By default, remote consoles connect to virtual machines over port 902. If this port assignment poses a conflict for your site, for example, if you use the ideafarm-chat program, you can change the port number the remote console uses accordingly.
Changing the port number involves manually adding a variable to certain preference files. The steps you need to take vary depending upon the server host operating system, the host on which the console is running and whether you are making this change to VMware ESX Server itself (by assigning the new port number to a variable called authd.port) or to the remote console (by assigning the new port number to a variable called authd.client.port).
The setting for authd.port is different from the setting for
authd.client.port. The authd.port variable tells VMware ESX Server
(the server side) what port to listen to for remote console connections. The
authd.client.port variable tells the remote console (the client side)
the port with which to connect. Thus, if you set only authd.port to a
different port number, such as 9902, and you try to connect to a virtual machine
on that host with a remote console, the console still tries to connect to port
902. Keep in mind that you can still substitute this new port number manually
when you connect with a remote console. In the Connect to VMware Server dialog
box, in the Server entry field, enter the port number along with the name of the
VMware ESX Server host name and configuration file path, like this:
<server name> <port> <config file>
Depending upon your site’s needs or configuration (for instance, you have multiple VMware ESX Server hosts and they use different ports), this might be acceptable. However, for seamless integration between the server and the remote console, and to avoid manual entry of the port number every time a remote console connects, if you want to use a port other than 902, then you should set authd.client.port to the same port number you use for authd.port.
To change the port number on the VMware ESX Server for Windows host, you need to set the new port number to the authd.port variable in the config.ini file located in C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware ESX Server. All remote consoles connecting to virtual machines on this host must use this port number.
To change the port number for a specific user running VMware ESX Server on a Windows host, you need to set the new port number to the authd.port variable in the preferences.ini file located in C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\VMware (Windows .NET Server and Windows 2000 hosts); on a Windows NT host, the file is located in C:\WINNT\Profiles\<user>\Application Data\VMware. When this user is logged in and running VMware ESX Server, remote consoles must use this port number to connect to a virtual machine on the VMware ESX Server host.
To change the port number which is used by the remote console installed on a Windows host, you must create a file called config.ini and place it in C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Remote Console. In this file set the new port number to the authd.client.port variable. All remote consoles connecting to virtual machines on the VMware ESX Server host use this port number. The VMware ESX Server host must have this port number set to the authd.port variable in its config.ini file (Windows host) or vmware-authd file (Linux host).
To change the port number for a specific user who is using the remote console installed on a Windows host, you need to set the new port number to the authd.client.port variable in the preferences.ini file located in C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\VMware (Windows .NET Server and Windows 2000 hosts); on a Windows NT host, the file is located in C:\WINNT\Profiles\<user>\Application Data\VMware. Only when this user is logged in and using a remote console to connect to a virtual machine on the VMware ESX Server host is this port number used. The VMware ESX Server host must have this port number set to the authd.port variable in its config.ini file (Windows host) or vmware-authd file (Linux host).
To change the port number on the VMware ESX Server for Linux host, you first need to determine whether your host is configured to use xinetd or inetd. If your host is configured to use xinetd, change the port number in the port = 902 line in the vmware-authd file located in /etc/xinetd. Otherwise, if you host is configured to use inetd, change the port number in the 902 ... vmware-authd line in /etc/inetd.conf. All remote consoles connecting to virtual machines on this host must use this port number.
To change the port number which is used by the remote console installed
on a Linux host, you must set the new port number to the authd.client.port
variable in either of the following files:
/etc/vmware-console/config
/usr/lib/vmware-console/config
All remote consoles connecting to virtual machines on the VMware ESX Server host use this port number. The VMware ESX Server host must have this port number set to the authd.port variable in its config.ini file (Windows host) or vmware-authd file (Linux host).
Note: If the port number specified in these files is different, the port number specified in /etc/vmware-console/config takes precedence.
To change the port number for a specific user who is using the remote console installed on a Linux host, you need to set the new port number to the authd.client.port variable in ~/.vmware/preferences. Only when this user is logged in and using a remote console to connect to a virtual machine on the VMware ESX Server host is this port number used. The VMware ESX Server host must have this port number set to the authd.port variable in its config.ini file (Windows host) or vmware-authd file (Linux host). When this user is logged in, the port number specified in ~/.vmware/preferences supersedes the port number specified in /etc/vmware-console/config or /usr/lib/vmware-console/config.
With the VMware Scripting APIs, you can supply a different port number when you create a new virtual machine object. This port number must match the port number on the VMware ESX Server host set to the authd.port variable in the config.ini file (Windows host) or vmware-authd file (Linux host).
If you specify 0 as the port number, the port number specified by authd.client.port is used instead. If authd.client.port is not specified, the default port 902 is used.
For more information, visit the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/support/developer/.
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