

Best regards,

Edward L. Haletky VMware Communities User Moderator, VMware vExpert 2009, Virtualization Practice Analyst[/url]
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[msemon1]

It's so secure even admins can't get in . I am thinking it may be a port issue. We use RDP almost exclusively and remote console when needed. I wanted to see if there was any value to set up the web console for admins. I have resisted in the past because of the limited functionality of the web console. Will have to look into the RDP for Linux VM's.

Thanks,

Mike