Tech Line
Firefox-Virtual Server Management Mess
Want to manage and control Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 using Firefox? Here's how to do it.
Chris: I saw your tip on how to configure Firefox to read
OneNote .mht export files (see "
OneNote
-- FireFox Friendly?"), which was very helpful. We run Microsoft
Virtual Server 2005 at my company and I was hoping that you had a crafty
method for using Firefox to manage Microsoft Virtual Server. I tried installing
the ActiveX plug-in for Firefox 1.5, but that didn't seem to help. Do
I have to give in and use IE, or are there other options?
--Bruce
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Bruce, you pose an excellent question. While you can connect to the administration
Web site of a Virtual Server host using Firefox, you will not be able
to start a virtual machine or access the embedded Virtual Machine Remote
Control client.
If you're like me and enjoy the features of Firefox, you probably also
find it annoying to have to navigate between two Web browsers to access
different sites. I'm not quite sure when I actually reached the point
of laziness where opening up another application became too much for me,
but for some reason it is. Anyway, let me get back on track.
The simplest solution for you in this case is to download the IE Tab
extension for Firefox. With this extension installed, you can run IE within
a tab in Firefox. The only catch is that you need to specify which sites
should use IE. All other sites will default to using Firefox. After you
install the IE Tab extension, you will need to close and re-open Firefox
for the extension to be available. Once you open Firefox, click the Tools
menu and select IE Tab Options. Under the Sites Filter tab in the IE Tab
Options dialog box, just enter the URL of your Virtual Server Host system
(example: http://vs1.mcpmag.com). When you load the Virtual Server Administration
Web page, you'll see an IE icon in the address bar, alerting you that
the page is loading under IE.
If you're just looking to connect to and manage individual virtual machines,
you can simply copy the VMRC.exe file from the Virtual Server host to
your system. This file can be found in the VMRC Client folder within the
Virtual Server installation directory (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual
Server\VMRC Client, by default). By using VMRC.exe, you can connect to
and run any virtual machine without needing to connect first with a web
browser.
Finally, one other management tool that you may want to check out is
VSPlus. VSPlus is
a free, stand-alone Virtual Server management tool. When run in my test
lab, I received a few error messages while running the tool, but I did
not have any problems using it for basic server monitoring and administration,
as well as connecting to and managing virtual machines.
If you haven't installed the IE Tab extension for Firefox, you really
don't know what you're missing. I know.... Compromising with IE for some
of you is probably tough. But as many of you know, compromise is what
leads to successful marriages. I used to believe that when I was first
married. Now my rebuttal when negotiating any compromise is simply, "Yes
dear!"