asked on What's The Easiest Method For Publishing VMware Server 2.0 Guests For Access Over The Web?
I have 4 physical machines all running W2K3 Srvr STD-32bit
x1 = HP x4000 with 1GB RAM with 200GB Raid5 - (DC - FSMO Master)
x2 = HP dc7700 core 2 duo, 8GB RAM, 1TB - (VMware Server 2.0 Host)
x1 = HP dc7600 P4, 4GB, 500GB - WinXP Pro (Management Workstation)
WRT54G - Linksys Wi-Fi router
Comcast ISP (DHCP)
192.168.1 internal LAN
Each VMware host server is hosting 5 guests of varying application roles - directory services, web, database, email, .NET, File/App services. All of the guests can resolve each just fine. I have a VM as my second DC in the domain to back up my physical AD master on both DNS and WINS. I've built to WinXP Pro VMs for .NET development purposes and wish to have them accessible over the web to a couple of developer buddies of mine.
PROBLEM: I'm trying to find the best implementation method for making the VMs accessible over the web. Initially I tried VirtualBox and that was disastrous. So I moved to VMware Server 2.0. All the hosts can resolve each other through DNS just fine and can access them all through RDP within the LAN. However, with port forwarding turned on on the Linksys it's not working.
Linksys: DEVSTA-KA 5900 to 5900 TCP to 192.168.1.99 (guest IP, not the host)
DEVSTA-BJ 5901 to 5901 TCP to 192.168.1.100 (guest IP, not the host)
I have my friend use Remote Desktop Manager from Devolutions because you can change the RDP port number from within their little GUI...easier than having him do through the Registry. But he still cannot connect....and neither can I.
So I got really frustrated with it and decided maybe I should use 2X VirtualDesktop Server and their 2X Application Server to publish the virtual machines and then have them accessible via a portal like in Citrix Metaframe or Presentation Server.
I thought about simply building another virtual W2K3 server and have it be the jump point into the network and have everyone RDP from there to their virtual XP machines, but I thought that'd be too slow for them.
I had Terminal Services turned on but the license will run out in 120 days so I didn;t want that solution.
I need a free, permanent solution to publish ANY virtual machine I want and have them all accessible over the web. Not only do I need a solution but I need a cut & dried method to implement it because once I get it working at home, I will need to do this for my church as well. I;m not a networking newbie, nor am I new to virtualization, but making them available over the web has proved to be pretty challenging at this point.
I'm hoping that 500 points will be enough to convince someone to put me on a clear and manageable path to implementation. Thanks in advance!!
x1 = HP x4000 with 1GB RAM with 200GB Raid5 - (DC - FSMO Master)
x2 = HP dc7700 core 2 duo, 8GB RAM, 1TB - (VMware Server 2.0 Host)
x1 = HP dc7600 P4, 4GB, 500GB - WinXP Pro (Management Workstation)
WRT54G - Linksys Wi-Fi router
Comcast ISP (DHCP)
192.168.1 internal LAN
Each VMware host server is hosting 5 guests of varying application roles - directory services, web, database, email, .NET, File/App services. All of the guests can resolve each just fine. I have a VM as my second DC in the domain to back up my physical AD master on both DNS and WINS. I've built to WinXP Pro VMs for .NET development purposes and wish to have them accessible over the web to a couple of developer buddies of mine.
PROBLEM: I'm trying to find the best implementation method for making the VMs accessible over the web. Initially I tried VirtualBox and that was disastrous. So I moved to VMware Server 2.0. All the hosts can resolve each other through DNS just fine and can access them all through RDP within the LAN. However, with port forwarding turned on on the Linksys it's not working.
Linksys: DEVSTA-KA 5900 to 5900 TCP to 192.168.1.99 (guest IP, not the host)
DEVSTA-BJ 5901 to 5901 TCP to 192.168.1.100 (guest IP, not the host)
I have my friend use Remote Desktop Manager from Devolutions because you can change the RDP port number from within their little GUI...easier than having him do through the Registry. But he still cannot connect....and neither can I.
So I got really frustrated with it and decided maybe I should use 2X VirtualDesktop Server and their 2X Application Server to publish the virtual machines and then have them accessible via a portal like in Citrix Metaframe or Presentation Server.
I thought about simply building another virtual W2K3 server and have it be the jump point into the network and have everyone RDP from there to their virtual XP machines, but I thought that'd be too slow for them.
I had Terminal Services turned on but the license will run out in 120 days so I didn;t want that solution.
