Troubleshooting a blank console when viewing virtual machines through a firewalled connection
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Troubleshooting a blank console when viewing virtual machines through a firewalled connection

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Article ID: 343095

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Updated On:

Products

VMware

Issue/Introduction

A black or blank console appears when viewing the virtual machine console in the Lab Manager interface. This occurs when the Web browser used is either Internet Explorer or Firefox, and when the machines are connected to the network through a firewall.

Environment

VMware vCenter Lab Manager 2.5.x
VMware vCenter Lab Manager 2.4.x
VMware vCenter Lab Manager 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Lab Manager 3.0.x

Resolution

ActiveX control does not have routable access to the VMkernel on all ESX Server managed machines.
To resolve this issue, follow the recommendations described in the Connecting to the Virtual Machine Console Through a Firewall section in the Server Configuration Guide.
If these recommendations do not resolve the issue, verify whether the network and the client are configured correctly.
Ensure that:
  • Lab Manager client user machines are running Internet Explorer (IE) 5.5 or higher and an HTTP connection to a Lab Manager installation. VMware offers experimental support for accessing the Lab Manager Web console with Firefox.
  • Lab Manager client user machines have routable access to the Lab Manager Server, managed servers systems, and storage servers.
  • Lab Manager client user machines are using a supported client operating system and browser. For more information, see the release notes and Users Guide for your version of Lab Manager.
  • The following Internet Explorer browser options are enabled.
    • Download signed ActiveX controls
    • Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins
    • Allow META REFRESH
    • Active Scripting
    • Allow paste operations via script
      To access these options, go to Tools > Internet Options in the IE browser menu and click Custom Level in the Security tab.
  • The Play animations in web pages option in Internet Explorer is selected. To access the option, go to Tools > Internet Options and click the Advanced tab.
  • On Windows Server 2003, the Enhanced Internet Explorer Security Configuration option is disabled. To access the option, go to the Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, and click Add/Remove Windows Components.
  • On Windows Server 2008, the Enhanced Internet Explorer Security Configuration option can be enabled or disabled from Start >> All Programs >> Administrative Tools >> Server Manager >> Security Information >> Configure IE ESC
  • The system clock is synchronized with the Lab Manager Server, storage servers, and managed server systems.
  • The DNS name of the ESX Server service console IP addresses can be resolved.
For troubleshooting the issue:
  • From the system that shows the black console, use the VI Client Web interface to connect directly to one of the ESX Server hosts.
  • View a virtual machine console.
    If this process fails, ensure that there is routable access to the Lab Manager Server, managed server systems, and storage servers.
For more information, see:

Additional Information

For translated versions of this article, see:
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