You can access a virtual machine through a browser console or through VMware Remote Console (VMRC) in the VMware Host Client and perform different tasks on the virtual machine.

Using Browser Console

Note: The browser console is not supported for any version of ESXi prior to 6.0. You must use VMRC in order to access the browser console.

You can use a browser console to gain access to the guest operating system without installing additional software. For additional console functionalities, such as attaching local hardware, install VMware Remote Console.

Note: Currently browser consoles support only US, Japanese and German keyboard layouts. You must select the desired keyboard layout before opening the console.

Using VMware Remote Console

VMware Remote Console provides access to virtual machines on remote hosts and performs console and device operations, such as configuring operating system settings and monitoring the virtual machine console for VMware vSphere. You can perform a variety of tasks on the virtual machine, such as restarting and shutting down the virtual machine guest operating system, resuming and suspending the virtual machine, configuring VMware Tools updates, configuring and managing the virtual machine and different devices, and so on. VMRC can also modify virtual machine settings such as RAM, CPU cores, and disks. VMware Workstation™, VMware Fusion™ or VMware Player™ work as VMRC clients so you do not need to download and install VMRC if you have any of the three installed on your system.

For a full set of console features, download and install VMRC.