VMware Guest - Connect

Declaration

<AMVMWAREGUEST ACTIVITY="connect" HOSTTYPE="text (options)" SERVER="text" USERNAME="text" PASSWORD="text (encrypted)" VMPATH="text" GUESTUSERNAME="text" GUESTPASSWORD="text (encrypted)" CONSOLE="YES/NO" LAUNCHGUI="YES/NO" OPENVMTIMEOUT="number" POWERONTIMEOUT="number" TOOLSTIMEOUT="number" LOGINTIMEOUT="number" CONNECTIONTIMEOUT="number" SESSION="text" />

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Description

Connects to the specified guest operating system and creates a session in which to link subsequent VMware Guest activities.

To work with a virtual machine:

  • Be sure that the VMX file specified in VMPATH exists and is accessible from Windows.
  • Connect to the host where the virtual machine is stored.
  • If the virtual machine is on a host running VMware Workstation, you can connect to it only from a client on the same host.
  • If the virtual machine is on a host running VMware Server, you can connect to that host whether it is a local or remote host.
  • VMware Workstation currently allows you to manipulate virtual machines only from the local host.
NOTE: All functions that execute in a guest operating system require VMware Tools to be installed and running. Additionally, a valid guest login is required to run this activity.

Practical usage

Allows you to access any networked host machine that is running VMware Server from a single client machine.

Parameters

Connection

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Host type Text (options) Yes VMWare VI Server
  • HOSTTYPE="Server"
  • HOSTTYPE="Workstation"
  • HOSTTYPE="VIServer"
  • HOSTTYPE="Player"
 Indicates the VMware software type running on the host where the virtual machine is located. If you are using VMware Server to connect to a remote host, it does not matter which VMware product (if any) is running on the local host.The available options are:
  • VMWare Server (1.0x)
  • VMWare Workstation
  • VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0)
  • VMWare Player
Session Text No GuestOSOpsSession1 SESSION="MySession" The name of the session to create for this connection.
Host name Text Yes, if Host is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0) (Empty)
  • SERVER="host.server.com"
  • SERVER="xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx"
 The hostname or IP address of the computer where the virtual machine is located. This parameter is active only if the Host type parameter is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0).

[Host] Username

 Text Yes, if Host is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0) (Empty) USERNAME="theUser" The username identifying a valid user account on the virtual machine. This parameter is active only if the Host type parameter is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0).
[Host] Password Text Yes, if Host is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0) (Empty) PASSWORD="encrypted" The password identifying a valid user account on the virtual machine. This parameter is active only if the Host type parameter is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0).
Virtual machine path Text Yes (Empty) VMPATH="c:\My Virtual Machines\<vm_name>.vmx" The path to the virtual machine. (Example: c:\My Virtual Machines\<virtual_machine_name>.vmx ).
[Guest Credentials] Username Text Yes (Empty) GUESTUSERNAME="user" The username to authenticate the guest user.
[Guest Credentials] Password Text Yes (Empty) GUESTPASSWORD="encrypted" The password to authenticate the guest user.
Log on to console session Yes/No No No CONSOLE="yes" If selected, the user will be logged onto the console session. This parameter is disabled by default.
Launch GUI Yes/No No No LAUNCHGUI="yes" If selected, a GUI (Graphic User Interface) will appear on the desktop upon connection. If disabled (default), no GUI will be launched and operations will execute in the background.

Connection > Timeout

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Open VM Number No 60 OPENVMTIMEOUT="2" The maximum time period in seconds during which this activity must be completed or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.
Power on Number No 60 POWERONTIMEOUT="3" The maximum time period in seconds during which the VM must power on or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.
VMware tools Number No 300 TOOLSTIMEOUT="4" The maximum time period in seconds during which VMWare Tools must start on the guest operating system or the step times out. The default value is 300 seconds.
Log on Number No 60 LOGINTIMEOUT="5" The maximum time period in seconds during which the log on process must be completed or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.
Connection Number No 60 CONNECTIONTIMEOUT="6" The maximum time period in seconds during which a connection must be established or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.

Description

Error Causes

On Error

Example

NOTE:
  • Copy and paste the sample AML code below directly into the Task Builder Steps Panel.
  • To successfully run the sample code, update parameters containing user credentials, files, file paths, or other information specific to the task to match your environment.

Description

This sample task uses several VMware Guest OS activities. It creates a session using the VMware Guest - Connect activity, logs onto the guest VMware using the VMware Guest - Log on activity, and checks if a specific guest file exists on the host using the VMware Guest - File exists activity. If the guest file exists, it is copied over to the host machine using the VMware Guest - Copy activity. The task ends with a VMware Guest - Disconnect step. Comments are included in the task to explain each step.

Copy 
<AMVARIABLE NAME="myVar" VALUE="" />
<!-- Create a guest session. -->
<AMVMWAREGUEST ACTIVITY="connect" HOSTTYPE="Workstation" VMPATH="C:\Users\Username\Documents\Virtual Machines\Windows Server 2008 x86\Windows Server 2008 (experimental).vmx" GUESTUSERNAME="Techsupport" GUESTPASSWORD="AM1ag7WmWg7U1xbulaHHhbEOLvMrSDiPrC4aME" CONSOLE="yes" LAUNCHGUI="yes" OPENVMTIMEOUT="90" POWERONTIMEOUT="90" />
<!-- Log onto guest. -->
<AMVMWAREGUEST ACTIVITY="login" LOGINUSERNAME="Techsupport" LOGINPASSWORD="AM1ag7WmWg7U1xbulaHHhbEOLvMrSDiPrC4aME" LOGINCONSOLE="yes" TIMEOUT="3000" />
<!-- Check if a specific guest file exists. -->
<AMVMWAREGUEST ACTIVITY="file_exists" GUESTFILE="C:\Users\techsupport\Desktop\hello.txt" RESULTVARIABLE="myVar" />
<!-- If guest file exists, copy it over to the host machine. -->
<AMIF EXPRESSION="%myVar% = True"><AMVMWAREGUEST COPYFROM="guest_to_host" GUESTFILE="C:\Users\techsupport\Desktop\hello.txt" HOSTFILE="C:\Users\techsupport\Desktop\hello.txt" /></AMIF>
<AMVMWAREGUEST COPYFROM="guest_to_host" GUESTFILE="C:\Users\techsupport\Desktop\hello.txt" HOSTFILE="C:\Users\techsupport\Desktop\hello.txt" />
<AMIF ACTIVITY="end" />
<!-- Close Connection -->
<AMVMWAREGUEST ACTIVITY="disconnect" />