The Console Proxy along with the VMRC i.e., the VMware Remote Console client in the vCloud Director cell enables a user to view the screen of a specified vApp (VM).

The Console Proxy performs three distinct functions:

1. Provides a single entry point: A VMware vCloud Director installation works with a large number of vCenter servers and ESX/ESXi servers and therefore the Virtual Machines (VM) can be located on many different hosts. The vCD clients are not aware of that however – they communicate only with the Console Proxy in order to open Remote Consoles. It is the only visible entry point for Remote Console communication from the viewpoint of the vCD clients. The Console Proxy is responsible for redirecting the requests to the correct vCenter server and ESX/ESXi servers.
2. HTTPS communication: The VMware vCloud Director clients communicate with the Console Proxy only via HTTPS on port 443. This communication can be channelled through a client's HTTPS proxy as well if needed. The Console Proxy converts the incoming HTTPS communication to the protocols specific to the vCenter server and ESX/ESXi servers.
3. Security: The Console Proxy provides an additional layer of VMware vCloud Director specific security on top of the standard vCenter server security. The Console Proxy assists with the protection of customer Virtual Machines (VMs) in a multi-tenant environment. In this case it ensures that a client in one organization does not get access to the Virtual Machines (VMs) of another organization. The Console Proxy also protects the vCenter and vSphere servers from denial of service attacks. This works through the Console Proxy communicating with the vCenter and ESX/ESXi servers, but only if the connection is made by clients who have already authenticated to the VMware vCloud Director server. Other clients are denied access, and as a result the vSphere servers cannot be subjected with connections from anonymous users.

This test reports the total number of Console Proxy connections to this vCloud Director cell and the number of connections that are currently active.

The measures made by this test are as follows: