VM and Container Console Connections

ℹī¸ About Consoles

In the current INFRAX UI, a virtual machine console is opened from the VM details card inside the virtualization area, while a Docker container console is opened from the container details card. VMware uses WebMKS through the video gateway, Proxmox uses VNC through the video gateway, Hyper-V uses RDP to the host with VMConnect, and containers use an SSH session that runs docker exec on the host.

Section Contents

Overview

A console in INFRAX is direct access to the screen and keyboard of a virtual machine or container. This is the right tool when ordinary network protocols are not ready yet, or when you need access to boot, BIOS/UEFI, OS installation, or interactive troubleshooting.

What the current UI shows

Platform Where it opens What it uses Note
VMware VM card, Virtual machine console section WebMKS through /video-gateway Open console button
Proxmox VM card, Virtual machine console section VNC through /video-gateway Open console button
Hyper-V VM card or the hotkey panel button RDP to the host + VMConnect A VM selection dialog can appear first
Docker Container card, actions tab SSH + docker exec Open console button
💡 When to use a console

Use a console for OS installation, network recovery, boot troubleshooting, BIOS/UEFI access, safe mode work, VMConnect on Hyper-V, and interactive Docker debugging. For routine administration, RDP or SSH is usually the better choice.

VMware Consoles

For VMware, the current UI opens the VMware web console from the Virtual machine console section. In session history it appears as WebMKS (VMware Console).

How to open it

  1. Open the Virtualization area and select the VMware node.
  2. Open the required VM card.
  3. In Virtual machine console, click Open console.
  4. The session opens in the embedded connection panel or in a new browser tab, depending on the remote connection mode.
🔑 Credentials

VMware uses credentials from IDENTYX. If the VM already has saved access data, INFRAX fills it in automatically.

What matters

  • The console works even when the guest OS has no network access.
  • This is a web session, so it is recorded when session recording is enabled.
  • The session title is built as VMware Console - {name}.

Proxmox Consoles

For Proxmox, the current UI opens the VM console through a VNC tunnel in the video gateway. In session history it appears as VNC (Virtual Network Computing).

How to open it

  1. Open the Virtualization area and select the Proxmox node.
  2. Open the required VM card.
  3. In Virtual machine console, click Open console.
  4. The session opens in the INFRAX web client through the video gateway.

What matters

  • The console uses VNC and does not depend on the guest OS network setup.
  • The session is recorded as a web session when recording is enabled.
  • The session title is built as Proxmox Console - {name}.

Hyper-V Consoles

For Hyper-V, the current UI opens an RDP session to the host and launches VMConnect for the selected virtual machine. In session history these connections are tied to RDP and Hyper-V Manager.

How to open it from a VM card

  1. Open the Virtualization area and select the Hyper-V node.
  2. Open the required VM card.
  3. In Virtual machine console, click Open console.
  4. INFRAX opens an RDP session to the host and starts VMConnect automatically.

How to open it from the hotkey panel

  1. Connect to the Hyper-V host through RDP.
  2. Open the Hotkeys panel.
  3. Click Open virtual machine console.
  4. Select a VM in the Select a virtual machine dialog.
  5. Click Open console to launch VMConnect.
ℹī¸ Requirements

Hyper-V needs a reachable host IP address and the Hyper-V role installed. If the selected VM cannot be found or the host is unavailable, INFRAX shows an error in the UI.

What matters

  • VMConnect runs inside the host RDP session.
  • If recording is enabled, the session is tracked as a normal web session.
  • The session history uses the Hyper-V Manager label.

Docker Container Consoles

For Docker, the current UI opens an SSH session to the host and then runs docker exec inside the container. You start it from the container card, where the action button is labeled Open console.

How to open it

  1. Open the Docker area and select the required container.
  2. Open the container card.
  3. In the actions area, click Open console.
  4. The session opens through the video gateway in the browser.
🔑 Credentials and shell

You need SSH credentials for the host running Docker and permission to run docker exec. On the backend, /bin/bash is tried first, then /bin/sh, including the sudo fallback.

⚠ī¸ Important

Changes made inside a container do not survive container recreation. Use a Dockerfile or volumes for persistent changes.

Session Recording

All of the console flows above run through the web client, so when recording is enabled they are written to session history and video recording. In session details, the UI uses the same real protocol labels as the rest of the product: WebMKS (VMware Console), VNC (Virtual Network Computing), RDP (Remote Desktop), SSH (Secure Shell), and Hyper-V Manager.

What gets recorded

  • session creation, connection, and disconnect times;
  • the VM or container name;
  • the platform or connection type;
  • the user who opened the console;
  • the host node the session connected to;
  • the total duration.

Where to review history

All connections are visible in the Sessions area together with ordinary RDP, SSH, and VNC sessions.

Use Cases

Installing an OS on a new VM

Open the VMware or Proxmox console, mount the ISO, and complete the OS installation before the network and standard RDP or SSH are available.

Recovering network access

If SSH or RDP is unavailable, open the VM console and fix the network configuration from inside the guest OS.

Working with Hyper-V VMConnect

Use Open virtual machine console in the RDP session to the Hyper-V host to quickly pick a VM and launch VMConnect.

Debugging a Docker container

Open the container console, inspect logs, environment variables, and the file system without logging into the host separately.

Best Practices

Use a console when

  • you are installing or recovering a VM;
  • you need BIOS/UEFI or boot loader access;
  • you are interactively debugging a container;
  • you need VMConnect on Hyper-V;
  • the guest OS network is not ready yet.

Prefer ordinary protocols when

  • you are doing routine administration, where RDP or SSH is enough;
  • you need clipboard-heavy or long-running work;
  • you do not need access to the boot screen.

Quick checks

  • VMware - verify credentials and host reachability.
  • Proxmox - verify node load and network connectivity.
  • Hyper-V - verify host IP, the Hyper-V role, and the selected VM.
  • Docker - verify that the container is running and the user can run docker exec.