VMware ESXI - 6.5 User Manual

vSphere Command-Line Interface

Concepts and Examples

ESXi 6.5

vCenter Server 6.5

This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-002352-00

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

You can ﬁnd the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:

hp://www.vmware.com/support/

The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.

If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:

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2 VMware, Inc.

About This Book 9

vSphere CLI Command Overviews 11

Introduction 11

Documentation 12

Command-Line Help 12

List of Available Host Management Commands 13

Targets and Protocols for vCLI Host Management Commands 15

Supported Platforms for vCLI Commands 15

Commands with an esxcfg Prex 16

ESXCLI Commands Available on Dierent ESXi Hosts 17

Trust Relationship Requirement for ESXCLI Commands 17

Download and Install the vCenter Server Certicate 17

Using the --cacertsle Option 18

Using the --thumbprint Option 18

Use the Credential Store 18

Using ESXCLI Output 19

Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands 19

Connection Options for DCLI Commands 19

vCLI Host Management Commands and Lockdown Mode 19

Managing Hosts 21

Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts 21

Stopping and Rebooting Hosts with ESXCLI 21

Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts with vicfg-hostops 22

Entering and Exiting Maintenance Mode 22

Enter and Exit Maintenance Mode with ESXCLI 22

Enter and Exit Maintenance Mode with vicfg-hostops 23

Backing Up Conguration Information with vicfg-cfgbackup 24

Backup Tasks 24

Backing Up Conguration Data 24

Restore Conguration Data 24

Using vicfg-cfgbackup from vMA 25

Managing VMkernel Modules 25

Manage Modules with esxcli system module 25

Manage Modules with vicfg-module 26

Using vicfg-authcong for Active Directory Conguration 26

Prepare ESXi Hosts for Active Directory Integration 26

Set Up Active Directory to Work with ESXi 27

Updating Hosts 27

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vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

Managing Files 29

Introduction to Virtual Machine File Management 29

Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools 30

Upgrading VMFS3 Volumes to VMFS5 31

Managing VMFS Volumes 31

Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores 32

Mounting Datastores with Existing Signatures 32

Resignaturing VMFS Copies 33

Reclaiming Unused Storage Space 34

Using vifs to View and Manipulate Files on Remote ESXi Hosts 35

vifs Options 36

vifs Examples 37

Managing Storage 41

Introduction to Storage 42

How Virtual Machines Access Storage 42

Datastores 44

Storage Device Naming 44

Examining LUNs 45

Target and Device Representation 45

Examining LUNs with esxcli storage core 46

Examining LUNs with vicfg-scsidevs 47

Detach a Device and Remove a LUN 48

Reaach a Device 49

Working with Permanent Device Loss 49

Removing a PDL LUN 49

Reaach a PDL LUN 49

Managing Paths 50

Multipathing with Local Storage and FC SANs 50

Listing Path Information 51

Changing the State of a Path 53

Managing Path Policies 54

Multipathing Considerations 54

Changing Path Policies 55

Set Policy Details for Devices that Use Round Robin 56

Scheduling Queues for Virtual Machine I/O 57

Managing NFS/NAS Datastores 57

Capabilities Supported by NFS/NAS 57

Adding and Deleting NAS File Systems 58

Monitor and Manage FibreChannel SAN Storage 59

Monitoring and Managing Virtual SAN Storage 60

Retrieve Virtual SAN Information 60

Manage a Virtual SAN Cluster 60

Add and Remove Virtual SAN Storage 61

Monitoring vSphere Flash Read Cache 62

Monitoring and Managing Virtual Volumes 62

Migrating Virtual Machines with svmotion 63

Storage vMotion Uses 63

Storage vMotion Requirements and Limitations 63

4 VMware, Inc.

Running svmotion in Interactive Mode 64

Running svmotion in Noninteractive Mode 64

Conguring FCoE Adapters 65

Scanning Storage Adapters 66

Retrieving SMART Information 66

Contents

Managing iSCSI Storage 69

iSCSI Storage Overview 69

Discovery Sessions 70

Discovery Target Names 71

Protecting an iSCSI SAN 71

Protecting Transmied Data 71

Securing iSCSI Ports 72

Seing iSCSI CHAP 72

Command Syntax for esxcli iscsi and vicfg-iscsi 73

esxcli iscsi Command Syntax 74

Key to esxcli iscsi Short Options 74

vicfg-iscsi Command Syntax 75

iSCSI Storage Setup with ESXCLI 78

Set Up Software iSCSI with ESXCLI 78

Set Up Dependent Hardware iSCSI with ESXCLI 80

Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI with ESXCLI 82

iSCSI Storage Setup with vicfg-iscsi 84

Set Up Software iSCSI with vicfg-iscsi 85

Set Up Dependent Hardware iSCSI with vicfg-iscsi 86

Set Up Independent Hardware iSCSI with vicfg-iscsi 87

Listing and Seing iSCSI Options 89

Listing iSCSI Options with ESXCLI 89

Seing MTU with ESXCLI 89

Listing and Seing iSCSI Options with vicfg-iscsi 89

Listing and Seing iSCSI Parameters 90

Listing and Seing iSCSI Parameters with ESXCLI 90

Returning Parameters to Default Inheritance with ESXCLI 92

Listing and Seing iSCSI Parameters with vicfg-iscsi 92

Returning Parameters to Default Inheritance with vicfg-iscsi 94

Enabling iSCSI Authentication 94

Enable iSCSI Authentication with ESXCLI 94

Enable Mutual iSCSI Authentication with ESXCLI 95

Enable iSCSI Authentication with vicfg-iscsi 96

Set Up Ports for iSCSI Multipathing 97

Managing iSCSI Sessions 98

Introduction to iSCSI Session Management 98

Listing iSCSI Sessions 98

Logging in to iSCSI Sessions 99

Removing iSCSI Sessions 99

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vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

