SimpliVity OmniCube Command Line Interface Svt Cli Reference Manual

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Command Line Interface Reference
OmniCube Software Version 2.1.4 or Later Release

SimpliVityTM and OmniCubeTM are trademarks of SimpliVity Corporation.
All trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Information in this document is subject to change without notification.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of SimpliVity is strictly forbidden.
© SimpliVity Corporation 2014
Publication Date: 6/30/2014
Part Number: 760-000003 Rev E

Table Of Contents
Table Of Contents
Preface
1 - Introduction to the OmniCube CLI

iii
v
1

CLI Overview
Prerequisites for Using the OmniCube CLI
Accessing the CLI from a Client Computer
Logging in to the CLI on a SimpliVity Virtual Controller
CLI Command Privileges
CLI Command Format
vCenter Server Address and Credentials
Running CLI Commands Interactively
Using CLI Commands in a Script
Using Environment Variables

2 - CLI Commands

1
1
2
3
3
5
6
8
9
9

11

Obtaining Help on a Command
Common Command Options
Command Operation Control Options

11
12
13

3 - Session Commands

17

svt-session-start Command
svt-session-stop Command
svt-session-verify Command

18
19
20

4 - Federation and Datacenter Commands

21

svt-federation-remove Command
svt-federation-show Command
Cloud Datacenter CLI Constraints
svt-cloud-deploy Command
svt-cloud-renamedatacenter Command
svt-cloud-undeploy Command
svt-timezone-show Command
svt-timezones-list Command
svt-timezone-set Command

21
23
25
25
27
27
28
29
30

5 - Datastore Commands

33

svt-datastore-create Command
svt-datastore-delete Command
svt-datastore-policy-set Command
svt-datastore-resize Command
svt-datastore-share Command
svt-datastore-show Command
svt-datastore-unshare Command

34
35
36
37
38
39
40

6 - Virtual Machine Commands

43

svt-vm-backup Command
svt-vm-clone Command
svt-vm-move Command
svt-vm-policy-set Command
svt-vm-restore Command
svt-vm-show Command

44
45
46
47
49
50

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Table Of Contents

7 - Backup Commands

53

svt-backup-cancel Command
svt-backup-copy Command
svt-backup-delete Command
svt-backup-lock Command
svt-backup-rename Command
svt-backup-restore Command
svt-backup-show Command
svt-backup-size-calculate Command

54
55
56
57
59
60
62
65

8 - Backup Policy Commands

69

svt-policy-create Command
svt-policy-delete Command
svt-policy-rename Command
svt-policy-rule-create Command
svt-policy-rule-delete Command
svt-policy-show Command

70
70
71
72
75
76

9 - Software Upgrade Commands

79

svt-software-commit Command
svt-software-rollback Command
svt-software-status-show Command
svt-software-upgrade Command

79
80
81
83

10 - Miscellaneous Commands

85

svt-hardware-show Command
svt-credstore-update Command
svt-task-cancel Command
svt-task-show Command

86
89
90
91

11 - Support Commands

95

svt-support-capture Command
svt-support-cc Command
svt-support-configure Command
svt-support-disable Command
svt-support-enable Command
svt-support-show Command
svt-support-test Command
svt-version-show Command

96
98
99
101
102
103
104
106

Appendix A - Example of Using the CLI in a Script
Creating a Manual Backup

1
1

Index

3

iv

Preface
CLI Reference describes how to use the OmniCube command line interface (CLI) and provides a detailed
description of each command and option.

Overview of OmniCube
The foundation of OmniCube is a pair of high-performance and highly-available CN-Series systems. After you
install the hardware in a rack and connect power and network cables, you can create an OmniCube Global
Federation within a vCenter™ Server and configure each CN-Series system as a Federation OmniCube.
OmniCube systems provide compute, storage, and other resources to the virtual machines (VMs) in the
Federation. If you need more capacity or performance, you can seamlessly add another pair of OmniCube
systems to the Federation, with no disruption to users.

Audience
The intended audience for the CLI Reference guide includes individuals who want to use the CLI to perform
Federation management tasks, from the command line or by using a script.
For detailed information about OmniCube concepts and operations, including the alternate graphical user
interface, see the OmniCube Software Configuration and Management guide.

