Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console)
Hi all, I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject. I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies. A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5. I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA). Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on. I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console. This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance. Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader? I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet. At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete. I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network. Many thanks for any advice, Ryan Hutchings
Hi, There is no real way of accessing ESX consoles with speech since they use a graphical representation of the screen. I believe the way forward for us is to use automation as much as possible to get us a working system without having to resort to console access. I realise this is quite a different story in most companies, for example the work I am doing for the people I work for I am in the automation team, which is working in AWS, and completely separate from the rest of the business using ESX with a very different workflow. I am typically using Packer to create images in code, then those are deployed to VMs and I can then use those going forward with SSH or something else. I would recommend looking at Packer with ESX if you can to see if that will help you with your workflow. Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Hutchings Sent: 01 April 2017 15:46 To: blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi all, I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject. I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies. A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5. I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA). Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on. I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console. This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance. Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader? I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet. At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete. I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network. Many thanks for any advice, Ryan Hutchings _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
Hi, There is no real way of accessing ESX consoles with speech since they use a graphical representation of the screen. I believe the way forward for us is to use automation as much as possible to get us a working system without having to resort to console access. I realise this is quite a different story in most companies, for example the work I am doing for the people I work for I am in the automation team, which is working in AWS, and completely separate from the rest of the business using ESX with a very different workflow. I am typically using Packer to create images in code, then those are deployed to VMs and I can then use those going forward with SSH or something else. I would recommend looking at Packer with ESX if you can to see if that will help you with your workflow. Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Hutchings Sent: 01 April 2017 15:46 To: blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi all, I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject. I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies. A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5. I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA). Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on. I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console. This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance. Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader? I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet. At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete. I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network. Many thanks for any advice, Ryan Hutchings _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
Hi Andrew,
We do use packer along with kickstart files that are stored on a network
server; virtual machines are then instructed to boot from PXE to kick
(install os), and then we have a postinstall script executed after the os is
installed, which installs puppet and configures iptables, ssh etc after
which point I have ssh access and can connect to the machines.
However, there are two issues.
1. If the machine fails halfway through kickstart and I need to get onto the
machine to see what the problem is, I am unable to, as ssh is not yet setup.
2. When powering the virtual machine one, I am unable to get into the menu
that allows one to select "network boot" or "pxe" - this is a vmware option
as aposed to a option in the guest itself, and is done by pressing f12 just
as the VM is powering on.
I tried to see if powershell or ruby vmware cli tools could automate
pressing f12 at the appropriate time, but alas, it cannot.
I have been thinking of looking into AWS and maybe moving more towards that
sideo f things, since that is the future of virtual machine deployment
anyway, and seems, on the face of it, to be more accessible.
Incidentally, does AWS work well with screen readers?
As a note, we use Redhat enterprise Linux 6 at the particular company I am
working in at the moment; this does not allow initiating an install via ssh,
whereas some distributions of Linux do, such as debian.
If I was able to initiate the install via ssh I could monitor the kickstart
via that.
Thanks,
Ryan
-----Original Message-----
From: Blind-sysadmins
[mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Andrew
Hodgson
Sent: 01 April 2017 21:35
To: Blind sysadmins list
Hi. You all know a lot more about this stuff than me, I'm just using it at home. But I use vmware esxi 6 on an HP server. The webgui works but definitely has issues. Especially when trying to alter hardware settings for a vm. JAWS won't read the values in combo boxes. Fortunately I can connect via Workstation and change this stuff there. I guess this isn't an option in the real world with firewalls and policies in the way. I'll be folowing this. Have no experience with puppet and alike. Regards. Chris Turner On 01/04/2017 15:45, Ryan Hutchings wrote:
Hi all,
I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject.
I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies.
A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5.
I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA).
Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on.
I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console.
This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance.
Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader?
I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet.
At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete.
I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network.
Many thanks for any advice,
Ryan Hutchings
_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
--- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Hi, The main issue here is console output is done as graphics so no access to that, prior to ESX people could connect via a serial console and it worked fine. I know a few people in this situation, we have had it in the Windows world for years but it has come to the Linux world now with virtual machines. Andrew. ________________________________________ From: Blind-sysadmins [blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] on behalf of Chris Turner via Blind-sysadmins [blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] Sent: 03 April 2017 20:48 To: Blind sysadmins list Cc: Chris Turner Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi. You all know a lot more about this stuff than me, I'm just using it at home. But I use vmware esxi 6 on an HP server. The webgui works but definitely has issues. Especially when trying to alter hardware settings for a vm. JAWS won't read the values in combo boxes. Fortunately I can connect via Workstation and change this stuff there. I guess this isn't an option in the real world with firewalls and policies in the way. I'll be folowing this. Have no experience with puppet and alike. Regards. Chris Turner On 01/04/2017 15:45, Ryan Hutchings wrote:
Hi all,
I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject.
I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies.
A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5.
I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA).
Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on.
I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console.
This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance.
Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader?
I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet.
At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete.
I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network.
Many thanks for any advice,
Ryan Hutchings
_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
--- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
Hi, The main issue here is console output is done as graphics so no access to that, prior to ESX people could connect via a serial console and it worked fine. I know a few people in this situation, we have had it in the Windows world for years but it has come to the Linux world now with virtual machines. Andrew. ________________________________________ From: Blind-sysadmins [blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] on behalf of Chris Turner via Blind-sysadmins [blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] Sent: 03 April 2017 20:48 To: Blind sysadmins list Cc: Chris Turner Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi. You all know a lot more about this stuff than me, I'm just using it at home. But I use vmware esxi 6 on an HP server. The webgui works but definitely has issues. Especially when trying to alter hardware settings for a vm. JAWS won't read the values in combo boxes. Fortunately I can connect via Workstation and change this stuff there. I guess this isn't an option in the real world with firewalls and policies in the way. I'll be folowing this. Have no experience with puppet and alike. Regards. Chris Turner On 01/04/2017 15:45, Ryan Hutchings wrote:
Hi all,
I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject.
I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies.
A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5.
I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA).
Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on.
I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console.
This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance.
Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader?
I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet.
At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete.
I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network.
Many thanks for any advice,
Ryan Hutchings
_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
--- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins
participants (3)
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Andrew Hodgson -
Chris Turner -
Ryan Hutchings