Managing Third-Party Storage Arrays 101

Managing NMP with esxcli storage nmp 101

Device Management with esxcli storage nmp device 102

Listing Paths with esxcli storage nmp path 102

Managing Path Selection Policy Plug-Ins with esxcli storage nmp psp 103

Fixed Path Selection Policy Operations 104

Customizing Round Robin Setup 105

Managing SATPs 106

Path Claiming with esxcli storage core claiming 108

Using the Reclaim Troubleshooting Command 109

Unclaiming Paths or Sets of Paths 109

Managing Claim Rules 110

Change the Current Claim Rules in the VMkernel 110

Adding Claim Rules 111

Removing Claim Rules 112

Listing Claim Rules 113

Loading Claim Rules 113

Moving Claim Rules 113

Load and Apply Path Claim Rules 114

Running Path Claim Rules 114

Managing Users 117

Users in the vSphere Environment 117

vicfg-user Command Syntax 118

Managing Users with vicfg-user 118

Assigning Permissions with ESXCLI 120

Managing Virtual Machines 123

vmware-cmd Overview 123

Connection Options for vmware-cmd 124

General Options for vmware-cmd 124

Format for Specifying Virtual Machines 124

List and Register Virtual Machines 125

Retrieving Virtual Machine Aributes 125

Managing Virtual Machine Snapshots with vmware-cmd 127

Take a Virtual Machine Snapshot 127

Reverting and Removing Snapshots 128

Powering Virtual Machines On and O 128

Connecting and Disconnecting Virtual Devices 129

Working with the AnswerVM API 130

Forcibly Stop a Virtual Machine with ESXCLI 130

Managing vSphere Networking 131

Introduction to vSphere Networking 131

Networking Using vSphere Standard Switches 132

Networking Using vSphere Distributed Switches 133

Retrieving Basic Networking Information 134

Troubleshoot a Networking Setup 134

6 VMware, Inc.

Seing Up vSphere Networking with vSphere Standard Switches 136

Seing Up Virtual Switches and Associating a Switch with a Network Interface 136

Retrieving Information About Virtual Switches 137

Adding and Deleting Virtual Switches 138

Checking, Adding, and Removing Port Groups 139

Managing Uplinks and Port Groups 140

Seing the Port Group VLAN ID 141

Managing Uplink Adapters 142

Adding and Modifying VMkernel Network Interfaces 145

Seing Up vSphere Networking with vSphere Distributed Switch 148

Managing Standard Networking Services in the vSphere Environment 149

Seing the DNS Conguration 149

Seing the DNS Conguration with ESXCLI 149

Seing the DNS Conguration with vicfg-dns 151

Manage an NTP Server 152

Manage the IP Gateway 152

Seing Up IPsec 153

Using IPsec with ESXi 154

Managing Security Associations 155

Managing Security Policies 156

Manage the ESXi Firewall 157

Monitor VXLAN 158

Contents

Monitoring ESXi Hosts 161

Using resxtop for Performance Monitoring 161

Managing Diagnostic Partitions 161

Managing Core Dumps 162

Manage Local Core Dumps with ESXCLI 162

Manage Core Dumps with ESXi Dump Collector 163

Manage Core Dumps with vicfg-dumppart 164

Conguring ESXi Syslog Services 164

Managing ESXi SNMP Agents 166

Conguring SNMP Communities 166

Conguring the SNMP Agent to Send Traps 166

Conguring the SNMP Agent for Polling 168

Retrieving Hardware Information 169

Index 171

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vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

8 VMware, Inc.

About This Book

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples explains how to use the commands in the VMware vSphere® Command-Line Interface (vCLI) and includes command overviews and examples.

Intended Audience

This book is for experienced Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar with vSphere administration tasks and data center operations and know how to use commands in scripts.

VMware Technical Publications Glossary

VMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. For denitions of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation, go to

hp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

vSphere CLI Command Overviews 1

This chapter introduces the command set, presents supported commands for dierent versions of vSphere, lists connection options, and discusses vCLI and lockdown mode.

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Introduction,” on page 11

“List of Available Host Management Commands,” on page 13

“Targets and Protocols for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 15

“Supported Platforms for vCLI Commands,” on page 15

“Commands with an esxcfg Prex,” on page 16

“ESXCLI Commands Available on Dierent ESXi Hosts,” on page 17

“Trust Relationship Requirement for ESXCLI Commands,” on page 17

“Using ESXCLI Output,” on page 19

“Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 19

“Connection Options for DCLI Commands,” on page 19

“vCLI Host Management Commands and Lockdown Mode,” on page 19

Introduction

The commands in the vSphere CLI package allow you to perform vSphere conguration tasks using commands from vCLI package installed on supported platforms, or using commands from vMA. The package consists of several command sets.

The following table lists the components of the vSphere CLI command set.

vCLI Commands Description

ESXCLI commands Manage many aspects of an ESXi host. You can run ESXCLI commands remotely or in the

ESXi Shell.

You can also run ESXCLI commands from the PowerCLI prompt by using the Get-EsxCli cmdlet.

vicfg- commands

VMware, Inc. 11

Set of commands for many aspects of host management Eventually, these commands will be replaced by ESXCLI commands.

A set of esxcfg- commands that precisely mirrors the vicfg- commands is also included in the vCLI package.

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

vCLI Commands Description

Other commands (vmware-cmd, vifs, vmkfstools)

DCLI commands Manage VMware SDDC services.

Commands implemented in Perl that do not have a vicfg- prex. These commands are scheduled to be deprecated or replaced by ESXCLI commands.

DCLI is a CLI client to the vSphere Automation SDK interface for managing VMware SDDC services. A DCLI command talks to a vSphere Automation API endpoint to locate relevant information, and then executes the command and displays result to the user.

You can install the vSphere CLI command set on a supported Linux or Windows system. See Geing Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces. You can also deploy the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) to an ESXi system of your choice.

After installation, run vCLI commands from the Linux or Windows system or from vMA.

Manage ESXi hosts with other vCLI commands by specifying connection options such as the target

host, user, and password or a conguration le. See “Connection Options for vCLI Host Management

Commands,” on page 19.

Manage vCenter services with DCLI commands by specifying a target vCenter Server system and

authentication options. See Geing Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces for a list of connection options.

Documentation

You can nd information about dierent aspects of vCLI in separate publications.

Geing Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces includes information about available CLIs, enabling the ESXi Shell, and installing and running vCLI commands.

Reference information for vCLI and DCLI commands is available on the vCLI documentation page

hp://www.vmware.com/support/developer/vcli/ and in the vSphere Documentation Center for the product

version that you are using.

vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference is a reference to vicfg- and related vCLI commands and

includes reference information for ESXCLI commands. All reference information is generated from the help.

