New version VMware Fling: ESXi embedded host client

Mar 21, 2017 · 3 min read · fling VMware  ·
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Yesterday VMware released a new version of the ESXi embedded host client. The ESXi Embedded Host Client is a native HTML and JavaScript application and is served directly from your ESXi host! It should perform much better than any of the existing solutions. Please note that the Host Client cannot be used to manage vCenter. We welcome any feedback and bug reports. You can post your feedback here on the VMware Labs site, in the VMware.com community forums, or using the Host Client's built-in Feedback tool under the Help menu. Download the VIB here. If you are looking to automate installation of the latest VIB, we also provide a copy of the latest VIB here.

Known Issues
  • On hosts using ESXi 6.0 Update 1 or lower and ESXi 5.5 Patch 8 or lower which are assigned a VMware vSphere Hypervisor license (the free license from VMware.com), all modification operations will fail silently. This issue has been resolved in ESXi 6.0 U2 and 5.5 Patch 8.
  • Hosts with ESXi 6.0 before Update 2 which have a sub-domain name with a combined cookie size of >8KB in-browser web console sessions may fail to initialize. A workaround is to clear cookies or run the host client in an incognito-type window, or alternatively, use the standalone VMware Remote Console application.
  • For ESXi 5.5 hosts, in-browser consoles are not supported. Please use VMware Remote Console (VMRD) to access guest VM consoles.
  • For ESXi 5.5 hosts before Update 2, you must ensure to append a trailing / (forward slash) to the URL after /ui. The URL must be https:///ui/
What's missing?

The Embedded Host Client is currently undergoing development. We are working hard to bring the functionality level to that of the vSphere Client, but we're not there yet. Here's what we know is missing:

  • Resource pool management
  • Comprehensive performance chart UI with access to all performance counters
  • Exporting performance counter data to Excel/CSV
  • Multi-NIC vMotion configuration
  • Deploying VMs from a URL
  • Exporting VMs to an OVA
Offline Bundles

Offline bundles are packages that can be loaded into VMware Update Manager to facilitate easy installation of the Host Client onto a cluster of ESXi Hosts

VMware Remote Console VIBs

Installation of the VMRC VIBs is optional and intended to facilitate downloading VMRC in situations where access to VMware.com is not possible. The VIBs are installed into the /locker partition of your host's locally attached disk. This partition has limited space, and so care should be taken to ensure that sufficient space is available. Each VIB is roughly 20 MB in size.