I need a free, permanent solution to publish ANY virtual machine I want and have them all accessible over the web. Not only do I need a solution but I need a cut & dried method to implement it because once I get it working at home, I will need to do this for my church as well. I;m not a networking newbie, nor am I new to virtualization, but making them available over the web has proved to be pretty challenging at this point.
I'm hoping that 500 points will be enough to convince someone to put me on a clear and manageable path to implementation. Thanks in advance!!
VMwareWindows Networking
Last Comment
Monterio
Why don't you just use the management console of VmWare? That is already accessible via a Webbrowser, you type in the IP of the VmWare Server and the port (8222 or ssl port 8333). From that console you then only need to connect to the VM or VM's you want to connect to. All you need is to forware those ports from your router to the VmWare server.
ASKER
For my two development friends that's okay I guess. Going forward however, I don't want other users to see the management console. They'll see all of the VMs wouldn't they? I wouldn't want that if that's the case.
Take a look at No Machine's NX server. There is a free version and a cheap but supported version. You would run a linux VM to host the NX server, but you can do that for free with CentOS or Ubuntu (or your favorite distro). 2X that you mention is based on NX technology. Once you've got NX working the server can forward RDP across the NX connection. There are free clients available for virtually every major operating system.
ASKER
I'm trying to avoid non-Windows solutions since I'm not a Nix person. I could get through it if had too...I'm ok with Red Hat. What I need is a picture of what gets installed where and how it gets configured using the best method to make the virtual desktops available remotely.
Maybe the easiest thing to do is to add a simple SSL VPN to your environment. Take a look at OpenVPN, which is free and will run fine on Windows. Then your outside clients will be able to VPN into your network and connect to the XP VMs using normal RDP.
Internet--->Firewall--->SS
Internet--->Firewall--->SS
ASKER
How is the performance of the VM in this scenario? Is it slow? Slower than VNC? Slower than regular RDP with port changes?
My experience with it is very positive. I've not done any benchmarking, but in use I can't tell the difference between a VM and a physical machine in this configuration.
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OK, I've tested it and it works without issue. Through the VmWare management console you can assign a user permission to "his" VM" (in the Privileges section you can give him the "Virtual Machines" privilege), and then he can only see his Machine and start stop and connect to those machines.
ASKER
Although, this isn't the most optimal solution for me it does work. I really would like to have a web portal where the virtual machines and maybe a few applications could be aavailable via a web portal reachable outside of the network. Would someone offer me a step by step of how to accomplish this given I have an entry-point server (jump point server) as my doorway into the network (not on a DMZ, but could be if need be) and two W2K3 Server hosts running VMware Server 2.0? I'm trying to get as much info/options as I can before I walk away from this thing.
ASKER
But if I use this VMware web console for my final solution, then how do I change the port number on subsequent VMware Server hosts? They're all not going to be able to use port 8333 and 8222 for each host, which is what I have to open up on the firewall to forward requests on those ports to a single VMware Server 2.0 host.
ASKER
I found another post that addressed this issue, however it didn't work for me. I went in to change the ports from 8222 & 8333 to 8444 & 8555. As soon as I did that and restarted the VMware services (all of them) I got this message when I attempted to conenct to Web MAnagement console:
"The VMware Infrastructure Web Service at "http://localhost:8222/sdk" is not responding (Connection Refused).Try AgainThe service may not be responding because hostd is too busy or because it is not running. Try again in a few moments or restart hostd.Until communication with the VI Web Service is restored, VI Web Access will not be able to manage any hosts."
On the one VMware Server 2.0 host that is still at it's default ports, I have the following opened up on the firewall for portforwarding: 8222, 8333 and 902. I opened 902 because I couldn't connect to any of the guests once I got authenticated initially.
I don't mind using the web management console for the VMware guests to be accessed across the internet, especially since I can lock down who sees what machines, but I've got to be able to change the ports on the VMWare Server 2.0 hosts...I have two in my test environment and my clients will have several. What's the best way to do this?
"The VMware Infrastructure Web Service at "http://localhost:8222/sdk" is not responding (Connection Refused).Try AgainThe service may not be responding because hostd is too busy or because it is not running. Try again in a few moments or restart hostd.Until communication with the VI Web Service is restored, VI Web Access will not be able to manage any hosts."
On the one VMware Server 2.0 host that is still at it's default ports, I have the following opened up on the firewall for portforwarding: 8222, 8333 and 902. I opened 902 because I couldn't connect to any of the guests once I got authenticated initially.