A reference to esxtop and resxtop is included in the Resource Management documentation.

The DCLI Reference is included separately from the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference. All

reference information is generated from the help.

Command-Line Help

Available command-line help diers for the dierent command sets.

Command Set Available Command-Line Help

vicfg-

commands

ESXCLI commands

DCLI commands

Run <vicfg-cmd> --help for an overview of each options.

Run Pod2Html with a vicfg- command as input and pipe the output to a le for more detailed help information.

pod2html vicfg-authconfig.pl > vicfg-authconfig.html

This output corresponds to the information available in the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference.

Run --help at any level of the hierarchy for information about both commands and namespaces available from that level.

Run --help for any command or namespace to display the input options, whether the option is required, and the input option type. For namespaces, --help displays all available child namespaces and commands.

Run dcli --help to display usage information for DCLI.

12 VMware, Inc.

List of Available Host Management Commands

vCLI host management commands from earlier versions have been replaced with commands that have equivalent functionality.

The following table lists vCLI host management commands in alphabetical order and the corresponding ESXCLI command if available. For ESXCLI, new commands and namespaces are added with each release. See the Release Notes for the corresponding release for information.

Functionality of the DCLI command set that is being added in vSphere 6.0 and later is dierent from these commands. They are not included in the table.

Chapter 1 vSphere CLI Command Overviews

vCLI 4.1 Command

esxcli esxcli (new syntax)

resxtop resxtop (No ESXCLI

svmotion svmotion (No ESXCLI

vicfg-advcfg esxcli system settings

vicfg-authconfig vicfg-authconfig (No

vicfg-cfgbackup vicfg-cfgbackup (No

vicfg-dns esxcli network ip dns

vicfg-dumppart esxcli system coredump Sets both the partition (esxcli system coredump partition)

vicfg-hostops esxcli system

vicfg-ipsec esxcli network ip ipsec

vicfg-iscsi esxcli iscsi

vCLI 5.1 and later Command Comment

All vCLI 4.1 commands have been renamed. Signicant additions have been made to ESXCLI. Many tasks previously performed with a vicfg- command is now performed with ESXCLI.

Monitors in real time how ESXi hosts use resources. Runs in

equivalent)

Supported only on Linux.

equivalent)

Must run against a vCenter Server system.

advanced

ESXCLI equivalent)

Cannot run against a vCenter Server system.

maintenancemode

esxcli system shutdown

interactive or batch mode.

See “Using resxtop for Performance Monitoring,” on page 161. See the vSphere Resource Management documentation for a detailed reference.

Moves a virtual machine’s conguration le, and, optionally, its disks, while the virtual machine is running.

See “Migrating Virtual Machines with svmotion,” on page 63.

Performs advanced conguration.

The advanced seings are a set of VMkernel options. These options are typically in place for specic workarounds or debugging.

Use this command as instructed by VMware.

Remotely congures Active Directory seings for an ESXi host.

See “Using vicfg-authcong for Active Directory Conguration,” on page 26.

Backs up the conguration data of an ESXi system and restores previously saved conguration data.

See “Backing Up Conguration Information with vicfg-

cfgbackup,” on page 24.

Species an ESXi host’s DNS (Domain Name Server) conguration.

See “Seing the DNS Conguration,” on page 149.

and the network (esxcli system coredump network) to use for core dumps. Use this command to set up ESXi Dump Collector.

See “Managing Diagnostic Partitions,” on page 161.

Manages hosts.

“Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts,” on page 21.

“Entering and Exiting Maintenance Mode,” on page 22.

Sets up IPsec (Internet Protocol Security), which secures IP communications coming from and arriving at ESXi hosts. ESXi hosts support IPsec using IPv6.

See “Seing Up IPsec,” on page 153.

Manages hardware and software iSCSI storage.

See Chapter 5, “Managing iSCSI Storage,” on page 69.

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vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

vCLI 4.1 Command

vCLI 5.1 and later Command Comment

vicfg-module esxcli system module

vicfg-mpath

vicfg-mpath35

esxcli storage core path

vicfg-nas esxcli storage nfs

vicfg-nics esxcli network nic

vicfg-ntp vicfg-ntp (No ESXCLI

equivalent)

vicfg-rescan esxcli storage core

adapter rescan

vicfg-route esxcli network ip route

vicfg-scsidevs esxcli storage core

device

vicfg-snmp esxcli system snmp

vicfg-syslog esxcli system syslog

vicfg-user vicfg-user (No ESXCLI

equivalent)

vicfg-vmknic esxcli network ip

interface

vicfg-volume esxcli storage

filesystem

vicfg-vswitch esxcli network vswitch

vifs vifs (No ESXCLI equivalent)

vihostupdate esxcli software vib

Enables VMkernel options. Use this command with the options listed in this document, or as instructed by VMware.

See “Managing VMkernel Modules,” on page 25.

Congures storage arrays.

See “Managing Paths,” on page 50.

Manages NAS/NFS lesystems.

See “Managing NFS/NAS Datastores,” on page 57.

Manages the ESXi host's uplink adapters.

See “Managing Uplink Adapters,” on page 142.

Denes the NTP (Network Time Protocol) server.

See “Manage an NTP Server,” on page 152.

Rescans the storage conguration.

See “Scanning Storage Adapters,” on page 66.

Manages the ESXi host's route entry.

See “Manage the IP Gateway,” on page 152.

Finds and examines available LUNs.

See “Examining LUNs,” on page 45.

Manages the SNMP agent. See “Managing ESXi SNMP Agents,” on page 166. Using SNMP in a vSphere environment is discussed in detail in the vSphere Monitoring and Performance documentation.

New options added in vCLI 5.0.

Expanded SNMP support added in vCLI 5.1.

Species log seings for ESXi hosts including local storage policies and server and port information for network logging. See

“Conguring ESXi Syslog Services,” on page 164.

The vCenter Server and Host Management documentation explains how to set up system logs using the vSphere Web Client.

Creates, modies, deletes, and lists local direct access users and groups of users. See Chapter 7, “Managing Users,” on page 117.

