Vsphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Scripting Guide

vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Scripting Guide
ESX 4.1 ESXi 4.1 vCenter Server 4.1
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-000274-00
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at: http://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: docfeedback@vmware.com
Copyright 20082010 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents. VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com
VMware, Inc.
Contents
AboutThisBook
1 InstallingvCLI 11
InstallationOverview 11 InstallingandUninstallingvCLIonLinux 11 InstallationProcess 12 InstallingPrerequisiteSoftwareforRedHatEnterpriseLinux5.2 13 RequiredSoftware 13 RecommendedPerlModules 13 InstallingPrerequisiteSoftwareforSLES10andSLES11 13 RequiredSoftware 13 RecommendedPerlModules 13 InstallingPrerequisiteSoftwareforUbuntuDesktop9.04 13 RequiredSoftware 14 RecommendedPerlModules 14 InstallingthevCLIPackage 14 UninstallingthevCLIPackageonLinux 15 InstallingandUninstallingvCLIonWindows 15 DeployingvMA 17
2 RunningvCLICommands 19
OverviewofRunningCommands 19 SpecifyingAuthenticationInformation 20 OrderofPrecedenceforvCLIAuthentication 20 UsingaSessionFile 20 UsingEnvironmentVariables 21 UsingaConfigurationFile 21 UsingCommandLineOptions 22 UsingMicrosoftWindowsSecuritySupportProviderInterface 22 vCLIandLockdownMode 23 CommonOptionsforvCLIExecution 23 UsingvSphereCLICommandsinScripts 25
3 ManagingHosts 27
Stopping,RebootingandExaminingHostswithvicfghostops 27 EnteringandExitingMaintenanceModewithvicfghostops 28 BackingUpConfigurationInformationwithvicfgcfgbackup 28 BackupTasks 28 BackingUpConfigurationData 29 RestoringConfigurationData 29 UsingvicfgcfgbackupfromvMA 29 ManagingHostUpdateswithvihostupdate 29 DeployingThirdPartyBundles 31 RemovingBulletinsfromaHost 31 ManagingVMkernelModuleswithvicfgmodule 32 UsingvicfgauthconfigforActiveDirectoryConfiguration 32
VMware, Inc.
4 ManagingFiles 35
IntroductiontoVirtualMachineFileManagement 35 ManagingtheVirtualMachineFileSystemwithvmkfstools 36 vmkfstoolsCommandSyntax 36 SupportedCommandSpecificOptions 37 SupportedvmkfstoolTargets 38 vmkfstoolsFileSystemOptions 38 CreatingaVMFSFileSystem 38 ListingVMFSVolumeAttributes 39 ExtendingVMFSPartitionsbySpanning 39 vmkfstoolsVirtualDiskOptions 40 SupportedDiskFormats 40 CreatingVirtualDisks 41 InitializingVirtualDisks 41 InflatingThinVirtualDisks 41 DeletingVirtualDisks 42 RenamingVirtualDisk 42 CloningVirtualorRawDisks 42 MigratingVMwareWorkstationandVMwareGSXServerVirtualMachines 43 ExtendingVirtualDisks 43 DisplayingVirtualDiskGeometry 43 ManagingRawDeviceMappingFiles 44 RDMVirtualandPhysicalCompatibilityModes 44 CreatingVirtualCompatibilityModeRawDeviceMappings 45 CreatingPhysicalCompatibilityModeRawDeviceMappings 45 UsingvifstoManipulateFilesonRemoteESX/ESXiHosts 46
5 ManagingStorage 49
IntroductiontoStorage 49 HowVirtualMachinesAccessStorage 50 Datastores 51 StorageDeviceNaming 51 ExaminingLUNswithvicfgscsidevs 52 TargetandDeviceRepresentation 52 ExaminingLUNs 52 ManagingPathswithvicfgmpath 53 MultipathingwithLocalStorageandFCSANs 53 ListingPathInformation 54 ChangingtheStateofaPath 55 ManagingPathPolicieswithesxcli 55 SettingPolicyDetailsforDevicesthatUseRoundRobin 56 MaskingPathswithesxclicorestorageclaimrule 57 ManagingNFS/NASDatastoreswithvicfgnas 58 CapabilitiesSupportedbyNFS/NAS 58 AddingandDeletingNASFileSystems 59 MigratingVirtualMachineswithsvmotion 59 StorageVMotionUses 59 StorageVMotionRequirementsandLimitations 60 RunningsvmotioninInteractiveMode 60 RunningsvmotioninNoninteractiveMode 60 ManagingDuplicateVMFSDatastoreswithvicfgvolume 61 MountingDatastoreswithExistingSignatures 61 ResignaturingVMFSCopies 62 RescanningStorageAdapterswithvicfgrescan 63
4 VMware, Inc.
Contents
6 ManagingiSCSIStorage 65
iSCSIStorageOverview 65 DiscoverySessions 66 DiscoveryTargetNames 67 ProtectinganiSCSISAN 67 ProtectingTransmittedData 67 SecuringiSCSIPorts 68 SettingiSCSICHAP 68 iSCSIStorageSetup 69 SettingUpSoftwareiSCSI 69 SettingUpDependentHardwareiSCSI 70 SettingUpIndependentHardwareiSCSI 72 vicfgiscsiCommandSyntax 73 ListingandSettingiSCSIOptions 77 ListingandSettingiSCSIParameters 77 ReturningParameterstoDefaultInheritance EnablingiSCSIAuthentication 79 SettingUpPortsforiSCSIMultipathing 80 ManagingiSCSISessions 80 ListingiSCSISessions 80 LoggingintoiSCSISessions 81 RemovingiSCSISessions 81
79
7 ManagingUsers 83
UsersandGroupsinthevSphereEnvironment 83 vicfguserCommandSyntax 83 ManagingUserswithvicfguser 84 ManagingGroupswithvicfguser 86
8 ManagingVirtualMachines 89
vmwarecmdOverview 89 ConnectionOptionsforvmwarecmd 89 GeneralOptionsforvmwarecmd 90 FormatforSpecifyingVirtualMachines 90 ListingandRegisteringVirtualMachines 90 RetrievingVirtualMachineAttributes 91 ManagingSnapshotswithvmwarecmd 92 TakingSnapshots 92 RevertingandRemovingSnapshots 93 PoweringVirtualMachinesOnandOff 93 ConnectingandDisconnectingVirtualDevices 94 RetrievingUserInput 95 ForciblyStoppingVirtualMachines 95
9 ManagingThirdPartyStorageArrayswithesxcli 97
esxcliCommandSyntax 98 ManagingNMPwithesxclinmp 99 DeviceManagementwithesxclinmpdevice esxclinmpdevicelist 99 esxclinmpdevicesetpolicy 99 ListingPathswithesxclinmppath 99 99
VMware, Inc.
Contents
ManagingPathSelectionPolicyPluginswithesxclinmppsp 100 RetrievingPSPInformation 100 SettingConfigurationParametersforThirdPartyExtensions 100 FixedPathSelectionPolicyOperationswithesxclinmpfixed 100 esxclinmpfixedgetpreferred 100 esxclinmpfixedsetpreferred 101 CustomizingRoundRobinSetupwithesxclinmproundrobin 101 esxclinmproundrobingetconfig 101 esxclinmproundrobinsetconfig 101 ManagingSATPswithesxclinmpsatp 102 RetrievingInformationAboutSATPs 102 AddingSATPRules 102 DeletingSATPRules 103 RetrievingandSettingSATPConfigurationParameters 103 SettingtheDefaultPSP 104 PathClaimingwithesxclicorestorageclaiming 104 esxclicorestorageclaimingreclaim 104 esxclicorestorageclaimingunclaim 105 ManagingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimrule 106 AddingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleadd 106 ConvertingESX3.5LUNMaskstoClaimRuleFormat 107 DeletingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimruledelete 108 ListingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimrulelist 108 LoadingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleload 108 MovingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimrulemove 109 esxclicorestorageclaimrulerun 109
10 ManagingvSphereNetworking 111
IntroductiontovSphereNetworking 111 NetworkingUsingvNetworkStandardSwitches 112 NetworkingUsingvNetworkDistributedSwitches 113 SettingUpvSphereNetworkingwithvNetworkStandardSwitches 113 SettingUpVirtualSwitchesandAssociatingaSwitchwithaNetworkInterface 114 RetrievingInformationaboutVirtualSwitches 114 AddingandDeletingVirtualSwitches 115 SettingSwitchAttributes 115 Checking,Adding,andRemovingPortGroups 115 ConnectingandDisconnectingUplinkAdaptersandPortGroups 115 SettingthePortGroupVLANID 116 LinkingandUnlinkingUplinkAdapters 116 ManagingUplinkAdapterswithvicfgnics 116 AddingandModifyingVMkernelNetworkInterfaceswithvicfgvmknic 117 SettingUpvSphereNetworkingwithvNetworkDistributedSwitch 118 ManagingvNetworkDistributedSwitches 119 ManagingStandardNetworkingServicesinthevSphereEnvironment 119 SettingtheDNSConfiguration 119 AddingandStartinganNTPServer 120 ManagingtheIPGateway 120 UsingvicfgipsecforSecureNetworking 121 UsingIPsecwithESX/ESXi 122 ManagingSecurityAssociationswithvicfgipsec 122 ManagingSecurityPolicieswithvicfgipsec 123
VMware, Inc.
Contents
11 MonitoringESX/ESXiHosts 125
UsingresxtopforPerformanceMonitoring 125 ManagingDiagnosticPartitionswithvicfgdumppart 125 ConfiguringSyslogonESXiHosts 126 ManagingESX/ESXiSNMPAgentswithvicfgsnmp 127 ConfiguringSNMPCommunities 127 ConfiguringtheSNMPAgenttoSendTraps 128 ConfiguringtheSNMPAgentforPolling 128 ESX,ESXi,andVirtualMachineLogs 129 EnablingandDisablingCIMProviders 129
12 vSphereCLICommandOverviews 131
ListofAvailableCommands 131 SupportedPlatformsforCommands 133 CommandswithanesxcfgPrefix 135 esxcliCommandOverview 136 Helpforesxcli 137 esxclicorestorageNamespace 137 claimingCommands 137 claimruleCommands 138 deviceCommands 138 plugincommands 139 esxclinetworkNamespace 139 connectionslistCommand 139 neighborsshowCommand 139 esxclinmpNamespace 139 bootrestoreCommand 139 deviceCommands 140 fixedCommands 140 pathCommands 140 pspCommands 140 roundrobinCommands 141 satpCommands 141 esxcliswiscsiNamespace 141 nicCommands 141 sessionCommands 142 vmknicCommands 142 vmnicCommands 142 esxclivaaiNamespace 143 devicelistCommand 143 esxclivmsNamespace 143 vmCommands 143
VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc.
About This Book
ThevSphereCommandLineInterfaceInstallationandScriptingGuide,explainshowtoinstallandusethe VMwarevSphereCommandLineInterface(vCLI)andincludesexamplescenariosandcommand overviews. ThevSphereCommandLineInterfaceInstallationandScriptingGuidediscussesESX,ESXi,andvCenterServer.
Intended Audience
ThisbookisforexperiencedWindowsorLinuxsystemadministratorswhoarefamiliarwithvSphere administrationtasksanddatacenteroperationsandknowhowtousecommandsinscripts.
VMware Technical Publications Glossary

VMwareTechnicalPublicationsprovidesaglossaryoftermsthatmightbeunfamiliartoyou.Fordefinitions oftermsastheyareusedinVMwaretechnicaldocumentation,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Document Feedback
VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhavecomments,sendyour feedbacktodocfeedback@vmware.com.
Related Documentation
ThevSphereCommandLineInterfaceReference,whichisthecompaniondocumenttothisguide,isavailableon thevSphereCLIdocumentationpage. ThevSphereSDKforPerldocumentationexplainshowyoucanusethevSphereSDKforPerlandrelated utilityapplicationstomanageyourvSphereenvironment.Thedocumentationincludesinformationaboutthe vSphereSDKforPerlUtilityApplications. ThevSphereManagementAssistantGuideexplainshowtoinstallandusethevSphereManagementAssistant (vMA).vMAisavirtualmachinethatincludesthevCLIandotherprepackagedsoftware.SeeDeploying vMAonpage 17. BackgroundinformationforthetasksdiscussedinthismanualisavailableinthevSpheredocumentationset. ThevSpheredocumentationconsistsofthecombinedVMwarevCenterServerandESX/ESXidocumentation andincludesconfigurationguides,administratorsguides,guidesforstoragesetup,andmore.
Technical Support and Education Resources

Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.Toaccessthecurrentversion ofthisbookandotherbooks,gotohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
VMware, Inc.
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.
10
VMware, Inc.
Installing vCLI
YoucaninstallavCLIpackageonaLinuxoraMicrosoftWindowssystem,ordeploythevSphere ManagementAssistant(vMA)onanESX/ESXihost. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

InstallationOverviewonpage 11 InstallingandUninstallingvCLIonLinuxonpage 11 InstallingandUninstallingvCLIonWindowsonpage 15 DeployingvMAonpage 17
Installation Overview
ThevCLIinstalleralsoinstallsvSphereSDKforPerlbecausevCLIcommandsrunontopofthevSphereSDK forPerl.OnWindows,theinstallationpackageincludesvCLI,vSphereSDKforPerl,andprerequisite software.OnLinux,theinstallationpackageincludesvCLIandvSphereSDKforPerl.Youareresponsiblefor installingrequiredprerequisitesoftware.
vCLIpackages.YoucaninstallavCLIpackageonaphysicalorvirtualmachine.SeeInstallingand UninstallingvCLIonLinuxonpage 11andInstallingandUninstallingvCLIonWindowsonpage 15. Afteryouhaveinstalledthepackage,whichincludesthevSphereSDKforPerl,youcanrunvCLI commandsfromtheoperatingsystemcommandline.Eachtimeyourunacommand,youspecifythe targetserverconnectionoptionsdirectlyorindirectly.SeeSpecifyingAuthenticationInformationon page 20.YoucanalsowritescriptsandmanageyourvSphereenvironmentusingthosescripts.
vMA.YoucandeployvMA,avirtualmachinethatadministratorscanusetorunscriptsthatmanage vSphere,onanESX/ESXihost.vMAincludesvCLIandotherprepackagedsoftwareinaLinux environment. vMAsupportsnoninteractivelogin.IfyouestablishanESX/ESXihostasatargetserver,youcanrunvCLI commandsagainstthatserverwithoutadditionalauthentication.IfyouestablishavCenterServersystem asatargetserver,youcanrunmostvCLIcommandsagainstallESX/ESXisystemsthatservermanages withoutadditionalauthentication.SeeDeployingvMAonpage 17.
Installing and Uninstalling vCLI on Linux

TheinstallationscriptforthevCLIissupportedondefaultinstallationsofthefollowingLinuxdistributions:

RedHatEnterpriseLinux5.2(32bitand64bit) SLES10(32bitand64bit) SLES11(32bitand64bit) Ubuntu9.04(32bitand64bit)
VMware, Inc.
11
IfaversionofvCLIorvSphereSDKforPerlisinstalledonyoursystem,youmustuninstallthatversionbefore youstarttheinstallationprocess. IMPORTANTInstallvCLIonLinuxonlyifyouareanexperiencedLinuxadministratorwhoknowshowtouse thesystemspackagemanager.Otherwise,usevMA.SeeDeployingvMAonpage 17.
Installation Process
ThevCLIpackageinstallerinstallsthevCLIscriptsandthevSphereSDKforPerl.Duringinstallation,the installercheckswhetherprerequisitesareinstalled.Dependingonthetypeofprerequisitethatismissing,the installereitherstopstheinstallationprocessorcontinues,asfollows. 1 Theinstallercheckswhetherthefollowingrequiredprerequisitepackagesareinstalledonthesystem:
OpenSSL ThevCLIrequiresSSLbecausemostconnectionsbetweenthesystemonwhichyourunthecommand andthetargetvSpheresystemareencryptedwithSSL. TheOpenSSLlibrary(libssl-devpackage)isnotincludedinthedefaultLinuxdistribution. Installationinstructionsforeachplatformareincludedbelow. LibXML2 UsedforXMLparsing. Thelibxml2packageisnotincludedinthedefaultLinuxdistribution.Installationinstructionsfor eachplatformareincludedbelow. e2fsprogs Utilitiesformaintainingtheext2,ext3andext4filesystems.RequiredbytheUUIDPerlmodule.
2 3
Ifthesoftwareisfound,theinstallerproceeds.Otherwise,theinstallerstopsandinformsyouthatyou mustinstallthesoftware. TheinstallercheckswhetherthefollowingrecommendedPerlmodulesarefound,andwhetherthe correctversionisinstalled.

CryptSSLeay0.55(0.550.9.7or0.550.9.8) IOCompressBase2.005 CompressZlib2.005 IOCompressZlib2.005 CompressRawZlib2.017 ArchiveZip1.26 DataDumper2.121 XMLLibXML1.63 libwwwperl5.805 XMLLibXMLCommon0.13 XMLNamespaceSupport1.09 XMLSAX0.16 DataDump1.15 URI1.37 UUID0.03 SOAPLite0.710.08 HTMLParser3.60 version0.78
IfarecommendedPerlmoduleisnotfoundatall,theinstallerinstallsit.Ifadifferentversionofthe moduleisfound,theinstallerdoesnotinstallitandproceedswiththeinstallationprocess.Attheendof theinstallationprocess,theinstallerinformsyouiftheversiononthesystemdoesnotmatchthe recommendedversion,andrecommendsthatyouinstalltheversionvCLIwastestedwith.Youcaninstall themodulesusingthepackageinstallerforyourplatform,theinstallationCD,orCPAN.
IMPORTANTTheinstallerdoesnotoverwriteexistingversionsofrecommendedPerlmodules.Youmust explicitlyupdatethosemodulesyourself.
12
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 Installing vCLI
IfyouhaveuninstalledapreviousversionofthevCLIorRemoteCLI,andinstallvCLIinadifferentdirectory, youmustresetthePATHenvironmentvariable.Youcandosobeforeoraftertheinstallation,usingthe commandappropriateforyourdistributionandshell(setenv,export,andsoon).Ifyoudonotresetthe PATH,thesystemmightstillgototheoldlocationtofindvCLIcommands.
Installing Prerequisite Software for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2

vCLIissupportedonRedHatEnterpriseLinux5.2,32bitand64bit. PrerequisitesoftwareonRHELincludesrequiredsoftwareandrecommendedPerlmodules.
Required Software
Ifrequiredsoftwareisnotinstalled,thevCLIinstallerstops.Youcaninstallprerequisitesusingyum,theRHEL packageinstaller(recommended),orfromtheinstallationDVD. Forexample,ifbothOpenSSLdevelopmentlibrariesandLibXML2aremissing,typethefollowingata commandprompt:
yum install openssl-devel libxml2-dev
Recommended Perl Modules

Whentheinstallerfinishes,itmightissueawarningthattheversionofamoduleinstalledonyoursystemdoes notmatchtheversionwithwhichvCLIwastested.InstallthatversionusingyumorCPANtoresolvetheissue. SeeInstallationProcessonpage 12foracompletelistofmodules. Afterinstallingprerequisitesoftware,youcaninstallthevCLIitself.SeeInstallingthevCLIPackageon page 14.
Installing Prerequisite Software for SLES 10 and SLES 11

vCLIissupportedonSLES10,32bitand64bitandonSLES11,32bitand64bit. PrerequisitesoftwareonSLESincludesrequiredsoftwareandrecommendedPerlmodules.
Required Software
Ifrequiredsoftwareisnotinstalled,thevCLIinstallerstops.Youcaninstalltheprerequisitepackagesfromthe SLES10orSLES11SDKDVD.WhenyouinserttheDVD,itofferstoautorun.Canceltheautorundialogbox anduserpmortheyastpackageinstallertoinstallOpenSSLorothermissingrequiredpackages. Forexample,ifOpenSSLdevelopmentlibrariesaremissing,typethefollowingatacommandprompt:
yast -i openssl-devel
SomeusersmightbeauthorizedtousetheNovellCustomerCenteranduseyasttoretrievemissingpackages fromthere.

Whentheinstallerfinishes,itmightissueawarningthattheversionofamoduleinstalledonyoursystemdoes notmatchtheversionwithwhichvCLIwastested.InstallthatversionusingyastorCPANtoresolvethe issue.SeeInstallationProcessonpage 12foracompletelistofmodules. Afterinstallingprerequisitesoftware,youcaninstallthevCLIitself.SeeInstallingthevCLIPackageon page 14.
Installing Prerequisite Software for Ubuntu Desktop 9.04

vCLIissupportedonUbuntu9.0432bitand64bit. PrerequisitesoftwareincludesrequiredsoftwareandrecommendedPerlmodules.
VMware, Inc.
13
Required Software
Ifrequiredsoftwareisnotinstalled,thevCLIinstallerstops.OnUbuntuyoucanuseapt(advancedpackaging tool)tokeepalocalrepositoryoflibrariesuptodate.Youcanuseapttoinstalltherequiredsoftware. To install required software on Ubuntu Desktop 9.04 1 2 ConnecttotheInternet. Updatethelocalrepositoryoflibrariesfromaterminalwindow.
sudo apt-get update
Installtherequiredlibrariesfromaterminalwindow.ForUbuntuDesktop9.0464bit,youmustinstall the32bitcompatibilitylibrariesortheresxtopandesxclicommandsdonotwork. 32bit 64bit sudo apt-get install libssl-dev perl-doc liburi-perl libxml-libxml-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl sudo apt-get install libssl-dev perl-doc liburi-perl libxml-libxml-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl ia32-libs

Whentheinstallerfinishes,itmightissueawarningthattheversionofamoduleinstalledonyoursystemdoes notmatchtheversionwithwhichvCLIwastested.Installthatversionusingapt-getorCPANtoresolvethe issue.SeeInstallationProcessonpage 12foracompletelistofmodules. Afterinstallingprerequisitesoftware,youcaninstallthevCLIitself.SeeInstallingthevCLIPackageon page 14.
Installing the vCLI Package

Beforeyouinstallversion4.1ofthevCLI,youmustremoveallpreviousversionsofthatsoftware.Theprocess differsfromsimplyuninstallingvCLI. 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 Linux 1 UntarthevCLIbinarythatyoudownloaded.

tar zxvf VMware-vSphere-CLI-4.X.X-XXXXX.i386.tar.gz
Avmware-vsphere-vcli-distribdirectoryiscreated. 2 Loginassuperuserandruntheinstaller:
/<location>/sudo vmware-vsphere-cli-distrib/vmware-install.pl
3 4
Toacceptthelicenseterms,typeyesandpressEnter. Specifyaninstallationdirectory,orpressEntertoacceptthedefault,whichis/usr/bin. Acompleteinstallationprocesshasthefollowingresult:

Asuccessmessageappears. Theinstallerlistsdifferentversionnumbersforrequiredmodules(ifany). Thepromptreturnstotheshellprompt.
14
VMware, Inc.
Ifyouacceptedthedefaultsduringinstallation,youcanfindtheinstalledsoftwareinthefollowinglocations:

vCLIscripts/usr/bin vSphereSDKforPerlutilityapplications/usr/lib/vmware-vcli/apps vSphereSDKforPerlsamplescripts/usr/share/doc/vmware-vcli/samples
SeethevSphereSDKforPerldocumentationforareferencetoallutilityapplications. AfteryouinstallthevCLI,youcantesttheinstallationbyrunningacommandfromtheWindowscommand prompt. To run a vCLI command on Linux 1 2 3 Openacommandprompt. ChangetothedirectorywhereyouinstalledthevCLI(defaultis/usr/bin). Runthecommand,includingtheconnectionoptions.
<command> <conn_options> <params>
Specifyconnectionoptionsinaconfigurationfileorpassthemonthecommandline.Theextension.pl isnotrequiredonLinux. Forexample:

vicfg-nas --server my_esxserver --list
Thesystempromptsyouforausernameandpassword. SeeTable 22,vCLIConnectionOptions,onpage 23foracompletelistofconnectionoptions.
Uninstalling the vCLI Package on Linux

YoucanuseascriptincludedintheinstallationtouninstallthevCLIpackage. To uninstall the vCLI on Linux 1 2 ChangetothedirectorywhereyouinstalledthevCLI(defaultis/usr/bin). Runthevmware-uninstall-vSphere-CLI.pl script. ThecommanduninstallsthevCLIandthevSphereSDKforPerl.
Installing and Uninstalling vCLI on Windows

BeforeyoucanrunvCLIcommandsonyourWindowsystem,youhavetoinstallthevCLIpackageandtest theinstallationbyrunningacommand. ThevCLIinstallationpackageforWindowsincludestheActivePerlruntimefromActiveStateSoftwareand requiredPerlmodulesandlibraries.ThevCLIissupportedonthefollowingWindowsplatforms:

Windows200332bit WindowsXPSP332bit WindowsVistaEnterpriseSP132bit Windows200864bit
VMware, Inc.
15
To install the vCLI Package on Windows 1 DownloadthevCLIWindowsinstallerpackage. YoucanfindtheinstallerontheVMwareCommunitiespage. 2 3 Starttheinstaller. (Optional)IfpromptedtoremoveolderversionsofvSphereSDKforPerlorvCLI,youcaneitheraccept orinstallthevCLIpackageonadifferentsystem. IMPORTANTTheinstallerreplacesboththevSphereSDKforPerlandthevCLI.Tokeepanolderversion, installthispackageonadifferentsystem. 4 5 ClickNextintheWelcomepage. ToinstallthevCLIinanondefaultdirectory,clickChangeandselectthedirectory. ThedefaultlocationisC:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCLI. 6 7 ClickNext. ClickInstalltoproceedwiththeinstallation. Theinstallationmighttakeseveralminutestocomplete. 8 Rebootyoursystem. Withoutreboot,pathsettingsmightnotbecorrectonyourWindowsplatform. AfteryouinstallthevCLIandrebootyoursystem,youcantesttheinstallationbyrunningacommandfrom theWindowscommandprompt. To run a vCLI command on Windows 1 2 Openacommandprompt. NavigatetothedirectoryinwhichthevCLIisinstalled.
cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin
Runthecommand,passinginconnectionoptionsandotheroptions. OnWindows,theextension.plisrequiredformostcommands,butnotforesxcli.
<command>.pl <conn_options> <params>
Forexample:
vicfg-nas.pl --server my_esxhost --list
Thesystempromptsyouforausernameandpassword. SeeTable 22,vCLIConnectionOptions,onpage 23foracompletelistofconnectionoptions. YoucanuninstallthevCLIpackageasyouwouldotherprograms. To uninstall the vCLI on Windows 1 2 3 FindtheoptionforaddingandremovingprogramsontheWindowsoperatingsystemyouareusing. Inthepanelthatappears,selectvSphereCLI,andclickRemove. ClickYeswhenprompted.
ThesystemuninstallsthevSphereSDKforPerl,thevCLI,andallprerequisitesoftware.
16
VMware, Inc.
Deploying vMA
Asanalternativetoapackageinstallation,youcandeployvMAonanESX/ESXihostandrunvCLIcommands fromthere.vMAisavirtualmachineyoucanusetorunscriptstomanageESX/ESXisystems.vMAincludes aLinuxenvironment,vCLI,andotherprepackagedsoftware. SettingupvMAconsistsofafewtasks.ThevSphereManagementAssistantGuidediscusseseachtaskindetail. 1 DeployvMAtoanESX/ESXisystemthatmeetsthehardwareprerequisites. SeethevSphereManagementAssistantGuideforprerequisitesanddeploymentdetails. 2 ConfigurevMA. WhenyoubootvMA,youmustspecifythefollowingrequiredconfigurationinformationwhen prompted:

Networkinformation(thedefaultisoftenacceptable) HostnameforvMA. Passwordfortheviadminuser.TheviadminuserhassuperuserprivilegesonvMA.Youcannotlog intovMAastherootuser.
(Optional)AddavCenterServersystemoroneormoreESX/ESXisystemsastargets.Youcanusethe VMwarevifastpassmechanismorActiveDirectoryauthentication,asexplainedinthevSphere ManagementAssistantGuide.
AfteryouhavespecifiedahostasavMAtarget,youcanrunvCLIcommandsagainstanyESX/ESXitarget systemwithoutspecifyingconnectionoptionsforthatsystemexplicitly.IfyousetupavCenterServersystem asatargetserver,youcanconnectanyESX/ESXihoststhatvCenterServersystemmanagesusingthe --vihostoption.
VMware, Inc.
17
18
VMware, Inc.
Running vCLI Commands
YoucanrunvCLIcommandsfromthecommandlineandfromscripts.Eachcommandrequiresataminimum thetargetservertorunthecommandon.Usersauthorizedtoruncommandsonthetargetserverdonothave tospecifyauthenticationinformation.Otherusersmustspecifyauthenticationinformation. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

OverviewofRunningCommandsonpage 19 SpecifyingAuthenticationInformationonpage 20 CommonOptionsforvCLIExecutiononpage 23 UsingvSphereCLICommandsinScriptsonpage 25
IMPORTANTIfanESXisystemyoutargetisinlockdownmode,youcannotrunvCLIcommandsagainstthat systemdirectly.YoumusttargetavCenterServersystemthatmanagestheESXisystemandusethe--vihost optiontospecifytheESXitarget.SeevCLIandLockdownModeonpage 23.
Overview of Running Commands

YoucanrunvCLIcommandsinteractivelyorinscriptsinseveralways.
OpenacommandpromptonaLinuxorWindowssystemonwhichyouinstalledthevCLI.Enter commandsintothatcommandprompt. AccessthevMALinuxconsole.SetuptargetserversandrunvCLIcommandsagainstthetargetswithout additionalauthentication. PreparescriptsthatcontainvCLIcommands.Thenrunthescriptsfromaremoteadministrationserver thathasthevCLIpackageinstalledorfromthevMALinuxconsole.SeeUsingvSphereCLICommands inScriptsonpage 25.
WhenyouruncommandsagainstanESX/ESXihost,youmustbeauthenticatedforthathost.Whenyourun commandsagainstavCenterServersystem,andyouareauthenticatedforthatsystem,youcantargetall ESX/ESXihoststhatvCenterServermanageswithoutadditionalauthentication.SeeSpecifying AuthenticationInformationonpage 20. CAUTIONIfyouspecifypasswordsinplaintext,youriskexposingthepasswordtootherusers.Thepassword mightalsobecomeexposedinbackupfiles.Donotprovideplaintextpasswordsonproductionsystems.
VMware, Inc.
19
Followoneofthefollowingapproachesforprotectingpasswords.
IfyouuseavCLIcommandinteractivelyanddonotspecifyausernameandpassword,youareprompted forthem.Thescreendoesnotechothepasswordyoutype. Fornoninteractiveuse,youcancreateasessionfileusingthesave_sessionscriptincludedinthe apps/sessiondirectory.SeeUsingaSessionFileonpage 20. IfyouarerunningonaWindowssystem,youcanusethe--passthroughauthoption.Iftheuserwho runsthecommandwiththatoptionisknown,nopasswordisrequired.
IfyouarerunningvMA,youcansetuptargetserversandrunmostvCLIcommandsagainsttargetservers withoutadditionalauthentication.SeethevSphereManagementAssistantGuide.
Specifying Authentication Information

vCLIallowsyoutorunagainstmultipletargetserversfromthesameadministrationserver.Youmusthave thecorrectprivilegestoperformtheactionsoneachtarget. IMPORTANTvCLI4.1andlaterallowsadministratorstoplaceESXihostsinlockdownmodeforenhanced security.OnlyavCLIoravSphereClientconnectedtoavCenterServersystemcanmakechangestoESXihosts inlockdownmode.Nousers,noteventherootuser,canrunvCLIcommandsagainstESXihostsinlockdown mode.SeevCLIandLockdownModeonpage 23andtheDatacenterAdministrationGuide.
Order of Precedence for vCLI Authentication

WhenyourunavCLIcommand,authenticationhappensintheorderofprecedenceshowninTable 21.This orderofprecedencealwaysapplies.Thatmeans,forexample,thatyoucannotoverrideanenvironment variablesettinginaconfigurationfile. Table 2-1. vCLI Authentication Precedence
Authentication Commandline Description Password(--password),sessionfile (--sessionfile),orconfigurationfile (--config)specifiedonthecommandline. Passwordspecifiedinanenvironmentvariable. Passwordspecifiedinaconfigurationfile. Currentaccountinformationusedtoestablish anSSPIconnection.AvailableonlyonWindows. Passwordretrievedfromthecredentialstore. Passwordisnotechoedtoscreen. See UsingaSessionFileonpage 20
Environment variable Configurationfile Currentaccount (ActiveDirectory) Credentialstore Prompttheuserfor apassword.
UsingEnvironmentVariablesonpage 21 UsingaConfigurationFileonpage 21 UsingMicrosoftWindowsSecuritySupport ProviderInterfaceonpage 22 vSphereWebServicesSDKProgrammingGuide andvSphereSDKforPerlProgrammingGuide.
Using a Session File

Youcancreateasessionfilewiththesave_sessionscript.Thescriptisinthe/apps/sessiondirectoryof thevSphereSDKforPerl,whichisincludedinthevCLIpackage.Youcanusethesessionfile,whichdoesnot revealpasswordinformation,whenyourunvCLIcommands.Ifthesessionfileisnotusedfor30 minutes,it expires. Ifyouuseasessionfile,otherconnectionoptionsareignored.
20
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 2 Running vCLI Commands
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/doc/vmware-vcli/apps/session
Runsave_session. Youmustspecifytheservertoconnecttoandthenameofasessionfileinwhichthescriptsavesan 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:

vicfg-mpath.pl --sessionfile C:\Temp\my_session --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. SeeUsingvSphereCLICommandsinScriptsonpage 25foranenvironmentvariableexample.
Using a Configuration File

Youcanuseatextfilethatcontainsvariablenamesandsettingsasaconfigurationfile.Variablescorresponding totheoptionsareshowninTable 22,vCLIConnectionOptions,onpage 23. CAUTIONLimitreadaccesstoaconfigurationfilethatcontainsusercredentials.
PassintheconfigurationfilewhenyourunvCLIcommands,asfollows:
<command> --config <my_saved_config> <option>
VMware, Inc.
21
Forexample:
vicfg-mpath --config <my_saved_config> --list
IfyouhavemultiplevCenterServerorESX/ESXisystemsandyouadministereachsystemindividually,you cancreatemultipleconfigurationfileswithdifferentnames.Torunacommandorasetofcommandsona server,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.Thefollowing syntaxresults:
<command> --server <vc_server> --username <privileged_user> --password <pw> --vihost <esx_host> --<option_name option_value>
Someoptions,suchas--help,havenovalue. IMPORTANTEnclosepasswordsandothertextwithspecialcharactersinquotationmarks. OnLinux,usesinglequotes( ),onWindows,usedoublequotes( ).OnLinux,youcanalsouseabackslash (\)asanescapecharacter. Thefollowingexamplesconnecttotheserverasusersnow-whitewithpassworddwarf$.Thesystem displayshelpinformationforthecommandbecausethecommandiscalledwithnooptions. Thefirstexample(Linux)usesthebackslash(\)escapecharacter,theothertwousesinglequotes(Linux)and doublequotes(Windows). Linux
vicfg-mpath --server <server> --username snow\-white --password dwarf\$ vicfg-mpath --server <server> --username snow-white --password dwarf$
Windows
vicfg-mpath.pl --server <server> --username snow-white --password dwarf$
Using Microsoft Windows Security Support Provider Interface

The--passthroughauthoption,whichisavailableifyourunvCLIcommandsfromaMicrosoftWindows system,allowsyoutousetheMicrosoftWindowsSecuritySupportProviderInterface(SSPI).SeetheMicrosoft WebsiteforadetaileddiscussionofSSPI. Youcanuse--passthroughauthtoestablishaconnectionwithavCenterServersystem(vCenterServer systemorVirtualCenterServer3.5Update2orlater).Aftertheconnectionhasbeenestablished,authentication forthevCenterServersystemoranyESX/ESXisystemitmanagesisnolongerrequired.Using --passthroughauthpassesthecredentialsoftheuserwhorunsthecommandtothetargetvCenterServer system.Noadditionalauthenticationisrequirediftheuserwhorunsthecommandisknownbythecomputer fromwhichyouaccessthevCenterServersystemandbythecomputerrunningthevCenterServersoftware. IfvCLIcommandsandthevCenterServersoftwarerunonthesamecomputer,theuserneedsonlyalocal accounttorunthecommand.IfthevCLIcommandandthevCenterServersoftwarerunondifferent machines,theuserwhorunsthecommandmusthaveanaccountinadomaintrustedbybothmachines.
22
VMware, Inc.
SSPIsupportsseveralprotocols.Bydefault,itselectstheNegotiateprotocol,whereclientandservertryto findaprotocolthatbothsupport.Youcanuse--passthroughauthpackagetoexplicitlyspecifyaprotocol supportedbySSPI.Kerberos,theWindowsstandardfordomainlevelauthentication,isusedfrequently.Ifthe vCenterServersystemisconfiguredtoacceptonlyaspecificprotocol,specifyingtheprotocolwith --passthroughauthpackagemightberequiredforsuccessfulauthentication.Ifyouuse --passthroughauth,youdonothavetospecifyauthenticationinformationbyusingotheroptions. Example

vicfg-mpath.pl --server <vc_server> --passthroughauth --passthroughauthpackage Kerberos --vihost my_esx --list
ConnectstoaserverthathasbeensetuptouseSSPI.Whenatrusteduserrunsthecommand,thesystemcalls vicfg-mpathwiththe--listoption.Thesystemdoesnotpromptforausernameandpassword.
vCLI and Lockdown Mode

LockdownmodedisablesalldirectrootaccesstoESXimachines.YoucanonlymakechangestoESXisystems inlockdownmodebygoingthroughavCenterServersystemthatmanagestheESXisystem.Youcanusethe vSphereClientorvCLIcommandsthatsupportthe--vihostoption.Thefollowingcommandscannotrun againstvCenterServersystemsandarethereforenotavailableinlockdownmode:

vicfg-snmp vifs vicfg-user vicfg-cfgbackup vihostupdate vmkfstools esxcli vicfg-ipsec
IfyouhaveproblemsrunningacommandonanESXihostdirectly(withoutspecifyingavCenterServer target),checkwhetherlockdownmodeisenabledonthathost.TheESXiConfigurationGuidediscusses lockdownmodeindetail.
Common Options for vCLI Execution

Table 22listsoptionsthatareavailableforallvCLIcommandsinalphabeticalorder.Thetableincludes optionsforuseonthecommandlineandvariablesforuseinconfigurationfiles. IMPORTANTForconnections,vCLIsupportsonlytheIPv4protocol,nottheIPv6protocol.Youcan,however, configureIPv6onthetargethostwithseveralofthenetworkingcommands. SeeTorunavCLIcommandonLinuxonpage 15andTorunavCLIcommandonWindowsonpage 16 forusageexamples. Table 2-2. vCLI Connection Options
Option and Environment Variable --config <cfg_file_full_path> VI_CONFIG=<cfg_file_full_path> --credstore <credstore> Description Usestheconfigurationfileatthespecifiedlocation. Specifyapaththatisreadablefromthecurrentdirectory. Nameofacredentialstorefile.Defaultsto <HOME>/.vmware/credstore/vicredentials.xmlonLinuxand <APPDATA>/VMware/credstore/vicredentials.xmlonWindows. CommandsforsettingupthecredentialstoreareincludedinthevSphere SDKforPerl,whichisinstalledwithvCLI.ThevSphereSDKforPerl ProgrammingGuideexplainshowtomanagethecredentialstore.
VMware, Inc.
23
Table 2-2. vCLI Connection Options (Continued)

Option and Environment Variable --encoding <encoding> VI_ENCODING=<encoding> Description Specifiestheencodingtobeused.Oneofcp936(SimplifiedChinese) ISO-8859-1(German),orShift_JIS(Japanese). 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,theusernameand passwordapplytothatserver.IfyoucanlogintothevCenterServer system,youneednoadditionalauthenticationtoruncommandsonthe ESX/ESXihoststhatservermanages. If--serverspecifiesanESX/ESXihost,theusernameandpasswordapply tothatserver.
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> --server <server> VI_SERVER=<server> Usesthespecifiedporttoconnecttothesystemspecifiedby--server. Defaultis443. Usesthespecifiedprotocoltoconnecttothesystemspecifiedby--server. DefaultisHTTPS. Savesasessiontothespecifiedfile.Thesessionexpiresifithasbeenunused for30minutes. UsesthespecifiedESX/ESXiorvCenterServersystem.Defaultislocalhost. If--serverpointstoavCenterServersystem,youusethe--vihostoption tospecifytheESX/ESXihostonwhichyouwanttorunthecommand.A commandissupportedforvCenterServerifthe--vihostoptionisdefined. UsesthespecifiedservicepathtoconnecttotheESX/ESXihost.Defaultis /sdk/webService. Usesthespecifiedsessionfiletoloadapreviouslysavedsession.Thesession mustbeunexpired. ConnectstothespecifiedvSphereWebServicesSDKURL.
--servicepath <path> VI_SERVICEPATH=<path> --sessionfile <file> VI_SESSIONFILE=<file> --url <url> VI_URL=<url>
24
VMware, Inc.
Table 2-2. vCLI Connection Options (Continued)

Option and Environment Variable --username <u_name> VI_USERNAME=<u_name> Description Usesthespecifiedusername.
If--serverspecifiesavCenterServersystem,theusernameand passwordapplytothatserver.IfyoucanlogintothevCenterServer system,youneednoadditionalauthenticationtoruncommandsonthe ESX/ESXihoststhatservermanages. If--serverspecifiesanESX/ESXisystem,theusernameandpassword applytothatsystem.
Ifyoudonotspecifyausernameandpasswordonthecommandline,the systempromptsyouanddoesnotechoyourinputtothescreen. --vihost <host> -h <host WhenyourunavSphereCLIcommandwiththe--serveroptionpointing toavCenterServersystem,use--vihosttospecifytheESX/ESXihosttorun thecommandagainst. NOTE:Thisoptionisnotsupportedforeachcommand.Ifsupported,the optionisincludedintheindividualcommandoptionlist.
Table 23listsoptionsnotusedasconnectionoptionsthatyoucanusewhenyourunavSphereCLIcommand. Table 2-3. vSphere CLI Common Options

