VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in in vSphere 6.5

The VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in provides Integrated Windows Authentication and Windows-based smart card functionality.

In this vSphere 6.5 release, the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in replaces the Client Integration Plug-in from vSphere 6.0 releases and earlier. The Enhanced Authentication Plug-in provides Integrated Windows Authentication and Windows-based smart card functionality, which are the only two features carried over from the previous Client Integration Plug-in. The Enhanced Authentication Plug-in can function seamlessly if you already have the Client Integration Plug-in installed on your system from a vSphere release prior to 6.5. There are no conflicts if both plug-ins are installed.

Install the plug-in only once to enable all the functionality the plug-in delivers.

If you install the plug-in from an Internet Explorer browser, you must first disable Protected Mode and enable pop-up windows on your Web browser. Internet Explorer identifies the plug-in as being on the Internet instead of on the local intranet. In such cases, the plug-in is not installed correctly because Protected Mode is enabled for the Internet.

Prerequisites

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, disable Protected Mode.

Procedure

1	Open a Web browser and type the URL for the vSphere Web Client.
2	At the bottom of the vSphere Web Client login page, click Download Enhanced Authentication Plug-in.
3	If the browser blocks the installation either by issuing certificate errors or by running a pop-up blocker, follow the Help instructions for your browser to resolve the problem.
4	Save the plug-in to your computer, and run the executable.
5	Step through the installation wizard for both the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in and the VMware Plug-in Service which are run in succession.
6	When the installations are complete, refresh your browser.
7	On the External Protocol Request dialog, click Launch Application to run the Enhanced Authentication Plug-in. The link to download the plug-in disappears from the login page.