Users Guide

22 Setup and Administration
VMware ESXi Server 4.X
ESXi Server authenticates users accessing ESXi hosts using the vSphere/VI
Client or Software Development Kit (SDK). The default installation of ESXi
uses a local password database for authentication. ESXi authentication
transactions with Server Administrator are also direct interactions with the
vmware-hostd process. To make sure that authentication works efficiently for
your site, perform basic tasks such as setting up users, groups, permissions,
and roles, configuring user attributes, adding your own certificates, and
determining whether you want to use SSL.
NOTE: On systems running VMware ESXi Server 4.1 operating system, to login to
Server Administrator, all users require Administrator privileges. For information on
assigning roles, see the VMware documentation.
Encryption
Server Administrator is accessed over a secure HTTPS connection using
secure socket layer (SSL) technology to ensure and protect the identity of the
system being managed. Java Secure Socket Extension (JSSE) is used by
supported Microsoft Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server operating systems to protect the user credentials and other
sensitive data that is transmitted over the socket connection when a user
accesses the Server Administrator home page.
Assigning User Privileges
To ensure critical system component security, assign user privileges to all Dell
OpenManage software users before installing Dell OpenManage software.
New users can log into Dell OpenManage software using their operating
system user privileges.
CAUTION: To protect access to your critical system components,
assign a password to every user account that can access Dell OpenManage
software. Users without an assigned password cannot log into Dell OpenManage
software on a system running Windows Server 2003 due to the operating
system design.
CAUTION: Disable guest accounts for supported Windows operating systems to
protect access to your critical system components. Consider renaming the
accounts so that remote scripts cannot enable the accounts using the name.
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