Modifying Service Endpoint Configurations to Support HTTP

ESXi, vCenter Server, and vSphere Automation API endpoints run by default on port 443, as secure Web services that can be accessed using SSL or TLS over HTTP (HTTPS). However, for a development environment, you might want to simplify the connection process from a client application by configuring the target services to support HTTP.

Note: The HTTP protocol without SSL or TLS is insecure. Your user credentials could be intercepted by wire capture software.

The API service endpoints are handled by a reverse-proxy service, which has a configuration file that can be modified to specify support for HTTP as an accepted protocol. If you configure the service for HTTP, you do not need to import the server certificates on the client development workstation. Modifying the service configuration to support HTTP access is recommended for test or development environments only, not for production deployments. The default protocol, HTTPS, provides better security for production deployments.