To display legal warnings or official announcements, you can configure a login page banner by using a limited form of markdown syntax.
By modifying the text file /etc/vmware/welcome directly on the host, you can change the login banner content that appears on the right of the user name and password login fields.
Note: A markdown parser is applied to the content block and certain character sequences, such as
You can apply the following limited set of markdown directives in the
welcome file.
#, ` , *, might unintentionally trigger markdown formatting rules.
| Layout Concept | Markdown Code Syntax | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Heading labels |
|
Generates a large HTML <H1> tag for "My Title".
|
| Horizontal rule |
|
Generates a <hr /> rule tag in HTML.
|
| Literal or code block |
Example ``` My content - - - *Login Secure* >_ Read the policy ``` |
Displays the text block between the backtick lines with no formatting or interpretation in a monospace font.My content - - - *Login Secure* >_ Read the policy
Note: If the content is accidentally formatted by the markdown parser, wrap content with a pair of backtick characters lines. Since the spaces characters are preserved, ASCII art can be used as a monospace font is used.
|
| Bold text | Wrap a string of text with double asterisk characters on both sides. Example **important message**.
Note: The markdown double underscore character syntax is omitted to avoid conflicts with URLs.
|
<b>important message</b> |
| Italic text | Wrap a string of text with single asterisk characters on both sides. Example *A named document*.
Note: The markdown underscore character syntax is omitted to avoid conflicts with URLs.
|
<i>A named document</i> |
| Hyperlink | To link an absolute URL, use the markdown syntax of square brackets enclosing the link text followed by wrapped parentheses for the URL. Example [My link](https://www.example.com?search=virtual) |
Generates a normal hyperlink anchor tag with clickable text.<a href="https://www.example.com?search=virtual">My link</a> |
You can insert the following variables anywhere within the text file.
| Variable Concept | Meta Tag Variable Code | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Fully qualified domain name of the current host or IP address | {hostname} |
Displays the full name of the current host. For example, sample.host.com |
| ESXi version as a dotted numeric format | {esxversion} |
Displays, for example, 7.0.0 |
| ESXi full product name, version, and build number | {esxproduct} |
Displays, for example, VMware ESXi 7.0.0 build-16324942 |
| Current date on the user's machine | {client-current-date} |
Displays, for example,Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Note: This is locale specific.
|
| Current time on the user's machine | {client-current-time} |
Displays, for example,08:00 AM
Note: This is locale specific.
|
The advanced tags offer visual and behavioral changes depending on the rules that you apply to the login page. Inset these tags at the very end of the text file.
| UI concept | Meta tag variable code | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Custom image | {logo src="https://site/logo.png" width="100" height="100" align="center"}My Secured ESXi Server Tooltip{/logo} |
Displays a 100x100 px image logo.png that is centered horizontally above the message block. An accessible tooltip title of My Secured ESXi Server Tooltip is added to the image.
Note: Make sure to use the
width,
height, and
align attributes although they are optional. All web image formats are supported.
|
| User agreement check box | {accept}Please accept the terms{/accept} |
Displays a check box with the "Please accept the terms" label at the bottom of the message content. |
| Enforced acceptance error message | {mustaccept}You must agree before logging into the system{/mustaccept} |
Adds form validation to require the user to select the check box before log in. If the user does not select the check box, the "You must agree before logging into the system" message appears above the login button. |
Simple markdown
A one-line markdown for a simple text only message
## Warning: Authorized Users Only
Advanced markdown
An advanced markdown sample for a fictitious cloud storage company Vaulted with logo, links and a required accept check box on the form.
## Warning: Authorized Users Only
The information on this host is the property of **"Vaulted Storage"** *(sample organization)* and is protected under sovereign **intellectual property rights**.
You must be assigned an account on this computer to access information and are only allowed to access information defined by the system administrators.
*All activities* are monitored and **trespassing violators** will be reported to a federal law enforcement agency.
### Policy bulletins
*Please refer to the helpful links* below on end user protection guidelines.
* [Privacy addendum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_security)
* [Terms of Use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_service#:~:text=Terms%20of%20service%20(also%20known,to%20use%20the%20offered%20service.)
```
,----------------,
,-----------------------,
," ,"|
+-----------------------+ |
| .-----------------. | |
| | | | |
| | ACCESS | | |
| | RESTRICTED! | | |
| | login as: _ | | |
| | | | |
| `-----------------' |,"
+-----------------------+
/_)______________(_/ //'
___________________________/___
/ oooooooooooooooo .o. oooo /,
/ ==ooooooooooooooo==.o. ooo= //
/_==__==========__==_ooo__ooo=_/'
`-----------------------------'
---------------
Host: {hostname}
ESXi Server Version: {esxversion}
Product: {esxproduct}
---------------
```
{logo align="center" width="200" height="200" src="https://i.postimg.cc/y6wZXTPm/vaulted-logo-white-text.png"}Vaulted Enterprise Storage{/logo}
{accept}I accept the terms of use policy{/accept}
{mustaccept}User must check terms of use to login. LOG OFF immediately if you do not agree to the conditions stated in the warning.{/mustaccept}
