The vSphere administrator attempts to connect to an ESXi host via an SSH client and receives the following security alert: The vSphere administrator needs to determine whether the RSA key…

The Direct Console User Interface displays the SSH key fingerprint of the ESXi host directly on the local console under the Troubleshooting Options or System Customization menu. Because it is accessed out-of-band from the SSH session itself, it provides a trustworthy reference for comparing the fingerprint shown in the security alert. This allows the administrator to confirm they are connecting to the correct host and not a man-in-the-middle.

The vSphere Client connects through vCenter Server and does not expose the raw SSH RSA key fingerprint of an individual ESXi host for out-of-band verification.

The vSphere Web Client similarly routes through vCenter Server and provides no interface to retrieve or display the SSH RSA fingerprint of a specific ESXi host.

The vSphere Management Assistant is a scripting and management appliance used to run vCLI commands, and it does not display the SSH key fingerprint of a target ESXi host.