Best way to connect to virtualized servers?

tdean

kind of a stupid question, but how do you connect to virtualized servers for every day management? rdp just like a "normal" server? vmware client? how about somehting like dameware?

ehnde

NoMachine NX - Desktop Virtualization and Remote Access Management Software I've been really liking this lately.

MentholMoose

How do you prefer to connect to physical servers? For day to day stuff on VMs, it's just personal preference. If you want to use Dameware over vSphere Client, that is fine.

If I need an interactive session on a server, I typically use RDP for Windows and SSH for Linux, regardless of whether they are physical or virtual. If I need console access for some reason, I'll use the client provided by the hypervisor vendor (vSphere Client, XenCenter, etc.).

blargoe

^Exactly... Unless there's a recommendation from the OS or application vendor (sometimes RDP is not a best practice for something like application installs, or remotely managing a 2003 Windows cluster, for example), then it's a matter of personal convenience and/or preference.

SteveO86

For normal everyday maintenance I prefer RDP.. If I have to do anything outside the norm I connect via the vSphere client to ensure my connectivity does not get cut depending on what I'm doing.

scott28tt

I've always thought of the VM Console display as if it were like an iLO/DRAC card for a VM, and I don't know many admins that administer Windows on a physical box using an iLO/DRAC...

Zaits

I use a combination of visionapp -visionapp Remote Desktop 2011 and vSphere to manage my servers.

RTmarc

We also use VisionApp and the VMware console when necessary.

JDMurray

Putty and PowerShell.

CLI FTW!!