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How To Connect To Hypervisor Console

HyWorks v4.1 integrates with the Console Connect feature for the Proxmox hypervisor. Release-wise, the feature has been extended as mentioned below:

  • Proxmox: HyWorks v4.1

  • VMware: v3.3-GA + HF1 or later.

  • Hyper-V: Integrated from v3.2-SP2 or later.

An example use case for this feature could be users running a full-tunnel VPN client on their respective virtual machines. In such cases, when a user runs a VPN client, the virtual machine will lose its connection to the local network, and users will also lose remote access to it.

In such cases, users can try connecting to the VMs’ consoles on the hypervisors, which will keep their connection intact even if the local network goes down.

In this article, information will be provided on:

  • How to use this feature

  • Limitations of connecting to the console of VMs

Ports Used

To understand what ports are being used for console connect, refer to the section Important ports used in Accops

Software Versions and Platform Support

Client Versions

Supported Connector
Console Connect		 Minimum Client Version
VMware, Hyper-V Windows: v328184 or later
Proxmox, VMware, Hyper-V Windows: v7.2.4.1013 or later

How to Connect to the Console of VMs

To connect to the console of VMs, the following high-level steps need to be done:

  1. Configure HyWorks desktop pools for console sessions

  2. Install the appropriate version of Windows Client

How to enable console connect on the HyWorks Controller

To enable console connect on the HyWorks Controller, follow the steps below:

Assumption:

  • HyWorks v4.1 or later (as per current version documentation) is installed and configured with supported provider.

Steps:

  1. Log in to the HyWorks Controller Management Console with the administrator user.

  2. Add/Edit desktop pool (from supported connectors such as Proxmox, VMware ESXi, vCenter Server, or Microsoft Hyper-V).

  3. In the Add/ Edit Desktop Pool wizard, in the Advance screen:

    1. Set Virtual Desktop Connection Method as Hypervisor Console.

    2. Based on the dedicated session provider, the following fields will be enabled:

      1. Username: User having appropriate privileges on the hypervisor for console connection.

        • For Hyper-V, separate fields for username and domain name are available.

        • For Proxmox, the username can be provided as username@realm, e.g., root@pam. (Please check the section Proxmox Server Preparation for Console Connect).

        • For VMware, it can be specified in the following format usename@domain-name e.g., admin@vsphere.local

      2. Password: Password of the user being used for console access.

      3. Domain: (Only for Hyper-V) Domain name to which the Hyper-V server belongs.

      4. Port: Port number on which console access is to be initiated.

        • Only applicable for Microsoft Hyper-V.

  4. Save the desktop pool.

Proxmox Server Preparation for Console Connect

Enable Spice Console on the VM

Follow the steps below to enable/ verify Spice Console on the VM:

  • In Proxmox Web UI, select the VM.

  • Navigate to Hardware > Display.

    • Set: Type: SPICE (instead of Default or Serial)

    • Memory: 32 (default is fine)

  • Click OK and restart the VM.

  • SPICE console support is now enabled for the VM.

User Permissions for Console Connect

While the default administrator, such as root@pam, works absolutely fine, a custom role can also be defined and granted to a user for console access only. This will add an extra layer of security to the console access mechanism.

  1. Step 1: Add a user.

    Note

    Check Proxmox official documentation for User Management. These sample steps can be used to create users in Proxmox via the Web console.

    1. Navigate to Datacenter > Permissions > Users.

    2. Click Add: Fill the form:

      1. User Name: testuser (Any name can be configured).

      2. Realm: Proxmox VE authentication server or PAM (for Linux system users).

        Note

        PAM realm users must be updated with the appropriate password from the Proxmox systems' SSH access. While creation from the Web console shows no error, it fails to log in later.

