Manually Install the vSphere Client Plug-In on a vCenter Server Appliance

If you installed a version of vSphere Integrated Containers that pre-dates 1.4.3, you must install the plug-in manually. You manually install the vSphere Client plug-in for vSphere Integrated Containers by logging into the vCenter Server appliance and running a script. The script registers an extension with vCenter Server, and instructs vCenter Server to download the plug-in files from the file server in the vSphere Integrated Containers appliance.

Prerequisites

• You are installing a version of vSphere Integrated Containers that pre-dates 1.4.3. This procedure is not applicable to vSphere Integrated Containers 1.4.3 or later. In vSphere Integrated Containers 1.4.3 or later the plug-in is installed automatically.

• The HTML5 plug-in requires vCenter Server 6.7 or vCenter Server 6.5.0d or later. The HTML5 plug-in does not function with earlier versions of vCenter Server 6.5.0.

  IMPORTANT: If you use vSphere 6.7 update 1 or later, you must use vSphere Integrated Containers 1.4.3 or later. Due to significant changes in the HTML5 vSphere Client in version 6.7 update 1, previous versions of the vSphere Integrated Containers plug-in for the vSphere Client might not work with that version. Only version 1.4.3 and later releases have been verified with vSphere 6.7 update 1.

• You are installing the plug-in on a vCenter Server appliance instance. If you are running vCenter Server on Windows, see Manually Install the vSphere Client Plug-In on vCenter Server for Windows.
• Go to the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) at https://vcsa_address:5480, log in as the appliance root user, then click Access, and make sure that SSH Login and Bash Shell are enabled.
• Obtain the vCenter Server certificate thumbprint. For information about how to obtain and verify the certificate thumbprint, see Obtain vSphere Certificate Thumbprints.

Procedure

1. Connect as root user to the vCenter Server Appliance by using SSH.

   ssh root@vcsa_address

2. Start bash.

   shell

3. Set the following environment variables:

   • vSphere Integrated Containers appliance address:

     export VIC_ADDRESS=vic_appliance_address

   • vSphere Integrated Containers Engine bundle file, depending on the version that you are installing:

     • vSphere Integrated Containers 1.4.0:

       export VIC_BUNDLE=vic_v1.4.0.tar.gz

     • vSphere Integrated Containers 1.4.1 and 1.4.2:

       export VIC_BUNDLE=vic_v1.4.1.tar.gz

     NOTE: vSphere Integrated Containers 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 both use the vic_v1.4.1.tar.gz bundle. You can check which version of the bundle your installation uses by going to https://vic_appliance_address:9443/files/ in a browser. If the vSphere Integrated Containers appliance was configured to expose the file server on a different port, replace 9443 with the appropriate port.

4. Use curl to copy the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine binaries from the vSphere Integrated Containers appliance file server to the vCenter Server Appliance.

   Copy and paste the following command as shown:

   curl -kL https://${VIC_ADDRESS}:9443/files/${VIC_BUNDLE} -o ${VIC_BUNDLE}

   If the vSphere Integrated Containers appliance was configured to expose the file server on a different port, replace 9443 with the appropriate port.

5. Unpack the vSphere Integrated Containers binaries.

   tar -zxf ${VIC_BUNDLE}

6. Run the installer script and follow the prompts.
   1. Navigate to the folder that contains the installer script.

      cd vic/ui/VCSA

   2. Run the script.

      ./install.sh

   3. Enter the IP address of the vCenter Server instance.
   4. Enter the user name and password for the vCenter Server administrator account.
   5. Enter yes if the vCenter Server certificate thumbprint is legitimate, and wait for the install process to finish.
7. When the installation finishes, stop and restart the vSphere Client services.

   service-control --stop vsphere-ui && service-control --start vsphere-ui && service-control --stop vsphere-client && service-control --start vsphere-client

8. Delete the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine binaries from the vCenter Server Appliance and close the SSH connection.
   1. cd ../../..
   2. rm ${VIC_BUNDLE}
   3. rm -R vic
   4. exit

What to Do Next

To verify the deployment of the plug-in, see VCH Administration in the vSphere Client.

Troubleshooting

If you see the error message At least one plugin is already registered with the target VC, see Manually Upgrade the vSphere Client Plug-In on vCenter Server Appliance.

If you encounter other errors, or if the script runs successfully but the plug-in does not appear in the vSphere Client, see Troubleshoot vSphere Client Plug-In Installation.