Eric Sloof

I installed the Virtual Machine MKS Client on a Workstation where the VMware Virtual Infrastructure Client 2.0 wasn’t installed yet and the Virtual Machine MKS Client didn’t work. I still have to find out what’s causing this behavior. I received some real  good feedback and was able to implement some of the feature requests. In this new version I added some icons and I fixed a few typo’s. You can find the download link for the Virtual Machine MKS Client v1.4 in the software menu item of my blog.

I fixed a major bug, this bug was responsible for randomly black screens when connecting to a VM. I also added an extra menu item. This new menu item is called Full Screen. When you select it you will see the VM console in Full Screen mode. Don’t forget to press CTRL+ALT to return.

You can find the download link for the Virtual Machine MKS Client v1.3 in the software menu item of my blog.

First of all I would like to thank Robert Baumstark. He is the one who has build the VIClient.dll and helped me tremendously. I created a new version of the Virtual Machine MKS Client, this version has better sizing, very handy when working on a small desktop with large virtual machines. Another new thing is the title bar, it displays the status and name of the controlled virtual machine. You can download the new version here.

Then about the contest, Richard Garthagen joined in so we can expect a MKS tool on run-virtual this summer. Bouke Groenescheij was behaving very strange yesterday. He wouldn’t talk to me and suddenly claimed a new domain name and made an announcement about vvi-world ? I suspect someone has put something in his tea here at Ahrend ;-). I took a peek at his KVM-Tool and it’s impressive. His tool allows you to open multiple console sessions and logs on to an ESX server directly.
What to expect in the future, well I like the multiple screen option so I’m going to build a tear off button. Besides that Dee made a comment and suggested to allow the virtual machine to be connected to the local CD drive on the client. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Continue reading "Virtual Machine MKS Client v1.2" »

Manfred Meier over at ESXGuide has released a new version of the ESX Manager 2.1. The features are :

Virtual Center independent
Keeps track of Virtual Machine Host Registration, Migrations and Status
Manage Virtual Machine Configuration
Display and work in the Virtual Machine Console
Kill Virtual Machine Process (if the VM can't be powered off)
Rename Virtual Disks of registered Virtual Machines
Move Virtual Disks and keep the disk attached to the Virtual Machine
Virtual Machine Registration, Start , Restart , Reset, Power Off, Suspend
Extend Virtual Disks
View-Search-Filter Logfiles on the ESX Host.
Define and save custom SSH commands with Parameter handling
Publish and share custom SSH commands with other ESX Administrators

The games have begun. Bouke and I are in sort of a contest who will build the most fancy Virtual Machine MKS Client. Bouke calls his creation the KVM-Tool,  my application goes under the name VMware MKS Client. So it’s the KVM-Tool versus the Virtual Machine MKS Client from now on. No more code sharing and no more walks during lunch breaks ;-). I don’t know when Bouke is going to deliver his first beta version because we are only communicating through our weblog posts from now on ;-). What I do know is that my beta version is ready. You can download it here. Have fun with it.

Continue reading "Virtual Machine MKS Client v1.1" »

The first VMware MKS client is ready. This is an educational version only, because by the time I wanted to put it on the internet, Bouke Groenescheij showed me how to embed the MKS ActiveX Object into a VB.net application. My first version still uses an embedded Internet Explorer, which is fed by a self constructed html file. I know, it isn’t the way to do it, but I’m really proud of it and thought what the hack let’s post it anyway. Before you launch this client, you should visit a Web Access console page. This way the VMware MKS ActiveX Object is installed on your computer. Thanks to Bouke the next version will be a lot faster and we will get rid of the buttons so stay tuned.