vCloud Director v5.1 Console Viewer Incompatible with Firefox v30

Update: vCloud 5.5 (which the gBlock Cloud was recently updated to) will work with Firefox.

As of June 2014, the newest release of Mozilla Firefox (30) is not compatible with the console viewer of the vCloud Environment. Firefox v30 can be used to navigate the environment itself, but when attempting to console into VMs, the browser experiences hang-ups and is ultimately unable to connect.

VMware is aware of this issue, which is caused by a code update with Firefox 30 that is not supported by vCloud Director 5.1. Unfortunately the latest VMware vCloud Director version is v5.5, so we do not expect support patches for minor issues in v5.1. Currently, Internet Explorer 11 (with compatibility mode ON, and Enhanced Security Configuration OFF) works when attempting to use the console from the vCloud Environment.

The current workarounds for the Firefox issue are (1) rolling back to a release before v30 (preferably v29, as it contains many of the same features and look as the newer version) or, alternatively, (2) installing the Firebug plugin. To rollback Firefox to a previously compatible version, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-older-version-of-firefox
2. Scroll down the page, under the header “I still want to downgrade – where can I get the previous version?”
3. Under that heading, choose either the downloader for Firefox 27.0.1 (US English), or choose the link “Directory of other versions and languages”.

a. If you choose to manually locate older versions through the directory, follow that link and scroll near the bottom of the page.
b. Version 29 is available with the links that begin with “29.0.1/” through “29.0b9/”
c. We recommend choosing the latest version of 29, following that link there is another index. Choose win32/ for Windows OS or linux-i686/ for Linux.
d. Choose language (en-US/) and download the stub installer (Firefox Setup Stub 29.0b9.exe).

4. Ensure that the current install of Firefox is uninstalled completely before installing the previous version. While performing the install, make sure to choose “Custom Install” when prompted, and uncheck “Install Mozilla Maintenance Service.” This service will attempt to upgrade the older version of Firefox to the newest, which we do not want.
5. Should that feature be installed anyways, navigate to Services on your computer, and ensure that “Mozilla Maintenance Service” is not running, and not set to startup automatically.

Following these steps should ensure that Mozilla Firefox 29 is properly installed and ready to work with vCloud Director v5.1. 

To install the Firebug browser plugin, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to https://getfirebug.com/, and click the option to Install Firebug (on the upper-right of the main page).
2. Select the Current Stable release (2.0 at this time), and follow the instructions to install Firebug.
3. Once installed, re-launch Firefox. There will be a new button on the upper right of the toolbar (next to Bookmarks + Menu). Click the down arrow, and choose “Open for all webpages” to ensure that it is activated for the vCloud website.
4. If prompted, re-lauch Firefox again. The console should now be operational.

Posted By: NOC Lead Ron Rittenhouse