Option --help --verbose --version Description Printsabriefusagemessage.Themessagelistsfirsteachcommandspecificoptionandthen eachofthecommonoptions. Displaysadditionaldebugginginformation. Displaysversioninformation.
Using vSphere CLI Commands in Scripts

Mostadministratorsrunscriptstoperformthesametaskrepeatedlyortoperformataskonmultiplehosts. YoucanrunvSphereCLIcommandsfromoneadministrationserveragainstmultipletargetservers. Forexample,whenanewdatastorebecomesavailableinyourenvironment,youmustmakethatdatastore availabletoeachESX/ESXihost.ThefollowingsamplescriptillustrateshowtomakeaNASdatastoreavailable tothreehosts(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
ThescriptitselfaddstheNASdatastorebycallingthedifferentconfigurationfiles.
#!bin/sh for i in {"esxi_server_a","esx_server_b","esxi_server_c"} do echo "Adding NAS datastore for $i..." vicfg-nas --config /home/admin/.visdkrc.$i -a -o mainnas.x.com -s /shared nas_ds vicfg-nas --config /home/admin/.visdkrc.$i -l done
VMware, Inc.
25
26
VMware, Inc.
Managing Hosts
HostmanagementcommandscanstopandrebootESX/ESXihosts,backupconfigurationinformation,and managehostupdates.YoucanalsouseahostmanagementcommandtomakeyourhostjoinanActive Directorydomainorexitfromadomain. Thechapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

Stopping,RebootingandExaminingHostswithvicfghostopsonpage 27 EnteringandExitingMaintenanceModewithvicfghostopsonpage 28 BackingUpConfigurationInformationwithvicfgcfgbackuponpage 28 ManagingHostUpdateswithvihostupdateonpage 29 ManagingVMkernelModuleswithvicfgmoduleonpage 32 UsingvicfgauthconfigforActiveDirectoryConfigurationonpage 32
Stopping, Rebooting and Examining Hosts with vicfg-hostops

YoucanshutdownorrebootanESX/ESXihostusingthevSphereClientorthevicfg-hostopsvCLI command.ShuttingdownamanagedhostdisconnectsitfromthevCenterServersystem,butdoesnotremove thehostfromtheinventory. Youcanshutdownasinglehostorallhostsinadatacenterorcluster.
SinglehostRunvicfg-hostopswith--operationshutdown.
Ifthehostisinmaintenancemode,runthecommandwithoutthe--forceoption.
vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown
Ifthehostisnotinmaintenancemode,use--forcetoshutdownthehostandallrunningvirtual machines.
vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown --force
MultiplehostsToshutdownallhostsinaclusterordatacenter,specify--clusteror--datacenter.
vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown --cluster <my_cluster> vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation shutdown --datacenter <my_datacenter>
Youcanrebootasinglehostorallhostsinadatacenterorcluster.
SinglehostRunvicfg-hostopswith--operationreboot.
Ifthehostisinmaintenancemode,runthecommandwithoutthe--forceoption.
vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot
Ifthehostisnotinmaintenancemode,use--forcetoshutdownthehostandallrunningvirtual machines.
vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot --force
VMware, Inc.
27
MultiplehostsYoucanspecify--clusteror--datacentertorebootallhostsinaclusteror datacenter.
vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot --cluster <my_cluster> vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation reboot --datacenter <my_datacenter>
Youcandisplayinformationaboutahostbyrunningvicfg-hostopswith--operationinformation.
vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation info
Thecommandreturnsthehostname,manufacturer,model,processortype,CPUcores,memorycapacity,and boottime.ThecommandalsoreturnswhetherVMotionisenabledandwhetherthehostisinmaintenance mode.
Entering and Exiting Maintenance Mode with vicfg-hostops

Youplaceahostinmaintenancemodetoserviceit,forexample,toinstallmorememory.Ahostentersor leavesmaintenancemodeonlyastheresultofauserrequest. IfVMwareDRSisinuse,virtualmachinesthatarerunningonahostthatentersmaintenancemodeare migratedtoanotherhostautomatically.IfVMwareDRSisnotinuse,vicfg-hostopssuspendsvirtual machines.ThehostisinastateofEnteringMaintenanceModeuntilallrunningvirtualmachinesare suspendedormigrated.Whenahostisenteringmaintenancemode,youcannotpoweronvirtualmachines onitormigratevirtualmachinestoit. Afterallvirtualmachinesonthehosthavebeensuspendedormigrated,thehostentersmaintenancemode. Youcannotdeployorpoweronavirtualmachineonhostsinmaintenancemode. To enter maintenance mode 1 2 Runvicfg-hostops --operation entertoentermaintenancemode. Runvicfg-hostops --operation infotocheckwhetherthehostisinmaintenancemodeorinthe EnteringMaintenanceModestate.
Youcanputallhostsinaclusterordatacenterinmaintenancemodebyusingthe--clusteror--datacenter option.Donotusethoseoptionsunlesssuspendingallvirtualmachinesinthatclusterordatacenterisno problem. Youcanlaterrunvicfg-hostops --operation exittoexitmaintenancemode.
Backing Up Configuration Information with vicfg-cfgbackup

AfteryouconfigureanESXihost,youcanbackupthehostconfigurationdata.Alwaysbackupyourhost configurationafteryouchangetheconfigurationorupgradetheESXiimage. IMPORTANTThevicfg-cfgbackupcommandisavailableonlyforESXihosts.Thecommandisnotavailable forESXhostsandisnotavailablethroughavCenterServersystemconnection.
Backup Tasks
Duringaconfigurationbackup,theserialnumberisbackedupwiththeconfiguration.Thenumberisrestored whenyourestoretheconfiguration.ThenumberisnotpreservedwhenyouruntheRecoveryCD(ESXi Embedded)orperformarepairoperation(ESXiInstallable). Thefollowingtasksarerequired(SeetheESXiInstallableandvCenterServerSetupGuide): 1 2 3 Backuptheconfigurationbyusingthevicfg-cfgbackupcommand. RuntheRecoveryCDorrepairoperation Restoretheconfigurationbyusingthevicfg-cfgbackupcommand.
Whenyourestoreaconfiguration,youmustmakesurethatallvirtualmachinesonthehostarestopped.
28
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 Managing Hosts
Backing Up Configuration Data

Youcanbackupconfigurationdatabyrunningvicfg-backupwiththe-soption.
vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -s /tmp/ESX_181842_backup.txt
Forthebackupfilename,includethenumberofthebuildthatisrunningonthehostthatyouarebackingup. IfyouarerunningvCLIonvMA,thebackupfileissavedlocallyonvMA.Backupfilescansafelybestored locallybecausevirtualappliancesarestoredinthe/vmfs/volumes/<datastore>directoryonthehost, whichisseparatefromtheESXiimageandconfigurationfiles.
Restoring Configuration Data

Ifyouhavecreatedabackup,youcanlaterrestoreESXiconfigurationdata.Whenyourestoreconfiguration data,thenumberofthebuildrunningonthehostmustbethesameasthenumberofthebuildthatwas runningwhenyoucreatedthebackupfile.Tooverridethisrequirement,includethe-f (force)option. To restore ESXi configuration data 1 2 3 Poweroffallvirtualmachinesthatarerunningonthehostthatyouwanttorestore. LogintoahostonwhichvCLIisinstalled,orlogintovMA. Runvicfg-cfgbackupwiththe-lflagtoloadthehostconfigurationfromthespecifiedbackupfile.
Ifyourunthefollowingcommand,youarepromptedforconfirmation.
vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -l /tmp/ESX_181842_backup.txt
Ifyourunthefollowingcommand,youarenotpromptedforconfirmation.
vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -l /tmp/ESX_181842_backup.txt -q
Torestorethehosttofactorysettings,runvicfg-cfgbackupwiththe-roption:
vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -r
Using vicfg-cfgbackup from vMA

Tobackupahostconfiguration,youcanrunvicfg-cfgbackupfromavMAinstance.ThevMAinstancecan runonthetargethost(thehostthatyouarebackinguporrestoring),oronaremotehost. Torestoreahostconfiguration,youmustrunvicfg-cfgback fromavMAinstancerunningonaremotehost. Thehostmustbeinmaintenancemode,whichmeansallvirtualmachines(includingvMA)mustbe suspendedonthetargethost. Forexample,backupfortwoESXi4.1hosts(host1andhost2)withvMAdeployedonbothhostsworksas follows:
Tobackupaconfiguration(host1orhost2),runvicfg-cfgbackupfromvMArunningoneitherhost1 orhost2.Pointtothehosttobackupusingthe--servercommandlineoption. Torestorethehost1configuration,runvicfg-cfgbackupfromvMArunningonhost2andpointtohost1 inthe--servercommandlineoption. Torestorethehost2configuration,runonhost1andpointtohost2inthe--servercommandlineoption.
Managing Host Updates with vihostupdate

ThevihostupdatecommandappliessoftwareupdatestoESX/ESXiimagesandinstallsandupdates ESX/ESXiextensionssuchasVMkernelmodules,drivers,andCIMproviders. IMPORTANTRunvihostupdateagainstESX/ESXi4.0andlaterhosts.Runvihostupdate35againstESXi3.5 hosts. YoucannotrunvihostupdateagainstvCenterServersystems.
VMware, Inc.
29
Thevihostupdatecommandworkswithbulletins.AbulletinisagroupingofoneormoreVIBs(vSphere InstallationBundle).Eachbulletinaddressesoneormoreissues.Abulletinisconsideredtobeincludedin anotherbulletinifeveryvSpherebundleinthefirstbulletinmeetsoneofthesecriteria:

TheVIBisincludedinthesecondbulletin. TheVIBisobsoletedbyanotherVIBinthesecondbulletin.
Towardstheendofareleasecycle,bulletinsincludealargenumberofotherbulletins. Bulletinsarepackagedasbundlesoravailableindepotswithassociatedmetadata.zipfiles.
AbundleisanarchivethatencapsulatesVIBsandcorrespondingmetadatainaselfcontaineddepotthat isusefulforofflinepatching.Ifyouusebundles,allpatchesandcorrespondingmetadataareavailableas oneZIPfile. Youcanalsouseametadata.zipfilethatpointsdirectlytothelocationofthepatchfilesinadepot.
Thevihostupdate commandsupportsqueryingsoftwareinstalledonahost,listingsoftwareinapatch, scanningforbulletinsthatapplytoahost,andinstallingallorselectivebulletinsinthepatch.SeethevSphere CommandLineInterfaceReferenceforinformationonallsupportedoptions.Youcanspecifyapatchbyusinga bundleZIPfileorthemetadataZIPfilethatdescribesthelocationofadepot.Thedepotcanbeontheremote server,oryoucandownloadabundleZIPfileandusealocaldepot. vihostupdatesupportshttps://,http://,andftp://downloads.Youcanspecifytheprotocolsinthedownload URLforthebundleormetadatafile.Youcanspecifymorethanonebundlefileatthecommandlineeachtime yourunthecommand.MultiplebundlesareusuallyrequiredonlyiftheupdateincludesbothaVMware bundleandathirdpartybundle. SeetheESXiUpgradeGuide.Formoreinformationaboutinstallation,removal,andupdateof3rdParty ExtensionsinvSphere4.x,seetheESXiSetupGuideandDeployingThirdPartyBundlesonpage 31. To update a host using bundles 1 PoweroffallvirtualmachinesrunningontheESX/ESXihostbyrunningthefollowingcommandforeach virtualmachine.
vmware-cmd <conn_options> <vm-path> stop <powerop_mode>
Specifyhardtoforcethepoweroffoperationorsofttohavethesystemtrytoshutdowntheguest operatingsystem. 2 Placethehostintomaintenancemode.

vicfg-hostops <conn_options> --operation enter
Checkthatthehostisinmaintenancemode.Ifnecessary,shutdownormigratevirtualmachines.
Findoutwhichbulletinsareinstalledonthehost.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --query
Findoutwhichbulletinsareavailableinthebundle.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --list --bundle http://<webserver>/rollup.zip
Findoutwhichbulletinsinthebundleareapplicabletoyourhost.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --scan --bundle http://<webserver>/rollup.zip
Installallorsomebulletinsfromthebundleonthehost.ThefollowingexampleinstallsbothVMware bulletinsandbulletinsmadeavailablebyapartner.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --install --bundle http://<server>/rollup.zip,http://<server>/rollupPartner1.zip
VerifythatthebulletinsareinstalledonyourESX/ESXihost.
30
VMware, Inc.
To update a host using depots 1 PoweroffallvirtualmachinesrunningontheESX/ESXihostbyrunningthefollowingcommandforeach virtualmachine.


Listallbulletinsinthedepotgiventhemetadata.zipfilelocation.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --list --metadata http://<webserver>/depot/metadata.zip
Scanthedepotforbulletinsthatareapplicabletothehost.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --scan --metadata http://<webserver>/depot/metadata.zip
Installbulletinsinthedepotonthehost.
Toinstallallbulletins,runthefollowingcommand.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --install --metadata http://<webserver>/depot/metadata.zip
Toinstallselectedbulletinsinthespecifieddepotonthehost,useacommaseparatedlist.Spaces afterthecommaarenotsupported.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --install --metadata http://<webserver>/depot/metadata.zip --bulletin bulletin1,bulletin3
Deploying Third-Party Bundles

Youcanusethe--bundleoptiontodeployathirdpartybundlethatyouhavedownloadedonyourWeb server. To deploy a third-party bundle 1 PoweroffallvirtualmachinesthatarerunningontheESX/ESXihost.

Installthebundle.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --install --bundle https://<3rdParty_webserver>/Cisco_Swordfish.zip
Removing Bulletins from a Host

YoucanuninstallthirdpartybulletinsorVMwareextensionsfromyourESX/ESXihost. IMPORTANTDonotremovebulletinsthatareVMwarepatchesorupdates.
VMware, Inc.
31
To uninstall a bulletin 1 PoweroffallvirtualmachinesthatarerunningontheESX/ESXihost.

vmware-cmd <conn_options> <vm-path> stop
Placethehostintomaintenancemode.
Checkthatthehostisinmaintenancemode,andshutdownormigratevirtualmachinesifnecessary.
DeterminewhichbulletinsareinstalledonyourESX/ESXihost.
NotethebulletinIDforthebulletintouninstall. 5 Runthevihostupdatecommand,specifyingthebulletintoremove.
vihostupdate <conn_options> --remove --bulletin bulletin1
vihostupdatecanremoveonlyonebulletinatatime.
Managing VMkernel Modules with vicfg-module

Thevicfg-modulecommandsupportssettingandretrievingVMkernelmoduleoptions.vicfg-moduleisa vCLIimplementationoftheesxcfg-moduleserviceconsolecommandthatsupportsonlysomeoftheoptions esxcfg-modulesupports.vicfg-moduleiscommonlyusedwhenVMwareTechnicalSupport,aKnowledge Basearticle,orVMwaredocumentationinstructyoutodoso. To examine and set NetQueue VMkernel modules 1 Runvicfg-module --listtolistthemodulesonthehost.
vicfg-module <conn_options> --list
Runvicfg-module --set-optionswithconnectionoptions,theoptionstringtobepassedtoamodule, andthemodulename.Forexample:

vicfg-module <conn_options> --set-options 'intr_type_2 rx_ring_num=8' s2io
ConfiguresasupportednetworkinterfacetouseNetQueue. Toretrievetheoptionstringconfiguredtobepassedtoamodulewhenthemoduleisloaded,run vicfg-module --get-options.Thisstringisnotnecessarilytheoptionstringcurrentlyinusebythe module.

vicfg-module <conn_options> --get-options s2io
VerifiesthattheNetQueuemoduleisconfigured.
Using vicfg-authconfig for Active Directory Configuration

vicfg-authconfigallowsyoutoremotelyconfigureActiveDirectorysettingsonESX/ESXihosts.Beforeyou runthecommandonanESX/ESXihost,youmustpreparethehost. Youcanlistsupportedandactiveauthenticationmechanisms,listthecurrentdomainandjoinorpartfroman ActiveDirectorydomain. To prepare ESX/ESXi hosts for Active Directory Integration 1 2 3 MakesuretheESX/ESXisystemandtheActiveDirectoryserverareusingthesametimezone.The ESX/ESXisystemstimezoneisUTCbydefault. SetuptheESX/ESXisystemtohavethesametimeastheActiveDirectoryserver. ConfiguretheESX/ESXisystemsDNStobeintheActiveDirectorydomain.
32
VMware, Inc.
Youcannowrunvicfg-authconfigtoaddthehosttothedomain.Auserwhorunsvicfg-authconfigto configureActiveDirectorysettingsmusthavetheappropriateActiveDirectorypermissions,andmusthave administrativeprivilegesontheESX/ESXihost. To set up Active Directory 1 2 3 4 InstalltheESX/ESXihost,asexplainedintheInstallationGuide. InstallWindowsActiveDirectoryonaWindowsServerrunningWindows2000,Windows2003,or Windows2008. SynchronizetimebetweentheESX/ESXisystemandWindowsActiveDirectory(AD)andmakesurethe WindowsADServerandESX/ESXisystemareinthesametimezone. TestthattheWindowsADServercanpingtheESX/ESXihostusingthehostname.
ping <ESX_hostname>
(Optional)IfyoucannotpingtheESX/ESXisystemfromtheWindowsADServer,followthesestepsto resolvetheissue. a AppendthefollowingtoC:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hostsfile:

<IP Address of ESX Server> <host name>
Makesurethe/etc/resolv.conffileontheESX/ESXihostcontainsthefollowingstring:
nameserver <Windows AD IP Address> search <Domain Name of Windows AD>
RunthefollowingvCLIcommand:
vicfg-authconfig --server=<ESX Server IP Address> --username=<ESX Server Admin Username> --password=<ESX Server Admin User's Password> --authscheme AD --joindomain <AD Domain Name> --adusername=<Active Directory Administrator User Name> --adpassword=<Active Directory Administrator User's Password>
Thesystempromptsforusernamesandpasswordsifyoudonotspecifythemonthecommandline. Passwordsarenotechoedtothescreen. 7 8 CheckthataSuccessfully Joined <Domain Name>messageappears. Runvicfg-authconfig --listtoverifytheESX/ESXihostisintheintendedWindowsADdomain.
SeethevSphereCommandLineInterfaceReferenceforalistofoptionsandexamples.
VMware, Inc.
33
34
VMware, Inc.
Managing Files
ThevSphereCLIincludestwocommandsforfilemanipulation.vmkfstoolsallowsyoutomanipulateVMFS (VirtualMachineFileSystem)andvirtualdisks.vifssupportsremoteinteractionwithfilesonyourESX/ESXi host. NOTESeeManagingStorageonpage 49forinformationaboutstoragemanipulationcommands. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

IntroductiontoVirtualMachineFileManagementonpage 35 ManagingtheVirtualMachineFileSystemwithvmkfstoolsonpage 36 UsingvifstoManipulateFilesonRemoteESX/ESXiHostsonpage 46
Introduction to Virtual Machine File Management

YoucanusethevSphereClientorvCLItoaccessdifferenttypesofstoragedevicesthatyourESX/ESXihost discoversandtodeploydatastoresonthem. NOTEDatastoresarelogicalcontainers,analogoustofilesystems,thathidespecificsofeachstoragedevice andprovideauniformmodelforstoringvirtualmachinefiles.DatastorescanbeusedforstoringISOimages, virtualmachinetemplates,andfloppyimages.ThevSphereClientusesthetermdatastoreexclusively.This manualwillusethetermdatastoreandVMFS(orNFS)volumetorefertothesamelogicalcontaineronthe physicaldevice. Dependingonthetypeofstorageyouuse,datastorescanbebackedbythefollowingfilesystemformats:
VirtualMachineFileSystem(VMFS)Highperformancefilesystemthatisoptimizedforstoringvirtual machines.YourhostcandeployaVMFSdatastoreonanySCSIbasedlocalornetworkedstoragedevice, includingFibreChannelandiSCSISANequipment. AsanalternativetousingtheVMFSdatastore,yourvirtualmachinecanhavedirectaccesstorawdevices anduseamappingfile(RDM)asaproxy. YoumanageVMFSandRDMswiththevSphereClientorthevmkfstoolsutility.
NetworkFileSystem(NFS)FilesystemonaNASstoragedevice.ESX/ESXisupportsNFSversion3over TCP/IP.ThehostcanaccessadesignatedNFSvolumelocatedonanNFSserver,mountthevolume,and useitforanystorageneeds.
VMware, Inc.
35
Figure 4-1. Virtual Machines Accessing Different Types of Storage

Host requires TCP/IP connectivity virtual machine virtual machine virtual machine virtual machine virtual machine
local ethernet SCSI bre channel HBA SAN iSCSI hardware initiator LAN software initiator ethernet NIC LAN ethernet NIC LAN
VMFS
Key
physical disk
datastore VMFS fibre array VMFS iSCSI array NFS NAS appliance
virtual disk
Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools

VMFSdatastoresprimarilyserveasrepositoriesforvirtualmachines.Youcanstoremultiplevirtualmachines onthesameVMFSvolume.Eachvirtualmachine,encapsulatedinasetoffiles,occupiesaseparatesingle directory.Fortheoperatingsysteminsidethevirtualmachine,VMFSpreservestheinternalfilesystem semantics. Inaddition,youcanusetheVMFSdatastorestostoreotherfiles,suchasvirtualmachinetemplatesandISO images.VMFSsupportsfileandblocksizesthatenablevirtualmachinestorundataintensiveapplications, includingdatabases,ERP,andCRM,invirtualmachines.ThevSphereESXiConfigurationGuideprovides details. YouusethevmkfstoolsvCLItocreateandmanipulatevirtualdisks,filesystems,logicalvolumes,and physicalstoragedevicesonanESX/ESXihost.Youcanusevmkfstoolstocreateandmanageavirtual machinefilesystem(VMFS)onaphysicalpartitionofadiskandtomanipulatefiles,suchasvirtualdisks, storedonVMFS3andNFS.Youcanalsousevmkfstoolstosetupandmanagerawdevicemappings(RDMs). IMPORTANTThevmkfstoolsvCLIsupportsmostbutnotalloftheoptionsthatthevmkfstoolsservice consolecommandsupports.SeeVMwareKnowledgeBasearticle1008194. Youcannotrunvmkfstoolswith--serverpointingtoavCenterServersystem.
vmkfstools Command Syntax

Thevmkfstoolscommandsupportsspecifyingoneormorecommandlineoptions,associatedarguments, andthetarget,resultinginthefollowingsyntax.
vmkfstools <conn_options> <options> <target> Option <conn_options> Description Connectionparameters.Youmustsupplyconnectionoptions.In mostcases,youdonothavetologinastherootusertorunthe vmkfstoolscommand.However,somecommands,suchasthe filesystemcommands,mightrequirerootuserlogin. See vCLIConnectionOptionson page 23.
36
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 4 Managing Files
Option <options> <target>
Description Oneormorecommandlineoptionsandassociatedvalues. Partition,device,orpathtoapplythecommandto.
See SupportedCommandSpecific Optionsonpage 37. SupportedvmkfstoolTargets onpage 38.
Supported Command-Specific Options

YoucanusevmkfstoolsfilesystemoptionstocreateorextendaVMFSfilesystem,andtolistfilesystem attributes.Table 41givesanoverview. Table 4-1. vmkfstools File System Option Overview
Option --blocksize -b --createfs -C --queryfs -P --setfsname -S --spanfs -Z Description Usesthespecifiedsizeforfilesystem creation.Usedwith--createfs. CreatesaVMFSfilesystem. Listsattributesofafilesystem. Setsthelabelforthefilesystem.Used with--createfs. ExtendstheVMFSfilesystem. See CreatingaVMFSFileSystemonpage 38. CreatingaVMFSFileSystemonpage 38. ListingVMFSVolumeAttributesonpage 39. CreatingaVMFSFileSystemonpage 38. ExtendingVMFSPartitionsbySpanningon page 39.
Youcanusevmkfstoolsvirtualdiskoptionstocreate,clone,manipulate,anddeletevirtualdisksandto manageRDMs(RawDeviceMappings).Table 42givesanoverview. Table 4-2. vmkfstools Virtual Disk Option Overview
Option --adaptertype -a --clonevirtualdisk -i --createrdm -r --createrdmpassthru -z --createvirtualdisk -c --deletevirtualdisk -U --diskformat -d --extendvirtualdisk -X --geometry -g --inflatedisk -j Description Usesthespecifiedtypefordisk creation.Usedwith-cand-i. Clonesthespecifiedvirtualdisk. MapsarawdisktoafileonaVMFSfile system. Mapsapassthroughrawdisktoafile onaVMFSfilesystem. Createsavirtualdisk. Deletesthespecifiedvirtualdisk. Usesthespecifiedformatfordisk creation.Usedwith-cand-i. Extendsthespecifiedvirtualdisk. Displaysvirtualdiskgeometry. Convertsathinvirtualdiskto eagerzeroedthickformat,preserving allexistingdata. See CreatingVirtualDisksonpage 41. CloningVirtualorRawDisksonpage 42. CreatingVirtualCompatibilityModeRaw DeviceMappingsonpage 45. CreatingPhysicalCompatibilityModeRaw DeviceMappingsonpage 45. CreatingVirtualDisksonpage 41. DeletingVirtualDisksonpage 42. SupportedDiskFormatsonpage 40. ExtendingVirtualDisksonpage 43. DisplayingVirtualDiskGeometryonpage 43. InflatingThinVirtualDisksonpage 41.
VMware, Inc.
37
Table 4-2. vmkfstools Virtual Disk Option Overview (Continued)

Option --renamevirtualdisk -E --writezeros -w Description Renamesthespecifiedvirtualdisk. Cleansthevirtualdiskbywritingzeros overallitsdata. See RenamingVirtualDiskonpage 42. InitializingVirtualDisksonpage 41.
Supported vmkfstool Targets

Youcanspecifythetargetoftheoperationspecifiedin<options>asafilesystem,partition,orvirtualdisk.You canusearelativeorabsolutepathnameinthe/vmfshierarchy. File System Target SpecifyaVMFSfilesystemorfileusinganabsoluteorrelativepaththatnamesadirectorysymboliclink,a rawdevicemapping,orafileunder/vmfs. VMFSfilesystem VMFSfile
/vmfs/volumes/<file_system_UUID> /vmfs/volumes/<file_system_label> /vmfs/volumes/<file system label|file system UUID>/[dir]/myDisk.vmdk
Youmustuseanabsolutepathnamestartingwith/vmfs/volumes.For example,/vmfs/volumes/datastore1/rh9.vmdk SeevmkfstoolsFileSystemOptionsonpage 38. Disk Partition Target Specifyadiskpartitionusingnaa.<naa_ID>:P,wherenaa.<naa_ID>isthedeviceIDreturnedbythe storagearrayandPisanintegerthatrepresentsthepartitionnumber.Thepartitiondigitmustbegreaterthan zeroandmustcorrespondtoavalidVMFSpartitionoftypefb. SeevmkfstoolsVirtualDiskOptionsonpage 40. Device Target SpecifyadeviceorlogicalvolumeusingapathnameinanESX/ESXidevicefilesystem.Thenamebeginswith /vmfs/devices,whichisthemountpointofthedevicefilesystem.Eachdevicetypehassubmounts,for example:
/vmfs/devices/disks /vmfs/devices/lvm /vmfs/devices/generic
LocalorSANbaseddisks. ESX/ESXilogicalvolumes. GenericSCSIdevices,suchastapedrives.
vmkfstools File System Options

Usingvmkfstoolsfilesystemcommands,youcancreate,query,andextendaVMFSfilesystem.Theoptions donotapplytoNFSfilesystems.Youmustalsospecifyconnectionoptions.SeevCLIConnectionOptions onpage 23.
Creating a VMFS File System

The-CoptioncreatesaVMFSfilesystemonaspecifiedpartition,suchasnaa.<naa_ID>:1.Thespecified partitionbecomesthefilesystemsheadpartition.YoucanhaveonlyoneVMFSvolumeforaLUN.
-C --createfs vmfs3 -b --blocksize <block_size>kK|mM -S --setfsname <fsName>
IMPORTANTWhenyourunthiscommand,youarenotpromptedforconfirmation.Checkcarefullybefore yourunthecommandtoavoiderasingimportantdata.
38
VMware, Inc.
VMFS2filesystemsarereadonlyonanyESX/ESXihost.YoucannotcreateormodifyVMFS2filesystems butyoucanreadfilesstoredonVMFS2filesystems. The-Coptionhasthefollowingsuboptions.

Option -b blocksize Description BlocksizefortheVMFS3filesystem.Thedefaultfileblocksizeis1MB.Validblocksizesfor VMFS3are1,2,4,8MB Whenenteringasize,indicatetheunittypebyaddingasuffixsuchasmorM.Theunittypeisnot casesensitivevmkfstoolsinterpretsmorMtomeanmegabytesandkorKtomeankilobytes. -S setfsname VolumelabelofaVMFSvolumeforthefilesystemyouarecreating.Use-S onlywiththe-Coption. Thelabelcanbeupto128characterslongandcannotcontainleadingortrailingblankspaces. Afteryoudefineavolumelabel,youcanuseitwheneveryouspecifyaVMFSvolumeinacallto vmkfstools.ThevolumelabelappearsinlistingsgeneratedfortheLinuxls -lcommandandas asymboliclinktotheVMFSvolumeunderthe/vmfs/volumesdirectory. YoucanchangetheVMFSvolumelabelusingthevSphereClientUI.
Whenyourunvmkfstools -C,youcanoptionallyspecifytheblocksizeandvolumelabelforthefilesystem, andspecifythelocation.Forexample:
CreateaVMFS3filesystemnamedmy_vmfswithblocksize2MB.
vmkfstools <conn_options> -C vmfs3 -b 2m -S my_vmfs -vml.<vml_ID>:1
CreateaVMFS3filesystemnamedmy_vmfsandusethedefaultblocksize(1MB).
vmkfstools <conn_options> --createfs vmfs3 --setfsname my_n /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id>:1
Listing VMFS Volume Attributes

The-PoptionliststheattributesofafileordirectoryonaVMFSvolume.
-P --queryfs
To list volume attributes Runvmkfstoolswithconnectionoptions,the-P | --queryfsoption,andthevolumetoquery.

vmkfstools <conn_options> --queryfs /vmfs/volumes/my_vmfs
ThelistedattributesareversiondependentbutmightincludetheVMFSversionnumber,thenumberof extentsinthespecifiedVMFSvolume,thevolumelabelifany,theUUID,andalistingofthedevicenames whereeachextentresides,asinthefollowingexample:

VMFS-3.33 file system spanning 1 partitions. Capacity : 65229815808, 64641564672 avail File system label : my_vmfs UUID : 46fd1460-6ec4e2b8-e048-000e0c7f4088 Path : /vmfs/volumes/46fd1460-6ec4e2b8-e048-000e0c7f4088 Partitions spanned: naa.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:3
IfanydevicethatisbackingaVMFSfilesystemgoesoffline,thenumberofextentsandtheavailablespace changeaccordingly.
Extending VMFS Partitions by Spanning

Youcanrunvmkfstools -ZtoextendtheVMFSfilesystemwiththespecifiedheadpartitionbyspanningit acrossthepartitionspecifiedby<span-partition>.
-Z | --spanfs <span-partition> <head-partition>
Theoperationerasesexistingdataonthespannedpartition.AVMFSfilesystemcanhaveatmost32partitions. TheoptionsdoesnotworkonVMFS2volumes.VMFS2volumesarereadonlyinESX/ESXi3.0andlater. CAUTIONWhenyourunthisoption,youlosealldataontheSCSIdevicespecifiedin<span_partition>.
VMware, Inc.
39
Youcanextendapartitionbyrunningvmkfstools -Zwithconnectionoptions,thepartitiontospan,andthe headpartition.

vmkfstools <conn_options> -Z /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id_1>:1 /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id_2>:3
Thecommandextendsthelogicalfilesystembyallowingittospantoanewpartition.Theextendedfile systemspanstwopartitions,naa.<naa_id_1>:1andnaa.<naa_id_2>:3.Inthisexample, /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id_2>:3istheheadpartitionoftheexistingVMFS3filesystem. naa.<naa_id_1>:1isthepartitiontobeadded.
vmkfstools Virtual Disk Options

Avirtualdiskisafileorsetoffilesthatappearsasaphysicaldiskdrivetoaguestoperatingsystem.Virtual diskfilescanbeontheESX/ESXihostoronaremotefilesystem. Thevmkfstoolsvirtualdiskoptionssupportsetup,migration,andmanagementofvirtualdisksstoredin VMFS2,VMFS3,andNFSfilesystems.YoucanperformmostofthesetasksthroughthevSphereClientor vCLI.
Supported Disk Formats

Whenyoucreateorcloneavirtualdisk,youcanusethe-d --diskformatsuboptiontospecifytheformat foryourdisk.Table 43liststhesupportedformats. Table 4-3. Supported Disk Formats
Format zeroedthick (default) eagerzeroedthick Description Spacerequiredforthevirtualdiskisallocatedduringcreation.Anydataremainingonthe physicaldeviceisnoterasedduringcreation,butwillbezeroedoutondemandthefirsttime thevirtualmachinewritestodisk.Thevirtualmachinedoesnotreadstaledatafromdisk. Spacerequiredforthevirtualdiskisallocatedatcreationtime.Incontrasttozeroedthick format,thedataremainingonthephysicaldeviceiszeroedoutduringcreation.Itmighttake muchlongertocreatedisksinthisformatthantocreateothertypesofdisks. Thinprovisionedvirtualdisk.Spacerequiredforthevirtualdiskisnotallocatedduring creation,butissupplied,zeroedout,ondemandatalatertime. Convertthinprovisioneddiskswiththe-joption.SeeInflatingThinVirtualDiskson page 41. rdm rdmp 2gbsparse Virtualcompatibilitymoderawdiskmapping. Physicalcompatibilitymode(passthrough)rawdiskmapping. Sparsediskwith2GBmaximumextentsize.YoucanusedisksinthisformatwithotherVMware productssuchasVMwareWorkstation.YoucannotpoweronasparsediskonanESX/ESXihost unlessyoufirstreimportthediskinacompatibleformat,suchasthin,withvmkfstools.
thin
With -c --createvirtualdisk,vmkfstoolsacceptszeroedthick,eagerzeroedthick,andthin. With-i clonevirtualdisk,vmkfstoolsacceptszeroedthick,thin,eagerzeroedthick, rdm:<device>,rdmp:<device>,and2gbsparse. WithNFSfiles,vmkfstoolssupportsonlythin,zeroedthick,and2gbsparse.BecausetheNFSserverand nottheESX/ESXisystemdecidestheallocationpolicy,zeroedthick,andthinusuallyhavethesameresult. ThedefaultallocationpolicyonmostNFSserversisthin. IMPORTANTIfyourunvCLI4.xagainstvCLI4.xsystems,formatsaresupportedaslisted.Supportislimited ifyourunvCLI4.xagainstvCLI3.5systems.
40
VMware, Inc.
Creating Virtual Disks

The-coptioncreatesavirtualdiskatthespecifiedlocationonaVMFSvolume.
-c --createvirtualdisk <size>[kK|mM|gG] -a --adaptertype [buslogic|lsilogic|ide] <srcfile> -d --diskformat [thin|zeroedthick|eagerzeroedthick] <location>
Whenyourunvmkfstools -c,--adaptertypedefaultstobuslogicand--diskformatdefaultsto zeroedthick. Youmustspecifythesizeofthevirtualdisk.Indicatetheunittypeforthe<size>optionbyaddingasuffixof korK(kilobytes),m orM(megabytes),orgorG(gigabytes).Ifyoudonotspecifyaunittype,vmkfstools defaultstobytes. Youcanspecifythedevicedriverandthediskformatusing-aand-d.
-aspecifiesthedevicedriverthatisusedtocommunicatewiththevirtualdisks.YoucanselectBusLogic, LSILogicSCSI,orIDEdrivers. -dspecifiesthediskformat,oneofzeroedthick,thin,eagerzeroedthick.SupportedDiskFormats onpage 40discussesallsupporteddiskformats,includingthosesupportedbycreatevirtualdisk.
Whenyoucreateavirtualdisk,youcanusethedefaultfileformatandadapterorspecifythemexplicitly.
Runvmkfstools -candspecifythesizeandfullpathforthevirtualdisk.Forexample:
vmkfstools <conn_options> -c 2g /vmfs/volumes/my_vmfs/myOS.vmdk
CreatesatwogigabytevirtualdiskfilenamedmyOS.vmdkontheVMFSfilesystemnamedmy_vmfs.This filerepresentsanemptyvirtualdiskthatavirtualmachinecanaccess.
Specifyafileformatandadapterforthevirtualdisk.Youchangethedefaultadapterassociatedwiththe virtualmachine(buslogic),usingthe-aoption.Choicesarelsilogicoride.
vmkfstools <conn_options> --createvirtualdisk 20m -d thin -a lsilogic /vmfs/volumes/M1/test.vmdk
Createsavirtualdiskassociatedwithanlsilogicvirtualadapter.SeeAddingandModifyingVMkernel NetworkInterfaceswithvicfgvmkniconpage 117. IMPORTANTTheadaptertypeissetwhenyoucreatethevirtualdisk.Ifyoudonotspecifyatype,thedefault (buslogic)isused.Ifyouspecifyatype,itbecomesthetypeforthatdisk.Youcannotchangetheadaptertype later.
Initializing Virtual Disks

The-woptionerasesavirtualdiskbywritingzerosoverallitsdata.
-w --writezeros
DependingonthesizeofyourvirtualdiskandtheI/Obandwidthtothedevicethatishostingthevirtualdisk, completingthiscommandmighttakealongtime. CAUTIONWhenyouusethiscommand,youloseanyexistingdataonthevirtualdisk.
Youcanrunvmkfstoolswiththe--writezerosoptiontoinitializeavirtualdisk.
vmkfstools <conn_options> --writezeros /vmfs/volumes/my_vmfs/text02.vmdk
Inflating Thin Virtual Disks

Athinprovisionedvirtualdiskstartssmallandexpandsasmorediskspaceisrequired.Administratorscreate avirtualdiskinthinprovisionedformattosavestoragespace.
VMware, Inc.
41
The-joptionconvertsathinvirtualdisktoeagerzeroedthickformatandpreservesallexistingdata. vmkfstoolsallocatesandzeroesoutanyblocksthatwerenotallocated.
-j --inflatedisk
Youcaninflateavirtualdiskbyrunningvmkfstoolswithconnectionoptionsandthe--inflatedisk option.
vmkfstools <conn_options> --inflatedisk /vmfs/volumes/myvmfs/thin.vmdk
Deleting Virtual Disks

The-UoptiondeletesfilesassociatedwiththevirtualdiskatthespecifiedpathontheVMFSvolume.
-U --deletevirtualdisk <conn_options> <location>
Youcandeleteavirtualdiskbyrunningvmkfstoolswithconnectionoptions,the-Uoption,andthenameof thevirtualdisktobedeleted.
vmkfstools <conn_options> -U /vmfs/volumes/store/test.vmdk
Renaming Virtual Disk

The-Eoptionrenamesavirtualdiskfile.
-E --renamevirtualdisk <conn_options> <oldName> <newName>
Youmustspecifytheoriginalfilenameorfilepath<oldName>andthenewfilenameorfilepath<newName>. Youcanrenameavirtualdiskbyrunningvmkfstools -Eandspecifyconnectionoptions,theoldfilepath, andthenewfilepath.

vmkfstools <conn_options> -E /vmfs/volumes/myvmfs/test.vmdk /vmfs/volumes/store/renamed.vmdk
Cloning Virtual or Raw Disks

The-ioptioncreatesacopyofavirtualdiskorarawdiskthatyouspecify.
-i --clonevirtualdisk <srcfile> <destfile> -d --diskformat [zeroedthick| thin| eagerzeroedthick| rdm:<device>|rdmp:<device>| 2gbsparse] -a --adaptertype <type>
The--diskformatoptionspecifiesthediskformatforthecopy.diskformatdefaultstozeroedthickifnot specified.adaptertypedefaultstobuslogicifnotspecified.SeeSupportedDiskFormatsonpage 40. IMPORTANTTomakeacopyoftheredologsofanESX/ESXihostwhilepreservingtheirhierarchy,usethe vifs -ccommandinstead. To clone a virtual or raw disk 1 2 Stopthesourcevirtualmachine. Runvmkfstools -i,specifyingthesourceandtargetandoptionaldiskformatandadaptertype.For example:
vmkfstools <conn_options> -i /vmfs/volumes/templates/gold-master.vmdk /vmfs/volumes/myVMFS/myOS.vmdk -d thin -a lsilogic
Thecloneprocessmighttakesometime.Theexacttimedependsonthesizeofyourdisk. 3 4 5 6 Configureanewvirtualmachine. Whenaskedtoconfigureadisk,chooseUseanexistingdiskandselectthecloneddiskyoujustcreated (myOS.vmdkintheexample). Afterthevirtualmachineiscreated,startit,login,andchangetheIPaddressandhostname. AfteryouhavechangedtheIPaddressfortheclone,youcanpoweronthesourcevirtualmachine.
42
VMware, Inc.
Migrating VMware Workstation and VMware GSX Server Virtual Machines

YoucannotusethevSphereClienttomigratevirtualmachinescreatedwithVMwareWorkstationor VMware GSXServertoyourESX/ESXisystem.However,youcanusethevmkfstools -icommandtoimport thevirtualdiskintoyourESX/ESXisystem.Youcanthenattachthisdisktoanewvirtualmachinethatyou createintheESX/ESXisystem.Youmustimportthevirtualdiskfirst,becauseyoucannotpowerondisks exportedin2gbsparseformatonanESX/ESXihost. To migrate Workstation virtual machines 1 2 3 ImportaVMwareWorkstationorGSXServerdiskintoyour/vmfs/volumes/myVMFS/directoryorany subdirectoryusingvmkfstools. UsingthevSphereClient,createanewvirtualmachineusingtheCustomconfigurationoption. SelectUseanexistingvirtualdiskandattachtheVMwareWorkstationorGSXServerdiskthatyou importedduringdiskconfiguration.
Extending Virtual Disks

The-Xoptionextendsthesizeofadiskallocatedtoavirtualmachineafterthevirtualmachinehasbeen created.
-X --extendvirtualdisk [-d eagerzeroedthick] <newSize>[kK|mM|gG] <v_disk>
Youmustpoweroffthevirtualmachinethatusesthisdiskfilebeforeyouenterthiscommand.Youmighthave toupdatethefilesystemonthedisksothattheguestoperatingsystemcanrecognizeandusethenewsizeof thediskandtakeadvantageoftheextraspace. IMPORTANTnewSizedefinestheentirenewsize,notjusttheincrementthatyouaddtothedisk. YouspecifythenewSizeoptioninkilobytes,megabytes,orgigabytesbyaddingasuffixofkorK(kilobytes), m orM(megabytes),orgorG(gigabytes).Ifyoudonotspecifyaunittype,vmkfstoolsdefaultstokilobytes. Donotextendthebasediskofavirtualmachinethathassnapshotsassociatedwithit.Ifyoudo,youcanno longercommitthesnapshotorrevertthebasedisktoitsoriginalsize. Bydefault,anydisk,regardlessofformat,isextendedaszeroedthick.Youcanspecify-d eagerzeroedthicktochangetheformattoeagerzeroedthick.Extendvirtualdiskstoeagerzeroedthick onlyiftheyareusedforfaulttoleranceandclusteringandhavetobepreallocatedandzeroed.-dallowsonly eagerzeroedthick,itdoesnotallowotherdiskformats. To extend a virtual disk 1 Shutdownthevirtualmachineassociatedwiththedisk,eitherbyusingthevSphereClientorbyusing vmware-cmd(seeManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 89).
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx stop <powerop_mode>
Specifyhardtoforcetheshutdown,orsofttohavethesystemattempttoshutdowntheguestoperating system. 2 Runvmkfstools -Xwithconnectionoptions,thenewsize,anoptionalnewformat,andthelocationfor thevirtualdisk.

vmkfstools <conn_options> -X 50M /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmdk
Displaying Virtual Disk Geometry

The-goptionretrievesinformationaboutthegeometryofavirtualdisk.
-g --geometry
VMware, Inc.
43
TheformisGeometry information C/H/S,whereCisthenumberofcylinders,Histhenumberofheads, andSisthenumberofsectors. IMPORTANTWhenyouimportVMwareWorkstationvirtualdiskstoESX/ESXihost,youmightseeadisk geometrymismatchmessage.Geometrymismatchmightalsocauseproblemswhenyouloadaguest operatingsystemorrunanewlycreatedvirtualmachine.
Managing Raw Device Mapping Files

YoucanstorevirtualmachinedatadirectlyonaSANLUNinsteadofstoringthedatainavirtualdiskfile.Data onaSANLUNisusefulifyourunapplicationsinyourvirtualmachinesthatmusthaveinformationaboutthe physicalcharacteristicsofthestoragedevice.MappingaSANLUNalsoallowsyoutouseexistingSAN commandstomanagestorageforthedisk. WhenyoumapaLUNtoaVMFSvolume,thevCenterServersystemcreatesafilecalledtheRDMfile,which pointstotherawLUN.EncapsulatingdiskinformationinafileallowsvCenterServertolocktheLUNsothat onlyonevirtualmachinecanwritetoit.Asaresult,allVMFS3filelockingmechanismsapplytoRDMs. IMPORTANTAnRDMfilehasa.vmdkextension,butthefilecontainsonlydiskinformationthatdescribesthe mappingtotheLUNontheESX/ESXisystem.TheactualdataisstoredontheLUN. YoucannotdeployavirtualmachinefromatemplateandstoreitsdataonaLUN.Youcanstoreitsdataonly inavirtualdiskfile.
RDM Virtual and Physical Compatibility Modes

YoucanuseRDMsinvirtualcompatibilityorphysicalcompatibilitymodes.Virtualmodespecifiesfull virtualizationofthemappeddevice.PhysicalmodespecifiesminimalSCSIvirtualizationofthemapped device.PhysicalmodeallowsthegreatestflexibilityforSANmanagementsoftware.
Invirtualcompatibilitymode,themappeddeviceappearstotheguestoperatingsystemexactlythesame asavirtualdiskfileinaVMFSvolume.Theactualhardwarecharacteristicsarehidden.Ifyouusearaw diskinvirtualmode,youcanrealizethebenefitsofVMFSsuchasadvancedfilelockingfordata protectionandsnapshotsforstreamliningdevelopmentprocesses.Virtualmodeisalsomoreportable acrossstoragehardwarethanphysicalmode.Avirtualmodemappeddevicepresentsthesamebehavior asavirtualdiskfile. Inphysicalcompatibilitymode,theVMkernelpassesallSCSIcommandstothedevice,withone exception:theREPORTLUNscommandisvirtualizedsothattheVMkernelcanisolatetheLUNforthe owningvirtualmachine.Otherwise,allphysicalcharacteristicsoftheunderlyinghardwareareexposed. PhysicalmodeisusefultorunSANmanagementagentsorotherSCSItargetbasedsoftwareinthevirtual machine.Physicalmodealsoallowsvirtualtophysicalclusteringforcosteffectivehighavailability.
Figure 4-2. Physical and Virtual Compatibility Mode

virtual machine 1 virtualization VMFS virtual machine 1
virtual mode
virtualization VMFS
physical mode
mapping file VMFS volume
mapped device
mapping file VMFS volume
mapped device
44
VMware, Inc.
Creating Virtual Compatibility Mode Raw Device Mappings

Youcanusethe-roptiontocreateaRawDeviceMapping(RDM)fileinvirtualcompatibilitymodeona VMFS3volumeandtomaparawdisktothisfile.
-r --createrdm <device> <rdm_file>
Whenyouspecifynaa.<naa_id>,theentirerawdiskisused.Usethefollowingformat:
/vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id>
Afterthismappingisestablished,youcanaccesstherawdiskasyouwouldanormalVMFSvirtualdisk.The filelengthofthemappingisthesameasthesizeoftherawdiskitpointsto. To create and use a virtual compatibility mode RDM 1 Runvmkfstools -r withconnectionoptions,thedevicetomapasarawdisk,andthenameoftheRDM file.
vmkfstools <conn_options> -r /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id> /vmfs/volumes/storage1/rdm210.vmdk
ThecommandcreatesavirtualcompatibilitymodeRDMfile/vmfs/volumes/storage1/rdm210.vmdk andmapsthe/vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id>rawdisktothatfile. 2 Configureavirtualmachinetousethemy_rdm.vmdkmappingfilebyusingthevSphereClientorby addingthefollowinglinestothevirtualmachineconfigurationfile.

scsi0:0.present = TRUE scsi0:0.fileName = /vmfs/volumes/myVMFS/my_rdm.vmdk
YoucanusevifstocopythefilefromtheremoteESX/ESXisystemtoyourlocalmachineandback.See UsingvifstoManipulateFilesonRemoteESX/ESXiHostsonpage 46.
Creating Physical Compatibility Mode Raw Device Mappings

The-zoptionmapsaphysicalcompatibilitymoderawdevicetoafileonaVMFSvolume.
-z --createrdmpassthru <device> <map_file>
ThemappingletsavirtualmachinebypassESX/ESXiSCSIcommandfilteringwhenaccessingitsvirtualdisk. ThistypeofmappingisusefulwhenthevirtualmachineneedstosendproprietarySCSIcommands,for example,whenthevirtualmachinerunsSANawaresoftware. Afteryouestablishthistypeofmapping,youcanusethemappingtoaccesstherawdiskjustasyouwould anyotherVMFSvirtualdisk.Theentirerawdeviceisused.Usethefollowingformat:

/vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id>
To create a physical compatibility mode RDM 1 Runvmkfstools -z withconnectionoptions,thedevicetomapasarawdisk,andthenameoftheRDM file.

vmkfstools <conn_options> -z /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id> /vmfs/volumes/storage1/rdmpass.vmdk
ThecommandcreatesaphysicalcompatibilitymodeRDMfile/vmfs/volumes/storage1/rdmpass.vmdk andmapsthe/vmfs/devices/disks/naa.<naa_id>rawdisktothatfile.Youcannotusethenameofa filethatalreadyexists. 2 Configureavirtualmachinetousetherdmpass.vmdk mappingfilebyusingthevSphereClientorby addingthefollowinglinestothevirtualmachineconfigurationfile:

scsi0:0.present = TRUE scsi0:0.fileName = /vmfs/volumes/myVMFS/rdmpass.vmdk
VMware, Inc.
45
Using vifs to Manipulate Files on Remote ESX/ESXi Hosts

Inmostcases,vmkfstoolsandothercommandsareusedtomanipulatevirtualmachinefiles.Insomecases, youmightneedtoviewandmanipulatefilesonremoteESX/ESXihostsdirectly. CAUTIONIfyoumanipulatefilesdirectly,yourvSpheresetupmightendupinaninconsistentstate.Usethe vSphereClientoroneoftheothervCLIcommandstomanipulatevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesand virtualdisks. Thevifscommandperformscommonoperationssuchascopy,remove,get,andputonESX/ESXifilesand directories.ThecommandissupportedagainstESX/ESXihostsbutnotagainstvCenterServersystems. SomesimilaritiesbetweenvifsandDOSorUNIX/Linuxfilesystemmanagementutilitiesexist,butthereare manydifferences.Forexample,vifsdoesnotsupportwildcardcharactersorcurrentdirectoriesand,asa result,relativepathnames.Usevifsonlyasdocumented. Insteadofusingthiscommand,youcanbrowsedatastorecontentsandhostfilesbyusingaWebbrowser. Connecttothefollowinglocation:
http://ESX_host_IP_Address/host http://ESX_host_IP_Address/folder
YoucanviewdatacenteranddatastoredirectoriesfromthisrootURL. Thevifscommandsupportsdifferentoperationsforthefollowinggroupsoffilesanddirectories.Different operationsareavailableforeachgroup,andyouspecifylocationswithadifferentsyntax.
Host.Hostconfigurationfiles.Youmustspecifythefilesuniquenameidentifier. Specifyhostlocationsusingthehost/<path>syntax.
Temp.The/tmpdirectoryandfilesinthatdirectory. Specifytemplocationsusingthetmp/dir/subdirsyntax.
Datastores.Datastorefilesanddirectories.Youhavetwochoicesforspecifyingadatastore:
Datastoreprefixstyle:'[ds_name] relative_path'.Forexample:
'[myStorage1] testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx'(Linux) or "[myStorage1] testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx" (Windows)
URLstyle:/folder/dir/subdir/file?dsName=<name>.Forexample:
'/folder/testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx?dsName=myStorage1' (Linux) "/folder/testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx?dsName=myStorage1" (Windows)
ThetwoexamplepathsrefertoavirtualmachineconfigurationfileforthevirtualmachineVM1inthe testvms/VM1directoryofthemyStorage1datastore. Toavoidproblemswithdirectorynamesthatusespecialcharactersorspaces,enclosethepathinquotesfor bothoperatingsystems. Whenyourunvifs,youcanspecifytheoperationnameandargumentandoneofthestandardconnection optionsdiscussedinTable 22.Usealiases,symboliclinks,orwrapperscriptstosimplifytheinvocation syntax. IMPORTANTTheconceptsofworkingdirectoryandlastdirectoryorfileoperatedonarenotavailablewith vifs. Options vifscommandspecificoptionsallowyoutoretrieveanduploadfilesfromtheremotehostandperforma numberofotheroperations.Allvifsoptionsworkondatastorefilesordirectories.Someoptionsalsowork onhostfilesandfilesinthetempdirectory.Youmustalsospecifyconnectionoptions.SeevCLIConnection Optionsonpage 23.
46
VMware, Inc.
Command --copy -c <source> <target>
Description Copiesafileinadatastoretoanotherlocation inadatastore.The<source>mustbearemote sourcepath,the<target>aremotetarget pathordirectory. The--forceoptionreplacesexisting destinationfiles.
For... Datastore Temp
Syntax copy src_file_path dst_directory_path [force] copy src_file_path dst_file_path [force]
--dir -D <remote_dir> --force -F --get -g <remote_path> <local_path>
Liststhecontentsofadatastoredirectory. Overwritesthedestinationfile.Usedwith --moveand--copy. DownloadsafilefromtheESX/ESXihostto themachineonwhichyourunvCLI.This operationusesHTTP GET. Liststhedatacenterpathsavailableonan ESX/ESXisystem. ListsthedatastorenamesontheESX/ESXi system.Whenmultipledatacentersare available,usethe--dc (-Z)argumentto specifythenameofthedatacenterfromwhich youwanttolistthedatastore. Createsadirectoryinadatastore.This operationfailsiftheparentdirectoryof dst_datastore_file_pathdoesnotexist. Movesafileinadatastoretoanotherlocation inadatastore.The<source>mustbearemote sourcepath,the<target>aremotetarget pathordirectory. The--forceoptionreplacesexisting destinationfiles.
Datastore Temp Datastore Temp Datastore Host
dir datastore_directory_path copy src_file_path dst_file_path [force] get src_dstore_file_path dst_local_file_path get src_d store_dir_path dst_local_file_path
--listdc -C --listds -S
Datastore Host Datastore Host vifs --listds
--mkdir -M <remote_dir> --move -m <source> <target>
Datastore Temp Datastore Temp
mkdir dst_directory_path
move src_file_path dst_directory_path [force] move src_file_path dst_file_path [force]
--put -p <local_path> <remote_path>
Uploadsafilefromthemachineonwhichyou runvCLItotheESX/ESXihost.Thisoperation usesHTTP PUT. Thiscommandcanreplaceexistinghostfiles butcannotcreatenewfiles.
Datastore Host Temp
put src_local_file_path dst_file_path put src_local_file_path dst_directory_path rm dst_file_path rmdir dst_directory_path
--rm -r <remote_path> --rmdir -R <remote_dir>
Deletesadatastorefile. Deletesadatastoredirectory.Thisoperation failsifthedirectoryisnotempty.
Datastore Temp Datastore Temp
Youcanlistinformationabouttheremotedirectoriesinseveralways.
Listthecurrentdatastores.
vifs <conn_options> --listds.
Thecommandliststhenamesofalldatastoresonthespecifiedserver.Forexample:
osdc-cx700-02 osdc-cx700-03 osdc-cx700-02 osdc-cx700-03 osdc-cx700-04 osdc-cx700-05
Youcanuseeachnamethathasbeenreturnedtorefertodatastorepathsusingsquarebracketnotation, asfollows:
'[my_datastore] dir/subdir/file'
VMware, Inc.
47
Listthecontentsofoneofthedatastores.
vifs <conn_options> --dir '[osdc-cx700-02]'
Thecommandliststhecompletecontentsofthedatastore.
Listthecontentsofonedirectoryinthedatastore.
vifs <conn_options> --dir '[osdc-cx700-02] winxpPro-sp2'
Thecommandliststhedirectorycontent.Inthisexample,thecommandliststhecontentsofavirtual machinedirectory.
Content Listing _________________ vmware-37.log vmware-38.log ... vmware.log ... winxpPro-sp2.vmdk winxpPro-sp2.vmx winxpPro-sp2.vmxf ...
Thefollowingexamplescenarioillustratesotherusesofvifs. To manage files and directories on the remote ESX/ESXi system 1 Createadirectoryinthedatastore.
vifs <conn_options> --mkdir '[osdc-cx700-03] vcli_test'
Youmustspecifytheprecisepath;thereisnoconceptofarelativepath. 2 Placeafilethatisonthesystemfromwhichyouarerunningthecommandsintothenewlycreated directory.

vifs <conn_options> --put /tmp/test_doc '[osdc-cx700-03] vcli_test/test_doc'
Moveafileintoavirtualmachinedirectory.
vifs <conn_options> --move '[osdc-cx700-03] vcli_test/test_doc' '[osdc-cx700-03] winxpPro-sp2/test_doc
Amessageindicatessuccessorfailure. 4 RetrieveoneofthefilesfromtheremoteESX/ESXisystem. Thefollowingexampleretrievesalogfileforanalysis.

vifs <conn_options> --get '[osdc-cx700-03] winxpPro-sp2/vmware.log' ~user1/vmware.log
Cleanupbyremovingthefileanddirectoryyoucreatedearlier.
vifs <conn_options> --rm '[osdc-cx700-03] vcli_test/test_doc' vifs <conn_options> --rmdir '[osdc-cx700-03] vcli_test'
48
VMware, Inc.
Managing Storage
Avirtualmachineusesavirtualdisktostoreitsoperatingsystem,programfiles,andotherdataassociated withitsactivities.Avirtualdiskisalargephysicalfile,orasetoffiles,thatcanbecopied,moved,archived, andbackedup. Tostorevirtualdiskfilesandmanipulatethefiles,ahostrequiresdedicatedstoragespace.ESX/ESXistorage isstoragespaceonavarietyofphysicalstoragesystems,localornetworked,thatahostusestostorevirtual machinedisks. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

IntroductiontoStorageonpage 49 ExaminingLUNswithvicfgscsidevsonpage 52 ManagingPathswithvicfgmpathonpage 53 ManagingPathPolicieswithesxclionpage 55 MaskingPathswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleonpage 57 ManagingNFS/NASDatastoreswithvicfgnasonpage 58 MigratingVirtualMachineswithsvmotiononpage 59 ManagingDuplicateVMFSDatastoreswithvicfgvolumeonpage 61 RescanningStorageAdapterswithvicfgrescanonpage 63
Chapter 6,ManagingiSCSIStorage,onpage 65discussesiSCSIstoragemanagement.Chapter 9,Managing ThirdPartyStorageArrayswithesxcli,onpage 97explainshowtomanagethePluggableStorage Architecture,includingPathSelectionPlugin(PSP)andStorageArrayTypePlugin(SATP)configuration.
Introduction to Storage
FibreChannelSANarrays,iSCSISANarrays,andNASarraysarewidelyusedstoragetechnologiessupported byVMwarevSpheretomeetdifferentdatacenterstorageneeds.Thestoragearraysareconnectedtoand sharedbetweengroupsofserversthroughstorageareanetworks.Thisarrangementallowsaggregationofthe storageresourcesandprovidesmoreflexibilityinprovisioningthemtovirtualmachines.
VMware, Inc.
49
Figure 5-1. vSphere Datacenter Physical Topology

vCenter Server vSphere Client Web access terminal
server group 1
server group 2
server group 3
virtual machines VM VM VM VM VM VM fibre channel switch fabric / IP network
ESX/ESXi
fibre channel storage array
iSCSI storage array
NAS storage array
How Virtual Machines Access Storage

Avirtualdiskhidesthephysicalstoragelayerfromthevirtualmachinesoperatingsystem.Regardlessofthe typeofstoragedevicethatyourhostuses,thevirtualdiskalwaysappearstothevirtualmachineasamounted SCSIdevice.Asaresult,youcanrunoperatingsystemsthatarenotcertifiedforspecificstorageequipment, suchasSAN,inthevirtualmachine. Whenavirtualmachinecommunicateswithitsvirtualdiskstoredonadatastore,itissuesSCSIcommands. Becausedatastorescanexistonvarioustypesofphysicalstorage,thesecommandsareencapsulatedintoother forms,dependingontheprotocolthattheESX/ESXihostusestoconnecttoastoragedevice. Figure 52depictsfivevirtualmachinesusingdifferenttypesofstoragetoillustratethedifferencesbetween eachtype. Figure 5-2. Virtual Machines Accessing Different Types of Storage
Host requires TCP/IP connectivity virtual machine virtual machine virtual machine virtual machine virtual machine
local ethernet SCSI bre channel HBA SAN iSCSI hardware initiator LAN software initiator ethernet NIC LAN ethernet NIC LAN
VMFS
Key
physical disk
datastore VMFS fibre array VMFS iSCSI array NFS NAS appliance
virtual disk
50
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 5 Managing Storage
YoucanusethevCLIcommandsdiscussedinthismanualtomanagethevirtualmachinefilesystemand storagedevices.
VMFS.Usevmkfstoolstocreate,modify,andmanageVMFSvirtualdisksandrawdevicemappings. SeeManagingtheVirtualMachineFileSystemwithvmkfstoolsonpage 36. Datastores.Severalcommandsallowyoutomanagedatastoresandareusefulformultipleprotocols.
LUNs.Usevicfg-scsidevstodisplayavailableLUNsandmappingsforeachVMFSvolumetoits correspondingpartition.SeeExaminingLUNswithvicfgscsidevsonpage 52. Pathmanagement.Usevicfg-mpathtolistinformationaboutFibreChanneloriSCSILUNsandto changeapathsstate.SeeManagingPathswithvicfgmpathonpage 53.Usetheesxclicommand toviewandmodifypathpolicies.SeeManagingPathPolicieswithesxclionpage 55. Rescan.Usevicfg-rescantoperformarescanoperationeachtimeyoureconfigureyourstorage setup.SeeRescanningStorageAdapterswithvicfgrescanonpage 63.
Storagedevices.Severalcommandsmanageonlyspecificstoragedevices.
NFSstorage.Usevicfg-nastomanageNASstoragedevices.SeeManagingNFS/NASDatastores withvicfgnasonpage 58. iSCSIstorage.Usevicfg-iscsitomanagebothhardwareandsoftwareiSCSI.SeeManaging iSCSIStorageonpage 65.
Datastores
ESX/ESXihostsusestoragespaceonavarietyofphysicalstoragesystems,includinginternalandexternal devicesandnetworkedstorage.Ahostcandiscoverstoragedevicestowhichithasaccessandformatthemas datastores.Eachdatastoreisaspeciallogicalcontainer,analogoustoafilesystemonalogicalvolume,where thehostplacesvirtualdiskfilesandothervirtualmachinefiles.Datastoreshidespecificsofeachstorage productandprovideauniformmodelforstoringvirtualmachinefiles. Dependingonthetypeofstorageyouuse,datastorescanbebackedbythefollowingfilesystemformats:
VirtualMachineFileSystem(VMFS).Highperformancefilesystemoptimizedforstoringvirtual machines.YourhostcandeployaVMFSdatastoreonanySCSIbasedlocalornetworkedstoragedevice, includingFibreChannelandiSCSISANequipment. AsanalternativetousingtheVMFSdatastore,yourvirtualmachinecanhavedirectaccesstorawdevices anduseamappingfile(RDM)asaproxy.SeeManagingtheVirtualMachineFileSystemwith vmkfstoolsonpage 36.
NetworkFileSystem(NFS).FilesystemonaNASstoragedevice.ESX/ESXisupportsNFSversion3over TCP/IP.ThehostcanaccessadesignatedNFSvolumelocatedonanNFSserver,mountthevolume,and useitforanystorageneeds.
Storage Device Naming

Eachstoragedevice,orLUN,isidentifiedbyseveralnames.
Name.AfriendlynamethattheESX/ESXihostassignstoadevicebasedonthestoragetypeand manufacturer,forexample,DGCFibreChannelDisk.ThisnameisvisibleinthevSphereClient. DeviceUID.Auniversallyuniqueidentifierassignedtoadevice.Thetypeofstoragedeterminesthe algorithmusedtocreatetheidentifier.Theidentifierispersistentacrossrebootsandisthesameforall hostssharingthedevice.Theformatisoftennaa.xxxxxxxoreui.xxxxxxxx. VMLName.AlegacySCSIdevicenamespecifictoVMware.UsethedeviceUIDinstead.
Theruntimenameofthefirstpathtothedeviceisapathidentifierandnotareliableidentifierforthedevice. Runtimenamesarecreatedbythehost,andarenotpersistent.Theruntimenamehastheformat vmhba#:C#:T#:L#.YoucanviewtheruntimenameusingthevSphereClient.
VMware, Inc.
51
Examining LUNs with vicfg-scsidevs

ALUN(LogicalUnitNumber)isanidentifierforadiskvolumeinastoragearraytarget.
Target and Device Representation

IntheESX/ESXicontext,thetermtargetidentifiesasinglestorageunitthatahostcanaccess.Thetermsdevice andLUNdescribealogicalvolumethatrepresentsstoragespaceonatarget.ThetermsdeviceandLUNmean aSCSIvolumepresentedtothehostfromastoragetarget. DifferentstoragevendorspresenttheirstoragesystemstoESX/ESXihostsindifferentways.Somevendors presentasingletargetwithmultipleLUNsonit.OthervendorspresentmultipletargetswithoneLUNeach. Figure 5-3. Target and LUN Representations
target LUN LUN LUN target LUN target LUN target LUN
storage array
storage array
InFigure 53,threeLUNsareavailableineachconfiguration.Ontheleft,thehostseesonetarget,butthat targethasthreeLUNsthatcanbeused.EachLUNrepresentsanindividualstoragevolume.Ontheright,the hostseesthreedifferenttargets,eachhavingoneLUN.
Examining LUNs
Usevicfg-scsidevstodisplayinformationaboutavailableLUNsonESX/ESXi 4.xhosts.ForESX/ESXi3.5 systems,thecorrespondingcommandisvicfg-vmhbadevs. IMPORTANTYoucanrunvicfg-scsidevs--queryandvicfg-scsidevs --vmfsagainstESX/ESXiversion 3.5.TheotheroptionsaresupportedonlyagainstESX/ESXiversion4.0andlater. YoucanrunoneofthefollowingcommandstoexamineLUNs.
Listalllogicaldevicesknownonthissystemwithdetailedinformation.
vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> --list
Thecommandlistsdeviceinformationforalllogicaldevicesonthissystem.Theinformationincludesthe name(UUID),devicetype,displayname,andmultipathingplugin.Specifythe--deviceoptiontoonly listinformationaboutaspecificdevice.HereisasampleoutputfortwodevicesonanESXhost;theactual listingmightincludemultipledevicesandthepreciseformatdiffersbetweenESXandESXihostsand betweenreleases.

mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0 Device Type: cdrom Size: 0 MB Display Name: Local HL-DT-ST (mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0) Plugin: NMP Console Device: /vmfs/devices/cdrom/mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0 Devfs Path: /vmfs/devices/cdrom/mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0 Vendor: SONY Model: DVD-ROM GDRXX8XX Revis: 3.00 SCSI Level: 5 Is Pseudo: Status: Is RDM Capable: Is Removable: Other Names: vml.000N000000XXXdXXXXXXXXaXXXaXX VAAI Status: nnnn naa.60060... Device Type: disk Size: 614400 MB Display Name: DGC Fibre Channel Disk (naa.60060...) ...
52 VMware, Inc.
Listalllogicaldeviceswithabbreviatedinformation.
vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> --compact-list
TheinformationincludesthedeviceID,devicetype,size,plugin,anddevicedisplayname.
Listalldeviceuniqueidentifiers.
vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> --uids
ThecommandliststheprimaryUIDforeachdevice(naa.xxxorotherprimaryname)andanyotherUIDs foreachUID(VMLname).Youcanspecify--devicetoonlylistinformationforaspecificdevice.
Listaspecificlogicaldevicewithitsdetailedinformation.
vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> -l -d mpx.vmhba32:C0:T1:L0
PrintmappingsforVMFSvolumestothecorrespondingpartition,pathtothatpartition,VMFSuuid, extentnumber,andvolumenames.
vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> --vmfs
PrintHBAdeviceswithidentifyinginformation.
vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> --hbas
ThereturnvalueincludestheadapterID,driverID,adapterUID,PCI,vendor,andmodel.
PrintamappingbetweenHBAsandthedevicesitprovidespathsto.
vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> --hba-device-list
Managing Paths with vicfg-mpath

TomaintainaconstantconnectionbetweenanESX/ESXihostanditsstorage,ESX/ESXisupportsmultipathing. Multipathingisatechniquethatletsyouusemorethanonephysicalpathfortransferringdatabetweenthe ESX/ESXihostandtheexternalstoragedevice. IncaseoffailureofanelementintheSANnetwork,suchasanHBA,switch,orcable,theESX/ESXihostcan failovertoanotherphysicalpath.Onsomedevices,multipathingalsooffersloadbalancing,which redistributesI/Oloadsbetweenmultiplepathstoreduceoreliminatepotentialbottlenecks. ThestoragearchitectureinvSphere4.0andlatersupportsaspecialVMkernellayer,PluggableStorage Architecture(PSA).ThePSAisanopenmodularframeworkthatcoordinatesthesimultaneousoperationof multiplemultipathingplugins(MPPs).YoucanmanagePSAusingesxclicommands.SeeManaging ThirdPartyStorageArrayswithesxclionpage 97.ThissectionassumesyouareusingonlyPSAplugins includedinvSpherebydefault.
Multipathing with Local Storage and FC SANs

Inasimplemultipathinglocalstoragetopology,youcanuseoneESX/ESXihostwithtwoHBAs.TheESX/ESXi hostconnectstoadualportlocalstoragesystemthroughtwocables.Thisconfigurationensuresfault toleranceifoneoftheconnectionelementsbetweentheESX/ESXihostandthelocalstoragesystemfails. TosupportpathswitchingwithFCSAN,theESX/ESXihosttypicallyhastwoHBAsavailablefromwhichthe storagearraycanbereachedthroughoneormoreswitches.Alternatively,thesetupcanincludeoneHBAand twostorageprocessorssothattheHBAcanuseadifferentpathtoreachthediskarray. InFigure 54,multiplepathsconnecteachhostwiththestoragedevice.Forexample,ifHBA1orthelink betweenHBA1andtheswitchfails,HBA2takesoverandprovidestheconnectionbetweentheserverandthe switch.TheprocessofoneHBAtakingoverforanotheriscalledHBAfailover.
VMware, Inc.
53
Figure 5-4. FC Multipathing

ESX/ESXi ESX/ESXi
HBA2
HBA1
HBA3
HBA4
switch
switch
SP1
SP2
storage array
IfSP1orthelinkbetweenSP1andtheswitchbreaks,SP2takesoverandprovidestheconnectionbetweenthe switchandthestoragedevice.ThisprocessiscalledSPfailover.ESX/ESXimultipathingsupportsHBAandSP failover. Afteryouhavesetupyourhardwaretosupportmultipathing,youcanusethevSphereClientorvCLI commandstolistandmanagepaths.Youcanperformthefollowingtasks.

Listpathinformationwithvicfg-mpath.SeeListingPathInformationonpage 54. Changepathstatewithvicfg-mpath.SeeChangingtheStateofaPathonpage 55. IMPORTANTUsevicfg-mpathforESX/ESXi4.0orlater.Usevicfg-mpath35forESX/ESXi3.5.
Changepathpolicieswithesxcli.SeeSettingPolicyDetailsforDevicesthatUseRoundRobinon page 56. Maskpathswithesxcli.SeeMaskingPathswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleonpage 57. Rescanwithvicfg-rescan.SeeRescanningStorageAdapterswithvicfgrescanonpage 63.
Listing Path Information

Youcanrunvicfg-mpathtolistinformationaboutFibreChanneloriSCSILUNs. IMPORTANTUseindustrystandarddevicenames,withformateui.xxxornaa.xxxtobesureofconsistency. DonotuseVMLLUNnamesunlessdevicenamesarenotavailable. NamesofvirtualmachineHBAsarenotguaranteedtobevalidacrossreboots. Youcandisplayinformationaboutpathsbyrunningvicfg-mpathwithoneofthefollowingoptions:
Listalldeviceswiththeircorrespondingpaths,stateofthepath,adaptertype,andotherinformation.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --list-paths
Displayashortlistingofallpaths.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --list-compact
Listallpathswithadapteranddevicemappings.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --list-map
54
VMware, Inc.
ListpathsanddetailedinformationbyspecifyingthepathUID(longpath).ThepathUIDisthefirstitem inthevicfg-mpath --listdisplay.

vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --list -P sas.5001c231c79c4a00-sas.1221000001000000-naa.5000c5000289c61b
Listpathsanddetailedinformationbyspecifyingthepathruntimename.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> -l -P vmhba32:C0:T0:L0
Thereturninformationincludestheruntimename,device,devicedisplayname,adapter,adapter identifier,targetidentifier,plugin,state,transport,andadapterandtargettransportdetails.
Listdetailedinformationforthepathsforthedevicespecifiedwith--device.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> -l -d mpx.vmhba32:C0:T1:L0 vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --list --device naa.60060...
Changing the State of a Path

Youcantemporarilydisablepathsformaintenanceorotherreasons,andenablethepathwhenyouneedit again. To disable a path 1 (Optional)Listalldevicesandcorrespondingpaths.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --list-paths
Thedisplayincludesinformationabouteachpathsstate. 2 SetthestateofaLUNpathtooff.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --state off --path vmhba32:C0:T1:L0
Ifyouarechangingapathsstate:

ThechangeoperationfailsifI/Oisactivewhenthepathsettingischanged.Reissuethecommand. YoumustissueatleastoneI/Ooperationbeforethechangetakeseffect.
Whenyouareready,setthepathstatetoactiveagain.
vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --state active --path vmhba32:C0:T1:L0
Managing Path Policies with esxcli

ForeachstoragedevicemanagedbyNMP(notPowerPath),anESX/ESXihostusesapathselectionpolicy.By default,VMwaresupportsthefollowingpathselectionpolicies.IfyouhaveathirdpartyPSPinstalledonyour host,itspolicyalsoappearsonthelist.Thefollowingpathpoliciesaresupportedbydefault: Table 5-1. Supported Path Policies
Policy VMW_PSP_FIXED Description Thehostalwaysusesthepreferredpathtothediskwhenthatpathisavailable.Ifthehost cannotaccessthediskthroughthepreferredpath,ittriesthealternativepaths.Ifyouusethe VMW_PSP_FIXEDpolicy,useesxcli nmp fixedtosetorgetthepreferredpath ExtendstheVMW_PSP_FIXEDfunctionalitytoactivepassiveandALUAmodearrays. Thehostusesapathtothediskuntilthepathbecomesunavailable.Whenthepathbecomes unavailable,thehostselectsoneofthealternativepaths.Thehostdoesnotrevertbacktothe originalpathwhenthatpathbecomesavailableagain.Thereisnopreferredpathsettingwith theMRUpolicy.MRUisthedefaultpolicyforactivepassivestoragedevicesandisrequired forthosedevices. Thehostusesanautomaticpathselectionalgorithmrotatingthroughallavailablepaths.This algorithmimplementsloadbalancingacrossalltheavailablephysicalpaths.Loadbalancing istheprocessofspreadingserverI/Orequestsacrossallavailablehostpaths.Thegoalisto optimizeperformanceintermsofthroughput(I/Opersecond,megabytespersecond,or responsetimes).
VMW_PSP_FIXED_AP VMW_PSP_MRU
VMW_PSP_RR
VMware, Inc.
55
Thetypeofarrayandthepathpolicydeterminethebehaviorofthehost,asshowninTable 52. Table 5-2. Path Policy Effects

Policy MostRecentlyUsed Fixed Active/Active Array Administratoractionisrequiredtofail backafterpathfailure. VMkernelresumesusingthepreferred pathwhenconnectivityisrestored. Active/Passive Array Administratoractionisrequiredtofailback afterpathfailure. VMkernelattemptstoresumeusingthe preferredpath.Thiscancausepath thrashingorfailurewhenanotherSPnow ownstheLUN. Nextpathinroundrobinschedulingis selected.
RoundRobin
Nofailback.
To change the path policy 1 Listallmultipathingpluginsloadedintothesystem.

vicfg-mpath <conn_options> --list-plugins
Ataminimum,thiscommandreturnsNMP(NativeMultipathingPlugin)andMASK_PATH.IfotherMPP pluginshavebeenloaded,theyarelistedaswell. 2 Setthepathpolicyusingesxcli.

esxcli <conn_options> nmp device setpolicy --device naa.xxx --psp VMW_PSP_RR
SeeTable 51. 3 (Optional)IfyouspecifiedtheVMW_PSP_FIXEDpolicy,youmustmakesurethepreferredpathisset correctly. a Firstcheckwhichpathisthepreferredpathforadevice.

esxcli <conn_options> nmp fixed getpreferred --device naa.xxx
Ifnecessary,changethepreferredpath.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp fixed setpreferred --device naa.xxx --path vmhba3:C0:T5:L3
Thecommandsetsthepreferredpathtovmhba3:C0:T5:L3
Setting Policy Details for Devices that Use Round Robin

ESX/ESXihostscanusemultipathingforfailover.Withcertainstoragedevices,ESX/ESXihostscanalsouse multipathingforloadbalancing.Toachievebetterloadbalancingacrosspaths,administratorscanspecifythat theESX/ESXihostshouldswitchpathsundercertaincircumstances.Differentsettableoptionsdetermine whentheESX/ESXihostswitchespathsandwhatpathsarechosen. Youcanuseesxcli nmp roundrobintoretrieveandsetroundrobinpathoptionsonadevicecontrolledby theroundrobinPSP. IMPORTANTOnlyalimitednumberofstoragearrayssupportroundrobin.
56
VMware, Inc.
To view and manipulate round robin path selection settings 1 RetrievepathselectionsettingsforadevicethatisusingtheroundrobinPSP.

esxcli <conn_options> nmp roundrobin getconfig --device na.xxx
Setthepathselection.Youcanspecifywhenthepathshouldchange,andwhetherunoptimizedpaths shouldbeincluded.
Use--bytesor--iopstospecifywhenthepathshouldchange,asinthefollowingexamples:
esxcli <conn_options> nmp roundrobin setconfig --type "bytes" -B 12345 --device naa.xxx
Setsthedevicespecifiedby--devicetoswitchtothenextpatheachtime12345byteshavebeensent alongthecurrentpath.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp roundrobin setconfig --type=iops --iops 4200 --device naa.xxx
Thecommandsetsthedevicespecifiedby--devicetoswitchafter4200I/Ooperationshavebeen performedonapath.
UseuseANOtospecifythattheroundrobinPSPshouldincludepathsintheactive,unoptimizedstate intheroundrobinset(1)orthatthePSPshoulduseactive,unoptimizedpathsonlyifnoactive optimizedpathsareavailable(0).Ifyoudonotincludethisoption,thePSPincludesonlyactive optimizedpathsintheroundrobinpathset.
Masking Paths with esxcli corestorage claimrule

WithESX/ESXi4.0andlater,youusetheMASK_PATHplugininsteadofanadvancedconfigurationoptionto maskpaths. IMPORTANTToconvertESX/ESXi3.5LUNmaskstoclaimruleformat,youmightbeabletouseesxcli corestorage claimrule convert.SeeConvertingESX3.5LUNMaskstoClaimRuleFormatonpage 107. To mask paths 1 Runesxcli corestorage claimrule listtodeterminethenextavailableruleID. UserruleIDsstartat101.Ifthiscommandshowsthatrule101and102alreadyexist,youcanspecify103 fortheruletoadd. Theclaimrulesareevaluatedinnumericalorderstartingfrom0.

Rules0100arereservedforinternalusebyVMware. Rules10165435areavailableforgeneraluse.Anythirdpartymultipathingpluginsinstalledonyour systemuseclaimrulesinthisrange. Rules6543665535arereservedforinternalusebyVMware.
DecidewhichruleIDtouse. Whenaddingordeletingclaimrules,besuretoworkwithrulesinthecorrectnumericrange.Whenyou addaMASK_PATHclaimrule,choosearulewitharuleIDlowerthantheruleIDthatcausesNMPorsome othermultipathingplugintoclaimthepath.
AddtheMASK_PATHplugintotheclaimrulewiththeIDyoudecidedtouse.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule add --plugin MASK_PATH --rule <ruleID> --type <type> -A <adapter>
Verifythattheclaimrulewasaddedcorrectly.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule list
Loadthepathclaimingrules.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule load
VMware, Inc.
57
Releasethedevicefromthecurrentpluginsothatitcanbeclaimedbyanotherrule.Forexample,you mightrunthefollowingcommandforeachpath:
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claiming unclaim -t location -A vmhba0 -C 0 -T 0 -L 149
Runthepathclaimingrules,whichincludethenewlyaddedrules.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule run
To unmask a path 1 DeletetheMASK_PATHclaimrule.

esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule delete -r <rule#>
Verifythattheclaimrulewasdeletedcorrectly.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule list
ReloadthepathclaimingrulesfromtheconfigurationfileintotheVMkernel.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule load
Runesxcli corestorage claiming unclaimforeachpathtothemaskeddevice,forexample:

esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claiming unclaim -t location -A vmhba0 -C 0 -T 0 -L 149
Runthepathclaimingrules.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule run
Managing NFS/NAS Datastores with vicfg-nas

ESX/ESXihostscanaccessadesignatedNFSvolumelocatedonaNAS(NetworkAttachedStorage)server,can mountthevolume,andcanuseitforitsstorageneeds.YoucanuseNFSvolumestostoreandbootvirtual machinesinthesamewaythatyouuseVMFSdatastores.
Capabilities Supported by NFS/NAS

ESX/ESXihostssupportthefollowingsharedstoragecapabilitiesonNFSvolumes:

VMwareVMotion VMwareDRSandVMwareHA ISOimages,whicharepresentedasCDROMstovirtualmachines Virtualmachinesnapshots
NASstoresvirtualmachinefilesonremotefileserversthatareaccessedoverastandardTCP/IPnetwork.The NFSclientbuiltintotheESX/ESXisystemusesNFSversion3tocommunicatewithNAS/NFSservers.For networkconnectivity,thehostrequiresastandardnetworkadapter. InadditiontostoringvirtualdisksonNFSdatastores,youcanalsouseNFSasacentralrepositoryforISO images,virtualmachinetemplates,andsoon. TouseNFSasasharedrepository,youcreateadirectoryontheNFSserverandthenmountthedirectoryasa datastoreonallhosts.IfyouusethedatastoreforISOimages,youcanconnectthevirtualmachinesCDROM devicetoanISOfileonthedatastoreandinstallaguestoperatingsystemfromtheISOfile.
58
VMware, Inc.
Adding and Deleting NAS File Systems

Thefollowingscenarioillustrateshowtolist,add,anddeleteaNASfilesystemwithvicfg-nas. To manage a NAS file system 1 ListallknownNASfilesystems.
vicfg-nas <conn_options> -l
ForeachNASfilesystem,thecommandliststhemountname,sharename,andhostnameandwhether thefilesystemismounted.IfnoNASfilesystemsareavailable,thesystemreturnsthefollowing:
No NAS datastore found
AddanewNASfilesystemtotheESX/ESXihost.
vicfg-nas <conn_options --add nfsstore-dir42
--nasserver dir42.eng.vmware.com -s /<mount_dir>
ThiscommandaddsanentrytotheknownNASfilesystemlistandsuppliesthesharenameofthenew NASfilesystem.YoumustsupplythehostnameandthesharenameforthenewNASfilesystem. 3 AddasecondNASfilesystemwithreadonlyaccess.

vicfg-nas <conn_options> -a -y --n esx42nas2 -s /home FileServerHome2
DeleteoneoftheNASfilesystems.
vicfg-nas <conn_options> -d FileServerHome1
ThiscommandunmountstheNASfilesystemandremovesitfromthelistofknownfilesystems.
Migrating Virtual Machines with svmotion

Thesvmotioncommandmovesavirtualmachinesconfigurationfile,and,optionally,itsdisks,whilethe virtualmachineisrunning. Youcanplacethevirtualmachineandallofitsdisksinasinglelocation,orchooseseparatelocationsforthe virtualmachineconfigurationfileandeachvirtualdisk.Youcannotchangethevirtualmachinesexecution hostduringamigrationwithsvmotion.
Storage VMotion Uses

StorageVMotionhasseveralusesinadministeringyourvSphereenvironment.
UpgradeESX/ESXiwithoutvirtualmachinedowntime.DuringanupgradefromESXServer2.xto ESX/ESXi3.5orlater,youcanmigraterunningvirtualmachinesfromaVMFS2datastoretoaVMFS3 datastore,andupgradetheVMFS2datastorewithnoimpactonvirtualmachines.Youcanthenuse StorageVMotiontomigratevirtualmachinesbacktotheoriginaldatastorewithnovirtualmachine downtime. Performstoragemaintenanceandreconfiguration.YoucanuseStorageVMotiontomovevirtual machinesoffastoragedevicetoallowmaintenanceorreconfigurationofthestoragedevicewithout virtualmachinedowntime. Redistributestorageload.YoucanuseStorageVMotiontomanuallyredistributevirtualmachinesor virtualdiskstodifferentstoragevolumestobalancecapacityorimproveperformance.
VMware, Inc.
59
Storage VMotion Requirements and Limitations

YoucanmigratevirtualmachinediskswithStorageVMotionifthevirtualmachineanditshostmeetthe followingresourceandconfigurationrequirements:

Thevirtualmachinecannothavesnapshots. Virtualmachinedisksmustbeinpersistentmodeorberawdevicemappings(RDMs).Forphysicaland virtualcompatibilitymodeRDMs,youcanmigratethemappingfileonly.Forvirtualcompatibilitymode RDMs,youcanusethevSphereClienttoconverttothickprovisionedorthinprovisioneddisksduring migrationaslongasthedestinationisnotanNFSdatastore.Youcannotusethesvmotioncommandto performthisconversion. ThehostonwhichthevirtualmachineisrunningmusthavealicensethatincludesStorageVMotion. ESX/ESXi3.5hostsmustbelicensedandconfiguredforVMotion.ESX/ESXi4.0andlaterhostsdonot requireVMotionconfigurationtoperformmigrationwithStorageVMotion. Thehostonwhichthevirtualmachineisrunningmusthaveaccesstoboththesourceandtarget datastores. AparticularhostcanbeinvolvedinuptotwomigrationswithVMotionorStorageVMotionatonetime. vSpheresupportsamaximumofeightsimultaneousVMotion,cloning,deployment,orStorageVMotion accessestoasingleVMFS3datastore,andamaximumoffoursimultaneousVMotion,cloning, deployment,orStorageVMotionaccessestoasingleNFSorVMFS2datastore.AmigrationwithVMotion involvesoneaccesstothedatastore.AmigrationwithStorageVMotioninvolvesoneaccesstothesource datastoreandoneaccesstothedestinationdatastore.
IfyouusethevSphereClientformigrationwithsvmotion,thesystemperformsanumberofcompatibility checks.ThesechecksarenotsupportedbythesvmotionvCLI.
Running svmotion in Interactive Mode

Youcanrunsvmotionininteractivemodeusingthe--interactiveoption.Thecommandpromptsyoufor theinformationitneedstocompletethestoragemigration.
svmotion <conn_options> --interactive
Whenyouuse--interactive,allotheroptionsareignored. IMPORTANTWhenrespondingtotheprompts,usequotesaroundinputstringswithspecialcharacterson Windows.
Running svmotion in Noninteractive Mode

IMPORTANTWhenyourunsvmotion,--servermustpointtoavCenterServersystem. Innoninteractivemode,thesvmotioncommandusesthefollowingsyntax:
svmotion [standard vCLI options] --datacenter=<datacenter_name> --vm <VM config datastore path>:<new datastore> [--disks <virtual disk datastore path>:<new datastore>, <virtual disk datastore path>:<new datastore>]
Squarebracketsindicateoptionalelements,notdatastores. The--vmoptionspecifiesthevirtualmachineanditsdestination.Bydefault,allvirtualdisksarerelocatedto thesamedatastoreasthevirtualmachine.Thisoptionrequiresthecurrentvirtualmachineconfigurationfile location.SeeTodeterminethepathtothevirtualmachineconfigurationfileanddiskfileonpage 61. The--disksoptionrelocatesindividualvirtualdiskstodifferentdatastores.The--disksoptionrequiresthe currentvirtualdiskdatastorepathasanoption.SeeTodeterminethepathtothevirtualmachine configurationfileanddiskfileonpage 61.
60
VMware, Inc.
To determine the path to the virtual machine configuration file and disk file 1 Runvmware-cmd -ltolistallvirtualmachineconfigurationfiles(VMXfiles).
vmware-cmd -H <vc_server> -U <login_user> -P <login_password> -h <esx_host> -l
ChoosetheVMXfileforthevirtualmachineofinterest. Bydefault,thevirtualdiskfilehasthesamenameastheVMXfilebuthasa.vmdkextension.
(Optional)UsevifstoverifythatyouareusingthecorrectVMDKfile.
To relocate a virtual machines storage (including disks) 1 2 Determinethepathtothevirtualmachineconfigurationfile. Runsvmotion,forexample:

svmotion --url=https://myvc.mycorp.com/sdk --datacenter=DC1 --vm=[storage1] myvm/myvm.vmx:new_datastore
TheexampleisforWindows.UsesinglequotesonLinux. To relocate a virtual machines configuration file, but leave virtual disks 1 2 Determinethepathtothevirtualdiskfilesandthevirtualmachineconfigurationfile. Runsvmotion,forexample:
svmotion <conn_options> --datacenter='My DC' --vm='[old_datastore] myvm/myvm.vmx:new_datastore' --disks='[old_datastore] myvm/myvm_1.vmdk:old_datastore, [old_datastore] myvm/myvm_2.vmdk: old_datastore'
Thiscommandrelocatesthevirtualmachinesconfigurationfiletonew_datastore,butleavesthetwodisks (myvm_1.vmdkandmyvm_2.vmdk)inold_datastore.TheexampleisforLinux.Usedoublequoteson Windows.Thesquarebracketssurroundthedatastorenameanddonotindicateanoptionalelement.
Managing Duplicate VMFS Datastores with vicfg-volume

EachVMFSdatastorecreatedinaLUNhasauniqueUUIDthatisstoredinthefilesystemsuperblock.When theLUNisreplicatedorasnapshotmade,theresultingLUNcopyisidentical,byteforbyte,totheoriginal LUN.Asaresult,iftheoriginalLUNcontainsaVMFSdatastorewithUUIDX,theLUNcopyappearsto containanidenticalVMFSdatastore,oraVMFSdatastorecopy,withthesameUUIDX. ESX/ESXihostscandeterminewhetheraLUNcontainstheVMFSdatastorecopy,andeithermountthe datastorecopywithitsoriginalUUIDorchangetheUUIDtoresignaturethedatastore. WhenaLUNcontainsaVMFSdatastorecopy,youcanmountthedatastorewiththeexistingsignatureor assignanewsignature.TheESXConfigurationGuideandtheESXiConfigurationGuidediscussvolume resignaturingindetail.
Mounting Datastores with Existing Signatures

YoucanmountaVMFSdatastorecopywithoutchangingitssignatureiftheoriginalisnotmounted.For example,youcanmaintainsynchronizedcopiesofvirtualmachinesatasecondarysiteaspartofadisaster recoveryplan.Intheeventofadisasterattheprimarysite,youcanmountthedatastorecopyandpoweron thevirtualmachinesatthesecondarysite. IMPORTANTYoucanmountaVMFSdatastoreonlyifitdoesnotconflictwithanalreadymountedVMFS datastorethathasthesameUUID.
VMware, Inc.
61
WhenyoumounttheVMFSdatastore,ESX/ESXiallowsbothreadandwriteoperationstothedatastore residingontheLUNcopy.TheLUNcopymustbewritable.Thedatastoremountsarepersistentandvalid acrosssystemreboots.BecauseESX/ESXipreventsyoufromresignaturingthemounteddatastore,unmount thedatastorebeforeresignaturing. To mount a datastore 1 Listallvolumesthathavebeendetectedassnapshotsorreplicas.

vicfg-volume <conn_options> --list
Runvicfg-volume --persistent-mount withtheVMFSUUIDorlabelasanargumenttomounta volume.

vicfg-volume <conn_options> --persistent-mount <VMFS-UUID|label>
Thiscommandfailsiftheoriginalcopyisonline. Youcanlaterrunvicfg-volume --unmounttounmountthesnapshotorreplicavolume.

vicfg-volume <conn_options> --unmount <VMFS-UUID|label>
Thevicfg-volumecommandsupportsresignaturingasnapshotvolumeandmountingandunmountingthe volume.Youcanalsomakethemountedvolumepersistentacrossrebootsandqueryalistofsnapshot volumesandoriginalvolumes.
Resignaturing VMFS Copies

UsedatastoreresignaturingtoretainthedatastoredontheVMFSdatastorecopy.WhenresignaturingaVMFS copy,theESX/ESXihostassignsanewUUIDandanewlabeltothecopy,andmountsthecopyasadatastore distinctfromtheoriginal. Thedefaultformatofthenewlabelassignedtothedatastoreissnap<snapID><oldLabel>,where<snapID> isanintegerand<oldLabel>isthelabeloftheoriginaldatastore. Whenyouperformdatastoreresignaturing,considerthefollowingpoints:

Datastoreresignaturingisirreversible. TheLUNcopythatcontainstheVMFSdatastorethatyouresignatureisnolongertreatedasaLUNcopy. Aspanneddatastorecanberesignaturedonlyifallitsextentsareonline. Theresignaturingprocessiscrashandfaulttolerant.Iftheprocessisinterrupted,youcanresumeitlater. YoucanmountthenewVMFSdatastorewithoutariskofitsUUIDconflictingwithUUIDsofanyother datastore,suchasanancestororchildinahierarchyofLUNsnapshots.
To resignature a VMFS copy 1 2 Makesurethecopyisnotmounted. Runvicfg-volumewiththeresignatureoption.

vicfg-volume <conn_options> --resignature <VMFS-UUID|label>
Thecommandreturnstothepromptorsignalsanerror. Afterresignaturing,youmighthavetodothefollowing:
Iftheresignatureddatastorecontainsvirtualmachines,updatereferencestotheoriginalVMFSdatastore inthevirtualmachinefiles,including.vmx,.vmdk,.vmsd,and.vmsn. Topoweronvirtualmachines,registerthemwiththevCenterServersystem.
62
VMware, Inc.
Rescanning Storage Adapters with vicfg-rescan

Youmustperformarescanoperationeachtimeyoureconfigureyourstoragesetup.Youcanrescanusingthe vSphereClientorthevicfg-resanvCLIcommand.Thecommandrequiresthatyouspecifytheadapterfor whichyouwanttorescantheLUNs. To rescan a storage adapter Runvicfg-rescan,specifyingtheadaptername.
vicfg-rescan <conn_options> vmhba1
Thecommandreturnsanindicationofsuccessorfailure,butnodetailedinformation.
VMware, Inc.
63
64
VMware, Inc.
Managing iSCSI Storage
ESX/ESXisystemsincludeiSCSItechnologytoaccessremotestorageusinganIPnetwork.Youcanusethe vSphereClientorthevicfg-iscsivCLIcommandtoconfigurebothhardwareandsoftwareiSCSIstorage foryourESX/ESXisystem. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

iSCSIStorageOverviewonpage 65 ProtectinganiSCSISANonpage 67 iSCSIStorageSetuponpage 69 vicfgiscsiCommandSyntaxonpage 73 ListingandSettingiSCSIOptionsonpage 77 ListingandSettingiSCSIParametersonpage 77 EnablingiSCSIAuthenticationonpage 79 SettingUpPortsforiSCSIMultipathingonpage 80 ManagingiSCSISessionsonpage 80
Chapter 5,ManagingStorage,onpage 49discussesotherstoragecommands.Chapter 9,Managing ThirdPartyStorageArrayswithesxcli,onpage 97explainshowtomanagethePluggableStorage Architecture,includingPathSelectionPlugin(PSP)andStorageArrayTypePlugin(SATP)configuration.See theiSCSISANConfigurationGuideforadetaileddiscussionofiSCSIsetup.
iSCSI Storage Overview

WithiSCSI,SCSIstoragecommandsthatyourvirtualmachineissuestoitsvirtualdiskareconvertedinto TCP/IPprotocolpacketsandtransmittedtoaremotedevice,ortarget,onwhichthevirtualdiskislocated. Fromthepointofviewofthevirtualmachine,thedeviceappearsasalocallyattachedSCSIdrive. Toaccessremotetargets,thehostusesiSCSIinitiators.InitiatorstransportSCSIrequestsandresponses betweenthehostandthetargetstoragedeviceontheIPnetwork.ESX/ESXisupportsthesetypesofinitiators:
SoftwareiSCSIadapter.VMwarecodebuiltintotheVMkernel.AllowsanESX/ESXihosttoconnectto theiSCSIstoragedevicethroughstandardnetworkadapters.ThesoftwareinitiatorhandlesiSCSI processingwhilecommunicatingwiththenetworkadapter. HardwareiSCSIadapter.OffloadsalliSCSIandnetworkprocessingfromyourhost.HardwareiSCSI adapterarebrokenintotwotypes.
DependenthardwareiSCSIadapter.LeveragestheVMwareiSCSImanagementandconfiguration interfaces. IndependenthardwareiSCSIadapter.LeveragesitsowniSCSImanagementandconfiguration interfaces.
VMware, Inc.
65
SeetheiSCSISANConfigurationGuidefordetailsonsetupandfailoverscenarios. YoumustconfigureiSCSIinitiatorsforthehosttoaccessanddisplayiSCSIstoragedevices. Figure 6-1. iSCSI Storage

hardware iSCSI host 1 software adapter HBA2 HBA1 NIC2 NIC1 software iSCSI host 2
IP network
SP
iSCSI storage
Figure 61depictstohoststhatusedifferenttypesofiSCSIinitiators.

ThehostontheleftusesanindependenthardwareiSCSIadaptertoconnecttotheiSCSIstoragesystem. ThehostontherightusesathirdpartyEthernetNICwithiSCSIoffloadcapabilities.
iSCSIstoragedevicesfromthestoragesystembecomeavailabletothehost.Youcanaccessthestoragedevices andcreateVMFSdatastoresforyourstorageneeds.
Discovery Sessions
AdiscoverysessionispartoftheiSCSIprotocol.Thediscoverysessionreturnsthesetoftargetsthatyoucan accessonaniSCSIstoragesystem.ESX/ESXisystemssupportdynamicandstaticdiscovery.
Dynamicdiscovery.AlsoknownasSendTargetsdiscovery.EachtimetheESX/ESXihostcontactsa specifiediSCSIserver,itsendsaSendTargetsrequesttotheserver.Inresponse,theiSCSIserversupplies alistofavailabletargetstotheESX/ESXihost. Staticdiscovery.TheESX/ESXihostdoesnothavetoperformdiscovery.Instead,theESX/ESXihostuses theIPaddressesordomainnamesandiSCSItargetnames(IQNorEUIformatnames)tocommunicate withtheiSCSItarget.
Thevicfg-iscsi-Dand-Soptionsmonitorandmanagetargetdiscoveryaddresses.Youcanalsousethe vSphereClienttoperformthesametask. Foreithercase,yousetuptargetdiscoveryaddressessothattheinitiatorcandeterminewhichstorage resourceonthenetworkisavailableforaccess.Youcandothissetupwithdynamicdiscoveryorstatic discovery.Withdynamicdiscovery,alltargetsassociatedwithanIPaddressorhostnameandtheiSCSIname arediscovered.Withstaticdiscovery,youmustspecifytheIPaddressorhostnameandtheiSCSInameofthe targetyouwanttoaccess.TheiSCSIHBAmustbeinthesameVLANasbothportsoftheiSCSIarray.
66
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 6 Managing iSCSI Storage
Discovery Target Names

ThetargetnameiseitheranIQNnameoranEUIname.
TheIQNnameusesthefollowingformat:
iqn.yyyy-mm.{reversed domain name}:id_string
Forexample:iqn.2007-05.com.mydomain:storage.tape.sys3.abc TheESX/ESXihostgeneratesanIQNnameforsoftwareiSCSIanddependenthardwareiSCSIadapters. YoucanchangethatdefaultIQNname.
TheEUInameisdescribedinIETFrfc3720asfollows: TheIEEERegistrationAuthorityprovidesaserviceforassigninggloballyuniqueidentifiers[EUI].The EUI64formatisusedtobuildaglobalidentifierinothernetworkprotocols.Forexample,FibreChannel definesamethodofencodingitintoaWorldWideName. Theformatiseui.followedbyanEUI64identifier(16ASCIIencodedhexadecimaldigits). Forexample:

Type EUI-64 identifier (ASCII-encoded hexadecimal) +--++--------------+ | || | eui.02004567A425678D
TheIEEEEUI64iSCSInameformatcanbeusedwhenamanufacturerisregisteredwiththeIEEE RegistrationAuthorityandusesEUI64formattedworldwideuniquenamesforitsproducts. CheckintheUIofthestoragearraywhetheranarrayusesanIQNnameoranEUIname.
Protecting an iSCSI SAN

WhenyouplanyouriSCSIconfiguration,takemeasurestoimprovetheoverallsecurityoftheiSCSISAN.Your iSCSIconfigurationisonlyassecureasyourIPnetwork.Byenforcinggoodsecuritystandardswhenyouset upyournetwork,youhelpsafeguardyouriSCSIstorage.
Protecting Transmitted Data

AprimarysecurityriskiniSCSISANsisthatanattackermightsnifftransmittedstoragedata.Neitherthe iSCSIadapternortheESX/ESXihostiSCSIinitiatorencryptsthedatathatittransmitstoandfromthetargets, makingthedatavulnerabletosniffingattacks.Youmustthereforetakeadditionalmeasurestoprevent attackersfromeasilyseeingiSCSIdata. AllowingyourvirtualmachinestosharevirtualswitchesandVLANswithyouriSCSIconfiguration potentiallyexposesiSCSItraffictomisusebyavirtualmachineattacker.Tohelpensurethatintruderscannot listentoiSCSItransmissions,makesurethatnoneofyourvirtualmachinescanseetheiSCSIstoragenetwork. ProtectyoursystembygivingtheiSCSISANadedicatedvirtualswitch.
IfyouuseanindependenthardwareiSCSIadapter,makesurethattheiSCSIadapterandESX/ESXi physicalnetworkadapterarenotinadvertentlyconnectedoutsidethehost.Suchaconnectionmight resultfromsharingaswitch. IfyouconfigureiSCSIdirectlythroughtheESX/ESXihost,configureiSCSIstoragethroughadifferent virtualswitchthantheoneusedbyyourvirtualmachines.
YoucanalsoconfigureyouriSCSISANonitsownVLANtoimproveperformanceandsecurity.Placingyour iSCSIconfigurationonaseparateVLANensuresthatnodevicesotherthantheiSCSIadaptercansee transmissionswithintheiSCSISAN.WithadedicatedVLAN,networkcongestionfromothersourcescannot interferewithiSCSItraffic.
VMware, Inc.
67
Securing iSCSI Ports

WhenyouruniSCSIdevices,theESX/ESXihostdoesnotopenportsthatlistenfornetworkconnections.This measurereducesthechancesthatanintrudercanbreakintotheESX/ESXihostthroughspareportsandgain controloverthehost.Therefore,runningiSCSIdoesnotpresentanadditionalsecurityrisksattheESX/ESXi hostendoftheconnection. AniSCSItargetdevicemusthaveoneormoreopenTCPportstolistenforiSCSIconnections.Ifsecurity vulnerabilitiesexistintheiSCSIdevicesoftware,yourdatacanbeatriskthroughnofaultoftheESX/ESXi system.Tolowerthisrisk,installallsecuritypatchesthatyourstorageequipmentmanufacturerprovidesand limitthedevicesconnectedtotheiSCSInetwork.
Setting iSCSI CHAP

iSCSIstoragesystemsauthenticateaninitiatorusinganameandkeypair.ESX/ESXisystemssupport ChallengeHandshakeAuthenticationProtocol(CHAP),whichVMwarerecommendsforyourSAN implementation.TheESX/ESXihostandtheiSCSIstoragesystemmusthaveCHAPenabledandmusthave commoncredentials.DuringiSCSIlogin,theiSCSIstoragesystemexchangesitscredentialswiththeESX/ESXi systemandchecksthem. YoucansetupiSCSIauthenticationusingthevSphereClient,asdiscussedintheiSCSISANConfiguration Guideorusingthevicfg-iscsicommand,discussedinEnablingiSCSIAuthenticationonpage 79.Touse CHAPauthentication,youmustenableCHAPonboththeinitiatorsideandthestoragesystemside.After authenticationisenabled,itappliesfortargetstowhichnoconnectionhasbeenestablished,butdoesnotapply totargetstowhichaconnectionisestablished.Afterthediscoveryaddressisset,thenewvolumestowhich youaddaconnectionareexposedandcanbeused. ForsoftwareiSCSIanddependenthardwareiSCSI,ESX/ESXihostssupportperdiscoveryandpertarget CHAPcredentials.ForindependenthardwareiSCSI,ESX/ESXihostssupportonlyonesetofCHAP credentialsperinitiator.YoucannotassigndifferentCHAPcredentialsfordifferenttargets. WhenyouconfigureindependenthardwareiSCSIinitiators,ensurethattheCHAPconfigurationmatches youriSCSIstorage.IfCHAPisenabledonthestoragearray,itmustbeenabledontheinitiator.IfCHAPis enabled,youmustsetuptheCHAPauthenticationcredentialsontheESX/ESXihosttomatchthecredentials ontheiSCSIstorage. Supported CHAP Levels TosetCHAPlevelswithvicfg-iscsi,specifyoneofthevaluesinTable 61for<level>.Onlytwolevelsare supportedforindependenthardwareiSCSI. Table 6-1. Supported Levels for CHAP
Level chapProhibited Description HostdoesnotuseCHAPauthentication.If authenticationisenabled,specify chapProhibitedtodisableit. HostusesanonCHAPconnection,butallowsa CHAPconnectionasfallback. HostusesCHAPiftheCHAPconnection succeeds,butusesnonCHAPconnectionsas fallback. HostrequiressuccessfulCHAPauthentication. TheconnectionfailsifCHAPnegotiationfails. vSphere Client text DonotuseCHAP Supported SoftwareiSCSI IndependenthardwareiSCSI DependenthardwareiSCSI DonotuseCHAPunless requiredbytarget UseCHAPunless prohibitedbytarget SoftwareiSCSI DependenthardwareiSCSI SoftwareiSCSI IndependenthardwareiSCSI DependenthardwareiSCSI UseCHAP SoftwareiSCSI DependenthardwareiSCSI
chapDiscouraged
chapPreferred
chapRequired
MutualCHAPissupportedforsoftwareiSCSIandfordependenthardwareiSCSI,butnotforindependent hardwareiSCSI. IMPORTANTEnsurethatCHAPissetbeforeyousetmutualCHAP,andusecompatiblelevelsforCHAPand mutualCHAP.

68 VMware, Inc.
Returning Authentication to Default Inheritance ThevaluesofiSCSIauthenticationsettingsassociatedwithadynamicdiscoveryaddressorastaticdiscovery targetareinheritedfromthecorrespondingsettingsoftheparent.Forthedynamicdiscoveryaddress,the parentistheadapter.Forthestatictarget,theparentistheadapterordiscoveryaddress.
IfyouusethevSphereClienttomodifyauthenticationsettings,youmustdeselecttheInheritfromParent checkboxbeforeyoucanmakeachangetothediscoveryaddressordiscoverytarget. Ifyouusevicfg-iscsi,thevalueyousetoverridestheinheritedvalue.
Inheritanceisrelevantonlyifyouwanttoreturnadynamicdiscoveryaddressorastaticdiscoverytargetto itsinheritedvalue.Inthatcase,usethe--reset_authoption,whichrequiresthe--nameoptionforstatic discoveryaddresses,butnotfordynamicdiscoverytargets.UsingthisoptionresetsbothCHAPandmutual CHAP. NOTEThe--reset-authoptionresetstargetlevelCHAPauthenticationpropertiestobeinheritedfromthe adapterlevel.Resettingadapterlevelpropertiesisnotsupported.
iSCSI Storage Setup

YoucansetupiSCSIstorageusingthevSphereClientorthevicfg-iscsicommand.Afteryouhave completedtheinitialsetup(seeSettingUpSoftwareiSCSIonpage 69andSettingUpIndependent HardwareiSCSIonpage 72),youcanexamineandchangeoptionsandparameters(seeListingandSetting iSCSIOptionsonpage 77andListingandSettingiSCSIParametersonpage 77).
Setting Up Software iSCSI

SoftwareiSCSIsetuprequiresanumberofhighleveltasks.Foreachtask,seethediscussionofthe correspondingcommandlineoptioninthischapter,themanpage(Linux),orthereferenceinformation. 1 DeterminetheHBAtypeandretrievetheHBAID.
vicfg-iscsi --adapter --list
EnablesoftwareiSCSIfortheHBA.
vicfg-iscsi --swiscsi --enable
(Optional)Checkthestatus.
vicfg-iscsi --swiscsi --list
ThesystemprintsSoftware iSCSI is enabledorSoftware iSCSI is not enabled. 4 (Optional)SettheiSCSInameandalias.

vicfg-iscsi vicfg-iscsi vicfg-iscsi vicfg-iscsi -I -n <iscsi_name> <adapter_name> --iscsiname --name <iscsi_name> <adapter_name> -I -a <alias_name> <adapter_name> --iscsiname --alias <alias_name> <adapter_name>
Addadynamicdiscoveryaddressorastaticdiscoveryaddress. Thetwotypesoftargetdifferasfollows:
Withdynamicdiscovery,allstoragetargetsassociatedwithahostnameorIPaddressarediscovered. Yourunthefollowingcommand:
vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> --discovery --add --ip <ip_addr | domain_name> <adapter_name>
Withstaticdiscovery,youmustspecifythehostnameorIPaddressandtheiSCSInameofthestorage target.Yourunthefollowingcommand:
vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> --static --add --ip <ip_addr | domain_name> --name <iscsi_name> <adapter_name>
Whenyoulaterremoveadiscoveryaddress,itmightstillbedisplayedastheparentofastatictarget.You canaddthediscoveryaddressandrescantodisplaythecorrectparentforthestatictargets.
VMware, Inc. 69
(Optional)SettheauthenticationinformationforCHAP(seeSettingiSCSICHAPonpage 68and ReturningAuthenticationtoDefaultInheritanceonpage 69).

vicfg-iscsi -A -c <level> -m <auth_method> -u <auth_u_name> -w <auth_password> [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --authentication --level <level> --method <auth_method> --auth_username <auth_u_name> --auth_password <auth_password> [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-name <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name>
Thetarget(-i)andname(-n)optiondeterminewhatthecommandappliesto.
Option -iandn Onlyi Neither-inorn Result CommandappliestopertargetCHAPforstatictargets. Commandappliestothediscoveryaddress. CommandappliestoperadapterCHAP.
(Optional)SettheauthenticationinformationformutualCHAPbyrunningvicfg-iscsi -Aagainwith the-boptionandadifferentauthenticationusernameandpassword. For<level>,specifychapProhibitedorchapRequired.
chapProhibitedThehostdoesnotuseCHAPauthentication.Ifauthenticationisenabled,specify chapProhibitedtodisableit. chapRequiredThehostrequiressuccessfulCHAPauthentication.TheconnectionfailsifCHAP negotiationfails.YoucansetthisvalueformutualCHAPonlyifCHAPissettochapRequired.
For<auth_method>,CHAPistheonlyvalidvalue. IMPORTANTYouareresponsibleformakingsurethatCHAPissetbeforeyousetmutualCHAP,andfor usingcompatiblelevelsforCHAPandmutualCHAP. 8 9 (Optional)SetiSCSIparametersbyrunningvicfg-iscsi -W. Aftersetupiscomplete,runvicfg-rescantorescanallstoragedevices.
Setting Up Dependent Hardware iSCSI

DependenthardwareiSCSIsetuprequiresanumberofhighleveltasks.Foreachtask,seethediscussionof thecorrespondingcommandlineoptioninthischapter,themanpage(Linux),orthereferenceinformation. 1 DeterminetheHBAtypeandretrievetheHBAID.
vicf-iscsi --adapter --list
(Optional)SettheiSCSInameandalias.
Setupportbindingbyfollowingthesesteps: a IdentifytheVMkernelportofthedependenthardwareiSCSIadapter.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi vmknic list -d <vmhba>
ConnectthedependenthardwareiSCSIinitiatortotheiSCSIVMkernelportsbyrunningthe followingcommandforeachport.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi nic add -n <port_name> -d <vmhba>
70
VMware, Inc.
VerifythattheportswereaddedtothedependenthardwareiSCSIinitiator.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi nic list -d <vmhba>
RescanthedependenthardwareSCSIinitiator.
vicfg-rescan <conn_options> <vmhba>
Withdynamicdiscovery,allstoragetargetsassociatedwithahostnameorIPaddressarediscovered. Yourunthefollowingcommand:
vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> --discovery --add --ip <ip_addr | domain_name> <adapter_name>
Withstaticdiscovery,youmustspecifythehostnameorIPaddressandtheiSCSInameofthestorage target.Yourunthefollowingcommand:
vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> --static --add --ip <ip_addr | domain_name> --name <iscsi_name> <adapter_name>
Whenyoulaterremoveadiscoveryaddress,itmightstillbedisplayedastheparentofastatictarget.You canaddthediscoveryaddressandrescantodisplaythecorrectparentforthestatictargets. 5 (Optional)SettheauthenticationinformationforCHAP(seeSettingiSCSICHAPonpage 68and ReturningAuthenticationtoDefaultInheritanceonpage 69).

vicfg-iscsi -A -c <level> -m <auth_method> -u <auth_u_name> -w <auth_password> [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --authentication --level <level> --method <auth_method> --auth_username <auth_u_name> --auth_password <auth_password> [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-name <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name>
(Optional)SettheauthenticationinformationformutualCHAPbyrunningvicfg-iscsi -Aagainwith the-boptionandadifferentauthenticationusernameandpassword. For<level>,specifychapProhibitedorchapRequired.
chapProhibitedThehostdoesnotuseCHAPauthentication.Ifauthenticationisenabled,specify chapProhibitedtodisableit. chapRequiredThehostrequiressuccessfulCHAPauthentication.TheconnectionfailsifCHAP negotiationfails.YoucansetthisvalueformutualCHAPonlyifCHAPissettochapRequired.
For<auth_method>,CHAPistheonlyvalidvalue. IMPORTANTYouareresponsibleformakingsurethatCHAPissetbeforeyousetmutualCHAP,andfor usingcompatiblelevelsforCHAPandmutualCHAP. 7 8 (Optional)SetiSCSIparametersbyrunningvicfg-iscsi -W. Aftersetupiscomplete,runvicfg-rescantorescanallstoragedevices.
VMware, Inc.
71
Setting Up Independent Hardware iSCSI

WithindependenthardwarebasediSCSIstorage,youuseaspecializedthirdpartyadaptercapableof accessingiSCSIstorageoverTCP/IP.ThisiSCSIinitiatorhandlesalliSCSIandnetworkprocessingand managementforyourESX/ESXisystem. YoumustinstallandconfiguretheindependenthardwareiSCSIadapterforyourhostbeforeyoucanaccess theiSCSIstoragedevice.Forinstallationinformation,seevendordocumentation. HardwareiSCSIsetuprequiresanumberofhighleveltasks.Foreachtask,seethediscussionofthe correspondingcommandlineoptioninthischapter,themanpage(Linux),orthereferenceinformation. 1 DeterminetheHBAtypeandretrievetheHBAID.
vicf-iscsi --adapter --list
Configurethehardwareinitiator(HBA)byrunningvicfg-iscsi -Nwithoneormoreofthefollowing options.

--listListnetworkproperties. --ip <ip_addr>SetHBAIPv4address. --subnetmask <subnet_mask>SetHBAnetworkmask. --gateway <default_gateway>SetHBAgateway. --set ARP=true|falseEnableordisableARPredirect.
YoucanalsosettheHBAIPv4addressandnetworkmaskandgatewayinonecommand.
--ip <ip_addr> --subnetmask <subnet_mask> --gateway <default_gateway>
(Optional)SettheiSCSInameandalias.
Withdynamicdiscovery,allstoragetargetsassociatedwithanIPaddressarediscovered.Runthe followingcommand:
vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> --discovery --add --ip <ip_addr> <adapter_name>
Withstaticdiscovery,youmustspecifytheIPaddressandtheiSCSInameofthestoragetargettobe added.Runthefollowingcommand:
vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> --static --add --ip <ip_addr> --name <iscsi_name> <adapter_name>
Whenyoulaterremoveadiscoveryaddress,itmightstillbedisplayedastheparentofastatictarget.You canlateraddthediscoveryaddressandrescantodisplaythecorrectparentforthestatictargets.
72
VMware, Inc.
(Optional)SettheauthenticationinformationforCHAPbyrunningvicfg-iscsi -A. Youcansettheinformationforperadapter,perdiscovery,andpertargetCHAP.SeeSettingiSCSI CHAPonpage 68andReturningAuthenticationtoDefaultInheritanceonpage 69.

vicfg-iscsi --authentication --level <level> --method <auth_method> --auth_username <auth_u_name> --auth_password <auth_password> [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-name <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name>
MutualCHAPisnotsupportedforindependenthardwareiSCSIstorage. 6 7 (Optional)SetadditionaliSCSIparametersbyrunningvicfg-iscsi -W. Aftersetupiscomplete,callvicfg-rescantorescanallstoragedevices.
vicfg-iscsi Command Syntax

CommandsforiSCSImanagementusuallyincludeanoption,asuboption,anoptionalparameter,andthe adaptername.Foreachoption,theshortandthelongformsareequivalent.Thecommandshavethefollowing syntax:
vicfg-iscsi <conn-params> [option][suboption][parameters][<adapter_name>]
Thefollowingoptionsaresupported:

-D --discovery -S --static -A --authentication -P --phba -T --target -L --lun -N --network(IndependenthardwareiSCSIonly) -p --pnp(IndependenthardwareiSCSIonly) -I --iscsiname -W --parameter -E --swiscsi -H --adapter
Suboptionisoneofthefollowingoperations:

-l --list -a --add -r --remove
Parametersdifferdependingontheoptionandsuboptionused. Exceptfor--adapterand--help,allcommandsrequirethe<adapter_name>argument.Theadaptername shouldbethenamethattheESX/ESXihostassignedorconfiguredforthesoftwareorhardwareiSCSIinitiator. TheESXConfigurationGuideandtheESXiConfigurationGuidediscussiSCSIinitiatorsinavSphere environment.
VMware, Inc.
73
Youcanuse--listtofindtheadaptername.
vicfg-iscsi --adapter --list vicfg-iscsi -H -l
vicfg-iscsisupportsacomprehensivesetofoptions,listedinTable 62. Table 6-2. Options for vicfg-iscsi

Option Suboptions Description
-A --authentication -c <level> -m <auth_method> -b -u <ma_username> -w <ma_password> [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> --level <level> --method <auth_method> --mutual --auth_username <ma_username> --auth_password <ma_password> [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [--name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> -A --authentication -c <level> -m <auth_method> -u <auth_u_name> -w <a_password> [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> --level <level> --method <auth_method> --auth_username <auth_u_name> --auth_password <auth_password> [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [--name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> -A --authentication -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -D --discovery -a -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname[:<portnum>] <adapter_name> --add --ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] <adapter_name> -D --discovery -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -D --discovery -r -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname>[:<portnum>] <adapter_name> --remove --ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] <adapter_name> -H -l [<adapter_name>] --list [<adapter_name>] -L --lun -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> ListsLUNinformation. ListsalliSCSIadaptersora specifiedadapter. Removesadynamicdiscovery address. Listsdynamicdiscovery addresses. Addsadynamicdiscovery address. Listssupportedauthentication methods. Enablesauthenticationusingthe specifiedoptions. Enablesmutualauthentication. Youmustenableauthentication beforeyoucanenablemutual authentication.
74
VMware, Inc.
Table 6-2. Options for vicfg-iscsi (Continued)

Option -L --lun -l -t <target_ID> <adapter_name> --list --target_id <target_id> <adapter_name> -N --network (Independent hardware iSCSI only) -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -N --network (Independent hardware iSCSI only) -i <ip_addr> <adapter_name> --ip <ip_addr> <vmhba> -N --network (Independent hardware iSCSI only) -s <subnet_mask> <adapter_name> --subnetmask <subnet_mask> <adapter_name> -N --network (Independent hardware iSCSI only) -g <default_gateway> <adapter_name> --gateway <default_gateway> <adapter_name> -N --network (Independent hardware iSCSI only) -i <ip_addr> -s <subnet mask> -g <default_gateway> <adapter_name> --ip <ip_addr> --subnetmask <subnet_mask> --gateway <default_gateway> <adapter_name> -p --pnp (Independent hardware iSCSI only) -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -p --pnp (Independent hardware iSCSI only) -M <mtu_size> <adapter_name> --mtu <mtu-size> <adapter_name> -I --iscsiname -a <alias_name> <adapter_name> --alias <alias_name> <adapter_name> -I --iscsiname -n <iscsi_name> <adapter_name> --name <iscsi_name> <adapter_name> -I --iscsiname -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -M --mtu -p -M <mtu_size> <adapter_name> --pnp --mtu <mtu-size> <adapter_name> -S --static -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -S --static -r -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] -n <target_name> <adapter_name> --remove --ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] -name <target_name> <adapter_name> Removesastaticdiscovery address. Listsstaticdiscoveryaddresses. SetsMTUsize.Usedwiththe --pnpoption. ListsiSCSIinitiatoroptions. SetstheiSCSIinitiatorname. SetstheiSCSIinitiatoralias. Setsphysicalnetworkportal options. Listsphysicalnetworkportal options. SetstheIPaddress,subnetmask, anddefaultgatewayinone command. SetstheHBAgatewayto default_gateway. SetstheHBAnetworkmaskto subnet_mask. SetstheHBAIPv4addressto ip_addr. Listsnetworkproperties. ListsLUNinformationfora specifictarget. Suboptions Description
VMware, Inc.
75
Table 6-2. Options for vicfg-iscsi (Continued)

Option Suboptions Description
-S --static -a -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] -n <target_name> <adapter_name> --add --ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] -name <target_name> <adapter_name> -P --phba -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -T --target -l <adapter_name> --list <adapter_name> -W parameter -l [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name> --list [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [--name <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name> -W parameter -l -k [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name> --list --detail [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [--name <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name> -W parameter -W -j <name>=<value> -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:port_num>] [-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> --parameter --set <name>=<value> --ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:port_num>] [--name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> -W parameter -W -o <param_name> -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:port_num>] [-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> -parameter --reset <param_name> -ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:port_num>] [-name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> -z --reset_auth -a -z -m <auth_method> -b [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> --authentication --reset_auth --method <auth_method> [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [--name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> Resetstargetlevelauthentication propertiestobeinheritedfrom adapterlevel.Usedwiththe --authenticationoption. Returnsparametersindiscovery targetorsendtargettodefault inheritancebehavior. SetsiSCSIparameters. ListsiSCSIparameterdetails. ListsiSCSIparameter information. Liststargetinformation. Listsexternal,vendorspecific propertiesofaniSCSIadapter. Addsastaticdiscoveryaddress.
76
VMware, Inc.
Listing and Setting iSCSI Options

Usevicfg-iscsiinformationretrievaloptionstolistexternalHBAproperties,informationabouttargets,and LUNs.Youcanusethefollowingvicfg-iscsioptionstolistiSCSIparameters.
Runvicfg-iscsi -P|--phbatolistexternal(vendorspecific)propertiesofaniSCSIadapter.
vicfg-iscsi -P -l <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --phba --list <adapter_name>
Thesystemreturnsinformationaboutthevendor,model,description,andserialnumberoftheHBA.
Runvicfg-iscsi -T| --targettolisttargetinformation.

vicfg-iscsi -T -l <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --target --list <adapter_name>
Thesystemreturnsinformationabouttargetsforthespecifiedadapter,includingtheiSCSIname(IQNor EUIformat)andalias.SeeDiscoveryTargetNamesonpage 67.
Runvicfg-iscsi -L|--luntolistLUNinformation.
vicfg-iscsi -L -l <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --lun --list <adapter_name>
Thecommandreturnstheoperatingsystemdevicename,busnumber,targetID,LUNID,andLUNsize fortheLUN.
Runvicfg-iscsi -Lwith-ttolistonlyLUNsonaspecifiedtarget.
vicfg-iscsi -L -l -t <target_ID> <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --lun --list --target_id <target_id> <adapter_name>
ThesystemreturnstheLUNsonthespecifiedtargetandthecorrespondingdevicename,devicenumber, LUNID,andLUNsize.
Runvicfg-iscsi -p|--pnptolistphysicalnetworkportalinformationforindependenthardwareiSCSI devices.Youalsousethisoptionwith--mtu.

vicfg-iscsi -p -l <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --pnp --list <adapter_name>
ThesystemreturnsinformationabouttheMACaddress,MTU,andcurrenttransferrate.
Runvicfg-iscsi -I -ltolistinformationabouttheiSCSIinitiator.ESX/ESXisystemsusea softwarebasediSCSIinitiatorintheVMkerneltoconnecttostorage.ThecommandreturnstheiSCSI name,aliasname,andaliassettablebitfortheinitiator.

vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> -I -l vmhba42
Runvicfg-iscsi -p -MtosettheMTUfortheadapter.Youspecifythesizeandadaptername.
vicfg-iscsi -p -M <mtu_size> <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --pnp --mtu <mtu-size> <adapter_name>
Listing and Setting iSCSI Parameters

YoucanlistandsetiSCSIparametersbyrunningvicfg-iscsi -W.Table 63listsallsettableparameters. TheseparametersarealsodescribedintheIETFrfc3720.Youcanalsorunvicfg-iscsi --parameter --list --detailstodeterminewhetheraparameterissettableornot. TheparametersinTable 63applytosoftwareiSCSIanddependenthardwareiSCSI.
VMware, Inc.
77
Table 6-3. Settable iSCSI Parameters

Parameter DataDigestType Description Increasesdataintegrity.Whendatadigestisenabled,thesystemperformsachecksumover eachPDUsdatapartandverifiesusingtheCRC32Calgorithm. Note:SystemsthatuseIntelNehalemprocessorsoffloadtheiSCSIdigestcalculationsfor softwareiSCSI,thusreducingtheimpactonperformance. ValidvaluesaredigestProhibited,digestDiscouraged,digestPreferred,or digestRequired. HeaderDigest Increasesdataintegrity.Whenheaderdigestisenabled,thesystemperformsachecksumover theheaderpartofeachiSCSIProtocolDataUnit(PDU)andverifiesusingtheCRC32C algorithm. MaxOutstandingR2TdefinestheReadytoTransfer(R2T)PDUsthatcanbeintransitionbefore anacknowledgementPDUisreceived. MaximumamountofunsoliciteddataaniSCSIinitiatorcansendtothetargetduringthe executionofasingleSCSIcommand,inbytes. MaximumSCSIdatapayloadinaDataInorasolicitedDataOutiSCSIsequence,inbytes. Maximumdatasegmentlength,inbytes,thatcanbereceivedinaniSCSIPDU. Timeinterval,inseconds,betweenNOPOutrequestssentfromyouriSCSIinitiatortoaniSCSI target.TheNOPOutrequestsserveasthepingmechanismtoverifythataconnectionbetween theiSCSIinitiatorandtheiSCSItargetisactive. Supportedonlyattheinitiatorlevel. NoopTimeout Amountoftime,inseconds,thatcanlapsebeforeyourhostreceivesaNOPInmessage.The messageissentbytheiSCSItargetinresponsetotheNOPOutrequest.Whenthe NoopTimeoutlimitisexceeded,theinitiatorterminatesthecurrentsessionandstartsanew one. Supportedonlyattheinitiatorlevel. RecoveryTimeout DelayedAck Amountoftime,inseconds,thatcanlapsewhileasessionrecoveryisperformed.Ifthetimeout exceedsitslimit,theiSCSIinitiatorterminatesthesession. Allowssystemstodelayacknowledgmentofreceiveddatapackets.
MaxOutstandingR2T FirstBurstLength MaxBurstLength MaxRecvDataSegLen NoopInterval
Youcanusethefollowingvicfg-iscsioptionstolistparameteroptions.
Runvicfg-iscsi -W -ltolistparameteroptionsfortheHBA.
vicfg-iscsi -W -l [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --parameter --list [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [--name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name>
Option -iandn Onlyi Neither-inorn Result Commandappliestostatictargets. Commandappliestothediscoveryaddress. Commandappliestoperadapterparameters.
Runvicfg-iscsi -W -l -k tolistiSCSIparametersandwhethertheyaresettable.
vicfg-iscsi -W -l -k [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname>[:<port_num>] [-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name>
vicfg-iscsi --parameter --list --detail [--ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname>[:<port_num>][--name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name>
78
VMware, Inc.
Runvicfg-iscsi -W -jtosetiSCSIparameteroptions.
vicfg-iscsi -W -j <name>=<value> -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname>[:port_num>][-n <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi --parameter --set <name>=<value> --ip <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname>[:port_num>][--name <iscsi_name>]] <adapter_name>
Ifspecialcharactersareinthe<name>=<value>sequence,forexample,ifyouaddaspace,youmustsurround thesequencewithdoublequotes(<name> = <value>).
Returning Parameters to Default Inheritance

ThevaluesofiSCSIparametersassociatedwithadynamicdiscoveryaddressorastaticdiscoverytargetare inheritedfromthecorrespondingsettingsoftheparent.Forthedynamicdiscoveryaddress,theparentisthe adapter.Forthestatictarget,theparentistheadapterordiscoveryaddress.
IfyouusethevSphereClienttomodifyauthenticationsettings,youdeselecttheInheritfromParent checkboxbeforeyoucanmakeachangetothediscoveryaddressordiscoverytarget. Ifyouusevicfg-iscsi,thevalueyousetoverridestheinheritedvalue.
Inheritanceisrelevantonlyifyouwanttoreturnadynamicdiscoveryaddressorastaticdiscoverytargetto itsinheritedvalue.Inthatcase,usethe--reset <param_name>option,whichrequiresthe--nameoptionfor staticdiscoveryaddresses,butnotfordynamicdiscoverytargets.

vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> --parameter --reset <param_name> --ip <stor_ip_addr | stor_hostname>[:port_num>] <adapter_name> vicfg-iscsi <conn_options> -W -o <param_name> -i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname>[:port_num>] <adapter_name>
Enabling iSCSI Authentication

Thevicfg-iscsi-A -coptionsenableiSCSIauthentication.Mutualauthenticationissupportedforsoftware iSCSIanddependenthardwareiSCSI,butnotforindependenthardwareiSCSI.SeeSettingiSCSICHAPon page 68. To enable mutual authentication 1 EnableauthenticationontheESX/ESXihost.
vicfg-iscsi -A -c <level> -m <auth_method> -u <auth_u_name> -w <auth_password> [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name>
Thespecifiedusernameandpasswordmustbesupportedonthestorageside. 2 EnablemutualauthenticationontheESX/ESXihost.
vicfg-iscsi -A -c <level> -m <auth_method> -b -u <ma_username> -w <ma_password> [-i <stor_ip_addr|stor_hostname> [:<portnum>] [-n <iscsi_name]] <adapter_name>
Makesurethefollowingrequirementsaremet.

