PowerCLI Reference

Open-VMConsoleWindow

Synopsis

This cmdlet opens a window to the virtual machine's console.

Syntax

Open-VMConsoleWindow [-VM] <RemoteConsoleVM[]> [-FullScreen] [-UrlOnly] [-Server <VIConnection[]>] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm] [<CommonParameters>]

Related Commands

Online version

Detailed Description

This cmdlet opens a window to the virtual machine's console. The window is opened in a Web page in the browser configured in the VMConsoleWindowBrowser setting (in Set-PowerCLIConfiguration), or in the default Web browser, if the setting is not configured.

If the default browser is not 32-bit, you must configure a 32-bit browser to be used by this cmdlet. This configuration is done through the Set-PowerCLIConfiguration cmdlet, by specifying the VMConsoleWindowBrowser setting and providing the full path to a browser's executable file. The officially supported browsers are listed on the VMware site, under the VMRC distributable (which is used to display the virtual machine's console).

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Required?	Pipeline Input
VM	RemoteConsoleVM[]	Specifies the virtual machines for which to open a remote console. Supports vCloud and vSphere virtual machines.	true	true (ByValue)
Confirm	SwitchParameter	If the value is $true, indicates that the cmdlet asks for confirmation before running. If the value is $false, the cmdlet runs without asking for user confirmation.	false	false
FullScreen	SwitchParameter	If specified, opens the virtual machine console window in full screen mode.	false	false
Server	VIConnection[]	Specifies the vCenter Server systems or cloud server instances on which you want to run the cmdlet. If no value is passed to this parameter, the command runs on the default servers. For more information about default servers, see the description of Connect-VIServer.	false	false
UrlOnly	SwitchParameter	If specified, the cmdlet returns the URL for opening a console window to the virtual machine, without opening the console window. Note: The URL is valid for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, the screen authentication ticket contained in the URL expires.	false	false
WhatIf	SwitchParameter	Indicates that the cmdlet is run only to display the changes that would be made and actually no objects are modified.	false	false

Return Type

A Web browser window displaying a remote console to the specified virtual machine

Notes

The VM parameter accepts powered-on vSphere and vCloud Director virtual machines.

Examples

-------------- Example 1 --------------

Get-CIVM myVM | Open-VMConsoleWindow -FullScreen

Opens the console of the specified virtual machine in full screen mode.