Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

ESXi 5.1 vCenter Server 5.1

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Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

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Contents

AboutThisBook

1 ManagingvSpherewithCommandLineInterfaces 7
OverviewofvSphereCommandLineInterfaces 7 UsingthevSphereCommandLineInterface 8 UsingESXCLI 8 ESXCLISyntax 8 RunningESXCLIvCLICommands 9 CommandSyntax 9 CommandSupportwhenHostandvCLIVersionDoNotMatch 9 RunningESXCLICommandsintheESXiShell 9 ESXiShellAccesswiththeDirectConsole 10 EnablingLocalESXiShellAccess 10 UsingtheLocalESXiShell 11 RemoteESXiShellAccesswithSSH 11 EnablingSSHfortheESXiShell 11 UsingtheESXiShellwithSSH 12

2 InstallingvCLI 13
InstallationOverview 13 OverviewofLinuxInstallationProcess 14 InstallingthevCLIPackageonRedHatEnterpriseLinux 16 InstallingRequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforRedHatEnterpriseLinux 16 InstallingthevCLIPackageonRHEL(NoInternetAccess) 16 InstallingvCLIonLinuxSystemswithInternetAccess 17 InstallingRequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforLinuxSystemswithInternetAccess 17 InstallingthevCLIPackageonaLinuxSystemwithInternetAccess 18 RunningCommandsonLinux 19 UninstallingthevCLIPackageonLinux 19 InstallingandUninstallingvCLIonWindows 19 RunningCommandsonWindows 20 UninstallingthevCLIPackageonWindows 20 EnablingCertificateVerification 21 DeployingvMA 21

3 UsingthevSphereCommandLineInterface 23
OverviewofRunningCommands 23 SpecifyingAuthenticationInformation 24 OrderofPrecedenceforvCLIAuthentication 24 UsingaSessionFile 24 UsingEnvironmentVariables 25 UsingaConfigurationFile 25 UsingCommandLineOptions 26 UsingMicrosoftWindowsSecuritySupportProviderInterface 27 vCLIandLockdownMode 27 CommonOptionsforvCLIExecution 27 UsingvCLICommandsinScripts 29
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Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

ESXCLICommandHierarchies 31
esxcliesxcliNamespace 31 esxclifcoeNamespace 31 esxclihardwareNamespace 32 esxcliiscsiNamespace 32 esxclinetworkNamespace 33 esxclischedNamespace 34 esxclisoftwareNamespace 34 esxclistorageNamespace 35 esxclisystemNamespace 36 esxclivmNamespace 36

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About This Book

GettingStartedwithvSphereCommandLineInterfacesgivesanoverviewofcommandlineinterfacesin vSphere 5.0andvSphere5.1andgetsyoustartedwithESXiShellcommandsandvCLI(VMwarevSphere CommandLineInterface)commands.ThisbookalsoincludesinstructionsforinstallingvCLIandareference toconnectionparameters.

Intended Audience
ThisbookisforexperiencedWindowsorLinuxsystemadministratorswhoarefamiliarwithvSphere administrationtasksanddatacenteroperations.

VMware Technical Publications Glossary

VMwareTechnicalPublicationsprovidesaglossaryoftermsthatmightbeunfamiliartoyou.Fordefinitions oftermsastheyareusedinVMwaretechnicaldocumentation,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

Document Feedback
VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhavecomments,sendyour feedbacktodocfeedback@vmware.com.

Related Documentation
ThedocumentationforvCLIisavailableinthevSphereDocumentationCenterandonthevCLI documentationpage.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs,selectVMwareAdministration Products,andselectvSphereCommandLineInterface.

CommandLineManagementinvSphere5forServiceConsoleUsersisatechnicalnoteforuserswhoare currentlyusingESXserviceconsolecommands,scripts,agents,orlogs.Youlearnhowtotransitiontoan offhostimplementationortousetheESXiShellinspecialcases. vSphereCommandLineInterfaceConceptsandExamplespresentsusageexamplesformanycommands,such assettingupsoftwareandhardwareiSCSI,addingvirtualswitches,settingupActiveDirectory authentication,andsoon.ThedocumentincludesthesameexamplewiththeESXCLIcommandandwith thevicfg-command. vSphereCommandLineInterfaceReferenceisareferencetobothESXCLIcommandsandvicfg-commands. Thevicfg-commandhelpisgeneratedfromthePODavailableforeachcommand,runpod2htmlfor anyvicfg-commandtogenerateindividualHTMLfilesinteractively.TheESXCLIreferenceinformation isgeneratedfromtheESXCLIhelp.

ThedocumentationforPowerCLIisavailableinthevSphereDocumentationCenterandonthePowerCLI documentationpage.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs,selectVMwareAdministration Products,andselectvSpherePowerCLIdocumentation.

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Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

ThevSphereSDKforPerldocumentationexplainshowyoucanusethevSphereSDKforPerlandrelated utilityapplicationstomanageyourvSphereenvironment.Thedocumentationincludesinformationaboutthe vSphereSDKforPerlUtilityApplications. ThevSphereManagementAssistantGuideexplainshowtoinstallandusethevSphereManagementAssistant (vMA).vMAisavirtualmachinethatincludesvCLIandotherprepackagedsoftware.SeeDeployingvMA onpage 21. BackgroundinformationforthetasksdiscussedinthisbookisavailableinthevSpheredocumentationset.The vSpheredocumentationconsistsofthecombinedVMwarevCenterServerandESXidocumentation.

Technical Support and Education Resources

Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.Toaccessthecurrentversion ofthisbookandotherbooks,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

Online and Telephone Support

Touseonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductandcontractinformation,and registeryourproducts,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support. Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthefastestresponseon priority1issues.Gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.

Support Offerings
TofindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds,goto http://www.vmware.com/support/services.

VMware Professional Services

VMwareEducationServicescoursesofferextensivehandsonlabs,casestudyexamples,andcoursematerials designedtobeusedasonthejobreferencetools.Coursesareavailableonsite,intheclassroom,andlive online.Foronsitepilotprograms andimplementationbestpractices,VMwareConsultingServicesprovides offeringsto helpyouassess,plan,build,andmanageyourvirtualenvironment.Toaccessinformationabout educationclasses,certificationprograms,andconsultingservices,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/services.

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Managing vSphere with Command-Line Interfaces

vSpheresupportsseveralcommandlineinterfacesformanagingyourvirtualinfrastructureincludingthe vSphereCommandLineInterface(vCLI),asetofESXiShellcommands,andPowerCLI.Youcanchoosethe CLIsetbestsuitedforyourneeds,andwritescriptstoautomateyourCLItasks. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

OverviewofvSphereCommandLineInterfacesonpage 7 UsingthevSphereCommandLineInterfaceonpage 8 UsingESXCLIonpage 8 ESXiShellAccesswiththeDirectConsoleonpage 10 RemoteESXiShellAccesswithSSHonpage 11

Overview of vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

vSphereincludescommandsformanagingdifferentaspectsofyourenvironment,eitherlocallyorremotely.
Command set Description ManagemanyaspectsofanESXihost.YoucanrunESXCLI commandsremotelyorintheESXiShell.

See UsingESXCLIonpage 8 InstallingvCLIon page 13 vSphereCommandLine ConceptsandExamples vSphereManagement AssistantGuide vSphereCommandLine InterfaceReference

ESXCLIcommands

vCLIpackage.InstallthevCLIpackageontheserverofyour choice,ordeployavMAvirtualmachineandtargettheESXi systemthatyouwantmanipulate.YoucanrunESXCLI commandsagainstavCenterServersystemandtargetthe hostindirectly.RunningagainstvCenterServersystemsby usingthe-vihostparameterisrequiredifthehostisin lockdownmode. ESXishell.RunESXCLIcommandsinthelocalESXishellto managethathost.

YoucanalsorunESXCLIcommandsfromthevSpherePowerCLI promptbyusingtheGet-EsxClicmdlet. esxcfg-commands AvailableintheESXiShell.esxcfg-commandsarestillincluded inthisreleasebutaredeprecated.MigratetoESXCLIwhere possible.ESXCLIreplacementsexistformostcommands. IntroducedinvSphere3toallowuserstomanagehostsremotely. InstallthevCLIpackageontheserverofyourchoice,ordeploya vMAvirtualmachineandtargettheESXisystemthatyouwant manipulate. YoucanrunthecommandsagainstESXisystemsoragainsta vCenterServersystem.IfyoutargetavCenterServersystem,use the--vihostoptiontospecifythetargetESXisystem. Note:IftheESXisystemisinlockdownmode,youmustrun commandsagainstthevCenterServersystemthatmanagesyour ESXisystem. CommandLineManagement ofvSphere5forService ConsoleUsers InstallingvCLIonpage 13 vSphereCommandLine ConceptsandExamples vSphereCommandLine InterfaceReference

vicfg-andother vCLIcommands

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Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

Command set VMwarePowerCLI cmdlets

Description VMwarevSpherePowerCLIprovidesaWindowsPowerShell interfacetothevSphereAPI.vSpherePowerCLIincludes PowerShellcmdletsforadministeringvSpherecomponents. vSpherePowerCLIincludesmorethan200cmdlets,asetof samplescripts,andafunctionlibraryformanagementand automation.ThevSphereImageBuilderPowerCLIandthe vSphereAutoDeployPowerCLIareincludedwhenyouinstall thevSpherePowerCLI.

