I have built a lab on my new Dell M4800 laptop using VMware Workstation 10, ESXi 5.1, vCenter 5.1, XenDesktop 7.1, StoreFront 2.1, PVS 7.1 and XenApp 6.5.  When creating my Host and Resources connection in Citrix Studio, I ran into the same error that numerous others have run into, the dreaded “Cannot connect to the vCenter server due to a certificate error”.  I am sure I am like most people and quickly found CTX138640 and tried to work through it.  Maybe others were able to follow the article but I found it sorely lacking in details.  Not being a VMware or Unix person, I had to keep working at it until I got Studio to actually work with an HTTP connection.  This quick article shows what I did to get XenDesktop 7.1 Studio working with an HTTP connection to vCenter 5.1.

Step 1: Install PuTTY

I downloaded PuTTY version 0.63 from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html and placed the EXE on my Windows 7 desktop.

Step 2: Connect to vCenter

I used PuTTY and connected to the IP address of my vCenter.

Step 3: Login to vCenter

Once connected to vCenter, log in using the proper credentials.

Step 4:  Change to the proper directory.

Type in cd /etc/vmware-vpx (Note: this is case sensitive)

Step 5.  Edit proxy.xml using vi

Type in vi proxy.xml (Note: this is case sensitive)

I expanded my PuTTY window to full screen to capture the entire file.

I had to change ALL instances of httpsWithRedirect to httpAndHttps.

Step 6: Save changes in vi.

Press Esc and then type in :wq (that is press the Escape key, then a colon followed by the lower case letters w [write changes] and q [quit vi])

Note: I found this information here.

This returns you to the vCenter shell prompt.

To properly exit the PuTTY session, type exit, press Enter, and the PuTTY session closes.

Note: I found this information here.

Step 7: Restart vCenter

To restart vCenter, I connected to my vCenter appliance using Internet Explorer, logged in and clicked on the System tab.

Click the Reboot button.

On my laptop, it takes about 15 minutes for the vCenter appliance to reboot and allow me to reconnect.  Once the vCenter appliance has rebooted and you are logged in, continue with the next step.

Step 8: Create the Host and Resources connection in Citrix Studio.

Start Citrix Studio and click on the Hosting node.

Click on Add Connection and Resources in the right pane.

Select VMware vSphere for the Host type.

Enter the Address for your vCenter server or appliance as http://<FQDN>/sdk

Enter the login credentials

Enter a Connection name.

Since my lab is for testing PVS 7.1, I selected Other tools.

Click Next.

Click Finish to create the connection.

Click Add Connection and Resources again the right pane.

Select Use an existing connection and click Next.

Click Browse to select the VMware cluster.

Select the cluster and click OK.

Select the Network and click Next.

Select your storage options and click Next.

Enter a name for your Resources and click Finish.

Note: Even though the Summary shows Create Virtual Machines with Machine Creation Services, that is completely wrong and can be ignored if you are using PVS like I am.

You have now successfully connected to vCenter using HTTP and created a host connection and created resources for the host connection.

I would not do this for a production deployment but for a lab, using HTTP to connect to vCenter is perfectly acceptable.   When I searched on how to change the vCenter default SSL certificates, I came across a PDF from VMware that showed there were up to 11 different SSL certificates that would have to be changed.  I said screw that and worked through this process for getting Studio to connect to vCenter using HTTP instead.  I hope you find this information useful.

Thanks

Webster