How to change the default HTML5 VM console port in vSphere 5.5?

A couple of weeks back I wrote an article on how to generate a pre-authenticated HTML5 VM console link in vSphere 5.5 which allows a user to access the new HTML5 VM console from any operating system including Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. In the article I also provided a script to automatically generate the HTML5 VM console URL given a VM name which looks something like the following:

http://reflex.primp-industries.com:7331/console/?vmId=vm-23&vmName=VCSA&host=reflex.primp-industries.com&sessionTicket=cst-VCT-5254c455-4340-2185-e149-01ce44b146e1--tp-4A-88-17-7C-F5-D0-79-E6-9D-A1-E3-83-97-52-97-EA-E5-D3-D8-07&thumbprint=4A:88:17:7C:F5:D0:79:E6:9D:A1:E3:83:97:52:97:EA:E5:D3:D8:07

If you have tried out the new HTML5 VM console which is enabled only for a Mac OS X system using the new vSphere Web Client 5.5, you may have noticed it opens up a connection on port 7331 by default. However, this port is actually dynamic and could change if the underlying operating system hosting the vSphere Web Client is already in use. If you are running on the VCSA (vCenter Server Appliance), there is a good chance that this will be the default port but for a Windows based installation, that may or may not be the case.

If you wish to find out what the default port is, you can take a look at the vSphere Web Client log file and search for the keyword "Djetty.port". On the VCSA, the log is located in /var/log/vmware/vsphere-client/logs/vsphere_client_virgo.log and here is a screenshot of what that looks like:

To change the default port, you will need to edit the vSphere Web Client configuration property file located in /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/webclient.properties for the VCSA and there is an equilvent for a Windows system as well. You will need to add the following entry:

html.console.port = PORT-NUMBER

Once you are done, you will need to save your changes and restart the vSphere Web Client service. On the VCSA, to restart the vSphere Web Client you will need to run the following command:

/etc/init.d/vsphere-client restart

Now if we go back to the vSphere Web Client and open the VM console on a Mac OS X system or generate a URL using the script, you should see the HTML5 VM console is now connecting to the new port.