Accessing vCenter Server from Internet (remote network)

Question

I have this topology:

And I would like to be able to give my users access to the vCenter Server through the Internet (I will use VPN here, but security is not the main concern here, at least not now).

On vSphere Doc (Required Ports for vCenter Server) I read that vCenter needs port 443 to be open in order to accept vSphere Client requests. But I don't know how exactly this should work (important: it's just a test environment; vCenter Server does not have any precious data so at least now I'm not concerned about security; I simply want to learn how to do this).

I was thinking to do this like this:

1. Do the port forwarding, meaning I will forward 212:182.22.23:443 to 192.168.0.2:443
2. Give my clients (for now - just me from another room through the Internet, yeah) the IP address of 212:182.22.23
3. Install vSphere Client on my Windows 7 machine
4. Type in vSphere Client IP of 212:182.22.23 pass the password ... and connect

Is it enough? Will I be able with this setup to access vCenter through the Internet? Or do I need something more? I read that vCenter during install should open ports it needs on ESXi hots, so it's done (I hope so). Don't I need any other setup on my router?

Answer 1

On your router, also forward port 902 to your VMWare host IP address.

When outside of your network this method should work as following:

Connected using External IP (go to google and search "what is my IP") > Internal Router

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Router Setup = Single Port Forwarding:

ESX Host = 443 > 443 > Both (TCP/UDP) > Your machine's IP > Enabled

Vsphere Client = 902 > 902 > Both (TCP/UDP) > Your machine's IP > Enabled

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Computer Setup = Firewall Settings:

Inbound = Set VMware Player/Vsphere Client/Workstation/etc. > Private, Public, and Domain!

Outbound = Do the same for outbound as you did for inbound!

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Testing Using CMD = Ensure Telnet is enabled:

telnet (External IP Address you got from google) (Ports that are need to be tested)

Example: telnet 182.521.22.1 902 (do the same for 443)

If you get a blank black screen then you connected successfully and you can connect remotely

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Testing Vsphere Client:

When you open the Program:

Type in the External IP:Port Number

Example:

External IP Address: 182.521.22.1:443

User: root

Password: alfjhdl;fdsj;lhd

If you connect to your ESXi Host, then you've been successful!

============================================================================

If you are unable to connect or telnet:

1. Check your firewall to ensure ports 902 and 443 are allowed for Inbound/Outbound for Domain, Public, and Private.

2. Check to see if you have any other program blocking the connection by disabling the program from running (Malwarebytes, etc.)

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As a side note, you might want to sign up for dynamic DNS so you can use a host name for you External facing IP address. You can then sign into the Vshphere Client using the FQDN of your DDNS rather than your External IP address.

Good luck!