"Yes, Virginia, there is a new vSphere client."

What was once "inevitable" has now become "official."  The VMware vSphere C# client that many virtualization administrators have affectionately told VMware they would have to pry from their cold, dead hands has finally been put to rest, put out to pasture, allowed to cross the Great Divide, earned its wings, kicked the bucket or left the building.  Yes, in other words, the C# client will henceforward be replaced by VMware's new, shiny HTML5 client... after the next iteration of vSphere is released.

Yesterday, VMware made the official death notice to its users. 

VMware wrote on the company's blog:

First, the C# client (AKA Desktop Client/thick client/vSphere Client for Windows) will not be available for the next version of vSphere.  Current versions of vSphere (6.0, 5.5) will not be affected, as those will follow the standard support period.

Second, we want to talk about the recent vSphere HTML5 Web Client Fling, user adoption, and VMware's focus on bringing a great user experience.  Like the Embedded Host Client Fling (which made it into vSphere in 6.0U2), we plan on bringing this product into a supported release soon.

Going forward, VMware will be referring to the new client as the vSphere Client, as it better describes the product and isn't a ten syllable mouthful (vSphere HTML5 Web Client).

In a pre-release of the news, a vExpert briefing was done earlier this week.  Mike Adams, Director of vSphere Product Marketing at VMware, drew the short straw to give the early update to our "vocal" and interested group of VMware evangelists.  The call was quick, but on it, he confirmed the death of the C# client and said there would be one available client going forward as of the next major release of vSphere; however, no date on that release or version number was given.

Adams reassured those of us on the call that the vSphere Web Client shipping with the next major release of vSphere won't be the one currently causing frustration with VMware administrators.  Instead, VMware has committed to shipping a new, HTML5-based Web client -- similar to the version currently being made available as a free Fling.  The current HTML5 Fling is not yet feature complete, but Adams reiterated that VMware was working hard to get there.

Introducing the new vSphere Client (HTML5)

If you are interested in trying out the HTML5 client Fling, check out this article I wrote back at the end of March for some more details and links: VMware has a Fling with a New HTML5-based Web Client

According to VMware, the HTML5 client will have several key benefits over existing clients, such as:

• Scalability - Web client handles more objects and more concurrent admin access;
• Bookmarking URLs - Web client allows you to quickly return to specific objects or views and share them with others (such as in a support ticket);
• Recent Objects - Web client lets you navigate quickly between things you're working on;
• Work-In-Progress - Web client lets you save your work and come back to it later, even from another computer;
• Enhanced Linked Mode - Web client can call up all your inventory in one view;
• Remembers user customizations to UI - Web client enables column selections and widths on grids, portlets on summary pages;
• Latest feature support - Web client is the only interface to support all new features.

Here's the good.

The IT industry as a whole is moving towards HTML5 management interfaces.  With all the various types of browsers and devices (PC, Mac, Android mobile, iOS mobile, Web, etc.) being used to manage our environments, moving to a common HTML5 platform should be a good thing.  And it will be nice not to have to install Flash on servers and devices.  Flash is slow, buggy and a security risk.  In that respect, this is a welcomed change. 

Here's the bad.

Questions remain.  Chief among them, will this new client perform as well as the old C# client?  Will it attain feature parity?  Will we be able to do EVERYTHING from one client?

Many hardcore VMware administrators are currently using multiple clients to effectively manage their virtual infrastructure.  The old standby C# client is much faster than the "flash and crash" Web client, but VMware made sure that the Web client was the only one that could configure advanced features, provide storage "nothing" vMotion capabilities, update manager, or expose certain advanced HA options in an attempt to force migrate us away from the C# client. 

Feature parity has been a major concern for administrators.  And that fear still holds true, even as VMware talks about killing off the old staple and introducing yet another new replacement client.

Before dropping a client and adding yet another new option, people want to make sure they can do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING via one interface.  That's not asking a lot -- if it can be done in the C# client or it can be done in the old Web client, make sure all those capabilities and features are cumulative in the new client before asking people to ditch something where process and procedures are already in place.

What About the Plugins?

One of the major concerns about this transition has been around the use of plugins and third-party plugins.  Right now, there are still vCenter Server plugins which are only compatible with the C# client.  For the new HTML5 vSphere Web client, around 30-40% of the plugins are said to be compatible.  So that means VMware partners providing vCenter Server plugins better work fast to migrate them over to HTML5 before the next release of vSphere.

VMware officially responded to the plugin question.

"We also recognize how important plugins are, and the transition from Web Client to vSphere Client will take second and third-party plugins into account," said Dennis Lu, VMware Product Manager, vSphere Clients.  "We've already started engaging with plugin developers of all sorts to get them moving to the HTML bridge, which will allow the creation of a single plugin that is forward and backward compatible with both the vSphere Client and the Web Client, creating a smooth transition path."  

Lu recognized that he does expect the plugin transition to take some time, adding: "this means that we expect to ship the Flex based Web Client and the HTML5 based vSphere Client side by side for some uncertain period.  Everyone is very eager to have the new vSphere Client as the only client, but we want to respect the porting development time our partners require."

Those of us who participated on the vExpert briefing as well as those who took to the Web and the Twitterverse have had and expressed mixed reactions to the news.  Many hardcore administrators clearly still prefer the C# client; however, their angst wasn't quite as bad as what it was back during the vRAM licensing fiasco.

Comments were left on VMware's blog, such as one from Eric Singer who responded with: "I'm glad you have a web client, but I hate that you're forcing it down our throats. Client / Server interfaces just run better. Ask most people who have an exchange environment if they'd rather use the full outlook client or OWA and you'll overwhelmingly find that using the full client is preferred."

While others like TJ Zimmerman respond by saying: "I see why some might prefer the fat client. However, after using the C#, HTML5, Flash, and Fusion clients, I can certainly say that the HTML5 client is the fastest, sleekest, and overall best tool to get the job done."  But even Zimmerman owns that, "Unfortunately throughout the beta phase it has been lacking in some integral features." 

Hopefully those missing features and capabilities are added by the time the switch is 'forced down our throats.' 

A user identified as Ross asked VMware to "respect the customer base and not go through with this (yet)."  And then provided the virtualization giant with 6 reasons to slow things down.  Ross also stated, "I would further respectfully suggest you deliberately break and take down a full vSphere environment and then run a bake off of C# vs HTML5 webclient. You’ll know pretty quickly if the new webclient is fit for purpose! When it is then put up a video online showing it out performing the old C# client and you’ll have us all eating our words!"

More Information

If you're looking for more information on plugin migration, contact VMware.  If you have a specific question about a third-party plugin, ask your vendor.  One other great source of information is ‘The Future of vCenter‘ site which contains a lot of forward looking information about vCenter.

You can read the entire VMware blog about this client news announcement.  As well, you can leave your own thoughts in their comments section like the above three community members.