The vSphere Security documentation discusses security implications of user management and custom roles.

Adds, deletes, and modies VMkernel network interfaces.

See “Adding and Modifying VMkernel Network Interfaces,” on page 145.

Supports resignaturing the copy of a VMFS volume, and mounting and unmounting the copy.

See “Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores,” on page 32.

Adds or removes virtual switches or modies virtual switch

seings.

See “Seing Up Virtual Switches and Associating a Switch with a

Network Interface,” on page 136.

Performs le system operations such as retrieving and uploading les on the ESXi system.

See “Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools,” on page 30.

Updates legacy ESXi hosts to a dierent version of the same major release.

You cannot run vihostupdate against ESXi 5.0 and later hosts.

See “Managing VMkernel Modules,” on page 25.

14 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 vSphere CLI Command Overviews

vCLI 4.1 Command

vmkfstools vmkfstools (No ESXCLI

vmware-cmd vmware-cmd (No ESXCLI

vCLI 5.1 and later Command Comment

Creates and manipulates virtual disks, le systems, logical

equivalent)

volumes, and physical storage devices on an ESXi host.

See “Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools,” on page 30.

Performs virtual machine operations remotely. This includes, for example, creating a snapshot, powering the virtual machine on or o, and geing information about the virtual machine.

See Chapter 8, “Managing Virtual Machines,” on page 123.

Targets and Protocols for vCLI Host Management Commands

Most vCLI commands are used to manage or retrieve information about one or more ESXi hosts. They can target an ESXi host or a vCenter Server system.

When you target a vCenter Server system, you can use --vihost to specify the ESXi host to run the command against. The only exception is svmotion, which you can run against vCenter Server systems, but not against ESXi systems.

The following commands must have an ESXi system, not a vCenter Server system as a target.

vifs

vicfg-user

vicfg-cfgbackup

vihostupdate

vmkfstools

The resxtop command requires an HTTPS connection. All other commands support HTTP and HTTPS.

Supported Platforms for vCLI Commands

Platform support for vCLI commands diers depending on the vCenter Server and ESXi version.

You cannot run the vihostupdate command against an ESXi 5.0 or later system.

You cannot run vicfg-syslog --setserver or vicfg-syslog --setport with an ESXi 5.0 or later target.

The following table lists platform support for the dierent vCLI commands.

vCenter Server 5.x

Command ESXi 5.x and 6.x

DCLI

esxcli

resxtop

svmotion

vicfg-advcfg

vicfg-authconfig

vicfg-cfgbackup

vicfg-dns

vicfg-dumppart

vicfg-hostops

No No No No No

Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Yes (from Linux) Yes (from Linux) Yes (from

No Yes No No Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes No Yes No No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

and 6.x ESXi 4.x ESX 4.x

Linux)

Yes (from Linux)

vCenter Server

4.x

Yes (from Linux)

VMware, Inc. 15

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

Command ESXi 5.x and 6.x

vicfg-ipsec

vicfg-iscsi

vicfg-module

vicfg-mpath

vicfg-nas

vicfg-nics

vicfg-ntp

vicfg-rescan

vicfg-route

vicfg-scsidevs

vicfg-snmp

vicfg-syslog

vicfg-user

vicfg-vmknic

vicfg-volume

vicfg-vswitch

vifs

vihostupdate Use esxcli

vmkfstools

vmware-cmd

vicfg-mpath35

vihostupdate35

Yes No Yes Yes No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes No Yes Yes No

No No for 5.0 target Yes No Yes

Yes No Yes Yes No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes No Yes Yes No

software vib

instead.

Yes No Yes Yes No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

No No No No No

vCenter Server 5.x and 6.x ESXi 4.x ESX 4.x

Use esxcli software vib

instead.

Yes Yes No

vCenter Server

4.x

Commands with an esxcfg Prefix

To facilitate easy migration if shell scripts that use esxcfg- commands, the vCLI package includes a copy of each vicfg- command that uses an esxcfg prex.

I You should use ESXCLI or the vCLI commands with the vicfg prex. Commands with the

esxcfg prex are available mainly for compatibility reasons and are now obsolete. vCLI esxcfg- commands

are equivalent to vicfg- commands, but not completely equivalent to the deprecated esxcfg- service console commands.

The Following table lists all vCLI vicfg- commands for which a vCLI command with an esxcfg prex is available.

Command with vicfg Prefix Command with esxcfg Prefix

vicfg-advcfg esxcfg-advcfg

vicfg-cfgbackup esxcfg-cfgbackup

vicfg-dns esxcfg-dns

vicfg-dumppart esxcfg-dumppart

vicfg-module esxcfg-module

16 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 vSphere CLI Command Overviews

Command with vicfg Prefix Command with esxcfg Prefix

vicfg-mpath esxcfg-mpath

vicfg-nas esxcfg-nas

vicfg-nics esxcfg-nics

vicfg-ntp esxcfg-ntp

vicfg-rescan esxcfg-rescan

vicfg-route esxcfg-route

vicfg-scsidevs esxcfg-scsidevs

vicfg-snmp esxcfg-snmp

vicfg-syslog esxcfg-syslog

vicfg-vmknic esxcfg-vmknic

vicfg-volume esxcfg-volume

vicfg-vswitch esxcfg-vswitch

ESXCLI Commands Available on Different ESXi Hosts

The available ESXCLI commands depend on the ESXi host version.

When you run an ESXCLI vCLI command, you must know the commands supported on the target host. For example, if you run commands against ESXi 5.x hosts, ESXCLI 5.x commands are supported. If you run commands against ESXi 6.x hosts, ESXCLI 6.x commands are supported.

Some commands or command outputs are determined by the host type. In addition, VMware partners might develop custom ESXCLI commands that you can run on hosts where the partner VIB has been installed.

Run esxcli --server <target> --help for a list of namespaces supported on the target. You can drill down into the namespaces for additional help.

Trust Relationship Requirement for ESXCLI Commands

Starting with vSphere 6.0, ESXCLI checks whether a trust relationship exists between the machine where you run the ESXCLI command and the ESXi host. An error results if the trust relationship does not exist.

Download and Install the vCenter Server Certificate

You can download the vCenter Server root certicate by using a Web browser and add it to the trusted certicates on the machine where you plan to run ESXCLI commands.

