Hello,
I remember Ryan saing that he used VMWare workstation to create VM's and
then he uploaded them to ESXI. I'm just wondering, what people use for
uploading these VM's? VMWare Converter is now a standalone application
and Jaws cannot read it's application windows at all!
In previous versions I was able to successfully use the VSphere plugin.
Any suggestions appreciated. I don't mind using the CLI and in fact,
based on peoples feedback last week I intend to give the commandline a lot
more attention over the coming weeks.
Thanks
Regards
Darragh Ó Héiligh
Fujitsu
Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas,
Fredrick Building,
South Fredrick Street,
Dublin2
Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559
Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie
Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie
From: Ryan Shugart
To: Blind sysadmins list
Date: 10/04/2012 07:14
Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] any show stoppers
Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org
I have to agree that VMWare is far from the most accessible piece of
software out there, but its certainly doable. I manage a VMWare
environment with about 35 ESX hosts and about 700 VMS, and I'm very
effective. It all boils down to learning good techniques. True, ESX and
ESXI don't support sound, but if you're working in a Windows environment
with mainly Windows guests you will be hopefully using a screen reader
with good RDP support so sound isn't an issue anyway. When I build a new
VM, I build the VM in VMWare's Workstation product that does support
sound, and will install guest OS's for you. So I build the OS, install
the screen reader, get RDP working then upload the completed VM to the esx
environment and then just use RDP to admin the machine from there on out.
All of our templates have a screen reader on them with RDP support enabled
and configured so when I do day to day deployments I just clone a
template, find out the IP address from the VIC, log in using RDP
, and I'm good to go. So its all doable, it just takes working out some
different techniques.
Get to know your screen reader well, know its mouse
support, make sure you're on the latest version, and the VIC should work
reasonably. I think the only scripting I use regularly is a command to
always move me back to the treeview of VMs. Also, VMWare has a Powershell
interface available that actually is pretty good about duplicating all
functions of the VIC via commandline. One of the annoying things is that
the Update Manager component has no accessibility at all, but that's all
available using PowerCLI and that's how I update the ESX hosts. Another
thing that's annoying is finding VMs in the VIC. Again PowerCLI to the
rescue, if I know the name of the VM, I just punch it into PowerCLI and
away I go. I can move VMs around, change resource pools all from there
and many times I just use the VIC to monitor tasks. I could do that from
PowerCLI too but I'm too lazy to learn the commands.
Ryan
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org [
mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John
Heim
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 10:25 AM
To: Blind sysadmins list
Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] any show stoppers
Esx and esxi do not support sound. In other words, you can't make a
virtual
machine with a sound card. There is no screen reader for esx or esxi. The
remote GUI interface has major accessibility problemms. And there is no
talking or serial console install. I asked about an accessible install on
the VMWare web site and all the answers I got were lame. I ended up
getting
sighted assistance for the install. However, it may be possible for a
blind
person to do an esx/esxi install via the automatic installation tool.
In other words, you will have problems installing esx or esxi, you'll have
trouble creating virtual machines, and once you create them, they'll be
difficult to use. Other than that, its fine.
In all seriousness, I have an esxi machine at home. I built it
specifically
to learn about VMWare esx and esxi. I had to get help with the install but
if I had it to do over again, I would try the automatic install feature. I
also spent a lot of time learning how to create virtual machines. The
remote
GUI is not totally impossible to navigate with jaws. But there are parts
of
it that are very, very difficult. Maybe if you used it every day you could
get to be proficient enough to be productive but I doubt it. I manage the
virtual machines on my esxi server via editing the text config files
themselves. Once you have the virtual machine up and running, you will
have
to operate it remotely. The VMWare people would say that that's the whole
point of esx and esxi. Esx and esxi are for servers off in the cloud
somewhere. If you want a desktop machine, use Workstation. But while
operating a machine remotely is easy in linux, it is somewhat of a greater
challenge in Windows. Of course, maybe you already do a lot of remote
Windows system administration and that won't be a problem for you. But I
don't know how you get your accessibility tools installed on a Windows
virtual machine in order to access it remotely.
The way I did it was to configured a USB port on the virtual machine and
then plugged a USB headset into the host. That gave me speech on the
virtual
machine. So I was operating the virtual machine remotely but the headset
was
physically connected to the host. The only reason I was able to do that
was
that my remote machine was not very remote. It was only about 5 feet from
the esxi host. I am not sure if that makes sense. If you want a clearer
explanation, let me know.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Moore"
To: "Blind sysadmins list"
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2012 10:01 AM
Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] any show stoppers
HI all. applying for this job. IN particular, I am interested in
people's thoughts about working in environments with vmware esx
any other show stoppers?
HELP DESK SUPERVISOR/SENIOR TECHNICAL ANALYST
Permanent - Full-Time Annual Salary: $73,180 -$89,035
The Children's Aid Society of Hamilton is seeking a Help Desk
Supervisor/Senior Technical Analyst. The successful candidate will be
responsible for supervising the day-to-day operations of the helpdesk
and helpdesk staff; identifying, researching, and resolving complex
technical problems; documenting, tracking and monitoring problems to
ensure resolution in a timely manner; applying updates and patches to
server software, hardware and network devices; providing support for
both physical and virtual computing environments; and writing new and
maintaining existing support documentation.
The successful candidate will have:
a minimum three year post secondary computing degree/diploma (or
equivalent technical certifications and work experience); must possess a
well-rounded business background with a broad understanding of computer
and network systems, operations, applications, operating systems and
security; previous supervision/leadership experience required; minimum
three years experience with VMware ESX 3.5 and above, including Virtual
Center, HA, DRS, VMotion, Snapshots, Converter Enterprise and VCB;
in-depth knowledge and experience with Active Directory, Windows
2003/2008 Server, IIS, SQL, GPO, Terminal Services and/or Citrix XenApp;
XP and Windows 7 desktop imaging, deployment, and setup; experience
administering and supporting Cisco switches, routers, firewalls;
experience with backup and recovery strategies, disaster recovery
planning, implementation and testing; full understanding of the IP
protocol stack and its related services; in-depth knowledge of server
hardware, RAID technologies and Storage Area Networks; ability to absorb
and retain information quickly and adept at reading, writing, and
interpreting technical documentation and procedure manuals; highly
self-motivated and directed with proven problem-solving abilities;
strong analytical, organization, multitasking, and prioritizing skills
with thorough and acute attention to detail; ability to express complex
technical concepts effectively, both verbally and written, to both
technical and non-technical agency staff with proven presentation and
facilitation skills.
cont'd on page 2...
2
The Children's Aid Society of Hamilton is a large agency of
approximately 350
employees which offers an innovative and progressive work environment.
Interested applicants should submit a current resume quoting file #17/12
by April 9, 2012:
Kelly Oates Administrative Assistant Human Resources Department
The Children's Aid Society of Hamilton
PO Box 1170, Depot 1, Hamilton, ON L8N 4B9 E-mail:
koates@hamiltoncas.com Fax: 905-522-1089
WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
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