How to Troubleshoot a User Session on the VMM Self-Service Portal

To help troubleshoot issues with a user's virtual machines, a VMM administrator might occasionally need to view a self-service user's virtual machines as that user sees them in the Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal.

In the VMM Self-Service Portal, users see only the virtual machines that they own and the actions that they have permission to perform on those virtual machines. If a self-service policy for a group provides group ownership of virtual machines, all members of the group see and operate the virtual machines owned by all group members. For more information, see About the Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal.

To help solve an issue for a user, the VMM administrator can log on to the VMM Self-Service Portal in troubleshooting mode by specifying the self-service user's alias. This gives the administrator the user's view of the portal, enabling the administrator to view and work with the user's virtual machines.

Note

VMM administrators can access the VMM Self-Service Portal only in troubleshooting mode. You cannot access the portal under your own account.

Use the following procedure to open the VMM Self-Service Portal in troubleshooting mode by using a Web browser. If you are logged on to the Web server that is hosting the portal, you can open the portal from the All Programs menu.

To open the VMM Self-Service Portal in troubleshooting mode

  1. In a Web browser, specify the portal Web site in one of the following formats:

    —If portal is using a dedicated port, type http:// followed by the computer name of the Web server, a colon, and then the port number. For example, http://WebServer:80.

    —Otherwise, enter the host header for the portal.

  2. To open the Web site, press ENTER.

    Because you are a Virtual Machine Manager administrator, you can access the VMM Self-Service Portal only in troubleshooting mode. A dialog box prompts for the name of the self-service user whose session you want to view.

  3. In the User name box, enter the name of a user who has a self-service policy on the Virtual Machine Manager server that is associated with the portal. You cannot log on under an account that is a Virtual Machine Manager administrator.

    In the portal, you see only the virtual machines that the user owns, and you can perform only the actions that the user's self-service policy allows.

See Also

Concepts

About the Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal

Other Resources

How to Specify the Administrative Contact for Self-Service Users