VMWare Connector configuration

What is it?

The Connector.config file holds the settings the VMWare Connector uses to talk to VMWare web services and to write job output. Update this file once after you install the connector, and revisit it whenever you change your VMWare host, credentials, or output directory.

note

The configuration file was named Agent.config in releases before 21.0. From release 21.0 onward, it is named Connector.config. For details, refer to Release notes.

Before you start

• The connector is installed. Refer to Installation.
• All settings in Connector.config apply to the machine on which the file resides.
• The file is in the connector installation directory (for example, C:\Program Files\OpConxps\VMWare x64\Connector.config).
• Update the file with a text editor that preserves plain text (such as Notepad).
• The VMWARE_USER_PASSWORD value must be encoded with Encrypt.exe, which is extracted alongside the connector. Refer to Encode the VMWare password.

Configuration sections

Connector.config contains two sections you typically edit:

• [CONNECTOR] — connector-wide settings (output directory, debug mode).
• [VMWARE INFORMATION] — connection details for the VMWare host (address, user, password, delete privileges).

[CONNECTOR] section

Setting	Description	Required
NAME	The name of the connector. Do not change this value.	No
JOB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY	Present in the file but not used. See the note below.	No
DEBUG	Turns debug logging on or off. Valid values: ON or OFF.	Yes

caution

DEBUG must be present

The connector reads DEBUG without a fallback, so removing the line stops the job with an initiation error before it reaches VMWare. Set it to OFF rather than deleting it. The same applies to VMWARE_DELETE_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_ENABLED in the next section.

note

JOB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY has no effect

The connector writes job output to a JobOutput directory under the directory it runs from, and creates that directory if it does not exist. The value in the configuration file is read and then replaced with that path, so changing it does nothing.

[VMWARE INFORMATION] section

Setting	Description	Required
VMWARE_HOST_ADDRESS	The address of the host providing VMWare web services. Supports vCenter or ESXi 5.5. Example: https://192.168.192.155/sdk	Yes
VMWARE_USER	A VMWare user with the privileges required for the operations you plan to run. For a Windows user, prefix the user name with the domain and two backslashes (for example, domain\\user).	Yes
VMWARE_USER_PASSWORD	The encoded password for VMWARE_USER. Produce the value with Encrypt.exe before pasting it here, and use ASCII characters only. Refer to Encode the VMWare password.	Yes
VMWARE_DELETE_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_ENABLED	Set to TRUE to allow the connector to delete virtual machines. Requires the VMWare user to also have the VirtualMachine.Inventory.Delete privilege. Set it to FALSE when deletion is not required. Read without a fallback, so the line must be present.	Yes

caution

Setting VMWARE_DELETE_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_ENABLED=TRUE enables irreversible deletion. Once a delete is issued, the virtual machine cannot be recovered.

Encode the VMWare password

Connector.config does not hold the VMWare password as plain text. Encode it first with Encrypt.exe, which is extracted into the same directory as the connector.

To encode the password, complete the following steps:

1. Open a command prompt in the directory where you extracted the connector.

2. Run Encrypt.exe with the password as the value of the -v argument:

   Encrypt.exe -v ChangeMe123

3. Copy the value that follows ev : in the output.

   ev : 51326868626d646c545755784d6a4d3d

4. Paste that value into VMWARE_USER_PASSWORD in Connector.config.

Use ASCII characters only

The encoding uses the character set of the machine that produced it. A password containing accented or non-Latin characters is only guaranteed to decode on a machine with the same system locale as the one where you ran Encrypt.exe. If you copy Connector.config to another machine and the VMWare sign-in fails, run Encrypt.exe again on that machine and replace the value.

note

The value is encoded rather than encrypted, and the encoding is reversible without a key. Treat Connector.config as a file that contains a password: restrict who can read it, and do not paste the value into a ticket or an email.

Example Connector.config

[CONNECTOR]
NAME=VMWare Connector
JOB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY=JobOutput
DEBUG=OFF

[VMWARE INFORMATION]
VMWARE_HOST_ADDRESS=https://192.168.192.155/sdk
VMWARE_USER=SMAEUROPE\\VUser
VMWARE_USER_PASSWORD=51326868626d646c545755784d6a4d3d
VMWARE_DELETE_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_ENABLED=False

Logging and job output

The connector writes its log to log\vmware.log, in the directory it runs from. Logs cover both connector activity and the jobs the connector runs. Information is appended, and error messages and return codes are visible there.

When vmware.log reaches 100 MB, it is rolled into a month-stamped subdirectory as log\<yyyy-MM>\vmware_<yyyy-MM-dd>.<n>.log.

Rolled logs are not removed automatically

No retention limit is configured, so rolled log files accumulate until something removes them. Include the log directory in whatever housekeeping the machine already has.

note

The log directory also holds powered_down_list.xml, which is how the INFORMATION operation remembers when it first saw a virtual machine powered off. Deleting the log directory resets that tracking, and the next GETPOWEREDOFFLIST run behaves like a first run. Refer to Enterprise Manager job definition.

Job output is written to a JobOutput directory under the directory the connector runs from.

What's next

• Define your first VMWare job in Enterprise Manager job definition or Solution Manager job definition.

FAQs

Where do I configure VMWare credentials?

Set VMWARE_USER and VMWARE_USER_PASSWORD in the [VMWARE INFORMATION] section of Connector.config. Encode the password with Encrypt.exe before you paste it, using ASCII characters only. Refer to Encode the VMWare password.

The VMWare sign-in fails after I copied Connector.config to another machine. Why?

The password encoding depends on the character set of the machine that produced it. If the password contains accented or non-Latin characters, the value only decodes reliably on a machine with the same system locale. Run Encrypt.exe on the target machine and replace the VMWARE_USER_PASSWORD value.

How do I enable virtual machine deletion?

Set VMWARE_DELETE_VIRTUAL_MACHINE_ENABLED=TRUE in the [VMWARE INFORMATION] section, and ensure the VMWare user also has the VirtualMachine.Inventory.Delete privilege. Once a delete is issued, the virtual machine cannot be recovered.

How do I turn on debug logging?

In the [CONNECTOR] section, set DEBUG=ON. The shipped configuration file has DEBUG=OFF. The setting has no default of its own, so leave the line in place and change the value.

Where are the log files?

The current log is log\vmware.log, in the directory the connector runs from. Rolled logs are in month-stamped subdirectories under log. No retention limit is configured, so they accumulate until something removes them.

Can I change where job output is written?

Not in this release. The connector writes job output to a JobOutput directory under the directory it runs from. The JOB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY setting is read from the file and then replaced with that path, so changing it has no effect.

Wasn't this file called Agent.config?

It was, in releases before 21.0. Release 21.0 renamed the file to Connector.config. For details, refer to Release notes.

Glossary

Term	Definition
VMWare Connector	An OpCon connector that submits job requests to VMWare web services from an OpCon schedule.
Connector.config	The VMWare Connector configuration file. All settings in the file apply to the machine on which it resides. Replaces the earlier Agent.config file from release 21.0 onward.
vCenter	The VMWare server providing the VMWare web services interface. The connector supports vCenter or ESXi 5.5.
ESXi	The VMWare hypervisor providing the VMWare web services interface. The connector supports vCenter or ESXi 5.5.
Encrypt.exe	The tool that encodes the VMWare password for Connector.config. Extracted into the same directory as the connector.
Enterprise Manager	The legacy Windows desktop interface for OpCon. Hosts the VMWare job sub-type.