Procedure

1 Enter the URL of the vCenter Server system or vCenter Server Appliance into a Web browser.

2 Click the Download trusted root  link.

3 Change the extension of the downloaded le to .zip. (The le is a ZIP le of all certicates in the

TRUSTED_ROOTS store).

4 Extract the ZIP le.

A certicates folder is extracted. The folder includes les with the extension .0. .1, and so on, which are

certicates, and les with the extension .r0, r1, and so on which are CRL les associated with the certicates.

VMware, Inc. 17

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

5 Add the trusted root certicates to the list of trusted roots.

The process diers depending on the platform that you are on.

What to do next

You can now run ESXCLI commands against any host that is managed by the trusted vCenter Server system without supplying additional information if you specify the vCenter Server system in the --server option and the ESXi host in the --vihost option.

Using the --cacertsfile Option

Using a certicate to establish the trust relationship is the most secure option.

You can specify the certicate with the --cacertsfile parameter or the VI_CACERTFILE variable.

Using the --thumbprint Option

You can supply the thumbprint for the target ESXi host or vCenter Server system in the --thumbprint parameter or the VI_THUMBPRINT variable.

When you run a command, ESXCLI rst checks whether a certicate le is available. If not, ESXCLI checks whether a thumbprint of the target server is available. If not, you receive an error of the following type.

Connect to sof-40583-srv failed. Server SHA-1 thumbprint: 5D:01:06:63:55:9D:DF:FE:38:81:6E:2C:FA:

71:BC:Usin63:82:C5:16:51 (not trusted).

You can run the command with the thumbprint to establish the trust relationship, or add the thumbprint to the VI_THUMBPRINT variable. For example, using the thumbprint of the ESXi host above, you can run the following command.

esxcli --server myESXi --username user1 --password 'my_password' --thumbprint 5D:

01:06:63:55:9D:DF:FE:38:81:6E:2C:FA:71:BC:63:82:C5:16:51 storage nfs list

Use the Credential Store

Your vCLI installation includes a credential store. You can establish trust for a user with the credential store.

You can manage the credential store with the credstore-admin utility application, which is located in the /Perl/apps/general directory inside the VMware vSphere CLI directory.

I Updating the credential store is a two-step process. First you add the user and password for the server, and then you add the thumbprint for the server.

Procedure

1 Add the user and password for the target ESXi host to the local credential store.

credstore_admin.pl add --server <esxi_HOSTNAME_OR_IP> --username <user> --password <pwd>

2 Add the thumbprint for the target ESXi host. This thumbprint was returned in the error when you

aempted to connect to the host.

credstore_admin.pl add --server <esxi_HOSTNAME_OR_IP> --thumbprint <thumbprint>

If you are using a non-default credential store le, you must pass it in with the --credstore option.

If you do not use the --credstore option, the host becomes accessible without authentication.

18 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 vSphere CLI Command Overviews

Using ESXCLI Output

Many ESXCLI commands generate output you might want to use in your application. You can run esxcli with the --formatter dispatcher option and send the resulting output as input to a parser.

The --formatter options supports three values - csv, xml, and keyvalue and is used before any namespace.

The following example lists all le system information in CSV format.

esxcli --formatter=csv storage filesystem list

You can pipe the output to a le.

esxcli --formatter=keyvalue storage filesystem list > myfilesystemlist.txt

I You should always use a formaer for consistent output.

Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands

You can run host management commands such as ESXCLI commands, vicfg- commands, and other commands with several dierent connection options.

You can target hosts directly or target a vCenter Server system and specify the host you want to manage. If you are targeting a vCenter Server system, specify the Platform Services Controller, which includes the vCenter Single Sign-On service, for best security.

I For connections to ESXi hosts version 6.0 or later, vCLI supports both the IPv4 protocol and the IPv6 protocol. For earlier versions, vCLI supports only IPv4. In all cases, you can congure IPv6 on the target host with several of the networking commands.

See the Geing Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces documentation for a complete list and examples.

Connection Options for DCLI Commands

DCLI is a CLI client to the vSphere Automation SDK interface for managing VMware SDDC services. A DCLI command talks to a vSphere Automation SDK endpoint to get the vSphere Automation SDK command information, executes the command, and displays result to the user.

You can run DCLI commands locally or from an administration server.

Run DCLI on the Linux shell of a vCenter Server Appliance.

Install vCLI on a supported Windows or Linux system and target a vCenter Server Windows

installation or a vCenter Server Appliance. You have to provide endpoint information to successfully run commands.

DCLI commands support other connection options than other commands in the command set.

See the Geing Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces documentation for a complete list and examples.

vCLI Host Management Commands and Lockdown Mode

For additional security, an administrator can place one or more hosts managed by a vCenter Server system in lockdown mode. Lockdown mode aects login privileges for the ESXi host.

See the vSphere Security document in the vSphere Documentation Center for a detailed discussion of normal lockdown mode and strict lockdown mode, and of how to enable and disable them.

VMware, Inc. 19

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

To make changes to ESXi systems in lockdown mode, you must go through a vCenter Server system that manages the ESXi system as the user vpxuser and include both the --server and --vihost parameters.

esxcli --server MyVC --vihost MyESXi storage filesystem list

The command prompts for the vCenter Server system user name and password.

The following commands cannot run against vCenter Server systems and are therefore not available in lockdown mode.

vifs

vicfg-user

vicfg-cfgbackup

vihostupdate

vmkfstools

If you have problems running a command on an ESXi host directly, without specifying a vCenter Server target, check whether lockdown mode is enabled on that host.

20 VMware, Inc.

Managing Hosts 2

Host management commands can stop and reboot ESXi hosts, back up conguration information, and manage host updates. You can also use a host management command to make your host join an Active Directory domain or exit from a domain.

For information on updating ESXi 5.0 hosts with the esxcli software command and on changing the host acceptance level to match the level of a VIB that you might want to use for an update, see the vSphere Upgrade documentation in the vSphere 5.0 Documentation Center.

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts,” on page 21

“Entering and Exiting Maintenance Mode,” on page 22

“Backing Up Conguration Information with vicfg-cfgbackup,” on page 24

“Managing VMkernel Modules,” on page 25

“Using vicfg-authcong for Active Directory Conguration,” on page 26

“Updating Hosts,” on page 27

Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts

You can stop, reboot, and examine hosts with ESXCLI or with vicfg-hostops.

