VMRC SDK 5.5 Release Notes

Release date: 22 SEP 2013 | Build number: VMRC 1280474
Last document update: 22 MAY 2014.
Check frequently for additions and updates to these release notes.

Contents

About the VMRC SDK

The VMware Remote Console (VMRC) SDK allows you to use a Web-based application to connect with a vCenter Server or vCloud Director managed virtual machine, and access that virtual machine's console in a browser window. In the browser window you can interact with the virtual machine's console and screen. You can also use the VMRC SDK to manage virtual and physical device connections on a vCenter Server managed virtual machine.

Download and Installation

Download instructions have changed since the VMRC SDK Programming Guide was published. The SDK is available on the VMware Developer Center now. You can login using your VMware Store or My VMware credentials. Once there, click SDKs > VMware Remote Console (VMRC) SDK > Download.

The SDK is a large ZIP file. Its installers directory contains Linux 32-bit and 64-bit bundle files, and a Windows executable. The names listed in the VMRC SDK Programming Guide are wrong. The correct names are:

  • vmware-VMRC.i386.bundle installer applies to 32‐bit Linux
  • vmware-VMRC.x86_64.bundle installer applies to 64‐bit Linux
  • vmware-vmrc-win32-x86.exe installer applies to Windows systems.

The application you create with VMRC may install the remote console plug-in on first use. For example, the first time a browser connects to the vSphere Web Client and the user clicks Launch Console, the browser asks to install the plug-in.

Requirements

To use the VMRC SDK, any Web application you create must be able to load the VMRC browser plug-in. The plug-in is supported for use with Microsoft Windows XP or later and Linux operating systems. The plug-in has been tested with the following Web browsers:

  • Google Chrome
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer
  • Mozilla Firefox

VMRC is supported by all vSphere 5.5 and ESX configurations.

New in this Release

The initial release of the VMRC SDK was for vSphere 5.1, and this is the second release. Names of the install files have changed, and some issues have been resolved.

Known Issues

The following is a list of known issues you might encounter when using the VMRC SDK:

General

  • Windows VMRC provides only 32-bit builds for the VMRC browser plug-in.
  • On the Linux operating system, the VMRC application may outlive its plug-in parent on plug-in crash.
  • The connect() API method can succeed for a given virtual machine, but the console might fail to appear. This occurs when the client user has access to the virtual machine, but does not have sufficient privileges for the console.
  • When using VMRC with vCloud Director, the startup() method only supports certain values for authentication and for identifying the target VM. See the full documentation for details.

startup() and Advanced Configuration

  • On the Linux operating system, the startup() API method does not support a mask of mode values. Client applications must pass either VMRC_MKS or VMRC_DEVICES as a mode value, but not both.
  • The advanced startup() configuration flag "tunnelmks" is hard-coded to use port 443.
  • On the Linux operating system, the advanced startup() configuration flags "autoanswerquestions" and "cacheconnections" are only supported when starting the VMRC plug-in with VMRC_DEVICES mode.
  • When using VMRC with vCloud Director, you must include the "usebrowserproxy" and "tunnelmks" advanced configuration flags, both set to TRUE.

Device Management

  • For the connectDevice() API method to succeed, a virtual device must be configured to support client-device connections (the "clientBacking" detail must be true). Clients can use the VIM API to re-configure virtual devices to support client-device backings.
  • If a virtual device is connected to a client backing, but the device detail "connectedByMe" is false, VMRC cannot determine the backing type. The API method getVirtualDeviceDetails() returns VMRC_DeviceBacking.VMRC_DB_PHYSICAL as a dummy value in such instances.
  • The API method getVirtualDeviceDetails() only returns a value for the "backingKey" detail if the "connectedByMe" detail is true.
  • For virtual CD-ROM and floppy devices, the API method getVirtualDeviceDetails() only returns a value for the "hostName" detail if the "connectedByMe" detail is true.
  • The API method disconnectDevice() only supports the same virtual or physical device keys used when calling connectDevice(). For non-USB devices, client applications must supply the virtual device key for the remote CD-ROM or floppy device to disconnect. For USB devices, client applications must supply the physical device key of the USB device to disconnect.
  • The "virtualKey" and "physicalKey" device details provided in the onDeviceStateChange() API event are incorrect for USB devices.
  • vCloud Director 5.1 did not support USB devices with VMRC.