See VMwarePowerCLI documentationset.

localclicommands

SetofcommandsforusewithVMwareTechnicalSupport. localclicommandsareequivalenttoESXCLIcommands,but bypasshostd.Thelocalclicommandsareonlyforsituations whenhostdisunavailableandcannotberestarted.Afteryourun alocalclicommand,youmustrestarthostd.RunESXCLI commandsaftertherestart. Ifyouusealocalclicommandinothersituations,an inconsistentsystemstateandpotentialfailurecanresult.

Using the vSphere Command-Line Interface

ThevCLIcommandsetincludesvicfg-commandsandESXCLIcommands.TheESXCLIcommands includedinthevCLIpackageareequivalenttotheESXCLIcommandsavailableontheESXiShell.Thevicfg- commandsetissimilartothedeprecatedesxcfg-commandsetintheESXiShell. IMPORTANTESXiShellisintendedforexperiencedusersonly.Minorerrorsintheshellcanresultin seriousproblems.InsteadofrunningcommandsdirectlyintheESXiShell,usevCLIorPowerCLI. YoucanrunvCLIcommandsfromaWindowsorLinuxsystem,orusevMA.

InstallthevCLIcommandsetontheWindowsorLinuxsystemfromwhichyouwanttoadministeryour ESXisystemsandrunvCLIcommands.SeeInstallingvCLIonpage 13. DeployavMAvirtualmachinetoanESXisystemandrunvCLIcommandsfromthere.

AfteryouhaveinstalledthevCLIpackageyoucanrunthecommandsinthesetagainstESXihosts.Youmust specifyconnectionparameterswhenyourunavCLIcommand.SeeUsingthevSphereCommandLine Interfaceonpage 23.

Using ESXCLI
YoucanmanagemanyaspectsofanESXihostwiththeESXCLIcommandset.YoucanrunESXCLIcommands asvCLIcommandsorrunthemintheESXiShellintroubleshootingsituations. YoucanalsorunESXCLIcommandsfromthePowerCLIshellbyusingtheGet-EsxClicmdlet.SeethevSphere PowerCLIAdministrationGuideandthevSpherePowerCLIReference. ThesetofESXCLIcommandsavailableonahostdependsonthehostconfiguration.ThevSphere CommandLineInterfaceReferencelistshelpinformationforallESXCLIcommands.Runesxcli --server <MyESXi> --helpbeforeyourunacommandonahosttoverifythatthecommandisdefinedonthehostyou aretargeting.

ESXCLI Syntax
EachESXCLI5commandusesthesamesyntax.
esxcli [dispatcher options] <namespace> [<namespace> ...] <cmd> [cmd options]

dispatcheroptions.Predefinedoptionsforconnectioninformationsuchastargethost,username,andso on.SeeCommonOptionsforvCLIExecutiononpage 27.Notrequiredwhenyourunthecommandin theESXiShell. namespace.GroupsESXCLIcommands.vSphere5.0supportsnestednamespaces.

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Chapter 1 Managing vSphere with Command-Line Interfaces

command.Reportsonormodifiesstateonthesystem.

Running ESXCLI vCLI Commands

YoucanrunanESXCLIvCLIcommandremotelyagainstaspecifichostoragainstavCenterServersystem. Youhavethefollowingchoices:

DeploythevMAapplianceonanESXisystemandauthenticateagainstasetoftargetservers.Youcan thenrunESXCLIcommandsagainstanytargetserverbyspecifyingthe--hostdispatcheroption.No additionalauthenticationisrequired.SeethevSphereManagementAssistantGuide. InstallthevCLIpackageononeofthesupportedWindowsorLinuxsystems.TheESXCLIcommandset isincluded.YoucanruncommandsagainstanESXiorvCenterServersystemifyouspecifyconnection options.SeeInstallingvCLIonpage 13.

Command Syntax
Afterinstallation,runESXCLIcommandsagainstaspecifichostbyfirstspecifyingalldispatcheroptions.If thetargetserverisavCenterServersystem,specifythetargetESXihostbeforeanyESXCLInamespaces, commands,andsupportedoptions.
esxcli --server myESXi --username user1 --password 'my_password' storage nfs list esxcli --server myVCServer --username user1 --password 'my_pwd' --vihost myESXi.mycompany.com storage nfs list

Eachtimeyourunacommand,youmustspecifyauthenticationinformation.SeeUsingthevSphere CommandLineInterfaceonpage 23.

Command Support when Host and vCLI Version Do Not Match

WhenyourunanESXCLIvCLIcommand,youmustknowthecommandssupportedonthetargethost specifiedwith--serverorasavMAtarget.

IfyouruncommandsagainstESXi4.xhosts,ESXCLI4.xcommandsaresupported. IfyouruncommandsagainstESXi5.0hosts,ESXCLI5.0commandsaresupported.ESXCLI5.1 commandsthatwereincludedinESXCLI5.0arealsosupported. IfyouruncommandsagainstESXi5.1hosts,ESXCLI5.1andESXCLI5.0commandsaresupported.

VMwarepartnersmightdevelopcustomESXCLIcommandsthatyoucanrunonhostswherethepartnerVIB hasbeeninstalled. Runesxcli --server <target> --helpforalistofnamespacessupportedonthetarget.Youcandrill downintothenamespacesforadditionalhelp. IMPORTANTESXCLIonESX4.xhostsdoesnotsupporttargetingavCenterServersystem.Youcantherefore notruncommandswith--serverpointingtoavCenterServersystemevenifyouinstallvCLI5.0orvCLI5.1.

Running ESXCLI Commands in the ESXi Shell

ESXCLIcommandsintheESXiShellarefullysupportedunlesstheyaremarkedasinternalintheonlinehelp. TheESXiShellisdisabledbydefault.YoumustenabletheESXiShellbeforeyoucanruncommandsinthe shell.SeeESXiShellAccesswiththeDirectConsoleonpage 10. To run an ESXCLI command in the shell 1 2 Logintotheshell. Runthecommand.Forexample,tolistNASstoragedevices,runthefollowingcommand.
esxcli storage nfs list

Youcanuse--helpatanylevelofesxcliforhelponavailablenamespaces,commands,oroptions.

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Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

ESXi Shell Access with the Direct Console

AnESXisystemincludesadirectconsole(alsocalledDCUI)thatallowsyoutostartandstopthesystemand toperformalimitedsetofmaintenanceandtroubleshootingtasks.ThedirectconsoleincludestheESXiShell, whichisdisabledbydefault.YoucanenabletheESXiShellinthedirectconsoleorbyusingthevSphereClient. Youcanenablelocalshellaccessorremoteshellaccess:

LocalshellaccessallowsyoutologintotheshelldirectlyfromtheDirectConsole.SeeEnablingLocal ESXiShellAccessonpage 10. Remoteshell(SSH)accessallowsyoutoconnecttothehostusingashellsuchasPuTTY,specifyauser nameandpassword,andruncommandsintheshell.

TheESXiShellincludesallESXCLIcommands,asetofdeprecatedesxcfg-commands,andasetof commandsfortroubleshootingandremediation. IMPORTANTAllESXCLIcommandsthatareavailableintheESXiShellarealsoincludedinthevCLIpackage. VMwarerecommendsyouinstallthevCLIpackageonasupportedWindowsorLinuxsystemordeploythe vMAvirtualappliance,andruncommandsagainstyourESXihosts.RuncommandsdirectlyintheESXiShell introubleshootingsituationsonly.

Enabling Local ESXi Shell Access

YoucanenabletheESXiShellfromthedirectconsoleorfromthevSphereClient. Ifyouhaveaccesstothedirectconsole,youcanenabletheESXiShellfromthere. To enable the ESXi Shell in the direct console 1 2 3 AtthedirectconsoleoftheESXihost,pressF2andprovidecredentialswhenprompted. ScrolltoTroubleshootingOptionsandpressEnter. ChooseEnableESXiShellandpressEnter. Ontheleft,EnableESXiShellchangestoDisableESXiShell.Ontheright,ESXiShellisDisabled changestoESXiShellisEnabled. 4 PressEscuntilyoureturntothemaindirectconsolescreen.

Ifyoudonothaveaccesstothedirectconsole,youcanenabletheESXiShellfromthevSphereClient. To enable the local or remote ESXi Shell from the vSphere Client 1 2 3 4 Selectthehost,clicktheConfigurationtab,andclickSecurityProfileintheSoftwarepanel. IntheServicessection,clickProperties. SelectESXiShellandclickOptions. ChangetheESXiShelloptions.

TochangetheStartuppolicyacrossreboots,clickStartandstopwithhostandrebootthehost. Totemporarilystartorstoptheservice,clicktheStartorStopbutton.

ClickOK.

AfteryouhaveenabledtheESXiShell,youcanuseitfromthatmonitororthroughaserialport. TheESXiShelltimeoutsettingspecifieshowlong,inminutes,youcanleaveanunusedsessionopen.By default,thetimeoutfortheESXiShellis0,whichmeansthesessionremainsopenevenifitisunused.Ifyou changethetimeout,forexample,to30minutes,youhavetologinagainafterthetimeoutperiodhaselapsed. NOTEIfyouareloggedinwhenthetimeoutperiodelapses,yoursessionwillpersist.However,theESXiShell willbedisabled,preventingotherusersfromloggingin.