      3. First name and Last name.

      4. If you select the Proxmox VE authentication server, configure Password to set the user password.

      5. Click OK. The user has been created and can now be provided with the required permission set for console access.

  2. Step 2: Create a custom role (VM Console + VM Audit)

    1. Navigate to Datacenter > Permissions > Roles.

    2. Click Create. A pop-up will appear.

    3. Enter details:

      1. Role Name: VMConsoleAuditRole (or any logical name).

      2. Privileges: VM.Audit, VM.Console*

    4. Click OK to save.

  3. Step 3: Assign Role to the User

    1. Navigate to Datacenter > Permissions > Add > User Permission.

    2. Choose: Path: /vms/ (the VM you want access to)

    3. User: testuser@pam

    4. Role: VMConsoleAuditRole

    5. Click OK.

HyWorks Client Requirements

To enable HyWorks Client to connect to the hypervisor console, the following configurations need to be done:

Console connect prerequisite for VMware VMs Console

  1. It is assumed that the user's desktop machine is already installed and configured with the VMRC client. If not, refer to the steps provided below:

    • Dot Net 4.5: Download and install Microsoft Dot Net 4.5 on the client machine. Official Microsoft Download Link for .Net Framework 4.5

    • HyWorks Client v328184 or later: Download and install HyWorks client v328184 or later. Please check the HyWorks v3.3-GA-HF1 release article.

    • VMware VMs Console Connect

      • Make sure to have internet enabled on the client desktop system.

    • PowerShell command for VMwareCLI: To install VMwareCLI, run the command mentioned below in PowerShell.

      • [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12

      • Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -MinimumVersion 2.8.5.201 -Force

      • Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI

    • Download and install VMRC client v12.0

  2. Access to required ports, see section Ports Used.

Console connect prerequisite for Hyper-V VMs Console

Proxmox Console Connect

  • Download and install the VirtViewer 32-bit client from here.

  • Install the supported version of the Workspace client.

  • Connect via HySecure GW (Having appropriate applications and ACLs defined) or directly via HyWorks Controller (Client should have direct access to the required Proxmox server port).

  • Access to required ports, see section Ports Used.

Any custom configurations required on the endpoint

To connect to the hypervisor console, no additional steps are required:

  1. Assuming the above prerequisites are met.

  2. Log in with appropriate user credentials into the HyWorks Client.

  3. Once the desktop menu is displayed, click on the desktop icon.

  4. Based on the desktop pool configuration, a console connection or a remote connection will be initiated.

Limitations of Console Connections

  1. Local resource redirection (Camera, USB drives, clipboard, printers, etc.) will not work.

  2. Console sessions cannot be extended across multiple monitors.

  3. Some DVM agent functionalities will not be applied.

    1. Adding a user to the remote desktop group.

    2. Granting the user local administrator privileges will not work.

    3. Session timeouts.

  4. VMware VMs Console Connect feature is supported with only Windows Clients.

  5. Proxmox Console Connect:

    1. The console connection will not hide the Spice console options, e.g., Display options, Preferences, like the clipboard, etc.

    2. If the wrong password is specified in the desktop pool, the endpoint may not show any errors.

Troubleshooting

  1. Error while configuring TLS 1.2 on Windows 7-SP1 PowerShell

    While running the command

    command

    [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12

    If the following error appears:

    Error

    Exception setting "SecurityProtocol": "Cannot convert null to type "System.Net. SecurityProtocolType" due to invalid enumeration values. Specify one of the following enumeration values and try again. The possible enumeration values are "Ssl3, Tls".

    Resolution:

    • TLS 1.2 will require installing a newer version of the PowerShell framework. Install Windows Management Framework 5.1 or later as supported by the client operating system.

    • Refer to the link below to download Windows Management Framework 5.1

  2. Error: There is no program associated with performing the required action.

    When a user tries to connect to the console of VMware VMs, the following error appears:

    Error

    There is no program associated with performing the requested action. Please install the program or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Programs control panel.

    Resolution:

    • Client-side prerequisites are not installed and configured correctly. Please install all required programs as specified in the HyWorks Client Requirements section.

Troubleshooting: Proxmox Console Connect

  1. Debug Command:

    • Open Command Prompt and run following command: C:\Program Files (x86)\VirtViewer v11.0-256\bin\remote-viewer.exe`` --debug "<path_to_vv_file>"

  2. Error: Unable to connect to graphic server <Full path of the vv file>.

    • The console type is set to Spice for the VM on Proxmox.

    • Check that the connection from the endpoint to the target Proxmox server is present.

    • User is having appropriate permissions.

  3. Check Workspace client uilog.log at location - %localappdata%\Accops\EDC\softclient\logs for analysis and troubleshooting.