Prerequisites
To perform the tasks described in this document, it is useful to know the following:
• UNIX-style CLI or the VMware® vSphere™ Command-Line Interface.
• Scripting vSphere operations. If you intend to use the CLI in a script, See also Using CLI Commands in a
Script on page 9.
• VMware® and virtual environments.

Organization
This document is organized as follows:
• Introduction to the OmniCube CLI on page 1, describes how to access and run the CLI, including how to
provide authentication for commands.
• CLI Commands on page 11 , describes all the CLI commands and options.
• Example of Using the CLI in a Script on page 1, contains examples of using the CLI in a script.

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OmniCube CLI Reference

Preface

Technical Support and Customer Service
Support services from SimpliVity are available to answer your questions about OmniCube.
SimpliVity provides online and telephone-based support services. Availability varies by country and product, and
some services might not be available in your area.
To ensure fast results and optimal service, make sure you have the serial number, which is located on the
Express Service Tag (a pull out card) located directly under disk 2 on the front panel.
There are several methods you can use to contact SimpliVity support:
• For customers in the United States, call 855-SVT-SERVICE (855-788-7378).
• Customers outside the United States, please call 508-536-4151, using your local international code for the
USA.
• Send email to support@SimpliVity.com.
• Visit the SimpliVity Web site (www.SimpliVity.com/support) or scan the QR code in Figure-1.
Figure-1: SimpliVity Support Contact QR Code

In addition, SimpliVity recommends that you configure Phone Home support to automatically notify support about
significant events.

vi

1 - Introduction to the OmniCube CLI
This section introduces the OmniCube command line interface (CLI) and provides the following topics:
• CLI Overview on page 1
• Prerequisites for Using the OmniCube CLI on page 1
• CLI Command Format on page 5
• vCenter Server Address and Credentials on page 6
• Running CLI Commands Interactively on page 8
• Using CLI Commands in a Script on page 9
• Using Environment Variables on page 9

CLI Overview
The OmniCube software runs on the OmniCube Virtual Controller, a VM contained by each OmniCube in a
OmniCube Global Federation. The OmniCube command line interface (CLI) is part of this software, enabling
you to use a terminal to manage your Federation from a login to the Virtual Controller.
The CLI provides an alternative method of creating and managing a Federation compared to using the SimpliVity
vSphere Extension (plug-in). See the OmniCube Configuration and Management guide.
You can run the CLI interactively, or use it in scripts to automate frequent or recurring tasks. Any changes that
you make to a Federation by using CLI commands are immediately visible in the graphical user interface and
vice versa.
Because the CLI interacts with vCenter Server, you must provide vCenter Server authentication credentials
when using CLI commands.

Prerequisites for Using the OmniCube CLI
Before using the OmniCube CLI, you require the following information and resources:
• Determine the IP addresses that you can use to access a Virtual Controller in the Federation.
Use vSphere Client to display Virtual Controller IP addresses. In the vSphere inventory panel, underneath

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an OmniCube in your Federation, click the Virtual Controller, which has a name in the format: OmniCube
VC nn.nn. Click the Summary tab in the main window and click View All to display the IP addresses that
you can use.
• Determine the following information for the vCenter Server managing the datacenter that contains your
Federation:
– vCenter Server IP address.
– vCenter Server authorized user account (such as Administrator) and account password.
• Learn about the OmniCube CLI command format. See CLI Command Format on page 5.
• Learn your options for supplying authentication credentials for vCenter Server. See vCenter Server
Address and Credentials on page 6.
Note: The formatted output from some commands will not display correctly on the console or on terminal
emulator windows when the screen is set to narrow width. Make the window size or terminal width
larger if you see badly formatted output.

Accessing the CLI from a Client Computer
There are two methods of accessing the CLI, the console or a terminal emulator. You cannot use a single signon account for a console login:

Accessing the CLI through a Virtual Controller Console
1.

Start vSphere client and connect to the vCenter Server containing the Federation that you want to
manage.

2.

Click a Virtual Controller (which has a name in the format: OmniCube VC nn.nn).

3.

Click the Console tab.

4.

Log in as described in Logging in to the CLI on a SimpliVity Virtual Controller on page 3.

