Overview of the vSphere Web Client User Interface

The user interface layer of the vSphere Web Client contains all of the Flex objects, such as data views, toolbars, and navigation interfaces, that make up the vSphere Web Client graphical user interface.

The major parts of the vSphere Web Client user interface are the object navigator, the main workspace, and the tasks and alarms panel.

Object Navigator

The object navigator is the user’s primary means of browsing the virtual infrastructure and accessing other solutions and data views in the vSphere Web Client. The user’s selections in the object navigator drive the content of the vSphere Web Client main workspace.

Object Navigator Top Level

The top level of the object navigator contains links to the major features and solutions in the vSphere Web Client, including the vCenter, Rules and Profiles, and Administration applications. You can extend the object navigator top level with links to new solutions that you create, such as Global Views.

Object Navigator When Browsing the Virtual Infrastructure

When the user browses the virtual infrastructure, the object navigator is the user’s primary means of interacting with the vSphere objects in the data center. In the object navigator vCenter level, vSphere objects are organized into inventory trees and inventory lists. Users can browse and search the objects in the inventories using the object navigator. When the user selects an object in the object navigator, information about that object appears in the main workspace.

When you extend the vSphere Web Client to support custom object types, you must extend the object navigator vCenter level with new inventory lists or custom object lists. You can also add links to other solutions to the vCenter level.

Main Workspace

The main workspace is where the vSphere Web Client displays the home screen, solutions and applications, and information about the virtual infrastructure. The main workspace is the center of the vSphere Web Client graphical user interface and contains data views, navigation elements such as tabs and toolbars or context menus for user actions.

Home Screen

The home screen is the initial view shown in the main workspace when the user logs in to the vSphere Web Client. The home screen contains icon shortcuts to different solutions and inventories in the virtual infrastructure. You can extend the home screen by adding additional shortcuts.

Browsing the Virtual Infrastructure

When the user browses the virtual infrastructure using the object navigator, the main workspace displays an object workspace. An object workspace presents information about the selected vSphere object in a hierarchy of nested Flex data views, which are displayed as top-level tabbed screens. Any given vSphere object has associated Getting Started, Summary, Monitor, Manage, and Related Objects top-level tab screens. Some of these tabs contain second-level tabs and views within the tabs.

Some of the nested data views are contextual. For example, the Monitor tab always contains a second-level Issues tab, and might contain a second-level Events tab if any events are present for the selected object.

You can extend the object workspace for any given vSphere object type by adding second-level tabs or views to the existing hierarchy. The object workspace for each vSphere object contains these top-level tabs:

■	Getting Started

■

Summary

■

Monitor

■

Manage

■	Related Objects

Getting Started Tab

The Getting Started tab shows a basic description of the vSphere object and some contextual information on how the object operates within the vSphere environment. The Getting Started tab might also provide links to common tasks for that object.

The Getting Started tab might not appear or might be disabled for a vSphere object.

Summary Tab

The Summary tab shows basic, high-level information about the selected object. The Summary tab might also show portlets with additional specific information about the object’s features. The Summary tab quickly and clearly gives the user enough information to identify the specific object they have selected, and to see that object’s role in the virtual infrastructure.

Monitor Tab

The Monitor tab shows current and historical information about how the selected object is performing. The Monitor tab shows alerts, issues, and other signals from the vSphere environment to which the user might respond. The Monitor tab generally contains data views that show information about the object’s health, performance statistics, and event logs, and any issues and alarms that were raised.

Manage Tab

The Manage tab displays settings and tasks that determine how the selected object behaves. Using the Manage tab, users can perform operations on a vSphere object, such as provisioning or maintenance. Users can also change object settings and issue management commands from the Manage tab.

Related Objects Tab

The Related Objects tab shows lists of vSphere objects related to the currently selected object. For example, a Cluster object’s Related Objects tab can contain a list of the Host objects in the cluster, as well as the related virtual machines, storage pods, networks, and other resources. Users can select a related object directly from the Related Objects tab, and view the workspace for that related object.

Global Views

The main workspace can display global views. A global view is a data view that is not a part of an object workspace for any vSphere object type. A global view is a free-form data view and need not follow a tab hierarchy as an object workspace does.

You can extend the vSphere Web Client with your own global views. Your global views can collect or summarize information from many different sources in the vSphere environment to create a dashboard or quick access screen, or to display information from outside the vSphere environment.

Workspaces for Custom Objects

If you add a custom object type to the vSphere environment, you can extend the main workspace to display an object workspace for that custom object. The vSphere Web Client SDK contains templates to help you create the standard object workspace tabs, such as Getting Started, Summary, Monitor, Manage, and Related Objects.

Administration Application

The Administration application allows users to change administrative settings and preferences for each service in the vSphere environment, as well as for the vSphere Web Client itself.

When the user selects the Administration application, the object navigator displays different categories of services such as Access, Licensing, Sign-On and Discovery, and Solutions. Information about specific services appears in the main workspace. The vSphere Web Client and additional plug-in modules appear as a service in the Administration navigation interface.