You can register your local vSphere Client with the vCenter Server instance using a manual method that applies to either the vCenter Server Appliance or to vCenter Server for Windows.

The SDK provides a registration script that you can run in the vCenter Server instance. The files generated by this script connect your local Web browser application to the remote vCenter Server system.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that you have access to a vCenter Server instance.

  • Verify that the bash shell is enabled on the vCenter Server Appliance.

    See Toggling the vCenter Server Appliance default shell, https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2100508.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the vCenter registration scripts folder under tools in your SDK installation.
  2. Copy the dev-setup script to one of the following locations on the vCenter Server system depending on your vSphere deployment.

    • On the vCenter Server Appliance, use the root directory to copy the script. You must make the file executable.

    • On the vCenter Server for Windows, use the C:\Users\Administrator directory to copy the script.

  3. Run the dev-setup script in the corresponding directory.

    The script generates the following files: webclient.properties, store.jks, and ds.properties.

  4. Copy the generated files on your development machine in one of the following locations.
    Note:

    On a Windows operating system, you might not be able to see the ProgramData folder. To change the way items are displayed on a Windows machine, use Folder Options from Control Panel.

    Operating System

    Generated File

    Location on Your Development Machine

    Windows

    webclient.properties

    C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\cfg\vsphere-client\

    Mac OS

    /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/vsphere-client/

    Windows

    store.jks

    C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\cfg\

    Mac OS

    /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/

    Windows

    ds.properties

    C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\cfg\vsphere-ui\config\

    Mac OS

    /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/vsphere-ui/config/

  5. If you use a Mac OS development environment, edit the webclient.properties file and set the keystore.jks.path property to point to the /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/store.jks file.
  6. If you use a Mac OS development environment, edit the ds.properties file and set the solutionUser.keyStorePath property to point to the /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/store.jks file.
  7. If you use a Mac OS development environment, before you connect your local Web browser application to the vCenter Server system for the first time, edit the server.xml file. Change the value of the certificateKeystoreFile attribute of the <Certificate> element to /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/store.jks.

    You can locate the file at your_SDK_folder/html-client-sdk/vsphere-ui/server/conf.

  8. Start the local vSphere Client by running the startup script located at the bin directory of the server folder.

    For example, if you use a Mac OS development environment, the script for starting the vSphere Client is located at your_SDK_folder/html-client-sdk/vsphere-ui/server/bin.

    Note:

    You might need to make the script executable: chmod +x startup.sh

  9. Open a Web browser and log into your local vSphere Client at https://localhost:9443/ui.

    Your local vSphere Client connects to the vCenter Server instance and displays the vSphere inventory.

What to do next

You can deploy your custom plug-ins to the local vSphere Client and verify whether the plug-ins function properly in your development environment before deploying them on the remote Web browser applications.