vSphere Web Client Inventory Tree views containing at least 20 virtual machines cannot expand into a list

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• vSphere Web Client 5.x Inventory Tree views containing at least 20 virtual machines cannot expand the virtual machines into a list.
• vSphere Web Client 6.0 Inventory Tree views containing at least 100 virtual machines cannot expand the virtual machines into a list.
• When you add a sixth virtual machine the first drops from the expanded list.

Environment

VMware vSphere Web Client 5.1.x
VMware vSphere Web Client 6.0.x
VMware vSphere Web Client 5.0.x
VMware vSphere Web Client 5.5.x

Cause

The Inventory Tree shows an aggregate node when the number of objects exceed 20 in vSphere Web Client 5.5 and 100 in 6.0. Up to 5 constituent nodes can be listed beneath an aggregate node. If a sixth node is grown under an aggregate node it pushes out the oldest node in the list. This behavior is by design.

Resolution

To change the default aggregate limit on vSphere 6.0, modify the aggregationThreshold.VirtualMachine in the webclient.properties file (located at /etc/vmware/vsphere-client in the appliance and C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\cfg\vsphere-client for the Windows installation).

For more information, see the vSphere Web Client Back-End Performance Considerations section (page 62) in the Performance Best Practices for VMware vSphere 6.0 guide. However, consider that this can add additional performance overhead to the vSphere Web Client server.

To expand aggregate nodes, select nodes in the left panel in the vSphere Web Client. This shows a list of all the constituent nodes in the central panel.

Alternatively, use the Inventory list instead of the Inventory Tree, which opens the virtual machines in Object Navigator.

To access the Inventory List, click vCenter Server at the top of the left panel or go to the vCenter Server Home at the top of the page.

To use the Object Navigator:

1. In the central pane of the vSphere Web Client, click an item.
2. Click an item with the > sign to bring the item to the top of the Object Navigator pane and display categories of related items beneath it.
3. Click a category with a count to display its related objects in the Object Navigator pane.
   
   Note: There are no restriction on the number of objects listed.