Stopping and Rebooting Hosts with ESXCLI

You can shut down or reboot an ESXi host by using the vSphere Web Client or vCLI commands, such as ESXCLI or vicfg-hostops.

Shuing down a managed host disconnects it from the vCenter Server system, but does not remove the host from the inventory. You can shut down a single host or all hosts in a data center or cluster. Specify one of the options listed in “Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 19 in place of

<conn_options>.

To shut down a host, run esxcli system shutdown poweroff. You must specify the --reason option and supply a reason for the shutdown. A --delay option allows you to specify a delay interval, in seconds.

To reboot a host, run system shutdown reboot. You must specify the --reason option and supply a reason for the reboot. A --delay option allows you to specify a delay interval, in seconds.

VMware, Inc.

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts with vicfg-hostops

You can shut down or reboot an ESXi host by using the vSphere Web Client, or ESXCLI or the vicfg-hostops vCLI command.

<conn_options>.

Single host - Run vicfg-hostops with --operation shutdown.

If the host is in maintenance mode, run the command without the --force option.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown

If the host is not in maintenance mode, use --force to shut down the host and all running virtual

machines.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown --force

All hosts in data center or cluster - To shut down all hosts in a cluster or data center, specify --cluster

or --datacenter.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown --cluster <my_cluster>

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown --datacenter <my_datacenter>

You can reboot a single host or all hosts in a data center or cluster.

Single host - Run vicfg-hostops with --operation reboot.

If the host is in maintenance mode, run the command without the --force option.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot

If the host is not in maintenance mode, use --force to shut down the host and all running virtual

machines.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot --force

All hosts in data center or cluster - You can specify --cluster or --datacenter to reboot all hosts in a

cluster or data center.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot --cluster <my_cluster>

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot --datacenter <my_datacenter>

You can display information about a host by running vicfg-hostops with --operation info.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation info

The command returns the host name, manufacturer, model, processor type, CPU cores, memory capacity, and boot time. The command also returns whether vMotion is enabled and whether the host is in maintenance mode.

Entering and Exiting Maintenance Mode

You can instruct your host to enter or exit maintenance mode with ESXCLI or with vicfg-hostops.

Enter and Exit Maintenance Mode with ESXCLI

You place a host in maintenance mode to service it, for example, to install more memory. A host enters or leaves maintenance mode only as the result of a user request.

esxcli system maintenanceMode set allows you to enable or disable maintenance mode.

22 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Managing Hosts

When you run the vicfg-hostops vCLI command, you can specify one of the options listed in “Connection

Options for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 19 in place of <conn_options>.

Procedure

1 To enter maintenance mode, run the following command.

esxcli <conn_options> system maintenanceMode set --enable true

After all virtual machines on the host have been suspended or migrated, the host enters maintenance mode.

N You cannot deploy or power on a virtual machine on hosts in maintenance mode.

2 To exit maintenance mode, run the following command.

esxcli <conn_options> system maintenanceMode set --enable false

N If you aempt to exit maintenance mode when the host is no longer in maintenance mode, an error informs you that maintenance mode is already disabled.

Enter and Exit Maintenance Mode with vicfg-hostops

You place a host in maintenance mode to service it, for example, to install more memory. A host enters or leaves maintenance mode only as the result of a user request.

vicfg-hostops suspends virtual machines by default, or powers o the virtual machine if you run vicfghostops --action poweroff.

N vicfg-hostops does not work with VMware DRS. Virtual machines are always suspended.

The host is in a state of Entering Maintenance Mode until all running virtual machines are suspended or migrated. When a host is entering maintenance mode, you cannot power on virtual machines on it or migrate virtual machines to it.

When you run the vicfg-hostops vCLI command, you can specify one of the options listed in “Connection

Options for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 19 in place of <conn_options>.

Procedure

1 To enter maintenance mode, run the following command.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation enter

2 To check whether the host is in maintenance mode or in the Entering Maintenance Mode state, run the

following command.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation info

After all virtual machines on the host have been suspended or migrated, the host enters maintenance mode. You cannot deploy or power on a virtual machine on hosts in maintenance mode.

What to do next

You can put all hosts in a cluster or data center in maintenance mode by using the --cluster or --

datacenter option. You must not use those options unless suspending all virtual machines in that cluster or

data center is no problem.

You can later run vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation exit to exit maintenance mode.

VMware, Inc. 23

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

Backing Up Configuration Information with vicfg-cfgbackup

After you congure an ESXi host, you can back up the host conguration data. You should always back up your host conguration after you change the conguration or upgrade the ESXi image.

I The vicfg-cfgbackup command is available only for ESXi hosts. The command is not available through a vCenter Server system connection. No equivalent ESXCLI command is supported.

Backup Tasks

During a conguration backup, the serial number is backed up with the conguration.

The number is restored when you restore the conguration. The number is not preserved when you run the Recovery CD (ESXi Embedded) or perform a repair operation (ESXi Installable).

You can back up and restore conguration information as follows.

1 Back up the conguration by using the vicfg-cfgbackup command.

2 Run the Recovery CD or repair operation.

3 Restore the conguration by using the vicfg-cfgbackup command.

When you restore a conguration, you must make sure that all virtual machines on the host are stopped.

Backing Up Configuration Data

You can back up conguration data by running vicfg-cfgbackup with the -s option.

The following example backs up conguration data in a temporary location.

vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -s /tmp/ESXi_181842_backup.txt

For the backup lename, include the number of the build that is running on the host that you are backing up. If you are running vCLI on vMA, the backup le is saved locally on vMA. Backup les can safely be stored locally because virtual appliances are stored in the /vmfs/volumes/<datastore> directory on the host, which is separate from the ESXi image and conguration les.

Restore Configuration Data

If you have created a backup, you can later restore ESXi conguration data.

When you restore conguration data, the number of the build running on the host must be the same as the number of the build that was running when you created the backup le. To override this requirement, include the -f (force) option.

When you run the vicfg-cfgbackup vCLI command, you can specify one of the options listed in

“Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 19 in place of <conn_options>.