CHAPauthenticationisalreadysetupwhenyoustartsettingupmutualCHAP. CHAPandmutualCHAPusedifferentusernamesandpasswords.Thesecondusernameand passwordaresupportedformutualauthenticationonthestorageside. CHAPandmutualCHAPusecompatibleCHAPlevels.
VMware, Inc.
79
Setting Up Ports for iSCSI Multipathing

Withportbinding,youcreateaseparateVMkernelportforeachphysicalNICusing1:1mapping.Youcanadd allnetworkadapterandVMkernelportpairstoasinglevSwitch.TheiSCSISANConfigurationGuideexplains howtospecifyportbindingindetail. To specify port binding 1 FindoutwhichuplinksareavailableforusewithiSCSIadapters.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi vmnic list -d <vmhba>
ConnectthesoftwareiSCSIordependenthardwareiSCSIinitiatortotheiSCSIVMkernelportsbyrunning thefollowingcommandforeachport.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi nic add -n <port_name> -d <vmhba>
VerifythattheportswereaddedtotheiSCSIinitiatorbyrunningthefollowingcommand:
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi nic list -d <vmhba>
RescantheiSCSIinitiator.
vicfg-rescan <conn_options> <vmhba>
5 6
(Optional)IfthereareactiveiSCSIsessionsbetweenyourhostandtargets,discontinuethem.See RemovingiSCSISessionsonpage 81. TodisconnecttheiSCSIinitiatorfromtheports,runthefollowingcommand.

esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi nic remove -n <port_name> -d <vmhba>
Youcanalsouseesxcli swiscsi vmknictoidentifyuplinkssuitableforiSCSIandesxcli swiscsi vmnic toidentifyVMkernelnetworkinterfacessuitableforusewithsoftwareiSCSIanddependenthardwareiSCSI.
Managing iSCSI Sessions

Youcanuseesxcli swiscsi sessiontolistandmanageiSCSIsessionsforsoftwareiSCSIanddependent hardwareiSCSIenvironments.Thefollowingsamplescenariousestheavailablecommands.Runesxcli swiscsi session --helpandeachcommandwith--helpforreferenceinformation.Theexampleusesa configurationfiletologintothehost.
Listing iSCSI Sessions
ListasoftwareiSCSIsessionattheadapterlevel.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session list -d <iscsi_adapter>
Forexample:
esxcli --config /host-config-file swiscsi session list -d vmhba36
ListasoftwareiSCSIsessionatthetargetlevel.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session list -t <iqn.xxxxx> -d <iscsi_adapter>
Forexample:
esxcli --config /host-config-file swiscsi session list -t iqn.xxx -d vmhba36
80
VMware, Inc.
Logging in to iSCSI Sessions

Youcanuseesxcli swiscsi sessiontologintoasession.
LogintoasessiononthecurrentsoftwareiSCSIordependenthardwareiSCSIconfigurationatthe adapterlevel.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session add -d <iscsi_adapter>
Forexample:
esxcli --config /host-config-file swiscsi session add -d vmhba36
LogintoasessiononthecurrentsoftwareiSCSIordependenthardwareiSCSIconfigurationatthetarget level.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session add -t <iqn> -d <iscsi_adapter>
Forexample:
esxcli --config /host-config-fileswiscsi session add -t iqn.xxx -d vmhba36
AddduplicatesessionswithtargetandsessionIDsincurrentsoftwareiSCSIordependenthardware iSCSIconfiguration.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session add --target <iqn.xxxx> --isid <session_id> --adapter <iscsi_adapter>
iqn.xxxxisthetargetIQN,whichyoucandeterminebylistingallsessions.session_idisthesessions iSCSIID.Forexample:
esxcli --config /host-config-file swiscsi session add -t iqn.xxx -s '00:02:3d:00:00:01' -d vmhba36
Removing iSCSI Sessions

Youcanuseesxcli swiscsi sessiontoremoveiSCSIsessions.
RemovesessionsfromthecurrentsoftwareiSCSIordependenthardwareiSCSIconfigurationatthe adapterlevel.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session remove -d <iscsi_adapter>
Forexample:
esxcli --config /host-config-file swiscsi session remove -d vmhba36
RemovesessionsfromthecurrentsoftwareiSCSIordependenthardwareiSCSIconfigurationatthetarget level.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session remove -t <iqn> -d <iscsi_adapter>
Forexample:
esxcli --config /host-config-file swiscsi session remove -t iqn.xxx -d vmhba38
RemovesessionsfromthecurrentsoftwareiSCSIordependenthardwareiSCSIconfigurationwithtarget andsessionID.
esxcli <conn_options> swiscsi session remove --target <iqn.xxxx> --isid <session id> --adapter <iscsi_adapter>
iqn.xxxxisthetargetIQN,whichyoucandeterminebylistingallsessions.session_idisthesessions iSCSIID. Forexample:

esxcli --config /host-config-file swiscsi session remove -t iqn.xxx -s '00:02:3d:01:00:01' -d vmhba36
VMware, Inc.
81
82
VMware, Inc.
Managing Users
AnESX/ESXisystemgrantsaccesstoitsresourceswhenaknownuserwithappropriatepermissionslogson tothesystemwithapasswordthatmatchestheonestoredforthatuser.YoucanusethevSphereClientorthe vSphereSDKforallusermanagementtasks.Youcanusethevicfg-usercommandtocreate,modify,delete, andlistlocaldirectaccessusersandgroupsofusersonanESX/ESXihost.Youcannotrunthiscommand againstavCenterServersystem. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics

UsersandGroupsinthevSphereEnvironmentonpage 83 vicfguserCommandSyntaxonpage 83 ManagingUserswithvicfguseronpage 84 ManagingGroupswithvicfguseronpage 86
Users and Groups in the vSphere Environment

Users,groups,androlescontrolwhohasaccesstoyourvSpherecomponentsandwhatactionseachusercan perform. IMPORTANTYoucannotusevicfg-usertocreateroles.Youcanusetherolesthatarepredefinedbythe system. vCenterServerandESX/ESXisystemsauthenticateauserwithacombinationofusername,password,and permissions.Theserversandhostsmaintainlistsofauthorizedusersandthepermissionsassignedtoeach user. Privilegesdefinebasicindividualrightsthatarerequiredtoperformactionsandretrieveinformation. ESX/ESXiandvCenterServerusesetsofprivileges,orroles,tocontrolwhichusersorgroupscanaccess particularvSphereobjects.ESX/ESXiandvCenterServerprovideasetofpreestablishedroles. TheprivilegesandrolesassignedonanESX/ESXihostareseparatefromtheprivilegesandrolesassignedon avCenterServersystem.WhenyoumanageahostusingvCenterServersystem,onlytheprivilegesandroles assignedthroughthevCenterServerareavailable.IfyouconnectdirectlytothehostbyusingthevSphere Client,onlytheprivilegesandrolesassigneddirectlyonthehostareavailable. UsermanagementisdiscussedindetailintheESXConfigurationGuide,theESXiConfigurationGuide,andthe DatacenterAdministrationGuide.
vicfg-user Command Syntax

Thevicfg-usersyntaxdiffersfromothervCLIcommands.Youspecifyoperationsasfollows:
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e <user|group> -o <add|modify|delete|list>
IMPORTANTIfyoucreateauserwithoutspecifyingtherole(--role),theuserhasnopermissions.
VMware, Inc. 83
Options vicfg-usercommandspecificoptionsmanipulateusersandgroups.Youmustalsospecifyconnection options.SeevCLIConnectionOptionsonpage 23.

Option --addgroup <group_list> -g <group_list> --adduser <user_list> -u <user_list> --entity <group|user> -e <group|user> --group <name> -d <name> --groupid <group_id> -D <group_id> --login <login_id> -l <login_id> --newpassword <p_wd> -p <p_wd> --newuserid <UUID> -i <UUID> --newusername <name> -n <name> --operation -o --removegroup <group_list> -G <group_list> --removeuser <user_list> -U <user_list> --role <administrator|read-only|no-access> -r <administrator|read-only|no-access> Description Commaseparatedlistofgroupstoaddtheuserto. Addsthespecifieduserstoaspecifiedgroup.Takesa commaseparatedlistofusers. Entitytoperformtheoperationon.Specifyeitheruseror group. Groupnameofthegroup. GroupIDofthegroup. LoginIDoftheuser. Passwordforthetargetuser. NewUUIDforthetargetuser. Newusernameforthetargetuser. Operationtoperform.Specifyadd,modify,delete,orlist. Commaseparatedlistofgroupstoremovethetargetuser from. Commaseparatedlistofuserstoberemovedfromthetarget group. Roleforthetargetuserorgroup.Specifyoneof administrator,read-only,orno-access. Ifyoucreateauserwithoutassigningpermissions,theuserhas nopermissions. --shell -s Grantshellaccesstothetargetuser.Defaultisnoshellaccess. Usethiscommandtochangethedefaultortorevokeshell accessrightsaftertheyhavebeengranted. Validvaluesareyesandno. ThisoptionissupportedonlyagainstESX.Theoptionisnot supportedagainstESXi.
Managing Users with vicfg-user

AuserisanindividualauthorizedtologintoanESX/ESXiorvCenterServersystem. vSpheredoesnotexplicitlyrestrictuserswiththesameauthenticationcredentialsfromaccessingandtaking actionwithinthevSphereenvironmentsimultaneously. YoumanageusersdefinedonthevCenterServersystemandusersdefinedonindividualhostsseparately.

ManageESX/ESXidefineduserswiththevSphereClient,thevSphereWebServicesSDK,orvicfg-user. ManagevCenterServeruserswiththevSphereClientorthevSphereWebServicesSDK.
84
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 7 Managing Users
EveniftheuserlistsofahostandavCenterServersystemappeartohavecommonusers(forinstance,auser calleddevuser),theseusersareseparateuserswiththesamename.TheattributesofdevuserinvCenter Server,includingpermissions,passwords,andsoforth,areseparatefromtheattributesofdevuseronthe ESX/ESXihost.IfyoulogintovCenterServerasdevuser,youmighthavepermissiontoviewanddeletefiles fromadatastore.IfyoulogintoanESX/ESXihostasdevuser,youmightnothavethesepermissions. UsersauthorizedtoworkdirectlyonanESX/ESXihostareaddedtotheinternaluserlistwhenESX/ESXiis installedorcanbeaddedbyasystemadministratorafterinstallation.Youcanusevicfg-usertoaddusers, removeusers,changepasswords,setgroupmembership,andconfigurepermissions. CAUTIONSeetheAuthenticationandUserManagementchapteroftheESXConfigurationGuideorESXi ConfigurationGuideforinformationaboutrootusersbeforeyoumakeanychangestothedefaultusers. Mistakesregardingrootuserscanhaveseriousaccessconsequences. EachESX/ESXihosthasanumberofdefaultusers:
Therootuserhasfulladministrativeprivileges.Administratorsusethisloginanditsassociatedpassword tologintoahostthroughthevSphereClient.Rootuserscancontrolallaspectsofthehostthattheyare loggedonto.Rootuserscanmanipulatepermissions,creatinggroupsandusers(onESX/ESXihostsonly), workingwithevents,andsoon. ThevpxuseruserisavCenterServerentitywithrootrightsontheESX/ESXihost,allowingittomanage activitiesforthathost.ThesystemcreatesvpxuserwhenanESX/ESXihostisattachedtovCenterServer. vpxuserisnotpresentontheESX/ESXihostunlessthehostisbeingmanagedthroughvCenterServer. Otherusersmightbedefinedbythesystem,dependingonthenetworkingsetupandotherfactors.
Thefollowingexamplescenarioillustratessomeofthetasksthatyoucanperform. To create, modify, and delete users 1 Listtheexistingusers.

vicfg-user <conn_options> -e user -o list
Thelistdisplaysallusersthatarepredefinedbythesystemandallusersthatwereaddedlater. 2 Addanewuser,specifyingaloginIDandpassword.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e user -o add -l user27 -p 27_password
Thecommandcreatestheuser.Bydefault,thecommandautogeneratesaUIDfortheuseranddoesnot giveshellaccess. 3 ListtheusersagaintoverifythatthenewuserwasaddedandaUIDwasgenerated.

vicfg-user <conn_options> -e user -o list USERS ------------------Principal -: root Full Name -: root UID -: 0 Shell Access -> 1 ------------------... -------------------Principal -: user27 Full Name -: UID -: 501 Shell Access -> 0
Modifythepasswordforuseruser27.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e user -o modify -l user27 -p 27_password2
ThesystemmightreturnUpdated user user27 successfully.
VMware, Inc.
85
Assignreadonlyprivilegestotheuser(whichcurrentlyhasnoaccess).
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e user -o modify -l user27 --role read-only
Thesystempromptswhetheryouwanttochangethepassword,whichmightbeadvisableiftheuserdoes notcurrentlyhaveapassword.Answeryorn.Thesystemthenupdatestheuser.
Updated user user27 successfully. Assigned the role read-only
Listtheexistinggroups.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e group -o list
Thesystemprintsanextensivelistofallgroupsandtheusersineachgroup. 7 Createagroup.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e group -o add -d test
Thesystemaddsthegroup,andassignsagroupID.Whenyounowlistallgroups,thenewgroupis included.
---------Group Information: Principal -: test Full Name -: GID -: 500 ----------
Adduseruser27tothenewgroup.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e user -o modify -l user27 -g test
Thesystemassignstheusertothegrouptest.Whenyounowlistallgroups,thenewgroupandthe assigneduserareincluded.
---------Group Information: Principal -: test Full Name -: GID -: 500 Users in group test: Principal -: user27 Full Name -: ___________
RemovetheuserwithloginIDuser27
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e user -o delete -l user27
Thesystemremovestheuserandprintsamessage.
Removed the user user27 successfully.
Managing Groups with vicfg-user

Youcanefficientlymanagesomeuserattributesbycreatinggroups.Agroupisasetofusersthatyoumanage throughacommonsetofpermissions. Ausercanbeamemberofmorethanonegroup.Whenyouassignpermissionstoagroup,allusersinthe groupinheritthosepermissions.Usinggroupscanreducethetimeittakestosetupyourpermissionsmodel. ThegrouplistinanESX/ESXihostisdrawnfromatablethatismaintainedbythehost.Youcanchangethe grouplistbyusingthevSphereClientorvCLI.
UsetheUsersandGroupstabinthevSphereClientwhenthevSphereClientisconnecteddirectlytothe host. Usethevicfg-uservCLIcommand.
86
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 7 Managing Users
Beforeyoucanadduserstoagroup,youmustcreatethegroupbyusingthevicfg-user addcommand,as inthefollowingexamples.
Addgroup40totheexistinggroups.IfyoudonotspecifyagroupID,thesystemassignsanIDforthe group.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e group -o add -d group40 -D 55
Createagroupwithpredefinedreadonlyprivilegesthatyoucanlaterusetoassignreadonlyprivileges tomultipleusers.
vicfg-user <conn_options> --entity group --operation add --group group42 --groupid 4242 --role read-only
Youcanthenaddandremoveusersfromthegroup,asinthefollowingexamplescenario. To add and remove users from groups 1 Addauserwithusernametesttoagroupgroup42.

vicfg-user <conn_options> -e group -o modify -d group45 --adduser test
Youmustspecifytheusernametoaddausertoagroup.TheuserIDisnotacceptable. 2 Adduserswithusernamesu1,u2,andu3togroup45,whichhasreadonlyprivileges.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e group -o modify -d group42 --adduser u1,u2,u3
Removetheuserwithusernameu3fromthegroup.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e group -o modify -d group42 --removeuser u3
Removethegroupwithgroupnamegroup45.
vicfg-user <conn_options> -e group -o delete -d group42
VMware, Inc.
87
88
VMware, Inc.
Managing Virtual Machines
YoucanmanagevirtualmachineswiththevSphereClientorthevmware-cmdvCLIcommand.Using vmware-cmdyoucanregisterandunregistervirtualmachines,retrievevirtualmachineinformation,manage snapshots,turnthevirtualmachineonandoff,addandremovevirtualdevices,andpromptforuserinput. Thechapterincludesthesetopics:

vmwarecmdOverviewonpage 89 ListingandRegisteringVirtualMachinesonpage 90 RetrievingVirtualMachineAttributesonpage 91 ManagingSnapshotswithvmwarecmdonpage 92 PoweringVirtualMachinesOnandOffonpage 93 ConnectingandDisconnectingVirtualDevicesonpage 94 RetrievingUserInputonpage 95 ForciblyStoppingVirtualMachinesonpage 95
SomevirtualmachinemanagementutilityapplicationsareincludedinthevSphereSDKforPerl.
vmware-cmd Overview
vmware-cmdwasincludedinearlierversionoftheESXServiceConsole.Avmware-cmdvCLIhasbeen availablesinceESXiversion3.0. IMPORTANTOlderserviceconsoleversionsofvmware-cmdsupportasetofconnectionoptionsandgeneral optionsthatdifferfromtheoptionsinothervCLIcommands.Thevmware-cmdvCLIcommandsupports theseoptions.ThevCLIcommandalsosupportsthestandardvCLI--server,--username,--password,and --vihostoptions.vmware-cmddoesnotsupportotherconnectionoptions.
Connection Options for vmware-cmd

Thevmware-cmdvCLIcommandsupportsonlythefollowingconnectionoptions.OthervCLIconnection optionsarenotsupported,forexample,youcannotusevariablesbecausethecorrespondingoptionisnot supported.
Option --server <host> -H <host> --vihost <target> -h <target> -O <port> Whenyourunvmware-cmdwiththe-HoptionpointingtoavCenterServersystem,use --vihosttospecifytheESX/ESXihosttorunthecommandagainst. Alternativeconnectionport.Thedefaultportnumberis902. Description TargetESX/ESXiorvCenterServersystem.
VMware, Inc.
89
Option username <username> -U <username> password <password> -P <password> -Q <protocol>
Description Userwhoisauthorizedtologintothehostspecifiedby--serveror--vihost. Passwordfortheuserspecifiedby-U. Protocoltouse,eitherhttporhttps.Defaultishttps.
General Options for vmware-cmd

Thevmware-cmdvCLIcommandsupportsthefollowinggeneraloptions.
Option --help -q -v Description Printsahelpmessagethatliststheoptionsforthiscommand. Runsinquietmodewithminimaloutput.Theoutputdoesnotdisplaythespecifiedoperationand arguments. Runsinverbosemode.
Format for Specifying Virtual Machines

Whenyourunvmware-cmd,thevirtualmachinepathisusuallyrequired.Youcanspecifythevirtualmachine usingoneofthefollowingformats:
Datastoreprefixstyle:'[ds_name] relative_path',forexample:
'[myStorage1] testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx'(Linux)
"[myStorage1] testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx" (Windows)
UUIDbasedpath: folder/subfolder/file,forexample:
'/vmfs/volumes/mystorage/testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx'(Linux)
"/vmfs/volumes/mystorage/testvms/VM1/VM1.vmx"(Windows)
Listing and Registering Virtual Machines

RegisteringorunregisteringavirtualmachinemeansaddingthevirtualmachinetothevCenterServeror ESX/ESXihostinventoryorremovingthevirtualmachine. IMPORTANTIfyouregisteravirtualmachinewithavCenterServersystem,andthenremoveitfromthe ESX/ESXihost,anorphanedvirtualmachineresults.Callvmware-cmd -s unregisterwiththevCenter Serversystemasthetargettoresolvetheissue. ThefollowingexamplescenariolistsallregisteredvirtualmachinesonavCenterServer,unregistersavirtual machine,andreregistersthevirtualmachine. To list, unregister, and register virtual machines 1 Runvmware-cmd -ltolistallregisteredvirtualmachinesonaserver.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_server> -U <login_user> -P <login_password> --vihost <esx_host> -l
ThecommandliststheVMXfileforeachvirtualmachine.
/vmfs/volumes/<storage>/winxpPro-sp2/winxpPro-sp2.vmx /vmfs/volumes/<storage>/RHEL-lsi/RHEL-lsi.vmx /vmfs/volumes/<storage>/VIMA0809/VIMA0809.vmx .....
90
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 8 Managing Virtual Machines
Runvmware-cmd -s unregistertoremoveavirtualmachinefromtheinventory.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_server> -U <login_user> -P <login_password> --vihost <esx_host> -s unregister /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx
Thesystemreturns0toindicatesuccess,1toindicatefailure. NOTEWhenyourunagainstavCenterServersystem,youmustspecifythedatacenterandtheresource pooltoregisterthevirtualmachinein.Thedefaultdatacenterisha-datacenterandthedefaultresource poolisResources. WhenyourunagainstanESX/ESXihost,youusuallydonotspecifytheresourcepoolanddatacenter. However,iftwovirtualmachineswiththesamenameexistintworesourcepools,youmustspecifythe resourcepool. 3 4 Runvmware-cmd -lagaintoverifythatthevirtualmachinewasremovedfromtheinventory. Runvmware-cmd -s registertoaddthevirtualmachinebacktotheinventory.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_server> -U <login_user -P <login_password --vihost <esx_host> -s register /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx
Thesystemreturns0toindicatesuccess,1toindicatefailure.
Retrieving Virtual Machine Attributes

vmware-cmdincludesanumberofoptionsforretrievinginformationaboutavirtualmachine.Eachoption requiresthatyouspecifythevirtualmachinepath(seeFormatforSpecifyingVirtualMachinesonpage 90). Youmustalsospecifyconnectionoptions,whichdifferfromothervCLIcommands(seeConnectionOptions forvmwarecmdonpage 89). Youcanusevmware-cmdoptionstoretrieveanumberofdifferentvirtualmachineattributes.
Thegetuptimeoptionretrievestheuptimeoftheguestoperatingsystemonthevirtualmachine,in seconds.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx getuptime getuptime() = 17921
Thegetproductinfo productoptionliststheVMwareproductthevirtualmachinerunson.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx getproductinfo product
Thereturnvalueisesx(VMwareESX),embeddedESX(VMwareESXi),orunknown.
Thegetproductinfo platformoptionliststheplatformthevirtualmachinerunson.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx getproductinfo platform
Thereturnvalueiswin32-x86(x86basedWindowssystem,linux-x86(x86basedLinuxsystem),or vmnix-x86(x86basedESX/ESXimicrokernel).
Thegetproductinfo build,getproductinfo majorversion,orgetproductinfo minorversion optionsretrieveversioninformation. Thegetstateoptionretrievestheexecutionstateofthevirtualmachine,whichcanbeon,off, suspended,orunknown.

vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx getstate getstate() = on
VMware, Inc.
91
ThegettoolslastactiveoptionindicateswhetherVMwareToolsisinstalledandwhethertheguest operatingsystemisrespondingnormally.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx gettoolslastactive
Thecommandreturnsanintegerindicatinghowmuchtimehaspassed,inseconds,sincethelast heartbeatwasdetectedfromtheVMwareToolsservice.Thisvalueisinitializedtozerowhenavirtual machinepowerson.Thevaluestaysatzerountilthefirstheartbeatisdetected.Afterthefirstheartbeat, thevalueisalwaysgreaterthanzerountilthevirtualmachineispowercycledagain.Thecommand returnsoneofthefollowing:

0VMwareToolsisnotinstalledornotrunning. 1Guestoperatingsystemisrespondingnormally. 5Intermittentheartbeat.Theremightbeaproblemwiththeguestoperatingsystem. 100Noheartbeat.Guestoperatingsystemmighthavestoppedresponding.
NOTEYouusuallyusethevmware-cmd guestinfooptiononlywhenVMwareSupportinstructsyoutodo so.Thecommandisthereforenotdiscussedinthisdocument.
Managing Snapshots with vmware-cmd

Asnapshotcapturestheentirestateofthevirtualmachineatthetimeyoutakethesnapshot. Virtualmachinestateincludesthefollowingaspectsofthevirtualmachine.

MemorystateContentsofthevirtualmachinesmemory. SettingsstateVirtualmachinesettings. DiskstateStateofallthevirtualmachinesvirtualdisks.
Whenyoureverttoasnapshot,youreturntheseitemstothestatetheywereinatthetimeyoutookthe snapshot.Ifyouwantthevirtualmachinetoberunningortobeshutdownwhenyoustartit,makesurethat itisinthatstatewhenyoutakethesnapshot. Youcanusesnapshotsasrestorationpointswhenyouinstallupdatepackages,orduringabranchingprocess, suchasinstallingdifferentversionsofaprogram.Takingsnapshotsensuresthateachinstallationbeginsfrom anidenticalbaseline.TheVirtualMachineAdministrationmanualdiscussessnapshotsindetail. IMPORTANTUsethevSphereClienttoreverttoanamedsnapshot.vmware-cmdonlysupportsrevertingto thecurrentsnapshot.
Taking Snapshots
Youcantakeasnapshotwhileavirtualmachineisrunning,shutdown,orsuspended.Ifyouareintheprocess ofsuspendingavirtualmachine,waituntilthesuspendoperationhasfinishedbeforetakingasnapshot. Ifavirtualmachinehasmultipledisksindifferentdiskmodes,youmustshutdownthevirtualmachinebefore takingasnapshot.Forexample,ifyouhaveaspecialpurposeconfigurationthatrequiresyoutousean independentdisk,youmustshutdownthevirtualmachinebeforetakingasnapshot. To take a snapshot 1 (Optional)Ifthevirtualmachinehasmultipledisksindifferentdiskmodes,shutdownthevirtual machine.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx stop soft
92
VMware, Inc.
(Optional)Checkthattheshutdownoperationhasbeencompleted.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx getstate
Runvmware-cmdwiththecreatesnapshotoption. Youmustspecifythedescription,quiesceflag(0or1)andmemoryflag(0or1).
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx createsnapshot VM1Aug09 test snapshot August 09 0 0
Checkthatthevirtualmachinehasasnapshotusingthehassnapshotoption. Thecallreturns1ifthevirtualmachinehasasnapshotandreturns0otherwise.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx hassnapshot hassnapshot () = 1
Reverting and Removing Snapshots

Youcanusevmware-cmdtoreverttothecurrentsnapshotortoremoveasnapshot. IMPORTANTYoucannotusevmware-cmdtoreverttoanamedsnapshot.UsethevSphereClienttoreverttoa namedsnapshot. Runvmware-cmdwiththerevertsnapshotoptiontoreverttothecurrentsnapshot.Ifnosnapshotexists,the commanddoesnothingandleavesthevirtualmachinestateunchanged.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx revertsnapshot
Runvmware-cmdwiththeremovesnapshotsoptiontoremoveallsnapshotsassociatedwithavirtual machine.Ifnosnapshotexists,thecommanddoesnothing.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx removesnapshots
Powering Virtual Machines On and Off

Youcanstart,reboot,stop,andsuspendvirtualmachinesusingvmware-cmd.Youmustsupplyavalueforthe powerop_modeflag,whichcanbesoftorhard. IMPORTANTYoumusthavethecurrentversionofVMwareToolsinstalledandrunningintheguestoperating systemtouseasoftpoweroperation.
Softpoweroperations.Whenyouspecifysoftasthepowerop_modevalue,theresultofthecalldepends ontheoperation.
Operation Stop Reset Suspend Result vmware-cmdattemptstoshutdowntheguestoperatingsystem,andthenpowersoffthe virtualmachine. vmware-cmdattemptstoshutdowntheguestoperatingsystem,andthenrebootsthe virtualmachine. vmware-cmdattemptstorunascriptintheguestoperatingsystembeforesuspendingthe virtualmachine.
Hardpoweroperations.vmware-cmdimmediatelyandunconditionallyshutsdown,resets,orsuspends thevirtualmachine.
VMware, Inc.
93
Thefollowingexamplesillustratehowtousevmware-cmd.
StartUsethestartoptiontopoweronavirtualmachineortoresumeasuspendedvirtualmachine. Thepowerop_mode,eitherhardorsoft,isrequired.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx start soft
ResetWhenyouresetthevirtualmachinewiththesoftpower_opmode(thedefault),theguest operatingsystemisshutdownbeforethereset. a CheckthatVMwaretoolsisinstalledsothatyoucanresetthevirtualmachinewiththedefault power_opmode,whichissoft.

vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx gettoolslastactive
SeeRetrievingVirtualMachineAttributesonpage 91. b Usetheresetoptiontoshutdownandrestartthevirtualmachine.

vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx reset soft
IfVMwareToolsisnotcurrentlyinstalledonthevirtualmachine,youcanperformonlyahardreset operation.
SuspendYouhavetwooptionsforsuspendingavirtualmachine.
Thesuspendoptionwiththehardpoweropmodeunconditionallyshutsdownavirtualmachine.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx suspend hard
Thesuspendoptionwiththesoftpoweropmoderunsscriptsthatresultinagracefulshutdownof theguestoperatingsystemandshutsdownthevirtualmachine.VMwareToolsmustbeinstalledfor softpowerop_mode.

vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx suspend soft
Connecting and Disconnecting Virtual Devices

Youcanaddandremovevirtualdevicesbyusingtheconnectdeviceanddisconnectdeviceoptions.The selectedguestoperatingsystemdetermineswhichoftheavailabledevicesyoucanaddtoagivenvirtual machine. ThevirtualhardwarethatyouaddappearsinthehardwarelistthatisdisplayedintheVirtualMachine Propertieswizard. Youcanreconfigurevirtualmachinehardwarewhilethevirtualmachineisrunning,ifthefollowing conditionsaremet:
Thevirtualmachinehasaguestoperatingsystemthatsupportshotplugfunctionality.SeetheGuest OperatingSystemInstallationGuide. Thevirtualmachineisusinghardwareversion7.
Thefollowingexamplesillustrateconnectinganddisconnectingavirtualdevice.
TheconnectdeviceoptionconnectsthevirtualIDEdeviceCD/DVDDrive2tothespecifiedvirtual machine.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx connectdevice "CD/DVD Drive 2"
Thedisconnectdeviceoptiondisconnectsthevirtualdevice.
vmware-cmd -H <vc_system> -U <user> -P <password> --vihost <esx_host> /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/testvm/testvm.vmx disconnectdevice "CD/DVD Drive 2"
94
VMware, Inc.
Retrieving User Input

Youcanusetheansweroptiontopromptforuserinputandusetheinputinyourscript. Youmightusethisoptionwhenyouwanttoconfigureavirtualmachinebasedonauserssinput.Forexample: 1 2 Cloneavirtualmachineandprovidethedefaultvirtualdisktype. Whenyoupoweronthevirtualmachine,itpromptsforthedesiredvirtualdisktype.
Forcibly Stopping Virtual Machines

Insomecases,virtualmachinesdonotrespondtothenormalshutdownorstopcommands.Inthesecases,it mightbenecessarytoforciblyshutdownthevirtualmachines.Forciblyshuttingdownavirtualmachine mightresultinguestoperatingsystemdatalossandissimilartopullingthepowercableonaphysical machine. Youcanforciblystopvirtualmachinesthatarenotrespondingtonormalstopoperationwiththeesxcli vms vm killcommand. To forcibly stop a virtual machine 1 ListallrunningvirtualmachinesonthesystemtoseetheWorldIDofthevirtualmachineyouwantto stop.
esxcli vms vm list
Stopthevirtualmachinebyrunningthefollowingcommand.
esxcli vms vm kill --type <kill_type> --world-id <ID>
Thecommandsupportsthree--typeoptions.Trythetypessequentially(softbeforehard,hardbefore force).Thefollowingtypesaresupportedthroughthe--typeoption:

softGivestheVMXprocessachancetoshutdowncleanly(likekillorkill -SIGTERM) hardStopstheVMXprocessimmediately(likekill -9orkill -SIGKILL) forceStopstheVMXprocesswhenotheroptionsdonotwork.
Ifallthreeoptionsdonotwork,rebootyourESX/ESXihosttoresolvetheissue.
VMware, Inc.
95
96
VMware, Inc.
Managing Third-Party Storage Arrays with esxcli
Theesxclicommandisavailableasaserviceconsolecommand(noauthentication)onESXhostsandasa vCLIforbothESXandESXihosts.Thenamespacesandcommandsthatesxclimakesavailabledepend entirelyonthesystemonwhichitisinstalled.Runesxcli--helpforinformationonavailabilityonyour system.Becauseesxclioptionsdependcompletelyontheenvironment,nomanpageisavailable. IMPORTANTThischapterdiscussesthirdpartystoragemanagementoptions.Itisnotacompletereferenceto esxcli.SeeManagingPathPolicieswithesxclionpage 55,MaskingPathswithesxclicorestorage claimruleonpage 57,andManagingiSCSISessionsonpage 80foradditionalusesofesxcli.Seeesxcli CommandOverviewonpage 136foracompletereference. esxcliisnotincludedinthevSphereCommandLineReference.Usetheinformationinthismanualorthe commandlinehelpforinformation. ThischapterexplainshowtouseesxcliforPSA(pluggablestoragearchitecture)management.TheESX ConfigurationGuideandtheESXiConfigurationGuidediscussPSAfunctionalityindetail.Thosedocuments explainhowtousethevSphereClienttomanagethePSA,theassociatednativemultipathingplugin(NMP) andthirdpartypluginswiththevSphereClient. Thischapterusesthefollowingacronyms.
Acronym PSA NMP PSP SATP Meaning PluggableStorageArchitecture. NativeMultipathingPlugin.GenericVMwaremultipathingmodule. PathSelectionPlugin.Handlespathselectionforagivendevice. StorageArrayTypePlugin.Handlespathfailoverforagivenstoragearray.
Thechapterincludesthesetopics:

esxcliCommandSyntaxonpage 98 ManagingNMPwithesxclinmponpage 99 ManagingSATPswithesxclinmpsatponpage 102 ManagingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleonpage 106
VMware, Inc.
97
esxcli Command Syntax

TheesxclivCLIcommandhasthefollowingsyntax:
esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> <cmd> [cmd options] Option <conn_options> Description ConnectionparametersforthevCLImustprecedeallotherparameters,oryoumustperform authenticationinotherways.Forexample,youcanperformauthenticationbyusingvifastpass onvMA,orbyusingenvironmentvariables.SeevCLIConnectionOptionsonpage 23.esxcli doesnotsupportthecredentialstore. Namespace.Examplesincludethefollowingnamespaces:

<namespace>
nmpVMwarenativemultipathingcommands. swiscsiCommandsinthesoftwareiSCSInamespace. corestorageVMwarecorestoragecommands.
<app> <cmd> <cmd options>
Areawithinthenamespacetowhichthecommandapplies. Commandtobecalled. Commandoptions.
IncontrasttoothervCLIcommands,esxcliisnotaPerlscriptanddoesnotrunwitha.plextension.Only thecommandoptionssupportcorrespondingshortoptions.Therearenoshortoptionsforotherelements (namespace,app,orcommand). IMPORTANTYoucanrunesxcliwith--serverpointingtoanESX/ESXihost,butnotwith--server pointingtoavCenterServersystem. esxclidoesnotsupportcredentialstoreauthenticationorthe--credstoreoption. CommandlinehelpfortheesxclivCLIisavailableonaperlevelbasis.Youcancallhelpasfollows:

Command esxcli esxcli --help esxcli -? esxcli <conn_options> --help esxcli <conn_options> -? esxcli <conn_parms> <namespace> --help esxcli <conn_parms> <namespace> -? esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> --help esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> -? esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> <command> --help esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> <command> -? Example esxcli <Enter> esxcli --help esxcli -? esxcli --server S1 --help esxcli --server S1 -? esxcli --server S1 nmp --help esxcli --server S1 nmp -? esxcli --server S1 nmp device --help esxcli --server S1 nmp device -? esxcli --server S1 nmp device setpolicy --help esxcli --server S1 nmp device setpolicy -? Output Listsallsupportedname spacesonthissystem. Displayshelpforsupported connectionoptions. Displayshelpforsupported namespaces. Displayshelpforsupported appsforthisnamespace. Displayshelpforsupported commandsforthisapp.
Displayshelpforsupported optionsforthiscommand.
98
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 9 Managing Third-Party Storage Arrays with esxcli
Managing NMP with esxcli nmp

TheNMP(NativeMultipathingPlugin)isanextensiblemultipathingmodulethatESX/ESXisupportsby default.Youcanuseesxcli nmptomanagedevicesassociatedwithNMPandtosetpathpolicies. TheNMPsupportsallstoragearrayslistedontheVMwarestorageHardwareCompatibilityList(HCL)and providesapathselectionalgorithmbasedonthearraytype.TheNMPassociatesasetofphysicalpathswith astoragedevice(LUN).AStorageArrayTypePlugin(SATP)determineshowpathfailoverishandledfora specificstoragearray.APathSelectionPlugin(PSP)determineswhichphysicalpathisusedtoissueanI/O requesttoastoragedevice.SATPsandPSPsarepluginswithintheNMPplugin. IMPORTANTTheesxcli nmp bootoptionisinternaluseonlyandnotdiscussedinthisdocument.
Device Management with esxcli nmp device

ThedeviceoptionperformsoperationsondevicescurrentlyclaimedbytheVMwareNMPplugin.
esxcli nmp device list

ThelistcommandliststhedevicescontrolledbyVMwareNMPandshowstheSATPandPSPinformation associatedwitheachdevice.ToshowthepathsclaimedbyNMP,callesxcli nmp path list.
Options --device <device> -d <device> Description Filterstheoutputofthecommandtoshowinformationaboutasingledevice.Defaultisall devices.
esxcli nmp device setpolicy

ThesetpolicycommandsetsthePathSelectionPolicy(PSP)forthespecifieddevicetooneofthepolicies loadedonthesystem.
Options --default -E --device <device> -d <device> --psp <PSP> -P <PSP> Description SetsthePSPbacktothedefaultfortheSATPassignedtothisdevice. DevicetosetthePSPfor. PSPtoassigntothespecifieddevice.Callesxcli nmp psp listtodisplayallcurrently availablePSPs.SeeTable 51,SupportedPathPolicies,onpage 55. SeetheESXConfigurationGuideandtheESXiConfigurationGuideforadiscussionofpath policies.
TosetthepathpolicyforthespecifieddevicetoVMW_PSP_FIXED,runthefollowingcommand:
esxcli <conn_options> nmp device setpolicy --device naa.xxx --psp VMW_PSP_FIXED
Listing Paths with esxcli nmp path

UsethepathoptiontolistpathsclaimedbyNMP.Bydefault,thecommanddisplaysinformationaboutall pathsonalldevices.Youcanfilterinthefollowingways:

Onlyshowpathstoasingedevice(esxcli nmp path list --device <device>). Onlyshowinformationforasinglepath(esxcli nmp path list --path <path>andesxcli nmp path --device <device>).
Tolistdevices,callesxcli nmp device list.
VMware, Inc.
99
Managing Path Selection Policy Plugins with esxcli nmp psp

Useesxcli nmp psptomanageVMwarepathselectionpolicypluginsincludedwiththeVMwareNMP pluginandtomanagethirdpartyPSPs. IMPORTANTWhenusedwiththirdpartyPSPs,thesyntaxdependsonthethirdpartyPSPimplementation.
Retrieving PSP Information

Theesxcli nmp pspgetconfigcommandretrievesPSPconfigurationparameters.ThetypeofPSP determineswhetheryouspecify--device,--path,orboth.

