VMware WSX 1.1 Released – Check It Out

VMware WSX 1.1 Beta release is available. For those of you who don't know what's WSX is. It's basically a possibility to access VMs that runs under VMware Workstation, remotely by using just a web browser. This opens possibilities for tablets, and an access from different OS without any plugins or software.  The WSX does not has to be necessarily installed on the same system as VMware Workstation is, but it's the best practice. WSX is optimized for remote access, going to details, just for reproducing your mouse wheel scroll for the remote system…

As you can see on the WSX screenshot architecture, it's possible to install the WSX server on another server, in order to scale up for multiple users. Note that concerning the accounts which are used for login to the WSX server, those logins are local logins only. There isn't any AD or LDAP architecture needed to quickly deploy the server.

The product is community supported and deep informations can be gathered through the community forums and there is also a PDF document which outlines the configuration, use cases and details. VMware Workstation 9 – WSX Overview.pdf

Quote from the community page says what's all about:

WSX is a highly experimental service that allows users to access their vSphere and Workstation shared virtual machines via a web browser on a PC, Mac, or mobile device without installing any plug-ins or applications.

Yes, it's experimental product, but so cool that when imagine those possibilities for small group of users, for in-house trainings or demos…. I'm Workstation user and great fan, and I'm looking forward for the future developments of this product.

Here is a screenshot from my lab showing also a legend concerning the icons available on the right bottom of the screen. Those icons allows the interaction with the screen where you can show the VM in Full screen, without the sidebar, send CTRL + Alt + del or show the On Screen Keyboard for using on touch screen devices.

But as said in the PDF, the WSX is not a production ready yet. So there are things that are limited or not working yet. Like that the online keyboard does not support special characters, or that there is no sound support yet. It's because the development team waits for the browser standard to be adopted by the industry, before settle for a final solution.

I highly recommend to check out the community page and if using WSX on regular basis, when you encounter some bugs or have an idea for an improvements. VMware WSX Server – Get it here.  VMware-WSX-Server-e.x.p-1158072.msi ( it's 11Mb file). There is a Linux and Windows versions, both with x32 or x64 support.