Procedure

1 Power o all virtual machines that are running on the host that you want to restore.

2 Log in to a host on which vCLI is installed, or log in to vMA.

3 Run vicfg-cfgbackup with the -l ag to load the host conguration from the specied backup le.

If you run the following command, you are prompted for conrmation.

vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -l /tmp/ESXi_181842_backup.tgz

If you run the following command, you are not prompted for conrmation.

vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -l /tmp/ESXi_181842_backup.tgz -q

24 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Managing Hosts

4 (Optional) To restore the host to factory seings, run vicfg-cfgbackup with the -r option.

vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -r

Using vicfg-cfgbackup from vMA

To back up a host conguration, you can run vicfg-cfgbackup from a vMA instance. The vMA instance can run on the host that you are backing up or restoring, also referred to as the target host, or on a remote host.

To restore a host conguration, you must run vicfg-cfgbackup from a vMA instance running on a remote host. The host must be in maintenance mode, which means all virtual machines, including vMA, must be suspended on the target host.

For example, a backup operation for two ESXi hosts, host1 and host2, with vMA deployed on both hosts works as follows.

To back up one of the host’s conguration, run vicfg-cfgbackup from the vMA appliance running on

either host1 or host2. Use the --server option to specify the host for which you want backup information. The information is stored on vMA.

To restore the host1 conguration, run vicfg-cfgbackup from the vMA appliance running on host2. Use

the --server option to point to host1 to restore the conguration to that host.

To restore the host2 conguration, run vicfg-cfgbackup from the vMA appliance running on host1. Use

the --server option to point to host2 to restore the conguration to that host.

Managing VMkernel Modules

The esxcli system module and vicfg-module commands support seing and retrieving VMkernel module options.

The vicfg-module and esxcli system module commands are implementations of the deprecated esxcfg-

module service console command. The two commands support most of the options esxcfg-module supports. vicfg-module and esxcli system module are commonly used when VMware Technical Support, a

Knowledge Base article, or VMware documentation instruct you to do so.

Manage Modules with esxcli system module

Not all VMkernel modules have seable module options.

The following example illustrates how to examine and enable a VMkernel module. Specify one of the connection options listed in “Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 19 in place of <conn_options>.

Procedure

1 List information about the module.

esxcli <conn_options> system module list --module=module_name

The system returns the name, type, value, and description of the module.

2 (Optional) List all enabled or loaded modules.

esxcli <conn_options> system module list --enabled=true

esxcli <conn_options> system module list --loaded=true

3 Enable the model.

esxcli <conn_options> system module set --module=module_name --enabled=true

VMware, Inc. 25

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

4 Set the parameter.

esxcli system module parameters set --module=module_name --parameter-

string="parameter_string"

5 Verify that the module is congured.

esxcli <conn_options> system module parameters list --module=module_name

Manage Modules with vicfg-module

Not all VMkernel modules have seable module options.

The following example illustrates how the examine and enable a VMkernel modules. Specify one of the connection options listed in “Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 19 in place of <conn_options>.

Procedure

1 Run vicfg-module --list to list the modules on the host.

vicfg-module <conn_options> --list

2 Run vicfg-module --set-options with connection options, the option string to be passed to a module,

and the module name.

vicfg-module <conn_options> --set-options '<parameter_name>=<value>' <module_name>

3 (Optional) To retrieve the option string that is congured to be passed to a module when the module is

loaded, run vicfg-module --get-options.

N This string is not necessarily the option string currently in use by the module.

vicfg-module <conn_options> --get-options module_name

Veries that a module is congured.

Using vicfg-authconfig for Active Directory Configuration

ESXi can be integrated with Active Directory. Active Directory provides authentication for all local services and for remote access through the vSphere Web Services SDK, vSphere Web Client, PowerCLI, and vSphere CLI.

You can congure Active Directory seings with the vSphere Web Client, as discussed in the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation, or use vicfg-autconfig.

vicfg-authconfig allows you to remotely congure Active Directory seings on ESXi hosts. You can list

supported and active authentication mechanisms, list the current domain, and join or part from an Active Directory domain.

Prepare ESXi Hosts for Active Directory Integration

Before you run the vicfg-authconfig command on an ESXi host, you must prepare the host.

Procedure

1 Congure ESXi and Active Directory to use same NTP server.

I All hosts that join Active Directory must also be managed by an NTP server to avoid issues with clock skews and Kerberos tickets. You must make sure the ESXi system and the Active Directory server are using the same time zone.

The ESXi system’s time zone is always set to UTC.

26 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Managing Hosts

2 Congure the ESXi system’s DNS to be in the Active Directory domain.

Set Up Active Directory to Work with ESXi

You can run vicfg-authconfig to add the ESXi host to the Active Directory domain. You can run the command directly against the host or against a vCenter Server system, specifying the host with --vihost.

Prerequisites

Verify that you have installed the ESXi host, as explained in the vSphere Installation and Setup

documentation.

Verify that you have installed Windows Active Directory on a Windows Server that runs Windows 2000

Server, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008. See the Microsoft Web site for instructions and best practices.

Verify that you have the appropriate Active Directory permissions and administrative privileges on the

ESXi host.

Verify that time between the ESXi system and Windows Active Directory is synchronized.

Procedure

1 Test that the Windows Active Directory Server can ping the ESXi host by using the host name.

ping <ESX_hostname>

2 Run vicfg-authconfig to add the host to the Active Directory domain.

vicfg-authconfig --server=<ESXi Server IP Address>

--username=<ESXi Server Admin Username>

--password=<ESXi Server Admin User's Password>

--authscheme AD --joindomain <AD Domain Name>

--adusername=<Active Directory Administrator User Name>

--adpassword=<Active Directory Administrator User's Password>

The system prompts for user names and passwords if you do not specify them on the command line. Passwords are not echoed to the screen.

3 Check that a Successfully Joined <Domain Name> message appears.

4 Verify the ESXi host is in the intended Windows Active Directory domain.

vicfg-authconfig --server XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX --authscheme AD -c

You are prompted for a user name and password for the ESXi system.

Updating Hosts

When you add custom drivers or patches to a host, the process is called an update.