Use--deviceforPSPsthataresettoVMW_PSP_RR,VMW_PSP_FIXEDorVMW_PSP_MRU. Use--pathforPSPsthataresettoVMW_PSP_FIXEDorVMW_PSP_MRU.Nopathconfigurationinformation isavailableforVMW_PSP_RR.
ToretrievePSPconfigurationparameters,runesxcli nmp psp getconfigwiththe--deviceorthe--path option.
RetrievethePSPconfigurationforthespecifieddevice.SeeTable 51,SupportedPathPolicies,on page 55.

esxcli <conn_options> nmp psp getconfig --device naa.xxx
RetrievethePSPconfigurationforthespecifiedpath.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp psp getconfig --path vmhba4:C1:T2:L23
Theesxcli nmp psp listcommandshowsthelistofPathSelectionPluginsonthesystemandabrief descriptionofeachplugin.
Setting Configuration Parameters for Third-Party Extensions

The esxcli nmp psp setconfigcommandsupportsfuturethirdpartyPSAexpansion.Thesetconfig commandsetsPSPconfigurationparametersforthosethirdpartyextensions. NOTEUseesxcli nmp roundrobin setconfigforotherpathpolicyconfiguration.SeeCustomizing RoundRobinSetupwithesxclinmproundrobinonpage 101. Theoptionsdependonthecurrentlysetpathpolicy.
Options --config <config_string> -c <config_string> --device <device> -d <device> --path <path> -p <path> Description Configurationstringtosetforthedevicespecifiedby--path.SeeTable 51, SupportedPathPolicies,onpage 55. Deviceforwhichyouwanttocustomizethepathpolicy. Pathforwhichyouwanttocustomizethepathpolicy.
Fixed Path Selection Policy Operations with esxcli nmp fixed

ThefixedoptiongetsandsetsthepreferredpathpolicyforNMPdevicesconfiguredtouseVMW_PSP_FIXED.
esxcli nmp fixed getpreferred

ThegetpreferredcommandretrievesthepreferredpathonaspecifieddevicethatisusingNMPandthe VMW_PSP_FIXEDPSP.
Options --device <device> -d <device> Description Deviceforwhichyouwanttogetthepreferredpath.Thisdevicemustbecontrolledbythe VMW_PSP_FIXEDPSP.
100
VMware, Inc.
Toreturnthepathconfiguredasthepreferredpathforthespecifieddevice,runthefollowingcommand:
esxcli <conn_options> nmp device getpreferred --device naa.xxx
esxcli nmp fixed setpreferred

ThesetpreferredcommandsetsthepreferredpathonaspecifieddevicethatisusingNMPandthe VMW_PSP_FIXEDpathpolicy.
Options --device <device> -d <device> Description Deviceforwhichyouwanttosetthepreferredpath.Thisdevicemustbecontrolledbythe VMW_PSP_FIXEDPSP. Useesxcli nmp device --listtolistthepoliciesforalldevices. --path <path> -p <path> Pathtosetasthepreferredpathforthespecifieddevice.
Tosetthepreferredpathforthespecifieddevicetovmhba3:C0:T5:L3,runthefollowingcommand:
esxcli <conn_options> nmp fixed setpreferred --device naa.xxx --path vmhba3:C0:T5:L3
Customizing Round Robin Setup with esxcli nmp roundrobin

TheroundrobinoptionsetsroundrobinpathoptionsonadevicecontrolledbytheVMW_PSP_RRPSP. To specify and customize round robin path policies 1 Setthepathpolicytoroundrobin.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp device setpolicy --device naa.xxx --psp VMW_PSP_RR
Specifywhentoswitchpaths. YoucanchoosethenumberofI/Ooperations,numberofbytes,andwhetheractiveunoptimizedpathsare used(seeesxclinmproundrobinsetconfigonpage 101).Forexample:

esxcli <conn_options> nmp roundrobin setconfig --type "bytes" -B 12345 --device naa.xxx
Setsthedevicespecifiedby--devicetoswitchtothenextpatheachtime12345byteshavebeensent alongthecurrentpath.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp roundrobin setconfig --type=iops --iops 4200 --device naa.xxx
Setsthedevicespecifiedby--devicetoswitchafter4200I/Ooperationshavebeenperformedonapath.
esxcli nmp roundrobin getconfig

ThegetconfigcommandretrievespathselectionsettingsforadevicethatisusingtheroundrobinPSP.
Options -d <device> --device <device> Description Devicetogetroundrobinpropertiesfor.
esxcli nmp roundrobin setconfig

ThesetconfigcommandspecifiesunderwhichconditionsadevicethatisusingtheVMW_PSP_RRPSP changestoadifferentpath.Youcanuse--bytesor--iopstospecifywhenthepathshouldchange.
Options --bytes -B --device -d Description NumberofbytestosendalongonepathforthisdevicebeforethePSPswitchestothenextpath. Youcanusethisoptiononlywhen--typeissettobytes. Devicetosetroundrobinpropertiesfor.Thisdevicemustbecontrolledbytheroundrobin (VMW_PSP_RR)PSP.
VMware, Inc.
101
Options --iops -I --type -t
Description NumberofI/OoperationstosendalongonepathforthisdevicebeforethePSPswitchestothe nextpath.Youcanusethisoptiononlywhen--typeissettoiops. Typeofroundrobinpathswitchingtoenableforthisdevice.Validvaluesfortypeare:

bytes:Setthetriggerforpathswitchingbasedonthenumberofbytessentdownapath. default:Setthetriggerforpathswitchingbacktodefaultvalues. iops:SetthetriggerforpathswitchingbasedonthenumberofI/Ooperationsonapath.
Anequalsign(=)beforethetypeordoublequotesaroundthetypeareoptional. --useANO -U Ifsetto1,theroundrobinPSPincludespathsintheactive,unoptimizedstateintheroundrobin set.Ifsetto0,thePSPusesactive,unoptimizedpathsonlyifnoactiveoptimizedpathsare available.Otherwise,thePSPincludesonlyactiveoptimizedpathsintheroundrobinpathset.
Managing SATPs with esxcli nmp satp

ThesatpoptionmanagesSATPsandallowsyoutoperformthefollowingtasks:

Retrieveandsetconfigurationparameters AddanddeleterulesfromthelistofclaimrulesforaspecifiedSATP SetthedefaultPSPforaspecifiedSATP ListSATPsthatarecurrentlyloadedintoNMPandtheassociatedclaimrules
Bydefault,thedefaultSATPforanactiveactiveFCarraywithavendorandmodelnotlistedintheSATPrules isVMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA.
Retrieving Information About SATPs

ThelistcommandliststheSATPsthatarecurrentlyloadedintotheNMPsystemanddisplaysinformation aboutthoseSATPs.ThiscommandsupportsnooptionsanddisplaysinformationabouttheseSATPs.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp --satp|-s list
ThelistrulescommandliststheclaimrulesforSATPs. esxcli <conn_options> nmp --satp|-s listrules
Adding SATP Rules

Claimrulesspecifythatastoragedevicethatusesacertaindriverortransportorhasacertainvendorormodel shoulduseacertainSATP.Theaddrulecommandaddsarulethatperformssuchamappingtothelistofclaim rules.Thedeleterulecommanddeletesanexistingrule.Theoptionsyouspecifydefinetherule.For example,thefollowingcommandspecifiesthatifapathhasvendorVMWAREandmodelVirtual,thePSA assignsittotheVMW_SATP_LOCALSATP.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp satp addrule --satp="VMW_SATP_LOCAL" --vendor="VMWARE" --model="Virtual" --description="VMware virtual disk Option --driver -D --device -d --force -f --model -M ModelstringtosetwhenaddingtheSATPclaimrule.Canbethemodelnameorapattern ^mod*,whichmatchesalldevicesthatstartwithmod.Thatis,thepatternsuccessfullymatches mod1andmodz,butnotmymod1. Thecommandsupportsthestart/end(^)andwildcard(*)functionalitybutnootherregular expressions. DevicetosetwhenaddingSATPclaimrules.Devicerulesaremutuallyexclusivewith vendor/modelanddriverrules. Forceclaimrulestoignorevaliditychecksandinstalltheruleevenifchecksfail. Description DriverstringtosetwhenaddingtheSATPclaimrule.
102
VMware, Inc.
Option --transport -R --vendor -V --satp -s --claim-option c --description -e --option -o --psp -P --psp-option -O
Description TransportstringtosetwhenaddingtheSATPclaimrule.DescribesthetypeofstorageHBA, forexample,iscsiorfc. VendorstringtosetwhenaddingtheSATPclaimrule. SATPforwhichtheruleisadded. ClaimoptionstringtosetwhenaddingtheSATPclaimrule. DescriptionstringtosetwhenaddingtheSATPclaimrule. OptionstringtosetwhenaddingtheSATPclaimrule. DefaultPSPfortheSATPclaimrule. PSPoptionsfortheSATPclaimrule.
ThefollowingexamplesillustrateaddingSATPrules.
AddaSATPrulethatspecifiesthatdiskswithvendorstringVMWAREandmodelstringVirtualshouldbe addedtoVMW_SATP_LOCAL.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp satp addrule --satp="VMW_SATP_LOCAL" --vendor="VMWARE" --model="Virtual" --description="VMware virtual disk"
AddaSATPrulethatspecifiesthatdiskswiththedriverstringsomedrivershouldbeaddedto VMW_SATP_LOCAL.
esxcli <conn_options> nmp satp addrule --satp="VMW_SATP_LOCAL" --driver="somedriver"
AddarulethatspecifiesthatallstoragedeviceswithvendorstringABCandamodelnamethatstartswith 120shoulduseVMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA(VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AAisanexample).
esxcli <conn_options> nmp satp addrule --satp VMW_SATP_DEFAULT_AA --vendor="ABC" --model="^120*
Deleting SATP Rules

ThedeleterulecommanddeletesanexistingSATPrule.Theoptionsyouspecifydefinetheruletodelete. TheoptionslistedforAddingSATPRulesonpage 102aresupported. ThefollowingexampledeletestherulethatassignsdeviceswithvendorstringVMWAREandmodelstring VirtualtoVMW_SATP_LOCAL.
C:\WINDOWS\system32>esxcli <conn_options> nmp satp deleterule --satp="VMW_SATP_LOCAL" --vendor="VMWARE" --model="Virtual"
Retrieving and Setting SATP Configuration Parameters

Theesxcli nmp satp getconfigcommandretrievesperpathorperdeviceSATPconfiguration parameters.ForeachSATP,specifyeither--deviceor--path,butnotboth.
IMPORTANTNotallSATPssupportgetconfigfordevicesorgetconfigforpaths.
VMware, Inc.
103
UsethiscommandtoretrieveperdeviceorperpathSATPconfigurationparameters,andtoseewhetheryou cansetcertainconfigurationparametersforadeviceorpath.Forexample:
# esxcli --config /my-config-file nmp satp getconfig --device naa.60019b9000dd21c500002d974a0acfa0 SATP VMW_SATP_LSI does not support device configuration. # esxcli --config /my-config-file nmp satp getconfig -path vmhba1:C0:T0:L8 INIT,AVT OFF,v5.4,DUAL ACTIVE,ESX FAILOVER
Theesxcli nmp satp setconfigcommandsetsconfigurationparametersforthirdpartySATPsthatare loadedintothesystem,iftheysupportdeviceconfiguration.YoucansetperpathorperdeviceSATP configurationparameters.Thecommandsetstheconfigurationforaspecifieddeviceorpath,regardlessofthe SATPcurrentlyassociatedwiththatdeviceorpath.VMwaresupportsthefollowingconfigurationstrings. OtherstringsmightbesupportedbyathirdpartySATP.

Options --config -c Description Configurationstringtosetforthepathspecifiedby--pathorthedevicespecifiedby --device. YoucansettheconfigurationforthefollowingSATPs:

VMW_SATP_ALUA_CX VMW_SATP_ALUA VMW_SATP_CX VMW_SATP_INV navireg_onstartsautomaticregistrationofthedevicewithNavisphere. navireg_offstopstheautomaticregistrationofthedevice. ipfilter_onstopsthesendingofthehostnameforNavisphereregistration.Usedifhost isknownaslocalhost. ipfilter_offenablesthesendingofthehostnameduringNavisphereregistration.
Youcanspecifyoneofthefollowingdeviceconfigurationstrings:
--device -d --path -p
DevicetosetSATPconfigurationfor.NotallSATPssupportthesetconfigoptionondevices. PathtosetSATPconfigurationfor.NotallSATPssupportthesetconfigoptiononpaths.
Setting the Default PSP

Theesxcli nmp satp setdefaultcommandsetsthedefaultPSPforaspecifiedSATP.
Options --psp -P --satp -s Description DefaultpathselectionpolicytosetfortheSATPspecifiedby--satp. SATPnameforthepluginforwhichyouwanttosetthedefaultPSP.
Path Claiming with esxcli corestorage claiming

Theesxcli corestorage claimingoptionincludesanumberoftroubleshootingcommands.These commandsarenotpersistentandareusefulonlytodeveloperswhoarewritingPSApluginsor troubleshootingasystem.IfI/Oisactiveonthepath,unclaimandreclaimactionsfail. IMPORTANTThehelpforesxcli corestorage claiming includestheautoclaimcommand.Donotuse thiscommandunlessinstructedtodosobyVMwaresupportstaff.
esxcli corestorage claiming reclaim

Thereclaimtroubleshootingcommandfirstattemptstounclaimallpathstoadevice.Thecommandthen runstheloadedclaimrulesoneachoftheunclaimedpathstoreclaimthosepaths.Itisnormalforthis commandtonotsucceedifadeviceisinuse.OnlyPSAplugindevelopersoradministratorswhotroubleshoot PSApluginsusethiscommand.
104 VMware, Inc.
Options --device <device> -d <device> --help
Description Nameofthedeviceonwhichallpathsarereclaimed. Displaysthehelpmessage.
esxcli corestorage claiming unclaim

Theunclaimcommandunclaimsapathorsetofpaths,disassociatingthosepathsfromaPSAplugin.Itis normalforthiscommandstonotsucceedifthedeviceisinuse. Youcanonlyunclaimactivepathswithnooutstandingrequests.YoucannotunclaimtheESXiUSBpartition ordeviceswithVMFSvolumesonthem.Itisthereforenormalforthiscommandtofail,especiallywhenyou specifyapluginoradaptertounclaim. Unclaimingdoesnotpersist.Periodicpathclaimingreclaimsunclaimedpathsunlessclaimrulesare configuredtomaskapath(seeMaskingPathswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleonpage 57). IMPORTANTTheunclaimcommandunclaimspathsassociatedwithadevice.Youcannotusethiscommand tounclaimpathsassociatedwiththeMASK_PATHpluginbecausethosepathsarenotassociatedwitha device.
Options --adapter <adapter> -A <adapter> --channel <channel> -C <channel> --claimrule-class <cl> -c <cl> --device <device> -d <device> --driver <driver> -D <driver> --lun <lun_number> -L <lun_number> --model <model> -m <model> --path <path> -p <path> --plugin <plugin> -P Description If--typeissettolocation,specifiesthenameoftheHBAforthepathsthatyouwantto unclaim.Ifyoudonotspecifythisoption,unclaimingrunsonpathsfromalladapters. If--typeissettolocation,specifiestheSCSIchannelnumberforthepathsthatyouwant tounclaim.Ifyoudonotspecifythisoption,unclaimingrunsonpathsfromallchannels. Claimruleclasstouseinthisoperation.YoucanspecifyMP(Multipathing),Filter,orVAAI. Multipathingisthedefault.FilterisusedonlyforVAAI.Specifyclaimrulesforboth VAAI_FILTERandVAAIplugintouseit. If--typeissettodevice,attemptstounclaimallpathstothespecifieddevice.Ifthereare activeI/Ooperationsonthespecifieddevice,atleastonepathcannotbeunclaimed. If--typeisdriver,unclaimsallpathsspecifiedbythisHBAdriver. If--typeislocation,specifiestheSCSILUNforthepathstounclaim.Ifyoudonotspecify --lun,unclaimingrunsonpathswithanyLUNnumber. If--typeisvendor,attemptstounclaimallpathstodeviceswithspecificmodelinformation (formultipathingplugins)orunclaimthedeviceitself(forfilterplugins).Ifthereareactive I/Ooperationsonthisdevice,atleastonepathfailstounclaim. If--typeispath,unclaimsapathspecifiedbyitspathUIDorruntimename. If--typeisplugin,unclaimsallpathsforaspecifiedmultipathplugin. <plugin>canbeanyvalidPSApluginonthesystem.BydefaultonlyNMPandMASK_PATH areavailable,butadditionalpluginsmightbeinstalled. If--typeislocation,unclaimsthepathswiththeSCSItargetnumberspecifiedbytarget. Ifyoudonotspecify--target,unclaimingrunsonpathsfromalltargets. Typeofunclaimoperationtoperform.Validvaluesarelocation,path,driver,device, plugin,andvendor. If--typeisvendor,attemptstounclaimallpathstodeviceswithspecificvendorinfo(for multipathingplugins)orunclaimthedeviceitself(forfilterplugins).Ifthereareanyactive I/Ooperationsonthisdevice,atleastonepathfailstounclaim
--target <target> -T <target> --type <type> -t <type> --vendor <vendor> -v <vendor>
Thefollowingtroubleshootingcommandunclaimsallpathstovmhba1.Runvicfg-mpath <conn_options> -ltoverifythecommandsucceeded.

esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claiming unclaim --type location -A vmhba1
VMware, Inc.
105
Managing Claim Rules with esxcli corestorage claimrule

ThePSAusesclaimrulestodeterminewhichmultipathingmoduleshouldclaimthepathstoaparticular deviceandtomanagethedevice.esxclicorestorage claimrulemanagesclaimrules. ClaimrulemodificationdoesnotoperateontheVMkerneldirectly.Insteaditoperatesontheconfiguration filebyaddingandremovingrules. To change the current claim rules in the VMkernel 1 2 Runoneoftheesxcli corestorageclaimrulemodificationcommands(add,remove,ormove). Runesxcli corestorage claimrule loadtoreplacethecurrentrulesintheVMkernelwiththe modifiedrulesfromtheconfigurationfile.
Youcanalsorunesxcli corestorage claimrule pluginlisttolistallplugins.
Adding Claim Rules with esxcli corestorage claimrule add

Theaddcommandaddsaclaimruletothesetofclaimrulesonthesystem.Youcanusethiscommandtoadd newclaimrulesortomaskapathusingtheMASK_PATHclaimrule.SeeMaskingPathswithesxclicorestorage claimruleonpage 57.Youmustloadtherulesafteryouaddthem.
Options --adapter <adapter> -A <adapter> --autoassign -u --claimrule-class <cl> -c <cl> Addsaclaimrulebasedonitscharacteristics.Therulenumberisnotrequired. Claimruleclasstouseinthisoperation.YoucanspecifyMP(default),Filter,orVAAI. Toconfigurehardwareaccelerationforanewarray,addtwoclaimrules,oneforthe VAAIfilterandanotherfortheVAAIplugin.SeetheFibreChannelSANConfiguration GuideandtheiSCSISANConfigurationGuidefordetailedinstructions. Channelofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeislocation. DriverfortheHBAofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeisvendor. Forceclaimrulestoignorevaliditychecksandinstalltherule. LUNofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeislocation. Modelofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeisvendor. ValidvaluesarevaluesoftheModelstringfromtheSCSIinquirystring.Run vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> -loneachdevicetoseemodelstringvalues. PSAplugintouse.Currently,thevaluesareNMPorMASK_PATH,butthirdpartiescan shiptheirownPSApluginsinthefuture. MASK_PATHreferstothepluginMASK_PATH_PLUGIN.Thecommandaddsclaimrules forthispluginiftheuserwantstomaskthepath. ESX3.5includestheMaskLUNsadvancedconfigurationoption.Thisoptionisnot availableinESX/ESXi4.IthasbeenreplacedbytheMASK_PATH_PLUGIN.Youcanadd aclaimrulethatcausestheMASK_PATH_PLUGINtoclaimthepathtomaskapathor LUNfromtheESX/ESXihost.SeeMaskingPathswithesxclicorestorageclaimrule onpage 57. --rule <rule_ID> -r <rule_ID> --target <target> -T <target> RuleIDtouse.Runesxcli corestorage claimrule listtoseetheruleID.The ruleIDindicatestheorderinwhichtheclaimruleistobeevaluated.Userdefined claimrulesareevaluatedinnumericorderstartingwith101. Targetofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeislocation. Description Adapterofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeislocation.
--channel <channel> -C <channel> --driver <driver> -D <driver> --force -f --lun <lun_number> -L <lun_number> --model <model> -M <model> --plugin -P
106
VMware, Inc.
Options --transport <transport> -R <transport>
Description Transportofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeistransport.Thefollowingvalues aresupported:

blockblockstorageconnection fcFibreChanneltransmission iscsivendoriSCSIconnection iscsinotcurrentlyused ideIDEstorageconnection sasSASstorageconnection sataSATAstorageconnection usbUSBstorageconnection parallelparalleltransmission unknown
--type <type> -t <type> --vendor -V
Typeofmatchingtousefortheoperation.Validvaluesarevendor,location,driver, andtransport. Vendorofthepathstouse.Validonlyif--typeisvendor. ValidvaluesarevaluesofthevendorstringfromtheSCSIinquirystring.Run vicfg-scsidevs <conn_options> -loneachdevicetoseevendorstringvalues.
Thefollowingexamplesillustrateaddingclaimrules:
Addrule321,whichclaimsthepathonadaptervmhba0,channel0,target0,LUN0fortheNMPplugin.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule add -r 321 -t location -A vmhba0 -C 0 -T 0 -L 0 -P NMP
Addrule429,whichclaimsallpathsprovidedbyanadapterwiththemptscsidriverfortheMASK_PATH plugin.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule add -r 429 -t driver -D mptscsi -P MASK_PATH
Addrule914,whichclaimsallpathswithvendorstringVMWAREandmodelstringVirtualfortheNMP plugin.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule add -r 914 -t vendor -V VMWARE -M Virtual -P NMP
Addrule1015,whichclaimsallpathsprovidedbyFCadaptersfortheNMPplugin.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule add -r 1015 -t transport -R fc -P NMP
Converting ESX 3.5 LUN Masks to Claim Rule Format

TheconvertcommandconvertsLUNmasksinESX3.5format(/adv/Disk/MaskLUNs)toclaimruleformat. ThecommandwritestheconvertedlistanderasestheoldLUNmaskdata. To convert ESX 3.5 format LUN masks to claim rule format 1 Runesxcli corestorage claimrule convertwithoutoptions. Thatcalldisplaysthelistofclaimrulesthatresultfromtheconversion.Forexample: Rule 120 121 122 2 Plugin MASK_PATH MASK_PATH MASK_PATH HbaName vmhba11 vmhba11 vmhba4 Controller 0 0 0 Target 0 0 2 LUN 11 10 1
Runesxcli corestorage claimrule convert --committoactuallycommitthechange.
VMware, Inc.
107
WhenyouconvertLUNmaskingtotheclaimruleformatafteranupgradefromESX/ESXi3.5toESX/ESXi4.x, thiscommandconvertsthe/adv/Disk/MaskLUNsadvancedconfigurationentryintheesx.conffiletoclaim ruleswithMASK_PATHastheplugin. IMPORTANTThisconversiondoesnotworkforallinputMaskLUNvariations.Forexample,roleconversion forsoftwareiSCSILUNsisnotsupported. Inspectthelistofgeneratedclaimrulescarefullybeforeyoucommitthembyusing--commit. Table 9-1. esxcli corestorage claimrule convert Options
Options --commit -C Description ForcesLUNmaskconfigurationchangestobesaved.Ifyoucallthecommandwithoutthis parameter,changesarenotsaved,andyoucanfirstinspectthegeneratedclaimrules.
Deleting Claim Rules with esxcli corestorage claimrule delete

Thedeletecommanddeletesaclaimrulefromthesetofclaimrulesonthesystem. IMPORTANTBydefault,thePSAclaimrule101masksDellarraypseudodevices.Donotdeletethisrule, unlessyouwanttounmaskthesedevices.
Option --rule <rule_ID> -r <rule_ID> Description IDoftheruletobedeleted.Runesxcli corestorage claimrule listtoseetheruleID.
Thefollowingexampledeletesrule1015.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule delete -r 1015
Listing Claim Rules with esxcli corestorage claimrule list

Thelistcommandlistsallclaimrulesonthesystem.Youcanspecifytheclaimruleclassasanargument.
Option --claimrule-class <cl> -c <cl> Description Claimruleclasstouseinthisoperation.YoucanspecifyMP(Multipathing),Filter,or VAAI.Multipathingisthedefault.FilterisusedonlyforVAAI.Specifyclaimrulesfor bothVAAI_FILTERandVAAIplugintouseit.
Youcanrunthecommandasfollows.Theequalsignisoptional,sobothformsofthecommandhavethesame result.
esxcli --config /vmc-store09 corestorage claimrule list -c Filter esxcli --config /vmc-store09 corestorage claimrule list --claimrule-class=Filter
Loading Claim Rules with esxcli corestorage claimrule load

Theloadcommandloadsclaimrulesfromtheesx.confconfigurationfileintotheVMkernel.Developersand experiencedstorageadministratorsmightusethiscommandforboottimeconfiguration. Thiscommandhasnooptions,italwaysloadsallclaimrulesfromesx.conf.
108
VMware, Inc.
Moving Claim Rules with esxcli corestorage claimrule move

ThemovecommandmovesaclaimrulefromoneruleIDtoanother.
Options --claimrule-class <cl> -c <cl> --new-rule <rule_ID> -n <rule_ID> --rule <rule_ID> -r <rule_ID> Description Claimruleclasstouseinthisoperation. NewruleIDyouwanttogivetotherulespecifiedbythe--ruleoption. IDoftheruletobedeleted.Runesxcli corestorage claimrule listtodisplay theruleID.
Thefollowingexamplerenamesrule1016torule1015anddeletesrule1016.
esxcli <conn_options> corestorage claimrule move -r 1015 -n 1016
esxcli corestorage claimrule run

Theruncommandrunspathclaimingrules.Thiscommandisfortroubleshootingandboottime configuration.
Options --adapter <adapter> -A <adapter> --channel <channel> -C <channel> --claimrule-class -c --lun <lun> -L <lun> --path <path_UID> -p <path_UID> --target <target> -T <target> --type <location|path|all> -t <location|path|all> --wait -w Description If--typeislocation,nameoftheHBAforthepathstoruntheclaimruleson.To runclaimrulesonpathsfromalladapters,omitthisoption. If--typeislocation,valueoftheSCSIchannelnumberforthepathstorunthe claimruleson.Torunclaimrulesonpathswithanychannelnumber,omitthis option. Claimruleclasstouseinthisoperation. If--typeislocation,valueoftheSCSILUNforthepathstorunclaimruleson.To runclaimrulesonpathswithanyLUN,omitthisoption. If--typeispath,thisoptionindicatestheuniquepathidentifier(UID)orthe runtimenameofapathtorunclaimruleson. If--typeislocation,valueoftheSCSItargetnumberforthepathstorunclaim ruleson.Torunclaimrulesonpathswithanytargetnumber,omitthisoption Typeofclaimtoperform.Bydefault,usesall,whichmeansclaimrulesrunwithout restrictiontospecificpathsorSCSIaddresses.Validvaluesarelocation,path,and all. Ifthisoptionisincluded,theclaimwaitsforpathstosettlebeforerunningtheclaim operation.Inthatcase,thesystemdoesnotstarttheclaimingprocessuntilitislikely thatallpathsonthesystemhaveappearedbeforestartingtheclaimprocess. Aftertheclaimingprocesshasstarted,thecommanddoesnotreturnuntildevice registrationhascompleted. Ifyouaddorremovepathsduringtheclaimingorthediscoveryprocess,thisoption mightnotworkcorrectly.Youcanusethisoptiononlyifyoualsouse--typeall.
VMware, Inc.
109
110
VMware, Inc.
10
Managing vSphere Networking
10
ThevSphereCLInetworkingcommandsallowyoutomanagethevSpherenetworkservices.Youcanconnect virtualmachinestothephysicalnetworkandtoeachotherandconfigurevNetworkStandardSwitchesand vNetworkDistributedSwitches.YoucanalsosetupyourvSphereenvironmenttoworkwithexternal networkssuchasSNMPorNTP. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

IntroductiontovSphereNetworkingonpage 111 SettingUpvSphereNetworkingwithvNetworkStandardSwitchesonpage 113 SettingUpvSphereNetworkingwithvNetworkDistributedSwitchonpage 118 ManagingStandardNetworkingServicesinthevSphereEnvironmentonpage 119 UsingvicfgipsecforSecureNetworkingonpage 121
Introduction to vSphere Networking

AtthecoreofvSphereNetworkingarevirtualswitches.vSpheresupportsstandardswitches(vSS)and vNetworkDistributedSwitch(vDS).Eachvirtualswitchhasapresetnumberofportsandoneormoreport groups. Virtualswitchesallowyourvirtualmachinestoconnecttoeachotherandtoconnecttotheoutsideworld.
Whentwoormorevirtualmachinesareconnectedtothesamevirtualswitch,networktrafficbetween themisroutedlocally. Whenvirtualmachinesareconnectedtoavirtualswitchthatisconnectedtoanuplinkadapter,each virtualmachinecanaccesstheexternalnetworkthroughthatuplink.Theadaptercanbeanuplink connectedtoavSSoradvUplinkconnectedtoavDS.
VirtualswitchesallowyourESX/ESXihosttomigratevirtualmachineswithVMwareVMotionandtouseIP storagethroughVMkernelnetworkinterfaces.
UsingVMotion,youcanmigraterunningvirtualmachineswithnodowntime.YoucanenableVMotion withvicfg-vmknic --enable-vmotion. IPstoragereferstoanyformofstoragethatusesTCP/IPnetworkcommunicationasitsfoundation,which includesiSCSIandNFSforESX/ESXi.Becausethesestoragetypesarenetworkbased,theycanusethe sameVMkernelinterfaceandportgroup.
ThenetworkservicesthattheVMkernelprovides(iSCSI,NFS,andVMotion)useaTCP/IPstackinthe VMkernel.ThisTCP/IPstackiscompletelyseparatefromtheTCP/IPstackusedintheESXserviceconsole. TheVMkernelTCP/IPstackisalsoseparatefromtheguestoperatingsystemsnetworkstack.Eachofthese stacksaccessesvariousnetworksbyattachingtooneormoreportgroupsononeormorevirtualswitches.
VMware, Inc.
111
Networking Using vNetwork Standard Switches

vNetworkStandardSwitches(vSS)allowyoutoconnectvirtualmachinestotheoutsideworld. Figure 10-1. Networking with vNetwork Standard Switches
VM VM VM Network C VM VM
C vSwitch
port groups
C vSwitch
3
Host2 virtual
Host1 Host1 physical network adapters
Host2 physical
physical network
Figure 101showstherelationshipbetweenthephysicalandvirtualnetworkelements.Thenumbersmatch thoseinthefigure.
AssociatedwitheachESX/ESXihostareoneormoreuplinkadapters(1).Uplinkadaptersrepresentthe physicalswitchestheESX/ESXihostusestoconnecttothenetwork.Youcanmanageuplinkadapters usingthevicfg-nicsvCLIcommand.SeeManagingUplinkAdapterswithvicfgnicsonpage 116. EachuplinkadapterisconnectedtoavSS(2).YoucanmanageavSSandassociateitwithuplinkadapters byusingthevicfg-vswitchvCLIcommand.SeeSettingUpVirtualSwitchesandAssociatingaSwitch withaNetworkInterfaceonpage 114. AssociatedwiththevSSareportgroups(3).Portgroupisauniqueconceptinthevirtualenvironment. Youcanconfigureportgroupstoenforcepoliciesthatprovideenhancednetworkingsecurity,network segmentation,betterperformance,highavailability,andtrafficmanagement.Youcanusethe vicfg-vswitchcommandtoassociateavSSwithaportgroup,andthevicfg-vmkniccommandto associateaportgroupwithaVMkernelnetworkinterface. TheVMkernelTCP/IPnetworkingstacksupportsiSCSI,NFS,andVMotionandhasanassociated VMkernelnetworkinterface.YouconfigureVMkernelnetworkinterfaceswithvicfg-vmknic.See AddingandModifyingVMkernelNetworkInterfaceswithvicfgvmkniconpage 117.Separate VMkernelnetworkinterfacesareoftenusedforseparatetasks,forexample,youmightdevoteone VMkernelNetworkinterfacecardtoVMotiononly.VirtualmachinesruntheirownsystemsTCP/IP stacksandconnecttotheVMkernelattheEthernetlevelthroughvirtualswitches.
112
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 10 Managing vSphere Networking
Networking Using vNetwork Distributed Switches

Whenyouwanttoconnectavirtualmachinetotheoutsideworld,youcanuseavSSoravDS.WithavDS,the virtualmachinecanmaintainitsnetworksettingsevenifitismigratedtoadifferenthost. Figure 10-2. Networking with vNetwork Distributed Switches
VM VM VM Network C dvPort groups A B C D E F G H I J VM VM
vNetwork Distributed Switch Host1 Host1 dvUplinkA dvUplinkB dvUplinkA
3
dvUplinkB
Host2
virtual
Host2 physical
1
physical network adapters
physical network
Eachphysicaladapter(1)onthehostispairedwithadvUplinkadapter(2),whichrepresentstheuplink tothevirtualmachine.WithvDS,thevirtualmachinenolongerdependsonthehostsphysicaluplinkbut onthe(virtual)dvUplink.YoucanmanageadvUplinkusingthevSphereClientorvicfg-vswitch. ThevDSitself(3)functionsasasinglevirtualswitchacrossallassociatedhosts.Becausetheswitchisnot associatedwithasinglehost,virtualmachinescanmaintainconsistentnetworkconfigurationasthey migratefromonehosttoanother. LikeavSS,eachvDSisanetworkhubthatvirtualmachinescanuse.AvDScanroutetrafficinternally betweenvirtualmachinesorlinktoanexternalnetworkbyconnectingtophysicalnetworkadapters.You createavDSusingthevSphereClientUI,butcanmanagesomeaspectsofavDSusingvicfg-vswitch. SeeSettingUpVirtualSwitchesandAssociatingaSwitchwithaNetworkInterfaceonpage 114.
EachvDScanhaveoneormoredvPortgroups(4)assignedtoit.dvPortgroupsaggregatemultipleports underacommonconfigurationandprovideastableanchorpointforvirtualmachinesconnectingto labelednetworks. JustasavSS,vDSsupportsusingoneormoreVMkernelnetworkinterfaces.EachVMkernelnetwork interfacecanmanagepartofthetraffichandledbytheESX/ESXihost.SeeAddingandModifying VMkernelNetworkInterfaceswithvicfgvmkniconpage 117.
Setting Up vSphere Networking with vNetwork Standard Switches

Youcansetupyourvirtualnetworkbyperformingthesetasks,discussedinmoredetailinthischapter: 1 Createormanipulatevirtualswitchesusingvicfg-vswitch.Bydefault,eachESX/ESXihosthasone virtualswitch,vSwitch0.Youcancreateadditionalvirtualswitchesormanageexistingswitches.See SettingUpVirtualSwitchesandAssociatingaSwitchwithaNetworkInterfaceonpage 114. (Optional)Makechangestotheuplinkadapterusingvicfg-nics.SeeManagingUplinkAdapterswith vicfgnicsonpage 116. (Optional)Usevicfg-vswitchtoaddportgroupstothevirtualswitch.SeeChecking,Adding,and RemovingPortGroupsonpage 115. (Optional)Usevicfg-vswitchtoestablishVLANsbyassociatingportgroupswithVLANIDs.See SettingthePortGroupVLANIDonpage 116. Usevicfg-vmknictoconfiguretheVMkernelnetworkinterfaces.SeeAddingandModifyingVMkernel NetworkInterfaceswithvicfgvmkniconpage 117.
113
2 3 4 5
VMware, Inc.
Setting Up Virtual Switches and Associating a Switch with a Network Interface

AvirtualswitchmodelsaphysicalEthernetswitch.Youcanmanagevirtualswitchesandportgroupsusing thevSphereClient(seetheESXConfigurationGuideandtheESXiConfigurationGuide)orusingvSphereCLI commands. Youcancreateamaximumof127virtualswitchesonasingleESX/ESXihost.Bydefault,eachESX/ESXihost hasasinglevirtualswitchcalledvSwitch0.Avirtualswitchhas56logicalportsbydefault.Seethe ConfigurationMaximumsdocumentonthevSpheredocumentationmainpagefordetails.Portsconnecttothe virtualmachinesandtheESX/ESXiphysicaladapters.

YoucanconnectonevirtualmachinenetworkadaptertoeachportusingthevSphereClientUI. Youcanconnecttheuplinkadaptertothevirtualswitchesusingvicfg-vswitch.SeeLinkingand UnlinkingUplinkAdaptersonpage 116.
Whentwoormorevirtualmachinesareconnectedtothesamevirtualswitches,networktrafficbetweenthem isroutedlocally.Ifanuplinkadapterisattachedtothevirtualswitches,eachvirtualmachinecanaccessthe externalnetworkthattheadapterisconnectedto. ThissectiondiscussesworkinginastandardvSwitch(vSS)environment.SeeManagingvNetwork DistributedSwitchesonpage 119forinformationaboutvDSenvironments. Whenworkingwithvirtualswitchesandportgroups,performthefollowingtasks: 1 2 3 Findoutwhichvirtualswitchesareavailableand(optionally)whattheassociatedMTUandCDP(Cisco DiscoveryProtocol)settingsare.SeeRetrievingInformationaboutVirtualSwitchesonpage 114. Addavirtualswitch.SeeAddingandDeletingVirtualSwitchesonpage 115. Foranewlyaddedswitch,performthesetasks: a b c d Addaportgroup.SeeChecking,Adding,andRemovingPortGroupsonpage 115. (Optional)SettheportgroupVLANID.SeeSettingthePortGroupVLANIDonpage 116. Addanuplinkadapter.SeeLinkingandUnlinkingUplinkAdaptersonpage 116. (Optional)ChangetheMTUorCDPsettings.SeeSettingSwitchAttributesonpage 115.
Retrieving Information about Virtual Switches

Youcanretrieveinformationaboutvirtualswitchesbyusingthefollowingvcifg-vswitchoptions:
CheckwhethervSwitch1exists.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> -c vSwitch1
Thecommandreturns1iftheswitchexists,0iftheswitchdoesnotexist.
Listallvirtualswitchesandassociatedportgroups.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> -l
Thecommandprintsinformationaboutthevirtualswitch,whichmightincludeitsname,numberof ports,MTU,portgroups,andotherinformation.Thepreciseinformationdependsonthetargetsystem andonwhetheryoulistinformationforavSSoravDS. ForESXisystems,thedefaultportgroupsareManagement NetworkandVM Network.ForESXsystems, thedefaultportgroupsareService consoleandVM Network.
RetrievethecurrentCDP(CiscoDiscoveryProtocol)settingforthisvirtualswitch. IfCDPisenabledonavirtualswitch,ESX/ESXiadministratorscanfindoutwhichCiscoswitchportis connectedtowhichvirtualswitchuplink.CDPisalinklevelprotocolthatsupportsdiscoveryof CDPawarenetworkhardwareateitherendofadirectconnection.CDPisbitforwardedthrough switches.CDPisasimpleadvertisementprotocolwhichbeaconsinformationabouttheswitchorhostand someportinformation.

vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --get-cdp vSwitch1
114
VMware, Inc.
Adding and Deleting Virtual Switches

Youcanaddanddeletevirtualswitchesusingthe--add|-aand--delete|-doptions.
Addavirtualswitch.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --add vSwitch2
Afteryouhaveaddedavirtualswitch,youcansetswitchattributes(SettingSwitchAttributeson page 115)andaddoneormoreuplinkadapters(LinkingandUnlinkingUplinkAdaptersonpage 116).
Deleteavirtualswitch.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --delete vSwitch1
YoucannotdeleteavirtualswitchifanyportsontheswitcharestillinusebyVMkernelnetworks,virtual machines,orvswifs.Runvicfg-vswitch --listtodeterminewhetheravirtualswitchisinuse.
Setting Switch Attributes

Youcansetthemaximumtransmissionunit(MTU)andCDPstatusforavirtualswitch.TheCDPstatusshows whichCiscoswitchportisconnectedtowhichuplink.
SettheMTUforavSwitch.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> -m 9000 vSwitch1
TheMTUisthesize(inbytes)ofthelargestprotocoldataunittheswitchcanprocess.Whenyousetthis option,itaffectsalluplinksassignedtothevirtualswitch.
SettheCDPvalueforavSwitch.Youcansetstatustodown,listen,advertise,orboth.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --set-cdp listen
Checking, Adding, and Removing Port Groups

NetworkservicesconnecttovSwitchesthroughportgroups.Aportgroupallowsyoutogrouptrafficand specifyconfigurationoptionssuchasbandwidthlimitationsandVLANtaggingpoliciesforeachportinthe portgroup.Avirtualswitchmusthaveoneportgroupassignedtoit.Youcanassignadditionalportgroups. Youcanusevicfg-vswitchtocheck,add,andremoveportgroups.
CheckwhetherportgroupsarecurrentlyassociatedwithavSwitch.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --check-pg <port_group> vSwitch1
Thecommandreturns0ifthespecifiedportgroupisassociatedwiththevSwitch,andreturns1otherwise. Usevicfg-vswitch --listtolistallportgroups.
Addaportgroup.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --add-pg <port_group_name> vSwitch1
Deleteoneoftheexistingportgroups.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --del-pg <port_group_name> vSwitch1
Connecting and Disconnecting Uplink Adapters and Port Groups

Ifyoursetupincludesoneormoreportgroups,youcanassociateeachportgroupwithoneormoreuplink adapters(andremovetheassociation).Thisfunctionalityallowsyoutofiltertrafficfromaportgrouptoa specificuplink,evenifthevirtualswitchisconnectedwithmultipleuplinks.
Connectaportgroupwithanuplinkadapter.
vicfg-vswitch --add-pg-uplink <adapter_name> --pg <port_group> <vswitch_name>
Thiscommandfailssilentlyiftheuplinkadapterdoesnotexist.
Removeaportgroupfromanuplinkadapter.
vicfg-vswitch --del-pg-uplink <adapter_name> --pg <port_group> <vswitch_name>
VMware, Inc.
115
Setting the Port Group VLAN ID

VLANsallowyoutofurthersegmentasinglephysicalLANsegmentsothatgroupsofportsareisolatedasif theywereonphysicallydifferentsegments.ThestandardisIEEE802.1Q. AVLANIDrestrictsportgrouptraffictoalogicalEthernetsegmentwithinthephysicalnetwork.

SettheVLANIDto4095toallowaportgrouptoreachportgroupslocatedonotherVLAN. SettheVLANIDto0todisabletheVLANforthisportgroup.
IfyouuseVLANIDs,youmustchangetheportgrouplabelsandVLANIDstogethersothatthelabels properlyrepresentconnectivity.VLANIDsareoptional. YoucanusethefollowingcommandsforVLANmanagement:
AllowallportgroupstoreachportgroupslocatedonotherVLANs.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --vlan 4095 --pg ALL vSwitch2
DisableVLANforportgroupg42
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --vlan 0 --pg g42 vSwitch2
Runvicfg-vswitch -ltoretrieveinformationaboutVLANIDscurrentlyassociatedwiththevSwitchesin thenetwork.
Linking and Unlinking Uplink Adapters

WhenyoucreatevSwitchusingvicfg-vswitch--add,alltrafficonthatvSwitchisinitiallyconfinedtothat vSwitch.AllvirtualmachinesconnectedtothevSwitchcantalktoeachother,butthevirtualmachinescannot connecttothenetworkortovirtualmachinesonotherhosts.Avirtualmachinealsocannotconnecttovirtual machinesconnectedtoadifferentvSwitchonthesamehost. HavingavSwitchthatisnotconnectedtothenetworkmightmakesenseifyouwantagroupofvirtual machinestobeabletocommunicatewitheachother,butnotwithotherhostsorwithvirtualmachineson otherhosts.Inmostcases,yousetupthevSwitchtotransferdatatoexternalnetworksbyattachingoneor moreuplinkadapterstothevSwitch. Youcanusethefollowingcommandstoaddandremoveuplinkadapters:
Addanewuplinkadaptertoavirtualswitch.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --link vmnic15 vSwitch0
Removeanuplinkadapterfromavirtualswitch.
vicfg-vswitch <conn_options> --unlink vmnic15 vSwitch0
Managing Uplink Adapters with vicfg-nics

Thevicfg-nicscommandmanagesuplinkadapters,whichrepresentthephysicalNICsthatconnectthe ESX/ESXihosttothenetwork. Youcanusevicfg-nicstolistinformationandtospecifyspeedandduplexsettingfortheuplink. Thefollowingexamplescenariolistsanuplinkadaptersproperties,changestheduplexandspeed,andsets theuplinktoautonegotiateitsspeedandduplexsettings. To manipulate uplink adapter setup 1 Listsettings.
vicfg-nics <conn_options> -l
Liststheuplinksinthesystem,theircurrentandconfiguredspeed,andtheirduplexsetting. 2 Setthesettingsforvmnic0tofullandthespeedto100.
vicfg-nics <conn_options> -d full -s 100 vmnic0
116
VMware, Inc.
Setvmnic2toautonegotiateitsspeedandduplexsettings.
vicfg-nics <conn_options> -a vmnic2
Adding and Modifying VMkernel Network Interfaces with vicfg-vmknic

VMkernelnetworkinterfacesareusedprimarilyformanagementtraffic,whichcanincludevMotion,IP Storage,andothermanagementtrafficontheESX/ESXisystem.YoucanalsobindanewlycreatedVMkernel networkinterfaceforusebysoftwareanddependenthardwareiSCSIusingtheesxcli swiscsi nic add command.SeeesxcliswiscsiNamespaceonpage 141. TheVMkernelnetworkinterfaceisseparatefromthevirtualmachinenetwork.Theguestoperatingsystem andapplicationprogramscommunicatewithaVMkernelnetworkinterfacethroughacommonlyavailable devicedriveroraVMwaredevicedriveroptimizedforthevirtualenvironment.Ineithercase,communication intheguestoperatingsystemoccursasitwouldwithaphysicaldevice.Virtualmachinescanalso communicatewithaVMkernelnetworkinterfaceifbothusethesamevSwitch. EachVMkernelnetworkinterfacehasitsownMACaddressandoneormoreIPaddresses,andrespondsto thestandardEthernetprotocolaswouldaphysicalNIC.TheVMkernelnetworkinterfaceiscreatedwithTCP SegmentationOffload(TSO)enabled. YoucanconfiguretheVMkernelnetworkinterfaceforIPv4(seeToaddandconfigureaVMkernelNetwork InterfacewithIPv4onpage 117)orforIPv6(seeToaddandconfigureaVMkernelNetworkInterfacewith IPv6onpage 118). To add and configure a VMkernel Network Interface with IPv4 1 Runvicfg-vmknic --addtoaddaVMkernelnetworkinterface.YoumustspecifytheIPaddressusing --ip,thenetmask,andthename.Forthefollowingexamples,assumethatVMSFVMK363isaport grouptowhichyouwanttoaddaVMkernelnetworkinterface.
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --add --ip <ip_address> -n 255.255.255.0 VMSF-VMK-363
YoucanspecifytheMTUsettingwhenaddingaVMkernelnetworkinterface.Youcannotchangethat settingatalatertime. Whenthecommandcompletessuccessfully,thenewlyaddedVMkernelnetworkinterfaceisenabled. 2 ChangetheIPaddressasneeded.

vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --ip <address> VMSF-VMK-363
ForIPv4,chooseoneofthefollowingformats:

<X.X.X.X>StaticIPv4address. DHCPUseIPv4DHCP.
TheVMkernelsupportsDHCPonlyforESX/ESXi4.0andlater. 3 (Optional)EnableVMotion.Bydefault,VMotionisdisabled.
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --enable-vmotion VMSF-VMK-363
Youcanlateruse--disable-vmotiontodisableVMotionforthisVMkernelnetworkinterface. 4 ListinformationaboutallVMkernelnetworkinterfacesonthesystem.
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --list
Thecommanddisplaysthenetworkinformation,portgroup,MTU,andcurrentstateforeachvirtual networkadapterinthesystem.
VMware, Inc.
117
To add and configure a VMkernel Network Interface with IPv6 1 Runvicfg-vmknic --addtoaddaVMkernelnetworkinterface.YoumustspecifytheIPaddressusing --ip,thenetmask,andtheportgroupname.Forthefollowingexamples,assumethatVMSFVMK363 isaportgrouptowhichyouwanttoaddaVMkernelnetworkinterface. YoucanspecifytheMTUsettingwhenaddingaVMkernelnetworkinterface.Youcannotchangethat settingatalatertime. Whenthecommandcompletessuccessfully,thenewlyaddedVMkernelnetworkinterfaceisenabled. 2 EnableIPv6.
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --enable-ipv6 true VMSF-VMK-363
SupplyanIPv6address.
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --ip <ip_address> VMSF-VMK-363
ForIPv6,theIPaddresscanhaveoneofthefollowingformats:

<X:X:X::/X>StaticIPv6address DHCPV6UseDHCPIPv6address.TheVMkernelsupportsDHCPonlyforESX/ESXi4.0andlater. AUTOCONFUsetheIPv6addressadvertisedbytherouter.IfyoucreateaVMkernelnetwork interfacewithAUTOCONF,anaddressisassignedimmediately.IfyouaddAUTOCONFtoan existingvmknic,theaddressisaddedwhentheroutersendsthenextrouteradvert.
(Optional)EnableVMotion.Bydefault,VMotionisdisabled.
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --enable-vmotion VMSF-VMK-363
Youcanlateruse--disable-vmotiontodisableVMotionagain. 5 ListinformationaboutallVMkernelnetworkinterfacesonthesystem.
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --list
Thelistcontainsthenetworkinformation,portgroup,MTU,andcurrentstateforeachvirtualnetwork adapterinthesystem. 6 YoucanlaterremovetheIPv6addressanddisableIPv6.

vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --unset-ip <X:X:X::/X> VMSF-VMK-363 vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --enable-ipv6 false VMSF-VMK-363
Setting Up vSphere Networking with vNetwork Distributed Switch

AvDSfunctionsasasinglevirtualswitchacrossallassociatedhosts.AvDSallowsvirtualmachinesto maintainaconsistentnetworkconfigurationastheymigrateacrossmultiplehosts.SeeNetworkingUsing vNetworkDistributedSwitchesonpage 113. LikeavNetworkStandardSwitch,eachvDSisanetworkhubthatvirtualmachinescanuse.AvDScan forwardtrafficinternallybetweenvirtualmachinesorlinktoanexternalnetworkbyconnectingtouplink adapters. EachvDScanhaveoneormoredvPortgroupsassignedtoit.dvPortgroupsgroupmultipleportsundera commonconfigurationandprovideastableanchorpointforvirtualmachinesconnectingtolabelednetworks. EachdvPortgroupisidentifiedbyanetworklabel,whichisuniquetothecurrentdatacenter.AVLANID, whichrestrictsportgrouptraffictoalogicalEthernetsegmentwithinthephysicalnetwork,isoptional. YoucancreateavDSusingthevSphereClient.AfteryouhavecreatedavDS,youcanaddhostsusingthe vSphereClient.YoucanusethevSphereClienttocreatedvPortgroupsandeditvDSpropertiesandpolicies. AfterthevDShasbeensetup,youcanusethevSphereClientorthevicfg-vswitchcommandtoaddor removedvUplinkadapters.
118
VMware, Inc.
Managing vNetwork Distributed Switches

Certaintasks,suchascreatingavNetworkDistributesSwitch,creatingdvPortgroups,andeditingvDS propertiesandpolicies,canonlybeperformedusingthevSphereClientorthevSphereWebServicesSDK.See theESXConfigurationGuide,theESXiConfigurationGuide,andthewhitepaperavailablethroughtheResources linkatwww.vmware.com/go/networkingforinformationaboutvDSandhowtoconfigurevDSusingthe vSphereClient. AfterthevDShasbeensetup,youcanusevicfg-vswitchtoaddorremovedvUplinkadapters.
AddadvUplink.
vicfg-vswitch --add-dvp-uplink <adapter_name> --dvp <DVPort_id> <dvswitch_name>
RemoveadvUplink.
vicfg-vswitch --del-dvp-uplink <adapter> --dvp <DVPort_id> <dvswitch_name>
Managing Standard Networking Services in the vSphere Environment

YoucanusevCLIcommandstosetupDNS,NTP,SNMP,andthedefaultgatewayforyourvSphere environment.
Setting the DNS Configuration

Thevicfg-dnscommandlistsandspecifiestheDNSconfigurationofyourESX/ESXihost.Callthecommand withoutcommandspecificoptionstolisttheexistingDNSconfiguration. IMPORTANTIfyoutrytochangethehostordomainnameortheDNSserveronhoststhatuseDHCP (dynamichostprotocol),anerrorresults. InnetworkenvironmentswhereaDHCPserverandaDNSserverareavailable,ESX/ESXihostsare automaticallyassignedDNSnames. InnetworkenvironmentswhereautomaticDNSisnotavailableornotdesirable,youcanconfigurestaticDNS information,includingahostname,primarynameserver,secondarynameserver,andDNSsuffixes. To set up DNS 1 Runvicfg-dnswithoutcommandspecificoptionstodisplayDNSpropertiesforthespecifiedserver.
vicfg-dns <conn_options>
IfDNSisnotsetupforthetargetserver,thecommandreturnsanerror. 2 Tochangethesettings,usevicfg-dnswith--dns,--domain,or--hostname.
SpecifytheDNSserverusingthe--dnsoptionandacommaseparatedlistofhosts,inorderof preference.
vicfg-dns <conn_options --dns <dns1,dns2>
ConfiguretheDNShostnamefortheserverspecifiedby--server(or--vihost).
vicfg-dns <conn_options> -n dns_host_name
ConfiguretheDNSdomainnamefortheserverspecifiedby--server(or--vihost).
vicfg-dns <conn_options> -d mydomain.biz
ToturnonDHCP,usethe--DHCPoption.
vicfg-dns <conn_options> --dhcp yes
VMware, Inc.
119
To modify DNS setup for a preconfigured server 1 Runvicfg-dnswithoutcommandspecificoptionstodisplayDNSpropertiesforthespecifiedserver.

vicfg-dns <conn_options>
ThecommanddisplaysDNSpropertiesforthespecifiedserver.Theinformationincludesthehostname, domainname,DHCPsetting(trueorfalse),andDNSserversontheESX/ESXihost. 2 IftheDNSpropertiesareset,andyouwanttochangetheDHCPsettings,youmustspecifythevirtual networkadaptertousewhenoverridingthesystemDNS.

ForESXhosts,v_nicmustbeoneoftheserviceconsolenetworkadapters. ForESXihosts,v_nicmustbeoneoftheVMkernelnetworkadapter.
OverridetheexistingDHCPsettingasfollows:
vicfg-dns <conn_options> --dhcp yes --v_nic <vnic>
Adding and Starting an NTP Server

Someprotocols,suchasKerberos,musthaveaccurateinformationaboutthecurrenttime.Inthosecases,you canaddanNTP(NetworkTimeProtocol)servertoyourESX/ESXihost. To manage an NTP Server 1 Runvicfg-ntp--add toaddanNTPservertothehostspecifiedin<conn_options>.Youuseahostname orIPaddresstospecifyanalreadyrunningNTPserver.
vicfg-ntp <conn_options> -a 192.XXX.XXX.XX
Runvicfg-ntp --starttostarttheservice.
vicfg-ntp <conn_options> --start
Runtovicfg-ntp --listtolisttheservice.
vicfg-ntp <conn_options> --list
Runvicfg-ntp --stoptostoptheservice.
vicfg-ntp <conn_options> --stop
Runvicfg-ntp --deletetoremovethespecifiedNTPserverfromthehostspecifiedin<conn_options>.
vicfg-ntp <conn_options> --delete 192.XXX.XXX.XX
Managing the IP Gateway

IfyoumoveyourESX/ESXihosttoanewphysicallocation,youmighthavetochangethedefaultIPgateway. Youcanusethevicfg-routecommandtomanagethedefaultgatewayfortheVMkernelIPstack. vicfg-routesupportsasubsetoftheLinuxroutecommandsoptions. Ifyourunvicfg-routewithnooptions,thecommanddisplaysthedefaultgateway.Use--familytoprint thedefaultIPv4orthedefaultIPv6gateway.Bydefault,thecommanddisplaysthedefaultIPv4gateway. To add, view, and delete a route entry 1 AddarouteentrytotheVMkernelandmakeitthedefault.
ForIPv4networks,noadditionaloptionsarerequired.
vicfg-route <conn_options> --add <network_ip> <netmask_IP> <gateway_ip>
Forexample,toaddarouteto192.168.100.0through192.168.0.1:
vicfg-route -a 192.168.100.0/24 192.168.0.1
or
vicfg-route -a 192.168.100.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.1
120
VMware, Inc.
ForIPv6networks,use--family v6
vicfg-route -f V6 --add <network_ip_and_mask> <gateway_ip>
Forexample:
vicfg-route -f V6 --add 2001:10:20:253::/64 2001:10:20:253::1
Listrouteentriestocheckthatyourroutewasaddedbyrunningthecommandwithoutoptions.
vicfg-route <conn_options>
Theoutputlistsallnetworksandcorrespondingnetmasksandgateways. 3 Setthedefaultgateway.
ForIPv4,usethissyntax:
vicfg-route 192.168.0.1 or vicfg-route -a default 192.168.0.1
ForIPv6,usethissyntax:
vicfg-route -f V6 -a default 2001:10:20:253::1
Runvicfg-route --deletetodeletetheroute.Specifyfirstthegateway,andthenthenetwork.
vicfg-route <conn_options> -d 192.168.100.0/24 192.168.0.1
Using vicfg-ipsec for Secure Networking

Youcanusevicfg-ipsectosetupIPsec(InternetProtocolSecurity),whichsecuresIPcommunications comingfromandarrivingatESX/ESXihosts.AdministratorswhoperformIPsecsetupmusthaveasolid understandingofbothIPv6and IPsec. ESX/ESXihostssupportIPseconlyfortrafficusingIPv6.IPv4isnotsupported. IMPORTANTInESX/ESXi4.1,IPv6isbydefaultdisabled.YoucanturnonIPv6byrunningthisvCLI command:
vicfg-vmknic <conn_options> --enable-ipv6
Youcannotrunvicfg-ipsecwithavCenterServersystemasthetarget(usingthe--vihostoption). TheVMwareimplementationofIPsecadherestothefollowingIPv6RFCs:

4301SecurityArchitecturefortheInternetProtocol 4303IPEncapsulatingSecurityPayload(ESP) 4835CryptographicAlgorithmImplementationRequirementsforESP 2410TheNULLEncryptionAlgorithmandItsUseWithIPsec 2451TheESPCBCModeCipherAlgorithms 3602TheAESCBCCipherAlgorithmandItsUsewithIPsec 2404TheUseofHMACSHA196withinESPandAH 4868UsingHMACSHA256,HMACSHA384,andHMACSHA512
VMware, Inc.
121
Using IPsec with ESX/ESXi

WhenyousetupIPseconanESX/ESXihost,youenableprotectionofincomingoroutgoingdata.What happenspreciselydependsonhowyousetupthesystemsSecurityAssociations(SAs)andSecurity Policies (SPs).
AnSAdetermineshowthesystemprotectstraffic.WhenyoucreateanSA,youspecifythesourceand destination,authentication,andencryptionparameters,andanidentifierfortheSAinthefollowing optionstovicfg-ipsec.

sa-srcandsa-dst spi(securityparameterindex) sa-mode(tunnelortransport) ealgoandekey ialgoandikey
AnSPidentifiesandselectstrafficthatmustbeprotected.AnSPconsistsoftwologicalsections,aselector, andanaction. Theselectorisspecifiedbythefollowingoptionstovicfg-ipsec.

src-addrandsrc-port dst-addranddst-port ulproto direction(inorout)
Theactionisspecifiedbythefollowingoptionstovicfg-ipsec.

sa-name sp-name action(none,discard,ipsec)
BecauseIPsecallowsyoutotargetpreciselywhichtrafficshouldbeencrypted,itiswellsuitedforsecuring yourvSphereenvironment.Forexample,youcansetuptheenvironmentsoallVMotiontrafficisencrypted.
Managing Security Associations with vicfg-ipsec

YoucanspecifyanSAandrequestthattheVMkernelusethatSA.ThefollowingoptionsforSAsetupare supported.
Option sa-src <source_IP> sa-dst <destination_IP> spi Description SourceIPfortheSA. DestinationIPfortheSA. SecurityParameterIndex(SPI)fortheSA.Mustbeahexadecimalnumberwitha0xprefix. WhenIPsecisinuse,ESX/ESXiusestheESPprotocol(RFC43030),whichincludes authenticationandencryptioninformationandtheSPI.TheSPIidentifiestheSAtouseat thereceivinghost.EachSAyoucreatemusthaveauniquecombinationofsource, destination,protocol,andSPI. sa-mode [tunnel | transport] Eithertunnelortransport. Intunnelmode,theoriginalpacketisencapsulatedinanotherIPv6packet,wheresourceand destinationaddressesaretheSAendpointaddresses. Encryptionalgorithmtouse.Choose3des-cbcoraes128-cbc,ornullfornoencryption.
ealgo [null | 3des-cbc | aes128-cbc]
122
VMware, Inc.
Option ekey <key> ialgo [hmac-sha1 | hmac-sha2-256 ] ikey
Description Encryptionkeytobeusedbytheencryptionalgorithm.Aseriesofhexadecimaldigitswith a0xprefixoranASCIIstring. Authenticationalgorithmtobeused.Choosehmac-sha1orhmac-sha2-256. Authenticationkeytobeused.AseriesofhexadecimaldigitsoranASCIIstring.
YoucanperformthesemaintaskswithSAs:
CreateanSAwithvicfg-ipsec --add-sa.Youspecifythesourceanddestination,andthe authenticationmode.Youalsospecifytheauthenticationalgorithmandauthenticationkeytouse.You mustspecifyanencryptionalgorithmandkey,butyoucanspecifynullifyouwantnoencryption. Authenticationisrequiredandcannotbenull.Thefollowingexampleincludesextralinebreaksfor readability.Thelastoption(sa_2intheexample)isthenameoftheSA.

vicfg-ipsec --add-sa --sa-src 2001:DB8:1::121 --sa-dst 2001:DB8:1::122 --sa-mode transport --spi 0x1000 --ealgo 3des-cbc --ekey 0x6970763672656164796c6f676f336465736362636f757432 --ialgo hmac-sha1 --ikey 0x6970763672656164796c6f67736861316f757432 sa_2
ListanSAwithvicfg-ipsec --list-sa.ThiscommandreturnsSAscurrentlyavailableforusebyan SP.ThelistincludesSAsyoucreatedusingvicfg-ipsec. RemoveasingleSAwithvicfg-ipsec --remove-sa.IftheSAisinusewhenyourunthiscommand, thecommandcannotperformtheremoval. RemoveallSAswithvicfg-ipsec --flush-sa.ThisoptionremovesallSAsevenwhentheyareinuse. CAUTIONRunningvicfg-ipsec --flush-saremovesallSAsonyoursystemandmightleaveyour systeminaninconsistentstate.
Managing Security Policies with vicfg-ipsec

AfteryouhavecreatedoneormoreSAs,youcanaddsecuritypolicies(SPs)toyourESX/ESXihosts.Whilethe SAspecifiestheauthenticationandencryptionparameterstouse,theSPidentifiesandselectstraffic. ThefollowingoptionsforSPmanagementaresupported.
Option sp-src <ip>/<p_len> sp-dst <ip>/<p_len> src-port <port> dst-port <port> ulproto [any | tcp | udp | icmp6] dir [in | out] Description SourceIPaddressandprefixlength. DestinationIPaddressandprefixlength. Sourceport(065535).Specifyanyforanyports. Destinationport(065535).Specifyanyforanyports.Ifulprotoisicmp6,thisnumberrefers totheicmp6type.Otherwise,thisnumberreferstotheport. Upperlayerprotocol.UsethisoptiontorestricttheSPtoonlycertainprotocols,oruseanyto applytheSPtoallprotocols. Directioninwhichyouwanttomonitorthetraffic.Tomonitortrafficinbothdirections,create twopolicies.
VMware, Inc.
123
Option action [none | discard | ipsec]
Description Actiontotakewhentrafficwiththespecifiedparametersisencountered. noneTakenoaction,thatis,allowtrafficunmodified. discardDonotallowdatainorout. ipsecUsetheauthenticationandencryptioninformationspecifiedintheSAtodetermine whetherthedatacomefromatrustedsource.
sp-mode [tunnel | transport] sa-name
Mode,eithertunnelortransport. NameoftheSAtousebythisSP.
YoucanperformthesemaintaskswithSPs:
CreateanSPwithvicfg-ipsec --add-sp.Youidentifythedatatomonitorbyspecifyingtheselectors sourceanddestinationIPaddressandprefix,sourceportanddestinationport,upperlayerprotocol, directionoftraffic,actiontotake,andSPmode.ThelasttwooptionarethenameoftheSAtouseandthe nameoftheSPthatisbeingcreated.Thefollowingexampleincludesextralinebreaksforreadability.

vicfg-ipsec --add-sp --sp-src=2001:0DB8:0001:/48 --sp-dst=2001:0DB8:0002:/48 --src-port=23 --dst-port=25 --ulproto=tcp --dir=out --action=ipsec --sp-mode=transport --sp-name sp_2
ListanSPwithvicfg-ipsec --list-sp.ThiscommandreturnsSPscurrentlyavailable.AllSPsare createdbytheadministrator. RemoveanSPwithvicfg-ipsec --remove-sp.IftheSPisinusewhenyourunthiscommand,the commandcannotperformtheremoval.Youcanrunvicfg-ipsec --flush-spinsteadtoremovetheSP evenwhenitisinuse. CAUTIONRunningvicfg-ipsec --flush-spremovesallSPsonyoursystemandmightleaveyour systeminaninconsistentstate.
124
VMware, Inc.
11
Monitoring ESX/ESXi Hosts
11
StartingwiththevSphere4.0release,thevCenterServermakesperformancechartsforCPU,memory,diskI/O, networking,andstorageavailable.YoucanviewtheseperformancechartsbyusingthevSphereClientand readaboutthemintheDatacenterAdministrationGuide.Youcanalsoperformsomemonitoringofyour ESX/ESXihostsusingvCLIcommands. Thischapterincludesthesetopics:

UsingresxtopforPerformanceMonitoringonpage 125 ManagingDiagnosticPartitionswithvicfgdumppartonpage 125 ConfiguringSyslogonESXiHostsonpage 126 ManagingESX/ESXiSNMPAgentswithvicfgsnmponpage 127 ESX,ESXi,andVirtualMachineLogsonpage 129 EnablingandDisablingCIMProvidersonpage 129
Using resxtop for Performance Monitoring

TheresxtopvCLIcommandallowsyoutoexaminehowESX/ESXisystemsuseresources.Youcanusethe commandininteractivemode(default)orinbatchmode.TheResourceManagementGuideexplainshowtouse resxtopandprovidesinformationaboutavailablecommandsanddisplaystatistics. IMPORTANTresxtopissupportedonlyonLinux.
Managing Diagnostic Partitions with vicfg-dumppart

Yourhostmusthaveadiagnosticpartition(dumppartition)tostorecoredumpsfordebuggingandforuseby VMwaretechnicalsupport.TheVMwareknowledgebasearticleathttp://kb.vmware.com/kb/1004128 explainshowtocollecttheinformation. YoucanusethevSphereClienttocreatethediagnosticpartitiononalocaldiskoronaprivateorsharedSAN LUN.Youcannotusevicfg-dumpparttocreatethediagnosticpartition.TheSANLUNcanbesetupwith FibreChannelorhardwareiSCSI.SANLUNsaccessedthroughasoftwareiSCSIinitiatorarenotsupported. Eachhostmusthaveadiagnosticpartitionof100MB.IfmultiplehostsshareaSANLUN,configurea diagnosticpartitionwith100MBforeachhost. CAUTIONIftwohoststhatshareadiagnosticpartitionfailandsavecoredumpstothesameslot,thecore dumpsmightbelost.Tocollectcoredumpdata,rebootahostandextractlogfilesimmediatelyafterthehost fails.Ifanotherhostfailsbeforeyoucollectthediagnosticdataofthefirsthost,thesecondhostdoesnotsave thecoredump.
VMware, Inc.
125
Youcanusethevicfg-dumppartcommandtoquery,set,andscananESX/ESXihostsdiagnosticpartitions. TheESXConfigurationGuideandtheESXiConfigurationGuideexplainhowtosetupdiagnosticpartitionswith thevSphereClient.TheFibreChannelSANConfigurationGuideandtheiSCSISANConfigurationGuideexplain howtomanagediagnosticpartitionsonaFibreChannelorhardwareiSCSISAN. Diagnosticpartitionscaninclude,inorderofsuitability,paralleladapter,blockadapter,FibreChannel,or hardwareiSCSIpartitions. IMPORTANTWhenyoulistdiagnosticpartitions,softwareiSCSIpartitionsareincluded.However,VMware recommendsthatyounotusesoftwareiSCSIpartitionsasdiagnosticpartitions. Thefollowingexamplescenariochangesthediagnosticpartition. To manage a diagnostic partition 1 ShowthediagnosticpartitiontheVMkerneluses.
vicfg-dumppart <conn_options> -t
Displayinformationaboutallpartitionsthatcanbeusedasdiagnosticpartitions.Use-lforbasic information,-ffordetailedinformation.
vicfg-dumppart <conn_options> -f
Theoutputmightlookasfollows.
Partition name on vml.mpx.vmhba36:C0:T0:L0:7 -> mpx.vmhba36:C0:T0:L0:7
Deactivatethediagnosticpartition.
vicfg-dumppart <conn_options> -d
TheESX/ESXisystemisnowwithoutadiagnosticpartition,andyoumustimmediatelysetanewone. 4 Settheactivepartitiontonaa.<naa_ID>.
vicfg-dumppart <conn_options> -s naa.<naa_ID>
Runvicfg-dumppart -tagaintoverifythatadiagnosticpartitionisset.
vicfg-dumppart <conn_options> -t
Ifadiagnosticpartitionisset,thecommanddisplaysinformationaboutit.Otherwise,thecommand informsyouthatnopartitionisset.
Configuring Syslog on ESXi Hosts

AllESX/ESXihostsrunasyslogservice(syslogd),whichlogsmessagesfromtheVMkernelandothersystem componentstoafile. OnanESXihost,youcanusethevSphereClientorthevicfg-syslogvCLIcommandtoconfigurethe followingoptions:
Remotehost.Remotehosttowhichsyslogmessagesareforwarded.Theremotehostmusthaveasyslog serviceinstalledandcorrectlyconfiguredtoreceivetheforwardedsyslogmessages.Seethe documentationforthesyslogserviceinstalledonyourremotehostforinformationonconfiguration. Remoteport.Portonwhichtheremotehostreceivessyslogmessages.
IMPORTANTYoucannotusethevSphereClientorvicfg-syslogtoconfiguresyslogbehaviorforan ESX/ESXihost.Youmusteditthe/etc/syslog.conffiletoconfiguresyslogforanESXhost. Youdonothavetorestartthesyslogserviceafterconfiguringthesettings. Youcannotusevicfg-syslogtospecifyadatastorepathtoafileinwhichsyslogdlogsallmessages.Use thevSphereClienttospecifyadatastorepath.SeetheDatacenterAdministrationGuide.
126
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 11 Monitoring ESX/ESXi Hosts
To configure the syslog service 1 Runvicfg-syslog --showtodisplaythesyslogserverconfiguration.

vicfg-syslog <conn_options> -i
Runvicfg-syslog --setservertosetaremoteserverasthesyslogserver.
vicfg-syslog <conn_options> -s mysyslogserver
MakesmysyslogserverthesyslogserverfortheESX/ESXihostspecifiedin<conn_options>. 3 Runvicfg-syslog --setporttosettheportforthesyslogserver.

vicfg-syslog <conn_options> -p <port>
Managing ESX/ESXi SNMP Agents with vicfg-snmp

SimpleNetworkManagementProtocol(SNMP)allowsmanagementprogramstomonitorandcontrol networkeddevices.vCenterServerandESX/ESXisystemsincludedifferentSNMPagents:
TheSNMPagentincludedwithvCenterServercansendtrapswhenthevCenterServersystemisstarted orwhenanalarmistriggeredonvCenterServer.ThevCenterServerSNMPagentfunctionsonlyasatrap emitteranddoesnotsupportotherSNMPoperationssuchasGET. IMPORTANTYoucanmanagethevCenterServeragentwiththevSphereClient,butnotwiththevCLI command.
ESX/ESXi4.0andlaterincludesanSNMPagentembeddedinthehostdaemon(hostd)thatcansendtraps andreceivepollingrequestssuchasGETrequests.
VersionsofESXreleasedbeforeESX/ESXi4.0includedaNetSNMPbasedagent.Youcancontinuetousethis NetSNMPbasedagentinESX4.xwithMIBssuppliedbyyourhardwarevendorandotherthirdparty managementapplications.However,tousetheVMwareMIBfiles,youmustusetheembeddedSNMPagent. TousetheNETSNMPbasedagentandembeddedSNMPagentatthesametime,makeoneoftheagentslisten onanondefaultport.Bydefault,bothagentsusethesameport. TheembeddedSNMPagentisdisabledbydefault.Configuringandenablingtheagentrequiresthatyou performthefollowingtasks: 1 2 ConfigureSNMPCommunities.SeeConfiguringSNMPCommunitiesonpage 127. ConfiguretheSNMPAgent.Youhavethefollowingchoices:

ConfiguringtheSNMPAgenttoSendTrapsonpage 128 ConfiguringtheSNMPAgentforPollingonpage 128
Configuring SNMP Communities

BeforeyouenabletheESX/ESXiembeddedSNMPagent,youmustconfigureatleastonecommunityforthe agent. AnSNMPcommunitydefinesagroupofdevicesandmanagementsystems.Onlydevicesandmanagement systemsthataremembersofthesamecommunitycanexchangeSNMPmessages.Adeviceormanagement systemcanbeamemberofmultiplecommunities. ToconfigureSNMPcommunities,runvicfg-snmp -c,specifyingacommaseparatedlistofcommunities.For example:
vicfg-snmp <conn_options> -c public, internal
Eachtimeyouspecifyacommunitywiththiscommand,thesettingsthatyouspecifyoverwritetheprevious configuration.
VMware, Inc.
127
Configuring the SNMP Agent to Send Traps

YoucanusetheESX/ESXiembeddedSNMPagenttosendvirtualmachineandenvironmentaltrapsto managementsystems.Toconfiguretheagenttosendtraps,youmustspecifyatarget(receiver)address,the community,andanoptionalport.Ifyoudonotspecifyaport,theSNMPagentsendstrapstoUDPport162 onthetargetmanagementsystembydefault. To configure a trap destination 1 Makesureacommunityissetup.
vicfg-snmp <conn_options> --show Current SNMP agent settings: Enabled: 1 UDP port: 161 Communities: public Notification targets:
Runvicfg-snmp --targetwiththetargetaddress,portnumber,andcommunity. vicfg-snmp <conn_options -t target.example.com@163/public Eachtimeyouspecifyatargetwiththiscommand,thesettingsyouspecifyoverwriteallpreviously specifiedsettings.Tospecifymultipletargets,separatethemwithacomma. YoucanchangetheportthattheSNMPagentsendsdatatoonthetargetusingthe--targetsoption. ThatportisUDP162bydefault.
(Optional)EnabletheSNMPagentifitisnotyetrunning.
vicfg-snmp <conn_options> --enable
(Optional)Sendatesttraptoverifythattheagentisconfiguredcorrectly.
vicfg-snmp <conn_options> --test
TheagentsendsawarmStarttraptotheconfiguredtarget.
Configuring the SNMP Agent for Polling

IfyouconfiguretheESX/ESXiembeddedSNMPagentforpolling,itcanlistenforandrespondtorequestssuch asGETrequestsfromSNMPmanagementclientsystems. Bydefault,theembeddedSNMPagentlistensonUDPport161forpollingrequestsfrommanagement systems.Youcanusethevicfg-snmpcommandtoconfigureanalternativeport.Toavoidconflictswithother services,useaUDPportthatisnotdefinedin/etc/services. IMPORTANTBoththeembeddedSNMPagentandtheNetSNMPbasedagentavailableintheESXservice consolelistenonUDPport161bydefault.Changetheportforoneagenttoenablebothagentsforpolling. To configure the SNMP agent for polling 1 (Optional)Specifyaportforlisteningforpollingrequests.
vicfg-snmp <conn_options> -p <port>
(Optional)IftheSNMPagentisnotenabled,enableit.
vicfg-snmp <conn_options> --enable
Runvicfg-snmp --testtovalidatetheconfiguration.
Thefollowingexampleshowshowthecommandsareruninsequence:
vicfg-snmp c public t example.com@162/private --enable # next validate your config by doing these things: vicfg-snmp test walk v1 c public esx-host
128
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 11 Monitoring ESX/ESXi Hosts
ESX, ESXi, and Virtual Machine Logs

Logscanhelpyoufindoutwhathappenedifcommandsdonothavethedesiredresults.Youcanfindthe followinglogsonyourESX/ESXisystem.
Component ESXServer2.xservicelog ESXServer3.xorESXservicelog vSphereclientagentlog Virtualmachinekernelcorefile Sysloglog Serviceconsoleavailabilityreport VMkernelmessages,alerts,and availabilityreport VMkernelwarning Virtualmachinelogfile Virtualmachineconfigurationfile Location /var/log/vmware/vmware-serverd.log /var/log/vmware/hostd.log /var/log/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log Afteryourebootyourmachine,files/root/vmkernel-log.<date>and /root/vmkernel-core.<date>arepresent. /var/log/messages /var/log/vmkernel /var/log/vmkernel /var/log/vmkwarning vmware.loginthesamedirectoryastheVMXfileforthevirtualmachine <virtual_machine_name>/<virtual_machine_name>.vmxlocatedona datastoreassociatedwiththemanagedhost.Usethevirtualmachinesummary pageinthevSphereClienttodeterminethedatastoreonwhichthisfileislocated.
Enabling and Disabling CIM Providers

Thevicfg-advcfgcommandoffersanumberoflowleveladvancedoptions.Mostoptionsarenotintended forcustomeruse.YoumightusethiscommandwhenVMwareTechnicalSupportoraVMwareKnowledge Basearticleinstructyoutodoso. Anexceptionisthevicfg-advcfg-soption,whichyoucanusetoenableanddisableOEMorCustom(IHV) CIMprovidersandVMWgroups.WiththeVMwareCIMAPIs,developerscanbuildstandardsbased CIMcompliantmanagementapplicationstomanageESX/ESXihosts.SeetheVMwareCIMAPI documentation.
EnableCIMprovidersasfollows: OEMCIMproviders IHVCIMproviders AllCIMproviders

vicfg-advcfg <conn_options> -s 1 CIMOEMProvidersEnabled vicfg-advcfg <conn_options> -s 1 CIMCustomProvidersEnabled vicfg-advcfg <conn_options> -s 1 UserVars.CIMEnabled
EnableordisableVMWgroups.Bydefault,allgroupsareenabled.Ifyourunvicfg-advcfg -sto disableagroup,thechangetakeseffectafterSFCBDservicerestartorESX/ESXihostreboot.Forexample, youcandisableallCIMprovidersasfollows:

vicfg-advcfg <conn_options> -s 0 UserVars.CIMEnabled
Thefollowingprovidergroupsareavailable:

UserVars.CIMEnabled UserVars.CIMemulexProviderEnabled UserVars.CIMlsiProviderEnabled UserVars.CIMqlogicProviderEnabled UserVars.CIMvmw_hdrProviderEnabled UserVars.CIMvmw_kmoduleEnabled UserVars.CIMvmw_lsiProviderEnabled UserVars.CIMvmw_swmgtProviderEnabled
VMware, Inc.
129
130
VMware, Inc.
12
vSphere CLI Command Overviews
12
ThevSphereCLIReference,availableonthevSphereCLIdocumentationpage,isacompletereferencetoallvCLI commandsexceptresxtopandesxcli.Thischaptergivesanoverviewofallcommandsandpointstorelated documentation. Thischapterincludesthefollowingtopics:

ListofAvailableCommandsonpage 131 SupportedPlatformsforCommandsonpage 133 CommandswithanesxcfgPrefixonpage 135 esxcliCommandOverviewonpage 136
List of Available Commands

Table 121listsallvCLIcommandsinalphabeticalorderandpointstothevCLIdiscussioninthisdocument andrelateddocumentation. Table 12-1. vCLI Commands Supported by ESX/ESXi
Command esxcli Description Supportsavarietyofnamespacesand commandslistedinesxcliCommand Overviewonpage 136. See ManagingPathPolicieswithesxclion page 55. SettingUpPortsforiSCSIMultipathingon page 80. ManagingThirdPartyStorageArrayswith esxclionpage 97. ForciblyStoppingVirtualMachineson page 95. esxclisupportsothercommandsforworking withstorage,networking,andvirtual machines. resxtop MonitorsinrealtimehowESX/ESXihostsuse resources.Runsininteractiveorbatchmode. ThiscommandissupportedonlyonLinux. svmotion Movesavirtualmachinesconfigurationfile andoptionallyitsdiskswhilethevirtual machineisrunning. MustrunagainstavCenterServersystem. vicfg-advcfg Performsadvancedconfigurationincluding enablinganddisablingCIMproviders. UsethiscommandasinstructedbyVMware. vicfg-authconfig AllowsyoutoremotelyconfigureActive DirectorysettingsforanESX/ESXihost. UsingvicfgauthconfigforActiveDirectory Configurationonpage 32. EnablingandDisablingCIMProviderson page 129. UsingresxtopforPerformanceMonitoring onpage 125. SeetheResourceManagementGuidefora detailedreference. MigratingVirtualMachineswithsvmotion onpage 59.
VMware, Inc.
131
Table 12-1. vCLI Commands Supported by ESX/ESXi (Continued)

