This blog will explain the compatibility concerns associated with the vSphere 6.7 release, and how partners can ensure compatibility for customers using vSphere 6.7. For additional details, be sure to attend the upcoming TAP webinar session:
Upgrade Your Plug-Ins to Maintain Compatibility with vSphere 6.7”
May 10th, 8:00am PST
Background
In the vSphere 6.7 release, the Virgo server (and as a result Spring and Tomcat) was updated to version 3.7.2 to address security vulnerabilities. The newer versions of Virgo, Spring and Tomcat remove some previously deprecated classes and libraries.
Impact
If you used any of these classes or libraries, your plug-in(s) are now incompatible with vSphere 6.7. This incompatibility results in IMMEDIATE impact to our joint customers when they upgrade to vSphere 6.7 and the vSphere 6.7 Web Client.
There are 2 issues faced by customers doing this upgrade:
- Due to missing libraries, the vSphere Web (Flex/Flash) client hangs when an incompatible plug-in is installed. This issue does not impact the vSphere HTML5 client.
- Even after VMware fixes this issue, customers cannot use incompatible partner plug-ins for Day 2 operations using the vSphere Web Client (Flash).
Resolution
- To unblock our customers, VMware has published a KB article to advise our customers on how to work around this issue in the short term. The workaround is to run a script (that VMware provides) that contains commands to whitelist verified and certified plug-ins. Installed plug-ins included in the whitelist will display as “Enabled”, while plug-ins not included in the whitelist will be displayed as “Incompatible.”
- A revert action is also provided to customers to restore to pre-whitelist configuration
VMware will fix the product issue in an Express Patch to address the Web Client hang. Once the patch is installed, customers will no longer have to run the script that disables plug-ins that are not certified to work with vSphere 6.7.
Please Note
The workaround and express patch mentioned above DO NOT address compatibility issues with partner plug-ins that use the classes and libraries missing in the vSphere Web Client (Flash).
You must test to ensure that your plug-in(s) installs and functions successfully with vSphere 6.7 for both clients. Please refer to the document “Upgrading your plug-in to maintain compatibility with vSphere 6.7” for more details.
If your plug-in is incompatible, vSphere 6.7 will display the plug-ins as “Incompatible” in the vSphere Client and vSphere Web Client.
Call to Action
Our joint customers are demanding vSphere Web Client and vSphere Client plug-ins that are compatible with vSphere 6.7. Ensure that you test and update your plug-in now.
- Review document “Upgrading your plug-in to maintain compatibility with vSphere 6.7“
- Email [email protected] to let us know when you will be upgrading and certifying your plug-ins
- Attend the upcoming TAP webinar on this topic scheduled for May 10th at 8am PST
- Submit your updated plug-in certification so your plug-in can be listed on the VCG for vSphere 6.7
For more information, please check out the following links:
SDKs
https://code.vmware.com/web/sdk/67/web-client
https://code.vmware.com/web/sdk/67/client
CERTIFICATION
https://code.vmware.com/group/management/vspherewebclient/certs/6.7
