VMware has released the VMware Fusion Technology Preview July 2014 as of Jul 3, 2014. One of the new items included in the Features list was this one:

Support for viewing VMware Fusion Professional to VMware Workstation, VMware ESXi, VMware vSphere servers in the library (File > Connect to Server)

When I investigated, it looks like this feature brings to VMware Fusion something that’s been in VMware Workstation for a while: a way to manage free ESXi and paid vSphere servers.

For more details, see below the jump.

Connecting to an ESXi server from VMware Fusion

1. Launch VMware Fusion Technology Preview July 2014

2. Under the File menu, select Connect to Server…

3. In the login window that appears, enter the server address of your ESXi server, username and password as appropriate.

4. If your ESXi server is using a self-signed certificate, you’ll be warned that Fusion can’t verify the identity of the server. I am using a self-signed cert on my home ESXi server, so I clicked Continue.

5. Next, you should see a new section appear under the Virtual Machines list with the name of your ESXi server.

Once you’re connected, clicking on the name of your ESXi server will give you information on the status of your ESXi server.

Clicking on the individual VMs will give you the ability to access the VM’s settings, as well as the ability to suspend, power on, and make snapshots.

Note: When I tried to create snapshots of the VMs running on my ESXi server, Fusion became unresponsive while the snapshot was created. After about five minutes, the snapshot was created and Fusion resumed normal operation. Deleting snapshots was a much quicker operation.

To open a console window, double-click on one of the listed VMs.

A console window should open up and allow you to have access to your VM and its settings.

Exporting VMs from VMware Fusion to ESXi

To copy a VMware Fusion-built VM to your ESXi server, use the following procedure.

1. Shut down the Fusion VM that you want to copy to your ESXi server.

2. Connect to your ESXi server

3. Drag your shut-down VM into the ESXi server section.

4. A new Upload Virtual Machine window will appear.

5. Select the ESXi datastore that you want to upload your Fusion-built VM into and click the Upload button.

6. The selected VM will upload to the ESXi server.

7. Once the upload is completed, the newly-uploaded VM will appear in your ESXi server’s list of VMs.

At the moment, it does not appear that I can create new VMs directly on my ESXi server without having to first create them in VMware Fusion. Hopefully, this ability will appear in a future release.

As an ESXi user who primarily uses a Mac, I’m pretty happy with the new ESXi management options that I’m seeing in this Fusion Tech Preview release. I’m hoping VMware builds on this to provide ESXi management functionality in VMware Fusion comparable to what Windows users have long enjoyed in VMware Workstation.