Command vicfg-cfgbackup Description BacksuptheconfigurationdataofanESXi systemandrestorespreviouslysaved configurationdata. See BackingUpConfigurationInformationwith vicfgcfgbackuponpage 28. SeetheESXi EmbeddedandvCenterServerSetup Guideforanindepthdiscussionthatincludes stepbystepinstructions. SettingtheDNSConfigurationonpage 119. ManagingDiagnosticPartitionswith vicfgdumppartonpage 125. Stopping,RebootingandExaminingHosts withvicfghostopsonpage 27. EnteringandExitingMaintenanceModewith vicfghostopsonpage 28. vicfg-ipsec SetsupIPsec(InternetProtocolSecurity), whichsecuresIPcommunicationscoming fromandarrivingatESX/ESXihosts.ESX/ESXi hostssupportIPsecusingIPv6. ManagesiSCSIstorage. EnablesVMkerneloptions.Usethiscommand withtheoptionslistedinthisdocument,oras instructedbyVMware. Configuresstoragearrays. Usevicfg-mpath35forESX/ESXi3.5hosts. ManagesNASfilesystems. ManagestheESX/ESXihostsphysicalNICs. SpecifiestheNTP(NetworkTimeProtocol) server. Rescansthestorageconfiguration. ManipulatestheESX/ESXihostsrouteentry. FindsavailableLUNs. ManagestheSimpleNetworkManagement Protocol(SNMP)agent. UsingvicfgipsecforSecureNetworkingon page 121.
vicfg-dns vicfg-dumppart vicfg-hostops
SpecifiesanESX/ESXihostsDNS(Domain NameServer)configuration. Managesdiagnosticpartitions. Manageshosts.
vicfg-iscsi vicfg-module
ManagingiSCSIStorageonpage 65. ManagingVMkernelModuleswith vicfgmoduleonpage 32. ManagingPathswithvicfgmpathon page 53. ManagingNFS/NASDatastoreswith vicfgnasonpage 58. ManagingUplinkAdapterswithvicfgnics onpage 116. AddingandStartinganNTPServeron page 120. RescanningStorageAdapterswith vicfgrescanonpage 63. ManagingtheIPGatewayonpage 120. ExaminingLUNswithvicfgscsidevson page 52. ManagingESX/ESXiSNMPAgentswith vicfgsnmponpage 127. UsingSNMPinavSphereenvironmentis discussedindetailintheDatacenter AdministrationGuide.
vicfg-mpath vicfg-mpath35 vicfg-nas vicfg-nics vicfg-ntp vicfg-rescan vicfg-route vicfg-scsidevs vicfg-snmp
vicfg-syslog
Specifiesthesyslogserverandtheportto connecttothatserverforESXihosts.
ConfiguringSyslogonESXiHostson page 126 TheDatacenterAdministrationGuideexplains howtosetupsystemlogsusingthevSphere Client.
vicfg-user
Creates,modifies,deletes,andlistslocaldirect accessusersandgroupsofusers.
ManagingUsersonpage 83 SeetheDatacenterAdministrationGuidefor discussionsofcustomrolesandofsecurity implicationsofusermanagement. AddingandModifyingVMkernelNetwork Interfaceswithvicfgvmkniconpage 117 ManagingDuplicateVMFSDatastoreswith vicfgvolumeonpage 61.
vicfg-vmknic vicfg-volume
Adds,deletes,andmodifiesVMkernel networkinterfaces. SupportsresignaturingathecopyofaVMFS volumeandmountingandunmountingthe copy.
132
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 12 vSphere CLI Command Overviews
Table 12-1. vCLI Commands Supported by ESX/ESXi (Continued)

Command vicfg-vswitch vifs Description Addsorremovesvirtualswitchesormodifies virtualswitchsettings. Performsfilesystemoperationssuchas retrievinganduploadingfilesontheESXi system. ManagesupdatesofESX/ESXihosts.Use vihostupdate35forESXi3.5hosts. See SettingUpVirtualSwitchesandAssociatinga SwitchwithaNetworkInterfaceonpage 114. ManagingtheVirtualMachineFileSystem withvmkfstoolsonpage 36 ManagingHostUpdateswithvihostupdate onpage 29. SeealsotheESXiUpgradeGuide. vmkfstools Createsandmanipulatesvirtualdisks,file systems,logicalvolumes,andphysicalstorage devicesonanESX/ESXihost. Performsvirtualmachineoperationsremotely. Thisincludes,forexample,creatinga snapshot,poweringthevirtualmachineonor off,andgettinginformationaboutthevirtual machine. ManagingtheVirtualMachineFileSystem withvmkfstoolsonpage 36. ManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 89.
vihostupdate vihostupdate35
vmware-cmd
Supported Platforms for Commands

vCLI4.0andlatersupportsmorefunctionalitythanvSphereCLI3.5.Differentcommandssupportadifferent rangeoftargetservers. MostcommandscanrunagainstanESX/ESXisystemandhavevCenterServersupport.vCenterServer supportmeansthatyoucanconnecttoavCenterServersystemanduse--vihosttospecifytheESX/ESXi hosttorunthecommandagainst.Theonlyexceptionissvmotion,whichyoucanrunagainstvCenterServer systems,butnotagainstESX/ESXisystems. ThefollowingcommandsmusthaveanESX/ESXisystem,notavCenterServersystemtarget:

vicfg-snmp vifs vicfg-user vicfg-cfgbackup vihostupdate vmkfstools esxcli vicfg-ipsec
Youcannotrunthevihostupdateandvicfg-mpathcommandsthatareinavCLI4.xinstallationagainst ESX/ESXi3.5orvCenter2.5systems.Instead,runvihostupdate35andvicfg-mpath35,includedinthevCLI 4.xinstallation,againstthosesystems.vihostupdate35issupportedforESXibutnotESX. IMPORTANTIfyourunvCLI4.xcommandsagainstESX/ESXi3.5systems,youcanuseonlytheoptions supportedbythosesystems. SeetheVMwareInfrastructureRemoteCommandLineInterfaceInstallationandReferenceGuideforESX/ESXi Update2foralistofsupportedoptions.Toaccessthatdocument,selectResources,thenDocumentationfrom theVMwarewebsite.FindthevSpheredocumentationsetandopenthearchive.AsmallnumberofvCLI4.x optionsaresupportedagainsthostsrunningESX/ESXi3.5Update2orlatereventhoughtheywerenot supportedinRCLIversion3.5. RunavCLI4.xcommandwith--helpforinformationonoptionsupportwithESX/ESXi3.5Update 2,orsee theVMwareknowledgebasearticleathttp://kb.vmware.com/kb/1008940formoredetail.
VMware, Inc.
133
Table 122listsplatformsupportforthedifferentvCLI4.xcommands.Thesecommandshavenotbeentested againstVirtualCenter2.5Update2systems.Youcan,however,connecttoavCenterServer4.xsystemand targetESX/ESXi3.5Update2hosts. Table 12-2. Platform Support for vCLI 4.x Commands
Command esxcli resxtop svmotion vicfg-advcfg vicfg-authconfig vicfg-cfgbackup vicfg-dns vicfg-dumppart vicfg-hostops 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-vmhbadevs vicfg-vmknic vicfg-volume vicfg-vswitch vifs vihostupdate vmkfstools vmware-cmd vicfg-mpath35 vihostupdate35 ESXi 4.x Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ESX 4.x Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes VC 4.x No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No ESXi 3.5 U2+ No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes ESX 3.5 U2+ No Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No Yes
Usevicfg-mpath35instead. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Usevihostupdate35 instead Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No
NotincludedinvCLI4.x.Usevicfg-scsidevs instead. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No
Table 123listsplatformsupportforthedifferentvCLI3.5commands.Thesecommandsarenotsupported againstvSphere4.xsystems.
134
VMware, Inc.
Table 12-3. Platform Support for vCLI 3.5 Commands

Command esxcli resxtop svmotion vicfg-advcfg vicfg-cfgbackup vicfg-dns vicfg-dumppart 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-vmhbadevs vicfg-vmknic vicfg-volume vicfg-vswitch vifs vihostupdate vmkfstools vmware-cmd ESXi 3.5 U2+ No Yes N.A. Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ESX 3.5 U2+ No Yes N.A. Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes VC 2.5 U2+ No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes
Commands with an esxcfg Prefix

FormanyofthevCLIcommands,youmighthaveusedscriptswithcorrespondingserviceconsolecommands startingwithanesxcfgprefixtomanageESX3.xhosts.TofacilitateeasymigrationfromESX3.xtoESX/ESXi, thecommandswiththeesxcfgprefixareavailableasvCLIcommands. IMPORTANTVMwarerecommendsthatyouusethevCLIcommandswiththevicfgprefix.Commandswith theesxcfgprefixareavailablemainlyforcompatibilityreasonsandmightbecomeobsolete. Table 124listsallvCLIcommandsforwhichacommandwithanesxcfgprefixisavailable. Table 12-4. Commands with an esxcfg Prefix
Command with vicfg prefix vicfg-advcfg vicfg-cfgbackup vicfg-dns Command with esxcfg prefix esxcfg-advcfg esxcfg-cfgbackup esxcfg-dns
VMware, Inc.
135
Table 12-4. Commands with an esxcfg Prefix (Continued)

Command with vicfg prefix vicfg-dumppart vicfg-module vicfg-mpath vicfg-nas vicfg-nics vicfg-ntp vicfg-rescan vicfg-route vicfg-scsidevs vicfg-snmp vicfg-syslog vicfg-vmknic vicfg-volume vicfg-vswitch Command with esxcfg prefix esxcfg-dumppart esxcfg-module esxcfg-mpath esxcfg-nas esxcfg-nics esxcfg-ntp esxcfg-rescan esxcfg-route esxcfg-scsidevs esxcfg-snmp esxcfg-syslog esxcfg-vmknic esxcfg-volume esxcfg-vswitch
esxcli Command Overview

TheesxclivCLIcommanddiffersfromothervCLIcommands.ThecommandisnotaPerlscriptandyou cannotinvokeitwitha.plextension.Onlythecommandoptionssupportcorrespondingshortoptions;there arenoshortoptionsforotherelements(namespace,app,orcommand). IMPORTANTYoucanrunesxcliwith--serverpointingtoanESX/ESXihost,butnotwith--server pointingtoavCenterServersystem. esxclidoesnotsupportcredentialstoreauthenticationorthe--credstoreoption. ThecommandisinstalledinthesamelocationasothervCLIcommandsandyouinvokeitwiththesame connectionoptionsasothervCLIcommands.SeeRunningvCLICommandsonpage 19. Thecommandhasthefollowingsyntax:
esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> <cmd> [cmd options] Option <conn_options> Description ConnectionparametersforthevCLImustprecedeallotherparameters,oryoumustperform authenticationinotherways.Forexample,youcanperformauthenticationusingvifastpasson vMA,orusingenvironmentvariables.SeevCLIConnectionOptionsonpage 23.ESXCLIdoes notsupportthecredentialstore. Namespace.Oneofthefollowing: nmpVMwarenativemultipathingcommands. swiscsiCommandsinthesoftwareiSCSIanddependenthardwareiSCSInamespace. corestorageVMwarecorestoragecommands. <app> <cmd> <cmd options> Areawithinthenamespacetowhichthecommandapplies. Commandtobecalled. Commandoptions.
<namespace>
136
VMware, Inc.
Help for esxcli

CommandlinehelpfortheesxclivCLIisavailableonaperlevelbasis. IMPORTANTWhenusingtheesxclivCLI,youmustsupplyconnectioninformationincludingausername andpassword,evenifyoucallthecommandwith--help.esxclidisplaystheinformationaboutavailable commandsandoptionsontheserveryouspecify. Thisbehaviordiffersfrom--helpforothervCLIcommandsbecauseothercommandsdonotchange dependingonthetargetserver. Howyoucallhelpdependsonwhatyoucallhelpfor.
Command esxcli esxcli --help esxcli -? esxcli <conn_options> --help esxcli <conn_options> -? esxcli <conn_parms> <namespace> --help esxcli <conn_parms> <namespace> -? esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> --help esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> -? esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> <command> --help esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> <command> -? Example esxcli <Enter> esxcli --help esxcli -? esxcli --server S1 --help esxcli --server S1 -? esxcli --server S1 nmp --help esxcli --server S1 nmp -? Output Listsallsupportednamespaceson thissystem. Displayshelpforsupported connectionoptions. Displayshelpforsupportedname spaces. Displayshelpforsupportedapps forthisnamespace.
esxcli --server S1 nmp device --help esxcli --server S1 nmp device -? esxcli --server S1 nmp device setpolicy --help esxcli --server S1 nmp device setpolicy -?
Displayshelpforsupported commandsforthisapp.
Displayshelpforsupportedoptions forthiscommand.
Thissectionisareferencetoesxclicommands,organizedonapernamespacebasis.Thereferencepointsto placesinthismanualthatdiscussusingthecommand.
esxcli corestorage Namespace

Theesxcli corestorageclaimingcommandsincludepluggablestoragedirectpathclaimingcommands andclaimrulecommands.ThesecommandsoperateontherulesthatdeterminewhichPSApluginisusedto claimstoragepaths.
claiming Commands
Theesxcli corestorage claimingcommandsapplytothepluggablestoragedirectpathclaimingsystem. Theseoperationsallowausertodirectlycontroltheclaimingandunclaimingprocess.Theresultsofthese operationsaretemporary.Claimingoperationsthatneedtopersistafterarebootshoulduseclaimrules instead(seeclaimruleCommandsonpage 138). Youcanspecifythefollowingclaimingcommands.
Command autoclaim reclaim Description DonotusethiscommandunlessinstructedtodosobyVMwaresupportstaff. Attemptstounclaimallpathstoadeviceandrunstheloadedclaimrulesoneachofthe unclaimedpathstoreclaimthem.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

-d|--deviceNameofadeviceonwhichallpathswillbeunclaimedandthenreclaimed. -h|--helpShowthehelpmessage.
VMware, Inc.
137
Command unclaim
Description Unclaimsapathorsetofpaths,disassociatingitfromaPSAplugin.Itisnormalforpath claimingtofailespeciallywhenunclaimingbypluginoradapter.Onlyinactivepathswithno I/Ocanbeunclaimed.TypicallytheESXiUSBpartitionanddeviceswithVMFSvolumeson themarenotunclaimable. Unclaimingdoesnotpersistandperiodicpathclaimingreclaimsunclaimedpathsashorttime aftertheunclaimoperationsunlessclaimrulesareconfiguredtomaskthepath.SeeMasking Pathswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleonpage 57. Seeesxclicorestorageclaimingunclaimonpage 105foralistofoptions.
claimrule Commands
Theesxcli corestorage claimrulecommandsoperateontherulesusedtodeterminewhichPSAplugin isusedtoclaimstoragepaths.Youcanalsousethesecommandstomaskpaths,seeMaskingPathswithesxcli corestorageclaimruleonpage 57. Thefollowingcommandsaresupported.
Command add convert Description Addsaclaimruletothesetofclaimrulesonthesystem.SupportsoptionslistedinAdding ClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleaddonpage 106. ConvertsESX3.xstyle/adv/Disk/MaskLUNsLUNmaskstoclaimruleformat. ThisconversiondoesnotworkforallinputMaskLUNsvariations.Aftertheconvertoperation hasgeneratedalistofclaimrules,inspectthoserulesfirst.IfthesuggestedLUNmaskclaim rulesarecorrect,usethe--commitoptiontowritethelisttotheconfigurationfile. SeeConvertingESX3.5LUNMaskstoClaimRuleFormatonpage 107. delete list load move run Deletesaclaimrule.SeeDeletingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorageclaimruledeleteon page 108. Listsallclaimrulesonthesystem. LoadspathclaimingrulesfromtheconfigurationfileintotheVMkernel.SeeLoadingClaim Ruleswithesxclicorestorageclaimruleloadonpage 108. Movesaclaimrulefromoneruleidtoanother.SeeMovingClaimRuleswithesxclicorestorage claimrulemoveonpage 109. Runspathclaimingrules.Seeesxclicorestorageclaimrulerunonpage 109.
device Commands
Theesxcli corestorage device list commandappliestothepluggablestoragearchitectureslogical devicesonthesystem.Thecommandisusedinconjunctionwithhardwareacceleration,discussedintheFibre ChannelSANConfigurationGuideandtheiSCSISANConfigurationGuide.
Command list Description FordevicescurrentlyregisteredwiththePSA,liststheattachedfilters.Supportsthefollowing options:

-d|--deviceFilterstheoutputofthiscommandtoonlyshowasingledevice. -h|--helpShowsthehelpmessage.
138
VMware, Inc.
plugin commands
Theesxcli corestorage plugin listcommandworksonPSAplugins.Thecommandisusedin conjunctionwithhardwareacceleration,discussedintheFibreChannelSANConfigurationGuideandtheiSCSI SANConfigurationGuide.
Command list Description ListsPSApluginsavailableonthespecifiedsystem.Supportsthefollowingoptions:
-N|--plugin-class=<str> Indicatestheclassofplugintolimitthelistto.Thefollowing valuesaresupported:

Filter:Filterplugins MP:Multipathingplugins VAAI:VAAIplugins all:AllPSAPlugins(default)
Forexample,youcanlistallPSApluginsthataremultipathingpluginsbyrunningthefollowing command: esxcli corestorage plugin list --plugin-class=MP
esxcli network Namespace

Theesxcli networknamespaceallowsyoutolistinformationaboutthecurrentnetworkstatus.The namespacesupportstheconnectionsandneighborsapps.
connections list Command

Theesxcli network connectionslistcommandlistsactiveTCP/IPconnections.
Command list Description ListsactiveTCP/IPconnections.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

-h|--helpShowsthehelpmessage. -t | --type Specifiestheconnectiontypeforwhichyouwanttolistactiveconnections. Supportedtypesareip,tcp,udp,andall.
neighbors show Command

Theesxcli network neighborsshowcommandlistsactiveARPtableentries.
Command show Description ListsactiveARPtableentries.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

h|helpShowsthehelpmessage. v|version IPversiontolistentriesfor.Supportedtypesare4,6,andall.
esxcli nmp Namespace

Theesxcli nmpnamespaceallowsyoutoviewandmanipulatetheNativeMultipathingPlugin.SeetheESX ConfigurationGuideforbackgroundinformationaboutthePluggableStorageArrayarchitectureandthe NativeMultipathingPlugin.
boot restore Command

Theesxcli nmp boot restorecommandcanbeusedtorestoreconfigurationstateoftheNMPpluginat boottime. esxcli nmp boot restore Thecommandsupportsa--helpoptionbutnootheroptions.
VMware, Inc.
139
device Commands
Theesxcli nmp devicecommandscanbeusedforinspectingandmanagingthedevicesthatarecurrently claimedbytheVMwareNMP.Thefollowingcommandsaresupported.
Command Description ListsthedevicescurrentlycontrolledbyVMwareNMPandshowstheSATPandPSP informationassociatedwiththosedevices.

list
-d|--deviceFilterstheoutputofthiscommandtoonlyshowasingledevice. -h|--helpShowsthehelpmessage.
setpolicy
AllowssettingofthePSPforthegivendevicetooneofthepoliciesloadedonthesystem.

-E|--default SetsthePSPfortheassignedSATPforthisdevicebacktothedefault. -d|--device DeviceyouwishtosetthePSPfor. -h|--help Showsthehelpmessage. -P|--psp PSPyouwishtoassigntothedevicespecifiedby--device.
fixed Commands
The esxcli nmp fixedcommandsapplytotheFixedPSP.Thefollowingcommandsaresupported.
Command getpreferred Description RetrievesfixedPSPsettingsforthespecifieddevice.

-d|--deviceDeviceyouwishtogetthepreferredpathfor. -h|--helpShowsthehelpmessage.
setpreferred
Setsthepreferredpathonaspecifieddevicecontrolledbythefixedpathselectionpolicy.

-E|--default Clearsthepreferredpathselectionforthegivendevice. -d|--device Deviceyouwishtosetthepreferredpathfor.Thisdevicemustbecontrolled bythefixedPSP. -h|--help Showsthehelpmessage. -p|--path Pathyouwishtosetasthepreferredpathforthegivendevice.
path Commands
Theesxcli nmp pathlistcommandliststhepathsthatarecurrentlyclaimedbyVMwareNMP.
Command Description ListthepathscurrentlyclaimedbyVMwareNMPandshowtheSATPandPSPinformation associatedwiththatpath.

list
-d|--device Filterstheoutputofthiscommandtoonlyshowpathstoasingledevice. -h|--help Showsthehelpmessage. -p|--path Filterstheoutputofthiscommandtoonlyshowasinglepath
psp Commands
Theesxcli nmp pspcommandsapplytothePSPfortheNMP.Thefollowingcommandsaresupported.
Command getconfig Description RetrievesperpathorperdevicePSPconfigurationparameters.

-d|--deviceDeviceyouwishtogetPSPconfigurationfor.Ifyouspecify--device,youcannot specify --path. -h|--help Showthehelpmessage. -p|--path PathyouwishtogetPSPconfigurationfor.Ifyouspecify--path,youcannot specify --device.
list
ListsthePSPthatarecurrentlyloadedintotheNMPsystemanddisplayinformationaboutthosePSPs.
140
VMware, Inc.
Command setconfig
Description AllowssettingofperpathorperdevicePSPconfigurationparameters.Setstheconfigurationforthe givendeviceorpathwiththePSPitiscurrentlyconfiguredwith.

-c|--config Configurationstringyouwishtosetforthegivenpathordevice. -d|--device DeviceyouwishtosetPSPconfigurationfor.Ifyouspecify--device,youcannot specify --path. -h|--help Showthehelpmessage. -p|--path PathyouwishtosetPSPconfigurationfor.Ifyouspecify--path,youcannotspecify --device.
roundrobin Commands
esxcli nmp roundrobincommandsapplytotheroundrobinPSP.Thefollowingcommandsaresupported:
Command getconfig Description AllowsretrievalofroundrobinPSPsettingsforagivendevice.

-d|--deviceDeviceyouwishtogetthesettingsfor. -h|--helpShowsthehelpmessage.
setconfig
AllowssettingoftheroundrobinpathoptionsonagivendevicecontrolledbytheRoundRobin PSP.SeeCustomizingRoundRobinSetupwithesxclinmproundrobinonpage 101.
satp Commands
esxcli nmp satp commandsapplytotheSATPsfortheVMwareNMP.Thefollowingcommandsare supported:
Command addrule deleterule getconfig list listrules setconfig setdefaultpsp Description AddsaruletothelistofclaimrulesforthegivenSATP.SeeAddingSATPRulesonpage 102 DeletesarulefromthelistofclaimrulesforthegivenSATP.SeeDeletingSATPRulesonpage 103 AllowsretrievalofperpathorperdeviceSATPconfigurationparameters. ListstheSATPsthatarecurrentlyloadedintotheNMPsystemanddisplayinformationaboutthose SATPs.SeeRetrievingInformationAboutSATPsonpage 102. ListstheclaimingrulesforSATPs. AllowssettingofperpathorperdeviceSATPconfigurationparameters.Seeesxclinmp roundrobinsetconfigonpage 101. SetsthedefaultPSPforagivenSATP.SeeSettingtheDefaultPSPonpage 104.
esxcli swiscsi Namespace

ThecommandsintheswiscsinamespacesupportsoftwareiSCSImanagement.
nic Commands
esxcli swiscsi niccommandsallowyoutoperformoperationsoniSCSInetworkinterfaces.Youcanbind anexistingVMkernelnetworkinterfaceforusebyiSCSI,removeaVMkernelnetworkinterfacefromthe currentiSCSIconfiguration,andlistnetworkportbindings.Thefollowingcommandsaresupported.
Command add Description BindsanexistingVMkernelnetworkinterfacethatisnotusedforotherpurposestothecurrent softwareiSCSIconfiguration.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

-d | --adapter NameofthesoftwareiSCSIadaptertobindtotheVMkernelnetworkinterface. -h | --help Showsthehelpmessage. -n | --nic NameoftheVMkernelnetworkinterfacetobindasaniSCSInetworkinterface.
SeeAddingandModifyingVMkernelNetworkInterfaceswithvicfgvmkniconpage 117for informationoncreatinganewVMkernelnetworkinterfaceforiSCSI.
VMware, Inc.
141
Command list
Description ListsnetworkportbindingsfortheVMkernelnetworkinterface.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

-d | --adapter NameoftheiSCSIadapterforwhichyouwanttolistnetworkportbindings. -h | --help Showsthehelpmessage.
remove
RemovesaVMkernelnetworkinterfacefromthecurrentsoftwareiSCSIconfiguration.Supportsthe followingoptions:

-d | --adapter NameofthesoftwareiSCSIadapterfromwhichyouwanttoremovethe networkinterface. -h | --help Showsthehelpmessage. -n | --nic NameoftheVMkernelnetworkinterfacetoremovethebindingfrom.
session Commands
esxcli swiscsi sessioncommandsallowyoutoadd,list,andremoveiSCSIloginsessions.SeeManaging iSCSISessionsonpage 80.Thefollowingcommandsaresupported.
Command add Description AddsaloginsessiontothecurrentiSCSIconfiguration.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

-d | --adapter NameofthesoftwareiSCSIadapteryouwanttoaddasessionto. -h | --help Showsthehelpmessage. -s | --isid iSCSIIDofthesessionyouwanttoduplicateforlogin.Runesxcli swiscsi session listforthatdevicetoseethesessioniSCSIID(session_isid). -t | --target Nameofthetargettologinto.
list
Listsinformationaboutsessionsforaspecifiedadapterortarget.Youneedthisinformationwhenyou wanttoremoveasessionfromanadapter.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

-d | --adapter Nameoftheadapteryouwanttolistinformationfor. -h | --help Showsthehelpmessage. -t | --target Nameofthetargettolistinformationfor.
remove
RemovesthespecifiediSCSIsessionorsessionsfromtheiSCSIconfiguration.Supportsthefollowing options:

-d | --adapter NameofthesoftwareiSCSIadapteryouwanttoremoveasessionfrom. -h | --help Showsthehelpmessage. -s | --isid TheiSCSIIDofthesessionyouwanttoremove.Runesxcli swiscsi session listforthatdevicetoseethetargetiSCSIID(session_isid) -t | --target Nameofthetargettoremove.Runesxcli swiscsi session listforthat devicetoseethetarget.
vmknic Commands
Theesxcli swiscsi vmkniclistcommandallowsyoutolistVMkernelnetworkinterfacesavailablefor bindingtoaparticulariSCSIadapter.
Command list Description ListsallVMkernelnetworkinterfaces.Supportsthefollowingoptions: -d|--adapter TheiSCSIadaptername(vmhba#)forwhichyouwanttolistVMkernel networkinterface. -h|--help Showthehelpmessage.
vmnic Commands
Theesxcli swiscsi vmnic listcommandallowsyoutolistavailableuplinkadaptersforusewitha specifiediSCSIadapter.
Command list Description -d|--adapter TheiSCSIadaptername(vmhba#). -h|--help Showsthehelpmessage.
142
VMware, Inc.
esxcli vaai Namespace

Thevaai(vStorageAPIsforArrayIntegration)namespaceincludescommandsthatallowstorage managementonapervirtualmachineorperVMDKfilebasis. IfyouaddathirdpartyVAAIplugintoyourenvironment,arebootisrequiredinmostcases.Seeyourstorage vendorsdocumentationformoreinformation.
device list Command

Theesxcli vaai device listcommandcanrunondevicesthathavetheVMwareVAAIfilterattached.
Command list Description ListsthedevicesclaimedbytheVMwareVAAIFilterPluginandshowstheVAAIFilterplugin informationassociatedwiththatdevice.Supportsthefollowingoptions:

-d|--device Filterstheoutputofthiscommandtoonlyshowasingledevice. -h|--help Showsthehelpmessage.
esxcli vms Namespace

Thevms(virtualmachines)namespacesupportsvirtualmachineoperations.Itcurrentlyallowsyoutoforcibly stopavirtualmachine,asdiscussedinForciblyStoppingVirtualMachinesonpage 95.
vm Commands
Command kill Description Allowsyoutoforciblystopvirtualmachinesthatdonotrespondtonormalstopoperations. Supportsthefollowingoptions:
t|type Typeofkilloperation,Usethetypessequentially(softbeforehard,hardbefore force).Thefollowingtypesaresupportedthroughthetypeoption:

softGivestheVMXprocessachancetoshutdowncleanly(likekill S--SIGTERM) hardStopstheVMXprocessimmediately(likekill -9orkill -SIGKILL) forceStopstheVMXprocesswhenotheroptionsdonotwork.
Ifallthreeoptionsdonotstopthevirtualmachine,reboottheESX/ESXisystem.
-w|--world-id WorldIDofthevirtualmachinetokill.Runesxcli vms vm listtofind theWorldID.
list
Listsinformationaboutallrunningvirtualmachines,includingtheWorldIDofthevirtual machine,neededbythekillcommand.
VMware, Inc.
143
144
VMware, Inc.
Index
Index
Numerics
2gbsparse disk format 40 3.5 LUN masks 107
A
Active Directory 32, 33 active path 55 ARP redirect 72 authentication algorithm (IPsec) 123 default inheritance 69 information 20 key (IPsec) 123 returning to default inheritance 69 AUTOCONF 118
B
backing up configuration data 29 bulletins uninstall 32 vihostupdate 30 bundles 30, 31
commands with esxcfg prefix 131 configuration data backing up 29 restoring 29 configuration files for authentication 21 path 61 usage 21 connection options 20, 23 copying files 47 cp936 encoding 24 creating directories 47 creating session files 21 creating VMFS 39 credential store esxcli 98, 136 precedence 20
D
datastores mounting 62 overview 51 default inheritance 69, 79 default port groups 114 deleting virtual disks 42 dependent hardware iSCSI 65, 70 deploying vMA 17 depots 31 device management 53, 99 device mappings 53 device naming 51 device target 38 Device UID 51 DHCP 119, 120 DHCPV6 118 diagnostic partitions example 126 managing 53 vicfg-dumppart 53 directory management 48 discovery sessions 66 discovery targets 67 disk file path 61 disk formats supported by vmkfstools 40 disk partition target 38 disks, cloning 42
C
CDP 114, 115 Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol 68 changing IP gateway 120 CHAP 68 chapDiscouraged 68 chapPreferred 68 chapProhibited 68 chapRequired 68 CIM providers 129 Cisco Discovery Protocol 114 claim rules adding 106 converting 107 deleting 108 from 3.5 systems 107 from LUN mask 107 listing 108 loading 108 moving 109 running 109 cloning virtual disks 42 command-line connection parameters 22
VMware, Inc.
145
displaying virtual disks 43 distributed virtual switch 111 DNS 119, 120 downloading files 47 dump partitions, vicfg-dumppart 53 duplicate datastores 61 dynamic discovery 66
E
eagerzeroedthick disk format 40 encoding cp936 24 ISO-8859-1 24 Shift_JIS 24 encryption algorithm (IPsec) 122 encryption key (IPsec) 123 ESX/ESXi logs 129 esxcfg prefix 131 esxcfg-nics 116 esxcfg-snmp 127 esxcli command syntax 98 credential store authentication 98, 136 help 137 esxcli corestorage claiming reclaim command 104 unclaim command 105 esxcli corestorage claimrule add command 106 convert command 107 delete command 108 list command 108 load command 108 move command 109 run command 109 esxcli network connections list command 139 neighbors show command 139 esxcli nmp boot restore command 139 esxcli nmp device list command 99 setpolicy command 99 esxcli nmp fixed getpreferred command 100 setpreferred command 101 esxcli nmp psp 100 setconfig command 100 esxcli nmp roundrobin 56, 101 getconfig command 101 setconfig command 101 esxcli nmp satp 102
esxcli swiscsi session commands 142 vmknic commands 142 esxcli swiscsi nic 104 esxcli swiscsi session 80 esxcli vaai 143 device list Command 143 esxcli vms 143 EUI name 54, 67 examples iSCSI storage setup 69, 70 VMFS file system 39 execution options 23 extending file system partition, vmkfstools 39 extending virtual disks 43 external HBA properties 77
F
failover 53 FC LUNs 51 Fibre Channel LUNs 51 file management introduction 35 vifs 36, 48 file path, configuration file 61 file system targets 38 file systems NAS 59 VMFS 39 fixed path selection policy 100
G
gateway, IP 120 getting help for esxcli 137 groups 83, 86, 87 GSX Server 43
H
hard power operations 93 hardware iSCSI setup tasks 72 HBA mappings 53 HBA properties 77 help for esxcli 137 host updates 29 hosts managing 27 shutdown or reboot 27 updates 29
I
independent hardware iSCSI definition 65 setup tasks 72
146
VMware, Inc.
Index
inflating thin virtual disks 41 inheritance 79 initializing virtual disks 41 installing vCLI Linux 11, 20 Windows 15 installing vMA 17 IP gateway 120 IP storage 111 IPsec 121, 122 IPv4 117 IPv6 118 IQN name 67 iSCSI authentication 69, 79 default inheritance 79 dependent hardware iSCSI 70 discovery target names 67 independent hardware iSCSI 72 LUNs 51 mutual authentication 79 options 77 overview 65 parameters 77 parameters, returning to default inheritance 79 path masking 57 port binding 70 ports for multipathing 80 remove sessions 81 securing ports 68 security 67 sessions 80, 81 setup examples 69, 70 ISO-8859-1 encoding 24
LUNs listing available 52 names 54 vicfg-scsidevs 52
M
maintenance mode 28 managing diagnostic partitions 53 managing NMP 99 managing physical network interfaces 116 MASK_PATH plugin 57 masking a path 57 Microsoft Windows Security Support Provider Interface 22 migrating virtual machines GSX Server 43 svmotion 59 vmkfstools 43 VMware Workstation 43 mount datastores 62 MTU 115 multipathing 53 mutual authentication 79 mutual CHAP 70, 71, 79
N
naa.xxx device name 54 NAS file systems 59 NetQueue VMkernel modules 32 network adapters duplex value 116 managing 116 speed 116 vicfg-nics 116 vicfg-vmknic 117 network interfaces 114, 116 networking IPsec 121 list connections 139 vDS 118 vSS 113 NFS, capabilities 58 NIC binding 104 NMP 53, 99 NTP server 120
K
Kerberos 120 kill command 143
L
LibXML2 14 license 60 Linux installing vCLI 11, 20 running vCLI commands 15, 22 vCLI 11 listing available LUNs 52 listing IP gateway 120 listing VMFS volume attributes 39 loading claim rules 108 lockdown mode 23 logs 129 LUN masks, convert to claim rule 107
VMware, Inc.
O
offload iSCSI 65 OpenSSL 14 options 23 order of precedence 20 orphaned virtual machine 90
147
P
parameters command line 22 default inheritance (iSCSI) 79 partitions, diagnostic 126 path operations 99 path policies 55, 100, 101 path state, changing 55 paths active 55 disabling 55 identifier 51 information 54 masking 57 preferred 56, 100 unmasking 58 vicfg-mpath 53 performance monitoring 125 Perl 11 physical compatibility mode RDM 40, 45 physical network adapters 116 physical network interfaces 116 platform support 133 port binding 70, 80 port groups 116 adding 115 and uplink adapter 115 default 114 removing 115 ports, iSCSI multipathing 80 power operations 93 powerop_mode 93 precedence 20 preferred path 56, 100, 101 prerequisites Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 13 SLES 10 and SLES 11 13 Ubuntu Desktop 9.04 13 PSA acronym 97 managing claim rules 106 PSP acronym 97 information 100 operations 100
RDM format 40 RDMs disk format 40 physical compatibility mode 45 virtual compatibility mode 45 rebooting hosts 27 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 13 register virtual machines 90 removing snapshots 93 renaming virtual disks 42 required parameters 20 rescanning storage 51, 63 resignature VMFS copy 62 restoring configuration data 29 resxtop 125, 131 reverting snapshots 93 RFCs (vicfg-ipsec) 121 roles 83 round robin operations 56, 101 round robin path policy 101 route entry 120 rule IDs 57 rules 103 claim rules 106 SATP rules 103 running commands from vMA 17 Linux 11, 20 Windows 15
S
SATP commands 141 configuration parameters 103 deleting rules 103 retrieve settings 102 rules, adding 102 scripts with vCLI commands 25 secure networking 121 securing iSCSI ports 68 security associations (IPsec) 122 security policies (IPsec) 123 session files 20, 21 sessions, iSCSI 81 setting preferred path 101 Shift_JIS encoding 24 Simple Network Management Protocol 127 SLES 10 13 SLES 11 13 snapshots 43, 92, 93 SNMP communities 127 management 127
VMware, Inc.
R
raw device mapping physical compatibility mode 45 virtual compatibility mode 45 raw disks cloning 42
148
Index
polling 128 traps 128 soft power operations 93 software iSCSI setup tasks 69, 70 spanning partitions, vmkfstools 39 special characters, vicfg-iscsi 79 SSPI protocol 22 standard networking services 119 starting NTP server 120 state of path, changing 55 static discovery 66 stop virtual machine 95 stopping virtual machines 143 storage creating directories with vifs 47 overview 49 rescanning 51, 63 virtual machines 50 storage array target 52 storage device naming 51 supported disk formats 40 supported platforms 133 svmotion 59 interactive Mode 60 license 60 limitations 60 noninteractive mode 60 requirements 60 special characters 60 switch attributes 115 syslog server specification 126 syslog service 127
unmasking paths 58 unregister virtual machines 90 update using bundles 30 using depots 31 updating hosts 29 uplink adapter and port groups 115 setup 116 uplink adapters vicfg-nics 116 useANO (round robin) 57 user input 95 users adding to groups 87 creating 85 in vSphere environment 83 modifying 85 removing from groups 87 using session files 21
V
vaai namespace (esxcli) 143 vCLI command-line 22 configuration files 21 environment variables 21 execution options 23 installing on Linux 11, 20 installing on Windows 15 vicfg-iscsi 49, 65 vCLI package installing on Linux 11 installing on Windows 16 uninstalling 15 unpacking 14 vDS 111, 113 vicfg-advcfg 129 vicfg-authconfig 32 vicfg-cfgbackup 28, 29 vicfg-dumppart 53 vicfg-hostops 27, 28 vicfg-ipsec 121, 122, 123 vicfg-iscsi command syntax 73 default inheritance for authentication 69 default inheritance for parameters 79 iscsi parameter options 78 vicfg-module 32 vicfg-mpath 53 vicfg-nas 58 vicfg-nics 116 vicfg-ntp 120
149
T
target, for vmkfstools 38 TCP/IP 72, 111 TCP/IP stack 111 thin virtual disks format 40 inflating 41 vmkfstools 41 third-party bundle 31 third-party bundles 31 transport mode 122 tunnel mode 122
U
Ubuntu Desktop 9.04 13 uninstalling bulletin (vihostupdate) 32 Linux 15 on Linux 15 on Windows 16
VMware, Inc.
vicfg-rescan 63, 70, 71 vicfg-scsidevs 52, 58 3.5 support 52 vicfg-snmp 127 vicfg-syslog 126 vicfg-user 83, 84, 86 vicfg-vmhbadevs 52 vicfg-vmknic 117 vicfg-volume 61 vicfg-vswitch 114 vifs 36, 46 vihostupdate bulletins 30 bundles 30 depots 31 protocols 30 third-party bundles 31 uninstall bulletin 32 virtual compatibility mode RDM 45 virtual devices 94 virtual disks cloning 42 creating 41 deleting 42 extending 43 geometry 43 inflating 41 initializing 41 options 40 renaming 42 thin 41 virtual machine configuration file path 61 virtual machines attributes 91 file management 35 listing 90 logs 129 managing 91 migration with svmotion 59 network settings 113 orphaned 90 path 90 registering 90 starting 93 stopping 95, 143 storage VMotion 59 vmware-cmd 91 virtual switches 114 MTU 115 vicfg-vswitch 114 VLAN ID 116
vMA 17 environment variables 21 installing 17 multiple configuration files 22 VMFS creating with vmkfstools 38, 39 duplicate datastores 61 listing attributes 39 resignature 62 resignature copy 62 volume attributes 39 VMkernel modules 32 VMkernel NIC 117 enable VMotion 117 IPv4 117 IPv6 118 VMkernel NICs 117 vmkfstools 36 command syntax 36 command-specific options 37 creating virtual disk 41 creating VMFS 38 creating VMFS example 39 deleting virtual disk 42 device target 38 disk formats 40 disk partition target 38 display disk geometry 43 extending virtual disk 43 file system options 38 file system targets 38 inflating thin virtual disk 41 initializing virtual disk 41 options 38 renaming virtual disk 42 snapshots 43 supported targets 38 syntax 36 target 38 virtual disk options 40 VMFS volume attributes 39 VML LUN names 54 VMotion 112, 117 VMW_PSP_FIXED 55 VMW_PSP_FIXED_AP 55 VMW_PSP_MRU 55 VMW_PSP_RR 55 VMware DRS and vicfg-hostops 28 VMware Workstation 43 vmware-cmd connection options 89 general options 90
150
VMware, Inc.
Index
server options 90 snapshots 92 virtual machine options 91 VMware Tools 94 vNetwork distributed switches 111, 113, 118, 119 vNetwork standard switches 112, 113 vSphere Management Assistant 17 vSphere SDK for Perl 11 vSS 111 vStorage APIs for Array Integration 143
W
Windows Active Directory 33 executing commands 22 installing vCLI 15 running vCLI commands 16 using vCLI 15 Workstation virtual machines, migrating 43
Z
zeroedthick disk format 40
VMware, Inc.
151
152
VMware, Inc.

Vsphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Scripting Guide

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vsphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Scripting Guide

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Scripting Guide

ESX 4.1 ESXi 4.1 vCenter Server 4.1