The VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in provides Integrated Windows Authentication and Windows-based smart card functionality.

In the vSphere 6.5 release, the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in replaced the Client Integration Plug-in from vSphere 6.0 releases and earlier. The Enhanced Authentication Plug-in provides Integrated Windows Authentication and Windows-based smart card functionality. These are the only two features carried over from the previous Client Integration Plug-in. The Enhanced Authentication Plug-in can function seamlessly if you already have the Client Integration Plug-in installed on your system from vSphere 6.0 or earlier. There are no conflicts if both plug-ins are installed.

Install the plug-in only once to enable all the functionality the plug-in delivers.

Note: When you enable Active Directory Federation Services, Enhanced Authentication Plug-in applies only to configurations where vCenter Server is the identity provider (Active Directory over LDAP, Integrated Windows Authentication, and OpenLDAP configurations).

Procedure

  1. Open a Web browser and type the URL for the vSphere Client.
  2. At the bottom of the vSphere Client login page, click Download Enhanced Authentication Plug-in.
  3. If the browser blocks the installation either by issuing certificate errors or by running a pop-up blocker, follow the Help instructions for your browser to resolve the problem.
  4. Save the plug-in to your computer, and run the executable.
  5. Step through the installation wizard for both the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in and the VMware Plug-in Service which are run in succession.
  6. When the installations are complete, refresh your browser.
  7. On the External Protocol Request dialog box, click Launch Application to run the Enhanced Authentication Plug-in.
    The link to download the plug-in disappears from the login page.