Installation guide

Using the vSphere Client 4
The vSphere Client serves as the principal interface for administering vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi.
The vSphere Client user interface is configured based on the server to which it is connected:
n
When the server is a vCenter Server system, the vSphere Client displays all the options available to the
vSphere environment, according to the licensing configuration and the user permissions.
n
When the server is an ESX/ESXi host, the vSphere Client displays only the options appropriate to single
host management.
When you first log in to the vSphere Client, it displays a Home page with icons that you select to access various
vSphere Client functions. When you log out of the vSphere Client, the client application remembers the view
that was displayed when it was closed, and will return you to that view when you next log in.
You perform many management tasks from the Inventory view, which consists of a single window containing
a menu bar, a navigation bar, a toolbar, a status bar, a panel section, and pop-up menus.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“Getting Started Tabs,” on page 40
n
“Status Bar, Recent Tasks, and Triggered Alarms,” on page 40
n
“Panel Sections,” on page 40
n
“View Virtual Machine Console,” on page 41
n
“Searching the vSphere Inventory,” on page 41
n
“Using Lists,” on page 42
n
“Custom Attributes,” on page 43
n
“Select Objects,” on page 44
n
“Manage vCenter Server Plug-Ins,” on page 45
n
“Save vSphere Client Data,” on page 46
VMware, Inc.
39