Specifications

Administration Guide
180 VMware, Inc.
Getting Help for Service Console Commands
Detailed!usage!notes!for!most!service!console!commands!are!available!as!man!files.!To!
view!the!man!page!for!a!command,!use!the!man!command!followed!by!the!name!of!the!
command!for!which!you!want!to!see!information.!!
Authentication and Security Features
This!section!contains!the!following!topics:
! “Authenticating!Users”!on!page 180
! “Default!Permissions”!on!page 182
! “TCP/IP!Ports!for!Management!Access”!on!page 182
There!are!three!key!aspects!to!security!with!VMware!ESX!Server:
! VMware!ESX!Server!authenticates!all!remote!users!who!connect!to!a!server!using!
the!VMware!Management!Interface!or!the!VMware!Remote!Console.!
! Security!for!network!traffic!to!and!from!the!server!depends!on!the!security!settings!
in!the!server!configuration.!
! Three!or!more!TCP/IP!ports!are!used!for!access,!depending!on!the!security!settings!
in!your!ESX!Server!configuration.
Depending!on!your!remote!access!requirements,!you!might!need!to!configure!your!
firewall!to!allow!access!on!one!or!more!of!these!ports.!For!details!on!which!ports!
are!used,!see!“TCP/IP!
Ports!for!Management!Access”!on!page 182.
Authenticating Users
VMware!ESX!Server!uses!Pluggable!Authentication!Modules!(PAM)!for!user!
authentication!in!the!remote!console!and!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!The!
default!installation!of!ESX!Server!uses!/etc/passwd!authentication,!as!Linux!does,!but!
Table 5-7. man command
Command Example and Explanation
man Displays!the!man!page!for!a!specified!command.!Press!the!spacebar!to!go!to!the!
next!screen!of!text.!Press!q!to!exit!from!the!display.
man cat
Display!the!manual!page!for!the!command!cat.
man -f cat
Display!a!brief!description!of!the!command!cat.