My Own ESXi Server Part 11 Running vSphere Client from Ubuntu

VMware provides vSphere Client for Windows only.  So what do you do if you run a Linux desktop?  The answer is to remote desktop into a Windows box that has a vSphere Client on it.  To make it as seamless as possible I will configure Terminal Server Client to run a single application.

In order for this setup to work, remote desktop must be set up on the Windows system.  See my post  Remote Desktop Part 2 - Getting Back to Windows on how to configure.  I ran into one big problem in that even though I can remote desktop back into Windows XP, I could not get it to run just one application.  After all my futile efforts, I switched to using Windows 2003 Server and this worked like a charm.

How to Run vSphere Client From Ubuntu

1) Start the Terminal Server Client by going to Applications > Internet > Terminal Server Client.

2) Enter the ip address or the name of the server.  Set the Protocol to RDP.  Enter a User Name and Password that has access to remote desktop into the Windows 2003 server.  Switch to the Programs tab.

3)  Check Start only the following on connection.

In the Program path and filename, add the Application path and file name for vSphere Client on the Windows 2003 server.  I added C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\VpxClient.exe

In the Start in the following folder, add the working directory.  I added 

C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\

Click Save As.

4)  Enter the name and click OK.

5)  Now that you have saved the connection information which can be used in the future.  Click Connect.

6) Enter User name and Password for the ESXi Server, and press Enter.

7) You have now successfully gained access to vSphere Client! When you are done, exit by closing the vSphere Client window.

Related Posts:
Part 1  The Time Has Come
Part 2  Running ESXi on VMware Fusion
Part 3  Building My ESXi Server
Part 4  Installing ESXi 4 on a USB Stick
Part 5  Installing vSphere Client on Windows
Part 6  Updating ESXi using vSphere Host Update Utility
Part 7  Browsing the VMware ESXi Datastore
Part 8  WinSCP to the Rescue
Part 9  Creating a VM
Part 10  Downloading a Virtual Machine
Part 11  Running vSphere Client from Ubuntu
Part 12  Running vSphere Client from Mac OS
Part 13  Adding/Removing a VM to ESXi
Part 14  Export in ESXi
Part 15  Deploying OVF Templates
Part 16  Adding a License Key