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Chapter 1 Managing vSphere with Command-Line Interfaces

YoucanmodifythetimeoutfromtheDirectConsoleorfromthevSphereClient. To modify the ESXi Shell Timeout

IntheDirectConsole,followthesesteps. a b SelectModifyESXiShelltimeoutandpressEnter. EnterthetimeoutvalueinminutesandpressEnter.

InthevSphereClient,followthesesteps. a b c d IntheConfigurationtabsSoftwarepanel,clickAdvancedSettings. Intheleftpanel,clickUserVars. LocateUserVars.ESXiShellTimeOutandenterthetimeoutvalueinminutes. ClickOK.

Using the Local ESXi Shell

AfteryouenabletheESXiShellinthedirectconsole,youcanuseitfrommaindirectconsolescreenorremotely throughaserialport. To use the local ESXi Shell 1 2 Atthemaindirectconsolescreen,pressAltF1toopenavirtualconsolewindowtothehost. Providecredentialswhenprompted. Whenyoutypethepassword,charactersarenotdisplayedontheconsole. 3 4 5 Entershellcommandstoperformmanagementtasks. Tologout,typeexitintheshell. Toreturntothedirectconsole,typeAltF2.

SeevSphereInstallationandSetupdocumentationforinformationonserialportsetup.

Remote ESXi Shell Access with SSH

IfSecureShellisenabledfortheESXiShell,youcanrunshellcommandsbyusingaSecureShellclientsuch asSSHorPuTTY.

Enabling SSH for the ESXi Shell

Bydefault,remotecommandexecutionisdisabledonanESXihost,andyoucannotlogintothehostusinga remoteshell.YoucanenableremotecommandexecutionfromthedirectconsoleorfromthevSphereClient. To enable SSH access in the direct console 1 2 3 AtthedirectconsoleoftheESXihost,pressF2andprovidecredentialswhenprompted. ScrolltoTroubleshootingOptionsandpressEnter. ChooseEnableSSHandpressEnteronce. Ontheleft,EnableSSHchangestoDisableSSH.Ontheright,SSHisDisabledchangestoSSHis Enabled. 4 PressEscuntilyoureturntothemaindirectconsolescreen.

To enable SSH from the vSphere Client 1 2 SelectthehostandclicktheConfigurationtab. ClickSecurityProfileintheSoftwarepanel.

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Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

3 4 5

IntheServicessection,clickProperties. SelectSSHandclickOptions. ChangetheSSHoptions.

TochangetheStartuppolicyacrossreboots,clickStartandstopwithhostandrebootthehost. Totemporarilystartorstoptheservice,clicktheStartorStopbutton.

ClickOK.

AfteryouhaveenabledSSH,youlogintotheESXiShellremotelyandrunESXiShellcommands.

Using the ESXi Shell with SSH

IfSSHisenabledonyourESXihost,youcanruncommandsonthatshellusinganSSHclient. To access the remote ESXi Shell 1 2 OpenanSSHclient. SpecifytheIPaddressordomainnameoftheESXihost. PrecisedirectionsvarydependingontheSSHclientthatyouareusing.Seevendordocumentationand support. 3 Providecredentialswhenprompted.

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Installing vCLI

YoucaninstallavCLIpackageonaLinuxoraMicrosoftWindowssystem,ordeploythevSphere ManagementAssistant(vMA)onanESXihost. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

InstallationOverviewonpage 13 OverviewofLinuxInstallationProcessonpage 14 InstallingthevCLIPackageonRedHatEnterpriseLinuxonpage 16 InstallingvCLIonLinuxSystemswithInternetAccessonpage 17 RunningCommandsonLinuxonpage 19 UninstallingthevCLIPackageonLinuxonpage 19 InstallingandUninstallingvCLIonWindowsonpage 19 RunningCommandsonWindowsonpage 20 EnablingCertificateVerificationonpage 21 DeployingvMAonpage 21

Installation Overview
YoucaninstallavCLIpackageonasupportedplatformordeploythevMAvirtualmachineonanESXihost.

vCLIpackages.InstallavCLIpackageonaphysicalorvirtualmachine.SeeInstallingthevCLIPackage onRedHatEnterpriseLinuxonpage 16,InstallingvCLIonLinuxSystemswithInternetAccesson page 17,andInstallingandUninstallingvCLIonWindowsonpage 19. ThevCLIinstallerinstallsbothvSphereSDKforPerlandvCLIbecausevCLIcommandsrunontopofthe vSphereSDKforPerl.Thecontentsoftheinstallerpackagediffersfordifferentplatforms.

Platform Windows RedHatEnterprise Linux Installation Process TheinstallationpackageincludesvCLI,vSphereSDKforPerl,andprerequisitePerl modules. Youmustinstallrequiredsoftware.SeeInstallingRequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforRed HatEnterpriseLinuxonpage 16. IfyouhaveInternetaccess,RHELdownloadsPerlmodulesfromCPAN. IfyoudonothaveInternetaccess,theinstallerinstallsPerlmodulesthatitdoesnotfind onyoursystemfromtheinstallerpackage. SLESandUbuntu YoumustinstallrequiredsoftwareandyoumusthaveInternetaccess.SeeInstalling RequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforLinuxSystemswithInternetAccessonpage 17. TheinstallerdownloadsotherPerlmodulesfromCPAN.

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vSphere SDK for Perl Installation Guide

Afterinstallation,youcanrunvCLIcommandsandvSphereSDKforPerlutilityapplicationsfromthe operatingsystemcommandline.Eachtimeyourunacommand,youspecifythetargetserverconnection optionsdirectlyorindirectly.YoucanalsowritescriptsandmanageyourvSphereenvironmentusing thosescripts.

vMA.DeployvMA,avirtualmachinethatadministratorscanusetorunscriptsthatmanagevSphere,on anESXihost.vMAincludesvCLI,vSphereSDKforPerl,andotherprepackagedsoftwareinaLinux environment. vMAsupportsnoninteractivelogin.IfyouestablishanESXihostasatargetserver,youcanrunvCLIand vSphereSDKforPerlcommandsagainstthatserverwithoutadditionalauthentication.Ifyouestablisha vCenterServersystemasatargetserver,youcanrunmostvCLIcommandsagainstallESXisystemsthat servermanageswithoutadditionalauthentication.SeeDeployingvMAonpage 21.

Overview of Linux Installation Process

TheinstallationscriptforvCLIissupportedonthefollowingLinuxdistributions:

RedHatEnterpriseLinux5.5Server(32bitand64bit) SLES10SP1(32bitand64bit) SLES11(32bitand64bit) SLES11SP1(32bitand64bit) Ubuntu10.04(32bitand64bit)

ThevCLIpackageinstallerinstallsthevCLIscriptsandthevSphereSDKforPerl.Theinstallationproceedsas follows. 1 Theinstallercheckswhetherthefollowingrequiredprerequisitepackagesareinstalledonthesystem:

Perl OpenSSL Perlversion5.8.8orversion5.10mustbeinstalledonyoursystem. ThevCLIrequiresSSLbecausemostconnectionsbetweenthesystemonwhichyourunthecommand andthetargetvSpheresystemareencryptedwithSSL. TheOpenSSLlibrary(libssl-devpackage)isnotincludedinthedefaultLinuxdistribution.See InstallingRequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforRedHatEnterpriseLinuxonpage 16andInstalling RequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforLinuxSystemswithInternetAccessonpage 17. LibXML2 UsedforXMLparsing.ThevCLIclientrequires2.6.26orhigherversion.Ifyouhaveanolderversion installed,pleaseupgradeto2.6.26orhigher. Thelibxml2packageisnotincludedinthedefaultLinuxdistribution.SeeInstallingRequired PrerequisiteSoftwareforRedHatEnterpriseLinuxonpage 16andInstallingRequiredPrerequisite SoftwareforLinuxSystemswithInternetAccessonpage 17. uuid Includedinuuid-devforSLES11andine2fsprogsforotherLinuxplatforms.RequiredbytheUUID Perlmodule.

Iftherequiredsoftwareisfound,theinstallerproceeds.Otherwise,theinstallerstopsandinformsyou thatyoumustinstallthesoftware.SeeInstallingRequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforRedHatEnterprise Linuxonpage 16andInstallingRequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforLinuxSystemswithInternet Accessonpage 17forinstructions. TheinstallercheckswhetherthefollowingPerlmodulesarefound,andwhetherthecorrectversionis installed.

CryptSSLeay0.55(0.550.9.7or0.550.9.8) IOCompressBase2.037 CompressZlib2.037 IOCompressZlib2.037 CompressRawZlib2.037 ArchiveZip1.28 DataDumper2.121

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XMLLibXML1.63 libwwwperl5.805 LWPProtocolhttps6.02 XMLLibXMLCommon0.13 XMLNamespaceSupport1.09 XMLSAX0.16 DataDump1.15 URI1.37 UUID0.03 SOAPLite0.710.08 HTMLParser3.60 version0.78 ClassMethodMaker2.10

EarlierversionsoflibwwwperlincludetheLWPProtocolhttpsmodule.Veryrecentversionsof libwwwperldonotincludetheLWPProtocolhttpsmoduleandyouhavetoinstallthatmodule. NOTEIfyouintendtorunvCLIcommandswithSSLcertification,besuretocheckthatLWP::UserAgent 6.00orlaterisinstalled.Theinstallerdoesnotcheckthismodule,andearlierversionsdonotworkwith SSL. 4 TheinstallerproceedsdependingontheLinuxdistribution.

