Redesigning the vSphere Client for Better User Experience

In a recent blog post by Frank Denneman, a discussion was sparked regarding the design of the vCenter client and its potential to perpetuate the myth that resource pools are organizational units. This got me thinking – if we could redesign the vSphere client based on our own experiences, what changes would we make?

First and foremost, I believe a lightweight vCenter Simple Mode client would be incredibly useful for VM admins. This client could be stripped down to only include essential features such as powering on/off, adding networking, and basic monitoring. By doing so, it would help eliminate the confusion surrounding resource pools and allow admins to focus solely on managing their VMs.

Furthermore, I think it would be beneficial to divide the client into specialized sub-topics based on task-based user experiences. For example, a user could select “VM Operations” as their initial choice, and then be limited to only configuring options related to VMs. Within this section, there could be sub-sections such as “Monitoring VMs” and “Configuring VM Settings” to provide an overview of performance and allow admins to easily access the features they need.

Another idea would be to have a simplified experience that is based on the task at hand. For instance, if a user is in the “VM Operations” section, they should only see options related to VMs, rather than being bombarded with all the advanced features of vSphere. This would help to streamline the user experience and make it easier for admins to find what they need.

In addition, I believe it would be beneficial to have a separate client for storage administrators. This client could be limited to only include options related to configuring storage aspects, such as creating LUNs, managing datastores, and monitoring storage performance. By doing so, storage admins would have a more focused experience that is tailored to their specific needs.

Lastly, I think it would be valuable to incorporate a task-based user experience into the client. For example, if a user selects “VM Operations” as their initial choice, they should only see options related to managing VMs. This could include sub-sections such as “Monitoring VMs” and “Configuring VM Settings” to provide an overview of performance and allow admins to easily access the features they need.

In conclusion, while the current vCenter client has its strengths, there are certainly areas where it can be improved. By dividing the client into specialized sub-topics based on task-based user experiences, simplifying the experience based on the task at hand, and creating separate clients for storage administrators, we can make the vSphere client more intuitive and easier to use for VM admins. These changes would not only improve the user experience but also help to eliminate confusion surrounding resource pools and their role in vSphere.