I don't mind using the web management console for the VMware guests to be accessed across the internet, especially since I can lock down who sees what machines, but I've got to be able to change the ports on the VMWare Server 2.0 hosts...I have two in my test environment and my clients will have several. What's the best way to do this?
Can you post a Link to the post that shows how you changed the ports?
So you ran the vmware setup again and changed the ports during setup? If yes, then it should work without problems.
I notices you had localhost:8222/sdk in your example above. To connect to the VI Web Access try just localhost:8222 without the /sdk.
I notices you had localhost:8222/sdk in your example above. To connect to the VI Web Access try just localhost:8222 without the /sdk.
ASKER
The thing is that the error message came back with "/sdk" appended to the URL...I didn't put that in there.
ASKER
However, I did find a link on the VMware forum where it related to GSX Server. Even though, I'm using VMWare Server, the folder structure is almost the same - point being that editing the config.xml file actually has the port number that the web console talks to the VMs through, 902. If I change that, then I can actually change the web mangement oprt, 8333 and the internal comm por between the console and the VMs themselves, 902 and I should be able to have more than one VMware Server host available across the firewall. Will test and let you know.
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If you really want to use a portal, then this link may give you what you need to set up the different connections to different VMs:
http://www.petri.co.il/virtual_using_vnc_and_vmware_server.htm
http://www.petri.co.il/virtual_using_vnc_and_vmware_server.htm
ASKER
I tried that initially and it didn;t work out very well. I was able to make the change to the flat file, but somewhere it wasn't connecting. I'd run netstat -a on the guest and the port never showed up as being open. Between making changes to the VM host, the guest and the connecting machine it was all hosed up so I left that option alone. I think after trying several different options for two weeks straight, it all started looking like spaghetti.
Now that I have the guests accessible via the Web Management Console, I can at least get the environment presented for our internal purposes. As for the small business clients, I will need to come up with a way to present their apps and virtual desktops/servers in the most economical and implemented in the most expedient way possible.
Now that I have the guests accessible via the Web Management Console, I can at least get the environment presented for our internal purposes. As for the small business clients, I will need to come up with a way to present their apps and virtual desktops/servers in the most economical and implemented in the most expedient way possible.
ASKER
EE is an excellent resource for IT assistance. Just don't act like you know everything, respect the board rules as well as people's opinions (professional and otherwise), be clear about what you're asking and be patient. Help cometh!
ASKER
"rindi" was helpful in the sense of pointing me in the direction of the Web Console. It was a great starting point, but didn't get me all the way there. His solution works great if you have a single VMware Server 2.0 host, however I have two and my clients will run several. I did have to do some research on how the VMware We Management Console talks to the guests operating behind it and compare where the configuration files are kept in Vmware Server 2.0 as opposed to where they are in GSX Server (which is what the information I dug up referred to).
After much trial and error, I figured out what needed to be done to get the VMware Server 2.0 hosts talking on different ports...there are three different port numbers per host that have to be modified and their files containing the information exist in different directories.
However, "rindi" did she some light on a path I was already on, but had no idea of how to "clear" it. Thanks much, "rindi".
After much trial and error, I figured out what needed to be done to get the VMware Server 2.0 hosts talking on different ports...there are three different port numbers per host that have to be modified and their files containing the information exist in different directories.
However, "rindi" did she some light on a path I was already on, but had no idea of how to "clear" it. Thanks much, "rindi".
Just as a note, If you use ESX or ESXi, both make use of the VMware Infrastructure client, which is an Exe you install on the client PC's, and using that client you can manage more than one VMware Servers in one console. This client can also be used to manage VMware Server, but you don't have the multiple server option there.
So if you are going to use ESX or ESXi, that would be more in your interests.
So if you are going to use ESX or ESXi, that would be more in your interests.
ASKER
Already been down that road too. I tried VirtualBox first - takes WAAAY too long to build the virtual disks in your repository. It blew up on me when I tried to use 2X, so I tanked that install on both machines and went to ESX 3.5 as well as 3.5i - problem was that the install choked on the USB and the disk subsystem (HP dc7700), although it worked fine on the dc7600, but that's a P4 and the dc7700's are Core 2 Duo, so I wanted the benefit of utilizing two cores for bare-metal hypervisor.
I ran into the same problem when I went to install XenServer, since it's free as well.
So I had no choice...had to settle for hosted virtualization solution and settled on VMware Server 2.0
I ran into the same problem when I went to install XenServer, since it's free as well.
So I had no choice...had to settle for hosted virtualization solution and settled on VMware Server 2.0