Linux distribution RHEL(NoInternet access) Installer behavior OnRHEL,theinstallerallowsyoutoinstallPerlmoduleswithCPANifInternetaccessis available. IfnoInternetaccessisavailable,andifarecommendedPerlmoduleisnotfoundatall,the installerinstallsit.Ifadifferentversionofthemoduleisfound,theinstallerdoesnotinstall itandproceedswiththeinstallationprocess.Attheendoftheinstallationprocess,the installerinformsyouiftheversiononthesystemdoesnotmatchtherecommended version,andrecommendsthatyouinstalltheversionvCLIwastestedwith.Youcaninstall themodulesusingthepackageinstallerforyourplatform,theinstallationCD,orCPAN. Note:TheinstallerdoesnotoverwriteexistingversionsofrecommendedPerlmodules. Youmustexplicitlyupdatethosemodulesyourself. AllLinux distributions (Internetaccess) TheinstallerproceedsdependingonwhetherthePerlmodulesarefound.

IfarecommendedPerlmoduleisnotfoundatall,theinstallerinstallsitusingCPAN. YoumustmeettheinstallationprerequisitesortheinstallercannotinstallthePerl modulesandstops.SeeInstallingvCLIonLinuxSystemswithInternetAccesson page 17. Ifalowerversionofarecommendedmoduleisfound,theinstallerdoesnotinstalla differentversionfromCPANandproceedswithinstallation.Aftercompleting installation,theinstallerdisplaysamessagethattheversiononthesystemdoesnot matchtherecommendedversion,andrecommendsthatyouinstalltheversionvCLI wastestedwith.Youcaninstallthemodulesusingthepackageinstallerforyour platform,theinstallationCD,orCPAN. Ifahigherversionofarecommendedmoduleisfound,theinstallerproceedswith installationanddoesnotdisplayamessageafterinstallation.

Note:TheinstallerdoesnotoverwriteexistingversionsofrecommendedPerlmodules. Youmustexplicitlyupdatethosemodulesyourself.

AfterallrequiredsoftwareandallprerequisitePerlmodulesareinstalled,youcaninstallvCLI.See InstallingthevCLIPackageonRedHatEnterpriseLinuxonpage 16andInstallingthevCLIPackage onaLinuxSystemwithInternetAccessonpage 18.

IfapreviousversionofvCLI,RemoteCLI,orvSphereSDKforPerlisinstalledonyoursystem,andyouinstall vCLIinadifferentdirectory,youmustresetthePATHenvironmentvariable.Youcandosobeforeorafterthe installation,usingthecommandappropriateforyourdistributionandshell(setenv,export,andsoon).If youdonotresetthepath,thesystemmightstilllookforexecutablesintheoldlocation.

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vSphere SDK for Perl Installation Guide

Installing the vCLI Package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

vCLIissupportedonRedHatEnterpriseLinux5.5Server,32bitand64bit.OnRHEL,thevSphereSDKfor PerlinstallerpromptsyouwhetheryouwanttoinstallrequiredPerlmodulesfromtheinstallationpackageor fromCPAN.Followthesestepstoinstallthesoftware. 1 2 Installrequiredprerequisitesoftware.SeeInstallingRequiredPrerequisiteSoftwareforRedHat EnterpriseLinuxonpage 16. Whenprompted,directtheinstallertoinstalladditionalprerequisitesfromtheinstallationpackage(see InstallingthevCLIPackageonRHEL(NoInternetAccess)onpage 16)orfromCPAN(seeInstalling thevCLIPackageonaLinuxSystemwithInternetAccessonpage 18)

Installing Required Prerequisite Software for Red Hat Enterprise Linux

PrerequisitesoftwareonRHELincludesrequiredsoftwareandrecommendedPerlmodules. Required Software Ifrequiredsoftwareisnotinstalled,thevCLIinstallerstops.Youcaninstallprerequisitesusingyum,theRHEL packageinstaller(recommended),orfromtheinstallationDVD. Forexample,ifbothOpenSSLdevelopmentlibraries,libXML2,ande2fsprogsaremissing,typethe followingatacommandprompt:
yum install openssl-devel libxml2-dev e2fsprogs-dev

Recommended Perl Modules Whentheinstallerfinishes,itmightissueawarningthattheversionofamoduleinstalledonyoursystemdoes notmatchtheversionwithwhichvCLIwastested.InstallthatversionusingyumorCPANtoresolvetheissue. SeeOverviewofLinuxInstallationProcessonpage 14foracompletelistofmodules. NOTETheinstallerdoesnotoverwriteexistingPerlmodules.

Installing the vCLI Package on RHEL (No Internet Access)

BeforeyouinstallvCLI,youmustremoveallpreviousversionsofthatsoftware.Theprocessdiffersfrom simplyuninstallingvCLI. To remove previous versions of vCLI 1 Runtheuninstallscript,forexample,ifyouinstalledvCLIinthedefaultlocation,runthefollowing command:
/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-vSphere-CLI.pl

DeleteexistingversionsofvSphere-CLI.xxxx.tar.gzanddeletethevmware-vsphere-cli-distrib directory.

To install vCLI on RHEL 1 UntarthevCLIbinarythatyoudownloaded.

tar zxvf VMware-vSphere-CLI-5.X.X-XXXXX.i386.tar.gz

Avmware-vsphere-vcli-distribdirectoryiscreated. 2 Loginassuperuserandruntheinstaller:
/<location>/sudo vmware-vsphere-cli-distrib/vmware-install.pl

3 4 5

Toacceptthelicenseterms,typeyesandpressEnter. ToinstallPerlmoduleslocally,typeyesandpressEnter. Specifyaninstallationdirectory,orpressEntertoacceptthedefault,whichis/usr/bin.

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Acompleteinstallationprocesshasthefollowingresult:

Asuccessmessageappears. Theinstallerlistsdifferentversionnumbersforrequiredmodules(ifany). Thepromptreturnstotheshellprompt.

Ifyouacceptedthedefaultsduringinstallation,youcanfindtheinstalledsoftwareinthefollowinglocations:

vCLIscripts/usr/bin vSphereSDKforPerlutilityapplications/usr/lib/vmware-vcli/apps vSphereSDKforPerlsamplescripts/usr/share/doc/vmware-vcli/samples

SeethevSphereSDKforPerldocumentationforareferencetoallutilityapplications. AfteryouinstallthevCLI,youcantesttheinstallationbyrunningacommandfromthecommandprompt.See RunningCommandsonLinuxonpage 19.

Installing vCLI on Linux Systems with Internet Access

BeforeyoucaninstallthevCLIpackageonaLinuxsystemwithInternetaccess,thatsystemmustmeet followingprerequisites.

Internetaccess.YoumusthaveInternetaccesswhenyouruntheinstallerbecausetheinstallerusesCPAN toinstallprerequisitePerlmodules. DevelopmentToolsandLibraries.YoumustinstalltheDevelopmentToolsandLibrariesfortheLinux platformthatyouareworkingwithbeforeyouinstallvCLIandprerequisitePerlmodules. Proxysettings.IfyoursystemisusingaproxyforInternetaccess,youmustsetthehttp://andftp:// proxies,asfollows:

export http_proxy=<proxy_server>:port export ftp_proxy=<proxy_server>:port

Installing Required Prerequisite Software for Linux Systems with Internet Access
Ifrequiredprerequisitesoftwareisnotinstalled,theinstallerstopsandrequeststhatyouinstallit.Installation ofprerequisitesoftwaredependsontheplatformthatyouareusing. Table 2-1. Installing Required Prerequisite Software
Platform RHEL5.5,32bit RHEL5.5,64bit SLES10,32bit SLES10,64bit Installation Installprerequisitesusingyum,theRHELpackageinstaller(recommended),orfromthe installationDVD.Forexample: yum install openssl-devel libxml2-dev e2fsprogs-dev InstalltheprerequisitepackagesfromtheSLES10andSLES11SDKDVD.Whenyouinsertthe DVD,itofferstoautorun.Canceltheautorundialogboxandusetheyastpackageinstallerto installOpenSSLorothermissingrequiredpackages.

SLES10,64bit.yast -i openssl-devel libxml2-devel-32bit e2fsprogs-devel-32bit SLES10,32bit.yast -i openssl-devel libxml2-devel e2fsprogs-devel

SomeusersmightbeauthorizedtousetheNovellCustomerCenteranduseyasttoretrieve missingpackagesfromthere. NotethatSLES10includeslibxml2version2.6.23.ThevCLIclientrequire2.6.26orhigher. Upgradeto2.6.26orhigher.