Update ESXi 4.0 and ESXi 4.1 hosts with the vihostupdate command, as discussed in the vSphere

Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide included in the vSphere 4.1 documentation set.

Update ESXi 5.0 hosts with esxcli software vib commands discussed in the vSphere Upgrade

documentation included in the vSphere 5.0 documentation set. You cannot run the vihostupdate command against ESXi 5.0 or later.

Update ESXi 5.0 hosts with esxcli software vib commands discussed in the vSphere Upgrade

documentation included in the vSphere 5.0 documentation set. You cannot run the vihostupdate command against ESXi 5.0 or later.

Update ESXi 5.1 hosts with esxcli software vib commands discussed in the vSphere Upgrade

documentation included in the vSphere 5.1 documentation set.

VMware, Inc. 27

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

Update ESXi 5.5 hosts with esxcli software vib commands discussed in the vSphere Upgrade

documentation included in the vSphere 5.5 documentation set.

Update ESXi 6.0 hosts with esxcli software vib commands discussed in the vSphere Upgrade

documentation included in the vSphere 6.0 documentation set.

Update ESXi 6.5 hosts with esxcli software vib commands discussed in the vSphere Upgrade

documentation included in the vSphere 6.5 documentation set.

28 VMware, Inc.

Managing Files 3

The vSphere CLI includes two commands for le manipulation. vmkfstools allows you to manipulate VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) and virtual disks. vifs supports remote interaction with les on your ESXi host.

N See Chapter 4, “Managing Storage,” on page 41 for information about storage manipulation commands.

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Introduction to Virtual Machine File Management,” on page 29

“Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools,” on page 30

“Upgrading VMFS3 Volumes to VMFS5,” on page 31

“Managing VMFS Volumes,” on page 31

“Reclaiming Unused Storage Space,” on page 34

“Using vifs to View and Manipulate Files on Remote ESXi Hosts,” on page 35

Introduction to Virtual Machine File Management

VMware, Inc.

You can use the vSphere Web Client or vCLI commands to access dierent types of storage devices that your ESXi host discovers and to deploy datastores on those devices.

N Datastores are logical containers, analogous to le systems, that hide specics of each storage device and provide a uniform model for storing virtual machine les. Datastores can be used for storing ISO images, virtual machine templates, and oppy images. The vSphere Web Client uses the term datastore exclusively. In vCLI, the term datastore, as well as VMFS or NFS volume, refer to the same logical container on the physical device.

Depending on the type of storage you use, datastores can be backed by the VMFS and NFS le system formats.

Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) - High-performance le system that is optimized for storing

virtual machines. Your host can deploy a VMFS datastore on any SCSI-based local or networked storage device, including Fibre Channel and iSCSI SAN equipment. As an alternative to using the VMFS datastore, your virtual machine can have direct access to raw devices and use a mapping le (RDM) as a proxy.

You manage VMFS and RDMs with the vSphere Web Client, or the vmkfstools command.

iSCSI array

VMFS VMFS

LAN LAN

iSCSI

hardware

initiator

ethernet

NIC

Host

requires TCP/IP connectivity

software

initiator

NAS

appliance

NFS

LAN

ethernet

NIC

fibre

array

VMFS

LAN

fibre

channel

HBA

local

ethernet

SCSI

vSphere Command-Line Interface Concepts and Examples

Network File System (NFS) - The NFS client built into ESXi uses the NFS protocol over TCP/IP to access

a designated NFS volume that is located on a NAS server. The ESXi host can mount the volume and use it for its storage needs. vSphere supports versions 3 and 4.1 of the NFS protocol. Typically, the NFS volume or directory is created by a storage administrator and is exported form the NFS server. The NFS volumes do not need to be formaed with a local le system, such as VMFS. You can mount the volumes directly and use them to store and boot virtual machines in the same way that you use VMFS datastores. The host can access a designated NFS volume located on an NFS server, mount the volume, and use it for any storage needs.

You manage NAS storage devices from the vSphere Web Client or with the esxcli storage nfs command. The diagram below illustrates dierent types of storage, but it is for conceptual purposes only. It is not a recommended conguration.

Figure 3‑1. Virtual Machines Accessing Different Types of Storage

Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools

VMFS datastores primarily serve as repositories for virtual machines.

You can store multiple virtual machines on the same VMFS volume. Each virtual machine, encapsulated in a set of les, occupies a separate single directory. For the operating system inside the virtual machine, VMFS preserves the internal le system semantics.

In addition, you can use the VMFS datastores to store other les, such as virtual machine templates and ISO images. VMFS supports le and block sizes that enable virtual machines to run data-intensive applications, including databases, ERP, and CRM, in virtual machines. See the vSphere Storage documentation.

30 VMware, Inc.

+ 144 hidden pages

VMware ESXI - 6.5 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

About This Book

vSphere CLI Command Overviews 1

Introduction

Documentation

Command-Line Help

List of Available Host Management Commands

Targets and Protocols for vCLI Host Management Commands

Supported Platforms for vCLI Commands

Commands with an esxcfg Prefix

ESXCLI Commands Available on Different ESXi Hosts

Trust Relationship Requirement for ESXCLI Commands

Download and Install the vCenter Server Certificate

Using the --cacertsfile Option

Using the --thumbprint Option

Use the Credential Store

Using ESXCLI Output

Connection Options for vCLI Host Management Commands

Connection Options for DCLI Commands

vCLI Host Management Commands and Lockdown Mode

Managing Hosts 2

Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts

Stopping and Rebooting Hosts with ESXCLI

Stopping, Rebooting, and Examining Hosts with vicfg-hostops

Entering and Exiting Maintenance Mode

Enter and Exit Maintenance Mode with ESXCLI

Enter and Exit Maintenance Mode with vicfg-hostops

Backing Up Configuration Information with vicfg-cfgbackup

Backup Tasks

Backing Up Configuration Data

Restore Configuration Data

Using vicfg-cfgbackup from vMA

Managing VMkernel Modules

Manage Modules with esxcli system module

Manage Modules with vicfg-module

Using vicfg-authconfig for Active Directory Configuration

Prepare ESXi Hosts for Active Directory Integration

Set Up Active Directory to Work with ESXi

Updating Hosts

Managing Files 3

Introduction to Virtual Machine File Management

Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools