Introduction to the vSphere Web Client

The VMware vSphere® Web Client is the primary method for system administrators and end users to interact with the virtual data center environment created by vSphere. vSphere manages a collection of objects that make up the virtual data center, including hosts, clusters, virtual machines, data storage, and networking resources.

The vSphere Web Client is a Web browser-based application that you can use to manage, monitor, and administer the objects that make up your virtualized data center. You can use the vSphere Web Client to observe and modify the vSphere environment in the following ways.

■	Viewing health, status, and performance information on vSphere objects

■	Issuing management and administration commands to vSphere objects

■	Creating, configuring, provisioning, or deleting vSphere objects

You can extend vSphere in different ways to create a solution for your unique IT infrastructure. You can extend the vSphere Web Client with additional GUI features to support these new capabilities, with which you can manage and monitor your unique vSphere environment.

This chapter includes the following topics:

■	Understanding the vSphere Web Client Architecture

■	Overview of the vSphere Web Client User Interface

■	Understanding Extensibility in the vSphere Web Client

■	Requirements for Developing vSphere Web Client Extension Solutions

■	Naming Convention for vSphere Objects in the vSphere Web Client SDK