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Table 2-1. Installing Required Prerequisite Software

Platform SLES11,32bit SLES11SP1,32bit SLES11,64bit SLES11SP1,64bit Installation InstalltheprerequisitepackagesfromtheSLES10andSLES11SDKDVD.Whenyouinsertthe DVD,itofferstoautorun.Canceltheautorundialogboxandusetheyastpackageinstallerto installOpenSSLorothermissingrequiredpackages.

SLES1164bit.yast -i openssl-devel libuuid-devel libuuid-devel-32bit SLES1132bit.yast -i openssl-devel libuuid-devel

SomeusersmightbeauthorizedtousetheNovellCustomerCenteranduseyasttoretrieve missingpackagesfromthere. Ubuntu10.04,32bit Ubuntu10.04,64bit 1.ConnecttotheInternet. 2.Updatethelocalrepositoryoflibrariesfromaterminalwindow. sudo apt-get update 3.Installtherequiredlibrariesfromaterminalwindow.

32bit.sudo apt-get install build-essential gcc uuid uuid-dev perl libssl-dev perl-doc liburi-perl libxml-libxml-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl 64bit.sudo apt-get install ia32-libs build-essential gcc uuid uuid-dev perl libssl-dev perl-doc liburi-perl libxml-libxml-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl

ForUbuntu10.0464bit,youmustinstallthe32bitcompatibilitylibrariesortheresxtopand

ESXCLIcommandsdonotwork.

Installing the vCLI Package on a Linux System with Internet Access

InstallthevCLIpackageandrunacommandtoverifyinstallationwassuccessful. To install vCLI 1 2 Loginasroot. UntarthevCLIbinarythatyoudownloaded.
tar zxvf VMware-vSphere-CLI-5.X.X-XXXXX.i386.tar.gz

Avmware-vsphere-vcli-distribdirectoryiscreated. 3 (Optional)IfyourserverusesaproxytoaccesstheInternet,andifyourhttp://andftp://proxywere notsetwhenyouinstalledprerequisitesoftware,setthemnow.

export http_proxy=<proxy_server>:port export ftp_proxy=<proxy_server>:port

Runtheinstaller:
sudo vmware-vsphere-cli-distrib/vmware-install.pl

Toacceptthelicenseterms,typeyesandpressEnter. TheinstallerconnectstoCPANandinstallsprerequisitesoftware.Establishingaconnectionmighttakea longtime.

OnRHEL,whenpromptedtoinstallprecompiledPerlmodules,typenoandpressEntertouseCPAN TheinstallerconnectstoCPANandinstallsprerequisitesoftware.Establishingaconnectionmighttakea longtime.

Specifyaninstallationdirectory,orpressEntertoacceptthedefault,whichis/usr/bin. Acompleteinstallationprocesshasthefollowingresult:

Asuccessmessageappears. Theinstallerlistsdifferentversionnumbersforrequiredmodules(ifany). Thepromptreturnstotheshellprompt.

Ifyouacceptedthedefaultsduringinstallation,youcanfindtheinstalledsoftwareinthefollowinglocations:

vCLIscripts/usr/bin

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vSphereSDKforPerlutilityapplications/usr/lib/vmware-vcli/apps vSphereSDKforPerlsamplescripts/usr/share/doc/vmware-vcli/samples

SeethevSphereSDKforPerldocumentationforareferencetoallutilityapplications.AfteryouinstallvCLI, youcantesttheinstallationbyrunningavCLIcommandorvSphereSDKforPerlutilityapplicationfromthe commandprompt.

Running Commands on Linux

Afterinstallation,youcanrunvCLIcommandsandvSphereSDKforPerlutilityapplicationsatthecommand prompt. To run a vCLI command on Linux 1 2 3 Openacommandprompt. (Optional)ChangetothedirectorywhereyouinstalledthevCLI(defaultis/usr/bin). Runthecommand,includingtheconnectionoptions.
<command> <conn_options> <params>

Specifyconnectionoptionsinaconfigurationfileorpassthemonthecommandline.Theextension.pl isnotrequiredonLinux.Forexample:
esxcli --server <server> --username snow\-white --password dwarf\$ network ip interface list vicfg-mpath --server <server> --username snow\-white --password dwarf\$ --list

Thesystempromptsyouforausernameandpasswordforthetargetserver. SeeTable 32,vCLIConnectionOptions,onpage 28foracompletelistofconnectionoptions.

Uninstalling the vCLI Package on Linux

YoucanuseascriptincludedintheinstallationtouninstallthevCLIpackage. To uninstall vCLI on Linux 1 2 ChangetothedirectorywhereyouinstalledvCLI(defaultis/usr/bin). Runthevmware-uninstall-vSphere-CLI.pl script. ThecommanduninstallsvCLIandthevSphereSDKforPerl.

Installing and Uninstalling vCLI on Windows

BeforeyoucanrunvCLIcommandsfromyourWindowsystem,youmustinstallthevCLIpackageandtest theinstallationbyrunningacommand. ThevCLIinstallationpackageforWindowsincludestheActivePerlruntimefromActiveStateSoftwareand requiredPerlmodulesandlibraries.ThevCLIissupportedonthefollowingWindowsplatforms:

WindowsVistaEnterpriseSP132bitand64bit Windows200864bit Windows732bitand64bit

IMPORTANTIfyouwanttorunESXCLIcommandsincludedinvCLIfromaWindowssystem,youmusthave theVisualC++2008redistributablefor32bitinstalledonthatsystem.Findvcredist_x86.exeforVisualC++ 2008andinstallitonyourWindowssystem. To install the vCLI Package on Windows 1 DownloadthevCLIWindowsinstallerpackage. YoucanfindtheinstallerontheVMwareCommunitiespage.

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2 3

Starttheinstaller. (Optional)IfpromptedtoremoveolderversionsofvSphereSDKforPerlorvCLI,youcaneitheraccept orcanceltheinstallationandinstallthevCLIpackageonadifferentsystem. IMPORTANTTheinstallerreplacesboththevSphereSDKforPerlandvCLI.Tokeepanolderversion, installthispackageonadifferentsystem.

4 5

ClickNextintheWelcomepage. ToinstallthevCLIinanondefaultdirectory,clickChangeandselectthedirectory. ThedefaultlocationisC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI.

6 7

ClickNext. ClickInstalltoproceedwiththeinstallation. Theinstallationmighttakeseveralminutestocomplete.

Rebootyoursystem. Withoutreboot,pathsettingsmightnotbecorrectonyourWindowsplatform.

Running Commands on Windows

AfteryouinstallvCLIandrebootyoursystem,youcantesttheinstallationbyrunningavCLIorSDKforPerl commandfromtheWindowscommandprompt. To run a vCLI command on Windows 1 FromtheWindowsStartmenu,choosePrograms>VMware>VMwarevSphereCLI>Command Prompt. AcommandpromptshellforthelocationwherevCLIisinstalledappears.YouhaveeasyaccesstovCLI andtovSphereSDKforPerlcommandsfromthatlocation. 2 Runthecommand,passinginconnectionoptionsandotheroptions. OnWindows,theextension.plisrequiredforvicfg-commands,butnotforESXCLI.
<command>.pl <conn_options> <params>

Forexample:
esxcli --server <server> --username snow-white --password dwarf$ network ip interface list vicfg-mpath.pl --server <server> --username snow-white --password dwarf$ --list

Thesystempromptsyouforausernameandpassword. SeeTable 32,vCLIConnectionOptions,onpage 28foracompletelistofconnectionoptions.

Uninstalling the vCLI Package on Windows

YoucanuninstallthevCLIpackageasyouwouldotherprograms. To uninstall vCLI on Windows 1 2 3 FindtheoptionforaddingandremovingprogramsontheWindowsoperatingsystemyouareusing. Inthepanelthatappears,selectVMwarevSphereCLI,andclickRemove. ClickYeswhenprompted.

ThesystemuninstallsthevSphereSDKforPerl,thevCLI,andallprerequisitesoftware.

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Enabling Certificate Verification

ThevSphereSDKforPerlandvCLIuseCrypt::SSLEaytosupportcertificateverification.Crypt::SSLEay allowsverificationofcertificatessignedbyaCertificateAuthority(CA)ifyousetthefollowingtwovariables:

HTTPS_CA_FILETheCAfile. HTTPS_CA_DIRTheCAdirectory.

SeetheCrypt::SSLEaydocumentationfordetailsonsetup. CAUTIONIfthetwoenvironmentvariablesHTTPS_CA_FILEandHTTPS_CA_DIRaresetincorrectlyorifa problemwiththecertificateexists,vCLIcommandsdonotcomplete,anddonotprinterrororwarning messages.UseHTTPS_DEBUGfortroubleshootingbeforerunningvCLIcommands.

Deploying vMA
Asanalternativetoapackageinstallation,youcandeployvMAonanESXihostandrunvCLIcommandsfrom there.vMAisavirtualmachineyoucanusetorunscriptstomanageESXisystems.vMAincludesaLinux environment,vCLI,andotherprepackagedsoftware. SettingupvMAconsistsofafewtasks.ThevSphereManagementAssistantGuidediscusseseachtaskindetail. 1 DeployvMAtoanESXisystemthatmeetsthehardwareprerequisites. SeethevSphereManagementAssistantGuideforprerequisitesanddeploymentdetails. 2 ConfigurevMA. WhenyoubootvMA,youmustspecifythefollowingrequiredconfigurationinformationwhen prompted:

Networkinformation(thedefaultisoftenacceptable) HostnameforvMA. Passwordfortheviadminuser.TheviadminuserhassuperuserprivilegesonvMA.Youcannotlog intovMAastherootuser.

(Optional)AddavCenterServersystemoroneormoreESXisystemsastargets.YouconfigurevMAfor ActiveDirectoryauthenticationandcanthenaddESXiandvCenterServersystemstovMAwithout havingtostorepasswordsinthevMAcredentialstore.SeethevSphereManagementAssistantGuide.

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Using the vSphere Command-Line Interface

YoucanrunvSphereCommandLineInterface(vCLI)commandsfromthecommandlineofthesystemwhere youinstalledthepackage,fromthevMAcommandline,andfromscripts.Eachcommandrequiresata minimumthetargetservertorunthecommandon.Usersauthorizedtoruncommandsonthetargetserver donothavetospecifyauthenticationinformation.Otherusersmustspecifyauthenticationinformation. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

OverviewofRunningCommandsonpage 23 SpecifyingAuthenticationInformationonpage 24 CommonOptionsforvCLIExecutiononpage 27 UsingvCLICommandsinScriptsonpage 29

IMPORTANTIfanESXisystemthatyoutargetisinlockdownmode,youcannotrunvCLIcommandsagainst thatsystemdirectly.YoumusttargetavCenterServersystemthatmanagestheESXisystemandusethe --vihostoptiontospecifytheESXitarget.SeevCLIandLockdownModeonpage 27.

Overview of Running Commands

YoucanrunvCLIcommandsinteractivelyorinscriptsinseveralways.

OpenacommandpromptonaLinuxorWindowssystemonwhichyouinstalledvCLI.Entercommands intothatcommandprompt,specifyingconnectionoptions. AccessthevMALinuxconsole.SetuptargetserversandrunvCLIcommandsagainstthetargetswithout additionalauthentication. PreparescriptsthatcontainvCLIcommands.Thenrunthescriptsfromaremoteadministrationserver thathasthevCLIpackageinstalledorfromthevMALinuxconsole.SeeUsingvCLICommandsin Scriptsonpage 29.

WhenyouruncommandsagainstanESXihost,youmustbeauthenticatedforthathost.Whenyourun commandsagainstavCenterServersystem,andyouareauthenticatedforthatsystem,youcantargetallESXi hoststhatvCenterServermanageswithoutadditionalauthentication.SeeSpecifyingAuthentication Informationonpage 24. CAUTIONIfyouspecifypasswordsinplaintext,youriskexposingthepasswordtootherusers.Thepassword mightalsobecomeexposedinbackupfiles.Donotprovideplaintextpasswordsonproductionsystems.

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Followoneofthefollowingapproachesforprotectingpasswords.

IfyouuseavCLIcommandinteractivelyanddonotspecifyausernameandpassword,youareprompted forthem.Thescreendoesnotechothepasswordyoutype. Fornoninteractiveuse,youcancreateasessionfileusingthesave_sessionscriptincludedinthe apps/sessiondirectory.SeeUsingaSessionFileonpage 24. IfyouarerunningonaWindowssystem,youcanusethe--passthroughauthoption.Iftheuserwho runsthecommandwiththatoptionisknown,nopasswordisrequired.

IfyouarerunningvMA,youcansetuptargetserversandrunmostvCLIcommandsagainsttargetservers withoutadditionalauthentication.SeethevSphereManagementAssistantGuide.

Specifying Authentication Information

vCLIallowsyoutorunagainstmultipletargetserversfromthesameadministrationserver.Youmusthave thecorrectprivilegestoperformtheactionsoneachtarget. IMPORTANTvCLI4.1andlaterallowsadministratorstoplaceESXihostsinlockdownmodeforenhanced security.OnlyavCLIcommandoravSphereClientconnectedtoavCenterServersystemcanmakechanges toESXihostsinlockdownmode.Nousers,noteventherootuser,canrunvCLIcommandsagainstESXihosts inlockdownmode.SeevCLIandLockdownModeonpage 27andtheDatacenterAdministrationGuide.

Order of Precedence for vCLI Authentication

WhenyourunavCLIcommand,authenticationhappensintheorderofprecedenceshowninTable 31.This orderofprecedencealwaysapplies.Thatmeans,forexample,thatyoucannotoverrideanenvironment variablesettinginaconfigurationfile. Table 3-1. vCLI Authentication Precedence
Authentication Commandline Description Password(--password),sessionfile (--sessionfile),orconfigurationfile (--config)specifiedonthecommandline. Passwordspecifiedinanenvironmentvariable. Passwordspecifiedinaconfigurationfile. Currentaccountinformationusedtoestablish anSSPIconnection.AvailableonlyonWindows. Passwordretrievedfromthecredentialstore. Passwordisnotechoedtoscreen. See UsingaSessionFileonpage 24

Environment variable Configurationfile Currentaccount (ActiveDirectory) Credentialstore Prompttheuserfor apassword.

UsingEnvironmentVariablesonpage 25 UsingaConfigurationFileonpage 25 UsingMicrosoftWindowsSecuritySupport ProviderInterfaceonpage 27 vSphereWebServicesSDKProgrammingGuide andvSphereSDKforPerlProgrammingGuide.

Using a Session File

Youcancreateasessionfilewiththesave_sessionscript.Thescriptisinthe/apps/sessiondirectoryof thevSphereSDKforPerl,whichisincludedinthevCLIpackage.Youcanusethesessionfile,whichdoesnot revealpasswordinformation,whenyourunvCLIcommands.Ifthesessionfileisnotusedfor30 minutes,it expires. Ifyouuseasessionfile,otherconnectionoptionsareignored.

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To create and use a session file 1 Connecttothedirectorywherethescriptislocated. Forexample: Windows: Linux: 2

cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\Perl\apps\session cd /usr/share/lib/vmware-vcli/apps/session

Runsave_session. Youcanusethesave_session.plscriptorthe--savesessionfileoptiontothevCLIcommand.You mustspecifytheservertoconnecttoandthenameofasessionfileinwhichthescriptsavesan authenticationcookie.

save_session --savesessionfile <location> --server <server>

Forexample: Windows: Linux:

save_session.pl --savesessionfile C:\Temp\my_session --server my_server --username <username> --password <password> save_session --savesessionfile /tmp/vimsession --server <servername_or_address> --username <username> --password <password>

Ifyouspecifyaserver,butnousernameorpassword,thescriptpromptsyou. 3 WhenyourunvCLIcommands,passinthesessionfileusingthe--sessionfileoption.
<command> --sessionfile <sessionfile_location> <command_options>

Forexample: Windows: Linux:

esxcli --sessionfile C:\Temp\my_session network ip interface list vicfg-mpath.pl --sessionfile C:\Temp\my_session --list esxcli --sessionfile /tmp/vimsession network ip interface list vicfg-mpath --sessionfile /tmp/vimsession --list

Using Environment Variables

OnLinux,youcansetenvironmentvariablesinaLinuxbashprofileoronthecommandlinebyusinga commandlikethefollowing:
export VI_SERVER=<your_server_name_or_address>

OnWindows,youcansetenvironmentvariablesintheEnvironmentpropertiesdialogboxoftheSystem controlpanel.Forthecurrentsession,youcansetenvironmentvariablesatthecommandlinebyusinga commandlikethefollowing:

set VI_SERVER=<your_server_name_or_address>

IMPORTANTDonotuseescapecharactersinenvironmentvariables. SeeUsingvCLICommandsinScriptsonpage 29foranenvironmentvariableexample.

Using a Configuration File

Youcanuseatextfilethatcontainsvariablenamesandsettingsasaconfigurationfile.Variablescorresponding totheoptionsareshowninTable 32,vCLIConnectionOptions,onpage 28. CAUTIONLimitreadaccesstoaconfigurationfilethatcontainsusercredentials.

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PassintheconfigurationfilewhenyourunvCLIcommands,asfollows:
<command> --config <my_saved_config> <option>

Forexample:
esxcli --config <my_saved_config> network ip interface list vicfg-mpath --config <my_saved_config> --list

IfyouhavemultiplevCenterServerorESXisystemsandyouadministereachsystemindividually,youcan createmultipleconfigurationfileswithdifferentnames.Torunacommandorasetofcommandsonaserver, youpassinthe--configoptionwiththeappropriatefilenameatthecommandline. Thefollowingexampleillustratesthecontentsofaconfigurationfile:

VI_SERVER = XX.XXX.XXX.XX VI_USERNAME = root VI_PASSWORD = my_password VI_PROTOCOL = https VI_PORTNUMBER = 443

Ifyouhavesetupyoursystemtorunthisfile,youcanrunscriptsonthespecifiedserverafterwards.

Using Command-Line Options

Youcanpassincommandlineoptionsusingoptionnameandoptionvaluepairsinmostcases.ForESXCLI commands,youcanuselongorshortoptions.Anequalsignbetweenoptionnameandoptionvalueis optional.
esxcli --server <vc_server> --username <privileged_user> --password <pw> --vihost <esx_host> <namespace> [<namespace]...> <command> --<option_name=option_value>

ForothervCLIcommands,uselongorshortoptions.Anequalsignisnotsupported.
<vicfg- command> --server <vc_server> --username <privileged_user> --password <pw> --vihost <esx_host> --<option_name option_value>

Someoptions,suchas--help,havenovalue. IMPORTANTEnclosepasswordsandothertextwithspecialcharactersinquotationmarks. WhenrunningcommandsonWindows,usedoublequotes( ).WhenrunningcommandsonLinux,use singlequotes( )orabackslash(\)asanescapecharacter. Thefollowingexamplesconnecttotheserverasusersnow-whitewithpassworddwarf$. Linux

esxcli --server <server> --username snow\-white --password dwarf\$ network ip interface list esxcli --server <server> --username snow\-white --password dwarf$ network ip interface list vicfg-mpath --server <server> --username snow\-white --password dwarf\$ --list vicfg-mpath --server <server> --username snow-white --password dwarf$ --list

Windows
esxcli --server <server> --username snow-white --password dwarf$ network ip interface list vicfg-mpath.pl --server <server> --username snow-white --password dwarf$ --list

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Using Microsoft Windows Security Support Provider Interface

The--passthroughauthoption,whichisavailableifyourunvCLIcommandsfromaMicrosoftWindows system,allowsyoutousetheMicrosoftWindowsSecuritySupportProviderInterface(SSPI).SeetheMicrosoft WebsiteforadetaileddiscussionofSSPI. Youcanuse--passthroughauthtoestablishaconnectionwithavCenterServersystem(vCenterServer systemorVirtualCenterServer3.5Update2orlater).Aftertheconnectionhasbeenestablished,authentication forthevCenterServersystemoranyESXisystemitmanagesisnolongerrequired.Using --passthroughauthpassesthecredentialsoftheuserwhorunsthecommandtothetargetvCenterServer system.Noadditionalauthenticationisrequirediftheuserwhorunsthecommandisknownbythecomputer fromwhichyouaccessthevCenterServersystemandbythecomputerrunningthevCenterServersoftware. IfvCLIcommandsandthevCenterServersoftwarerunonthesamecomputer,theuserneedsonlyalocal accounttorunthecommand.IfthevCLIcommandandthevCenterServersoftwarerunondifferent machines,theuserwhorunsthecommandmusthaveanaccountinadomaintrustedbybothmachines. SSPIsupportsseveralprotocols.Bydefault,itselectstheNegotiateprotocol,whereclientandservertryto findaprotocolthatbothsupport.Youcanuse--passthroughauthpackagetoexplicitlyspecifyaprotocol thatissupportedbySSPI.Kerberos,theWindowsstandardfordomainlevelauthentication,isused frequently.IfthevCenterServersystemisconfiguredtoacceptonlyaspecificprotocol,specifyingtheprotocol with --passthroughauthpackagemightberequiredforsuccessfulauthentication.Ifyouuse --passthroughauth,youdonothavetospecifyauthenticationinformationbyusingotheroptions. Example
esxcli --server <vc_server> --passthroughauth --passthroughauthpackage Kerberos --vihost my_esx network ip interface list vicfg-mpath.pl --server <vc_server> --passthroughauth --passthroughauthpackage Kerberos --vihost my_esx --list

ConnectstoaserverthatissetuptouseSSPI.Whenatrusteduserrunsthecommand,thesystemcallsthe ESXCLIcommandorvicfg-mpathwiththe--listoption.Thesystemdoesnotpromptforausernameand password.

vCLI and Lockdown Mode

LockdownmodedisablesalldirectrootaccesstoESXimachines.TomakechangestoESXisystemsin lockdownmodeyoumustgothroughavCenterServersystemthatmanagestheESXisystem.Youcanusethe vSphereClientorvCLIcommandsthatsupportthe--vihostoption.Thefollowingcommandscannotrun againstvCenterServersystemsandarethereforenotavailableinlockdownmode:

vicfg-snmp vifs vicfg-user vicfg-cfgbackup vihostupdate vmkfstools vicfg-ipsec

IfyouhaveproblemsrunningacommandonanESXihostdirectly(withoutspecifyingavCenterServer target),checkwhetherlockdownmodeisenabledonthathost.SeethevSphereSecuritydocumentation.

Common Options for vCLI Execution

Table 32listsoptionsthatareavailableforallvCLIcommandsinalphabeticalorder.Thetableincludes optionsforuseonthecommandlineandvariablesforuseinconfigurationfiles. IMPORTANTForconnections,vCLIsupportsonlytheIPv4protocol,nottheIPv6protocol.Youcan,however, configureIPv6onthetargethostwithseveralofthenetworkingcommands.
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SeeTorunavCLIcommandonLinuxonpage 19andTorunavCLIcommandonWindowsonpage 20 forusageexamples. Table 3-2. vCLI Connection Options

Option and Environment Variable --cacertsfile <certsfile> -t <certs_file> VI_CACERTFILE=<cert_file_path> --config <cfg_file_full_path> VI_CONFIG=<cfg_file_full_path> --credstore <credstore> Description ESXCLIcommandsonly. UsedtospecifytheCA(CertificateAuthority)certificatefile,inPEMformat, toverifytheidentityofthevCenterServersystemorESXisystemtorunthe commandon.Canbeused,forexample,topreventmaninthemiddleattacks. Usestheconfigurationfileatthespecifiedlocation. Specifyapaththatisreadablefromthecurrentdirectory. Nameofacredentialstorefile.Defaultsto <HOME>/.vmware/credstore/vicredentials.xmlonLinuxand <APPDATA>/VMware/credstore/vicredentials.xmlonWindows. CommandsforsettingupthecredentialstoreareincludedinthevSphereSDK forPerl,whichisinstalledwithvCLI.ThevSphereSDKforPerlProgramming Guideexplainshowtomanagethecredentialstore. Specifiestheencodingtobeused.Severalencodingsaresupported.

--encoding <encoding> VI_ENCODING=<encoding>

cp936(SimplifiedChinese) shftjis(Japanese) cp850(GermanandFrench).

Youcanuse--encodingtospecifytheencodingvCLIshouldmaptowhenit isrunonaforeignlanguagesystem. --passthroughauth VI_PASSTHROUGHAUTH Ifyouspecifythisoption,thesystemusestheMicrosoftWindowsSecurity SupportProviderInterface(SSPI)forauthentication.Trustedusersarenot promptedforausernameandpassword.SeetheMicrosoftWebsitefora detaileddiscussionofSSPI. ThisoptionissupportedonlyifyouarerunningvCLIonaWindowssystem andareconnectingtoavCenterServersystem. --passthroughauthpackage <package> VI_PASSTHROUGHAUTHPACKAGE= <package> Usethisoptionwith--passthroughauthtospecifyadomainlevel authenticationprotocoltobeusedbyWindows.Bydefault,SSPIusesthe Negotiateprotocol,whichmeansthatclientandservertrytonegotiatea protocolthatbothsupport. IfthevCenterServersystemtowhichyouareconnectingisconfiguredtouse aspecificprotocol,youcanspecifythatprotocolusingthisoption. ThisoptionissupportedonlyifyouarerunningvCLIonaWindowssystem andconnectingtoavCenterServersystem. --password <passwd> VI_PASSWORD=<passwd> Usesthespecifiedpassword(usedwith--username)tologintotheserver.

If--serverspecifiesavCenterServersystem,theusernameandpassword applytothatserver.IfyoucanlogintothevCenterServersystem,you neednoadditionalauthenticationtoruncommandsontheESXihoststhat servermanages. If--serverspecifiesanESXihost,theusernameandpasswordapplyto thatserver.

Usetheemptystring(' 'onLinuxand onWindows)toindicateno password. Ifyoudonotspecifyausernameandpasswordonthecommandline,the systempromptsyouanddoesnotechoyourinputtothescreen. --portnumber <number> VI_PORTNUMBER=<number> --protocol <HTTP|HTTPS> VI_PROTOCOL=<HTTP|HTTPS> --savesessionfile <file> VI_SAVESESSIONFILE=<file> Usesthespecifiedporttoconnecttothesystemspecifiedby--server.Default is443. Usesthespecifiedprotocoltoconnecttothesystemspecifiedby--server. DefaultisHTTPS. Savesasessiontothespecifiedfile.Thesessionexpiresifithasbeenunused for30minutes.

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Table 3-2. vCLI Connection Options (Continued)

Option and Environment Variable --server <server> VI_SERVER=<server> Description UsesthespecifiedESXiorvCenterServersystem.Defaultislocalhost. If--serverpointstoavCenterServersystem,youusethe--vihostoption tospecifytheESXihostonwhichyouwanttorunthecommand.Acommand issupportedforvCenterServerifthe--vihostoptionisdefined. UsesthespecifiedservicepathtoconnecttotheESXihost.Defaultis /sdk/webService. Usesthespecifiedsessionfiletoloadapreviouslysavedsession.Thesession mustbeunexpired. ConnectstothespecifiedvSphereWebServicesSDKURL. Usesthespecifiedusername.

--servicepath <path> VI_SERVICEPATH=<path> --sessionfile <file> VI_SESSIONFILE=<file> --url <url> VI_URL=<url> --username <u_name> VI_USERNAME=<u_name>

If--serverspecifiesavCenterServersystem,theusernameand passwordapplytothatserver.IfyoucanlogintothevCenterServer system,youneednoadditionalauthenticationtoruncommandsonthe ESXihoststhatservermanages. If--serverspecifiesanESXisystem,theusernameandpasswordapply tothatsystem.

Ifyoudonotspecifyausernameandpasswordonthecommandline,the systempromptsyouanddoesnotechoyourinputtothescreen. --vihost <host> -h <host WhenyourunavCLIcommandwiththe--serveroptionpointingtoa vCenterServersystem,use--vihosttospecifytheESXihosttorunthe commandagainst. NOTE:Thisoptionisnotsupportedforeachcommand.Ifsupported,the optionisincludedwhenyourun<cmd> --help.

Table 33listsoptionsnotusedasconnectionoptionsthatyoucanusewhenyourunavicfg-vCLIcommand. Table 3-3. vCLI Common Options

Option --help --verbose --version Description Printsabriefusagemessage.Themessagelistsfirsteachcommandspecificoptionandthen eachofthecommonoptions. Displaysadditionaldebugginginformation. Displaysversioninformation.

Using vCLI Commands in Scripts

Mostadministratorsrunscriptstoperformthesametaskrepeatedlyortoperformataskonmultiplehosts. YoucanrunvCLIcommandsfromoneadministrationserveragainstmultipletargetservers. Forexample,whenanewdatastorebecomesavailableinyourenvironment,youmustmakethatdatastore availabletoeachESXihost.ThefollowingsamplescriptillustrateshowtomakeaNASdatastoreavailableto threehosts(esxi_server_a,esx_server_b,andesxi_server_c). Thesampleassumesthataconfigurationfile/home/admin/.visdkrc.<hostname>existsforeachhost.For example,theconfigurationfileforesxi_server_ahasthefollowingcontents:
VI_SERVER = esxi_server_a VI_USERNAME = root VI_PASSWORD = xysfdjkat

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ThescriptitselfaddstheNASdatastorebycallingthedifferentconfigurationfiles.
#!bin/sh for i in {"esxi_server_a","esx_server_b","esxi_server_c"} do echo "Adding NAS datastore for $i..." esxcli --config /host.conf storage nfs add -H <hostname> -s <sharepoint> -v <volumename> esxcli --config <config.file> storage nfs list done

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ESXCLI Command Hierarchies

Thisappendixconsistsoftablesofcommandsummariesthatillustratethehierarchyofnamespacesand commands(inbold)foreachESXCLInamespace.Thisappendixisnotmeanttobeareferencebutfacilitates locatingtheonlinehelpforindividualcommands. Theappendixincludesthefollowingtopics:

esxcliesxcliNamespaceonpage 31 esxclifcoeNamespaceonpage 31 esxclihardwareNamespaceonpage 32 esxcliiscsiNamespaceonpage 32 esxclinetworkNamespaceonpage 33 esxclischedNamespaceonpage 34 esxclisoftwareNamespaceonpage 34 esxclistorageNamespaceonpage 35 esxclisystemNamespaceonpage 36 esxclivmNamespaceonpage 36

esxcli esxcli Namespace

Theesxcli esxclinamespaceincludestheesxcli esxcli command listcommand.

esxcli fcoe Namespace

adapter[list] nic[disable|discover|list]

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esxcli hardware Namespace

The esxcli hardwarenamespaceincludesthefollowingnamespacesandcommands.
bootdevice[list] clock[get|set] cpu[list] cpuid[get] global[get|set] ipmi fru[get|list] sdrlist sel[get|list] memory[get] pci[list] platform[get] trustedbood[get]

esxcli iscsi Namespace

Theesxcli iscsinamespaceincludesthefollowingnamespacesandcommands.
adapter[get|list|set] auth discovery [rediscover] chap[set|get] sendtarget [add|list|remove] auth param[get|set] statictarget [add|list|remove] statusget target[list] portal[list] auth param[get|set] capabilitiesget firmware[get|set] param[get|set] ibftboot[get|import] logicalnetworkportallist networkportal[add|list|remove] physicalnetworkportal[list] pluginlist session[add|list|remove] software[get|set] connectionlist ipconfig[get|set] param[get|set] chap[get|set] chap[get|set]

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ESXCLI Command Hierarchies

esxcli network Namespace

Theesxcli networknamespaceincludesthefollowingnamespacesandcommands.
diag[ping] fence[list] network[list] bte[list] port[list] firewall [get|load|refresh|set|unload] ruleset[list|set] allowedip[add| list|remove] rule[list] ip[get|set] connection[list] dns search [add|list|remove] server [add|list|remove] interface [add|list|remove| set] ipv4[get|set]

ipv6[get|set] address [add|list|remove] tag [add|get|remove] ipsec[set] sa [add|list|remove] sp [add|list|remove] route neighbor[list] nic[down|get|list|set|up] stats[get] vlan port stats[get] filter sroivmic[list] vm sriovnicvf[list] [list] port[list] vswitch dvs vmware[list] lacp[getconfig| getstats|get status|set] vxlan[list] configstats[get |set] networklist stats[get] stats[get|set] ipv4 [add|list|remove] ipv6 [add|list|remove]

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networkmapping [list|reset] networkportlist networkportstats [list|reset] networkstats[list |reset] stats[reset] vmknic[list|reset] vmknic multicastgroup list vmknicstats[list| reset] standard[add| list|remove|set] policy[get] failover[get|set] security[get|set] shaping[get|set] portgroup [add|list|remove |set] policy[set] failover[get|set]

security[get|set] shaping[get|set] uplink [add|remove]

esxcli sched Namespace

Theesxcli schednamespaceincludestheswapnamespaceandthefollowingcommands.
swap system[get|get]

esxcli software Namespace

Theesxcli softwarenamespaceincludesthefollowingnamespacesandcommands.
acceptance[get|set] sources profile[get|list] vib[get|list] profile[get|install|update|validate] vib[get|install|list|remove|update]

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ESXCLI Command Hierarchies

esxcli storage Namespace

Theesxcli storagenamespaceincludesthefollowingnamespacesandcommands.
core adapter[list|rescan] device [list|set|setconfig] stats[get] vaai[status] detached [list|remove] partition [list|showguid]] smart[get] stats[get] vaai world[list] path[list|set] claiming [reclaim|unclaim] claimrule[add| convert|list|load| move|remove|run] plugin[list] registration [add|list|remove] filesystem[automount| list|mount|rescan| unmount] nfs[add|list|remove] nmp device[list|set] path[list] psp[list] fixed generic deviceconfig[get|set] deviceconfig[get|set] pathconfig[get|set] roundrobin satp[list|set] generic deviceconfig[get|set] deviceconfig[get|set] pathconfig[get|set] rule [add|list|remove] san fc[list|reset] events[get|clear] statsget fcoe[list|reset] iscsilist sas[list|reset] vmfs[upgrade] snapshot[list|mount| resignature] extentlist extentlist statsget statsget statsget stats[get] status[get]

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esxcli system Namespace

Theesxcli systemnamespaceincludesthefollowingnamespacesandcommands.
boot deviceget

coredump

network[check| get|set] partition [get|list|set]

hostname[get|set] maintenanceMode[get|set] module[get|list|load|set] parameters[list|set]

processlist

stats loadget runningget

secpolicy settings

domain[list|set] advanced[list|set] keyboard kernel[list|set] layout[get|list|set]

shutdown [poweroff|reboot] snmp[get|hash|set|test] stats syslog[mark|reload] visorfs[get] uptimeget config[get|set] ramdisk[add|list| remove] tardisk[list] time[get|set] uuidget versionget visorfsget ramdisk [add|list|remove] tardisklist welcomemsg[get|set] logger[list|set]

esxcli vm Namespace
Theesxcli vmnamespaceincludesaprocessnamespacewithalistcommandandakillcommand.

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Index

A
Active Directory 21 authentication information 24

P
Perl 13 precedence 24 prerequisites Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 16

C
command-line connection parameters 26 configuration files for authentication 25 usage 25 connection options 24, 27 cp936 encoding 28 creating session files 25 credential store precedence 24

R
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 16 required parameters 24 running commands from vMA 21 Linux 16, 24 Windows 19

D
DCUI 10 deploying vMA 21 direct console 10

S
scripts with vCLI commands 29 session files 24, 25 Shift_JIS encoding 28 SSPI protocol 27

E
encoding cp936 28 Shift_JIS 28 ESXCLI command hierarchies 31 execution options 27

U
uninstalling Linux 19 on Linux 19 on Windows 20 Using 26 using session files 25

I
installing vCLI Linux 16, 24 Windows 19 installing vMA 21

V
vCLI command-line 26 configuration files 25 environment variables 25 execution options 27 installing on Linux 16, 24 installing on Windows 19 vCLI package installing on Linux 14 installing on Windows 19 uninstalling 19 unpacking 16, 18 vMA 21 environment variables 25 installing 21 multiple configuration files 26 vSphere Management Assistant 21

L
Linux installing vCLI 16, 24 running vCLI commands 19, 26 vCLI 16 lockdown mode 27

M
Microsoft Windows Security Support Provider Interface 27

O
options 27 order of precedence 24

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vSphere SDK for Perl 13

W
Windows executing commands 26 installing vCLI 19 running vCLI commands 20 using vCLI 19

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