Network Inventory User's Guide

Specifying Connection Parameters for VMware ESX / ESXi Hypervisors

Network Inventory establishes connection to VMware ESX/ESXi hypervisors using Web Services-Management (WS-Management) over HTTP or HTTPS protocols. To audit recognized computers running VMware ESX or VMware ESXi, you must define connection parameters in the ESX/ESXi Options tab of the Node Properties [Node Name] dialog box.

NOTE: If you plan to audit VMware ESX and VMware ESXi hypervisors using WS-Management, the computer hosting your Automation Server must have Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 2.0 installed. For details, see Installation Guide: Network Inventory Audit Clients.

For computers running VMware ESX (but not ESXi) hypervisor with the SSH protocol enabled, Network Inventory uses the connection parameters configured for Linux machines and audits this hypervisor as a Linux computer.

NOTE: The audit of the VMware ESXi hypervisor can be performed only via WS-Management protocol.

To specify connection parameters for VMware ESX/ESXi hypervisors, follow these steps:

  1. In the All Nodes grid, locate the Node you want to specify connection parameters.
  2. Right-click the Network Node record and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The Node Properties [Node Name] dialog box opens.
  3. Switch to the ESX/ESXi Options tab. If this tab is not displayed, ensure that VMware ESX/VMware ESXi is selected as the Hypervisor within the General tab of the Node Properties [Node Name] dialog box.
  4. On the ESX/ESXi Options tab, under Transport, specify the parameters of the transport protocol for the WS-Management connection:
    • Select one of the following transport protocols:
      • HTTP — establishes non-secure connection using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol. The default port number is 80. However, if the server on your client computers listens on a non-standard TCP port, you can specify another port number.
      • HTTPS — establishes secure connection using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol. The default port number is 443. However, if the server on your client computers listens on a non-standard TCP port, you can specify another port number.
    • For HTTPS protocol: If you want to prevent communication with the server via an HTTPS-encrypted channel when a certificate validation error occurs, select the Reject invalid certificates check box.

      NOTE: To access VMware ESX or VMware ESXi hypervisors Network Inventory uses Linux credentials as follows. If the computer has individual audit credentials specified, Network Inventory uses these credentials. Otherwise, it applies Linux credentials from the computer's Audit Source. For details, see Auditing Individual Network Nodes.

  5. Click OK.