Accessing the CLI through a Terminal Emulator
1.

Set your terminal to display color output to view color information in the output. (Some commands
provide component status output in red, green, or yellow.)

2.

Obtain the IP address of a Virtual Controller in the Federation that you want to manage.

3.

Open an SSH connection directly to the Virtual Controller in the Federation on port 22.

4.

Log in as described in Logging in to the CLI on a SimpliVity Virtual Controller on page 3.

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Logging in to the CLI on a SimpliVity Virtual Controller
To log in to the CLI on a Virtual Controller, access the Virtual Controller as described in Accessing the CLI
from a Client Computer on page 2.
You can use the built-in svtcli account, or you can use appropriate vCenter account and credentials to log in. In
the latter case, you do not need to use svt-session-start to establish a session.
If you use a vCenter Server account, the account is mapped to the svtcli account, and:
• The login has no sudo privileges.
• The vCenter server session starts automatically.
• You can run only svt-* commands.
• You can SSH to any other OmniCube in the Federation.
The svtcli account is a restricted shell intended for emergency access to run SimpliVity CLI (svt-*) commands
on a Virtual Controller. If you use the svtcli account, it does not log you in to the vCenter Server. Avoid using
this account when you can log in using Active Directory single sign-on.
Note: Do not use the svtcli account for other command line operations unless directed by your technical
support. Changing the configuration of your Virtual Controller will cause an OmniCube to stop
functioning properly.
Log in as follows:
1.

Press Enter to display the Virtual Controller log in prompt, if not already displayed.

2.

Type the CLI user account name svtcli and press Enter.

3.

Type the account password simplicity and press Enter.

4.

Type svt- and press the Tab key twice to display a list of commands.

If you use the svtcli account, establish credentials on the vCenter Server that you use to manage the Federation.
See vCenter Server Address and Credentials on page 6. (Not necessary if you use an appropriate vCenter Server
account.)
See also Running CLI Commands Interactively on page 8 and Using CLI Commands in a Script on page 9 for
more information.
For detailed information about each CLI command, see Chapter 1, CLI Commands.

CLI Command Privileges
Access to CLI commands depends on the account that you use to log in to the Virtual Controller. Native
SimpliVity accounts provide certain preset levels of privilege, related to the privileges of the vCenter Server
account that you use when establishing session credentials (see svt-session-start Command on page 18.)

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You can also create VMware vSphere accounts on your vCenter Server and assign different VMware privileges
to these accounts. If you access the CLI using such accounts to establish credentials, your SimpliVity accounts
inherit the VMware privileges and control your access to CLI commands.
If you attempt to run a command when using an account that does not have the correct privileges, the following
message appears:
ERROR [49]: Not authorized to perform requested action or view requested information.
Missing permissions:
Admin

Default command privileges and constraints are as follows:
• svtcli user—When logged in as svtcli, you can run all svt-* commands, depending on the privileges of the
vCenter Server account that you use to authenticate and create a session (see svt-session-start Command
on page 18.)
• root user (Virtual Controller) —The root user account is not accessible. There is no need to access the
root user account and using the account can cause your Federation to stop working properly.
Table-1 lists the Command privileges.
Table-1 svtcli Command Privileges

Privilege

VMware ID

Create Alarm

Alarm.Create

Disable alarm action

Alarm.DisableActions

Modify Alarm

Alarm.Edit

Set alarm Status

Alarm.SetStatus

Remove alarm

Alarm.Delete

Register Extension

Extension.Register

Unregister Extension

Extension.Unregister

Global - health

Global.Health

Global - log event

Global.LogEvent

Global - manage custom attributes

Global.ManageCustomFields

Global - set custom attribute

Global.SetCustomAttribute

Global - diagnostics

Global.Diagnostics

Host CIM - CIM- interaction

Host.Cim.CimInteraction

Create task

Task.Create

Update task

Task.Update

vApp - Assign a Vapp

VApp.AssignVApp

Vapp - Unregister

VApp.Unregister

Virtual machine - Configuration - Configure ManagedBy Virtual machine.Config.managedBy
Virtual machine - Configuration - Settings

Virtual machine.Config.settings

Virtual machine - State - Remove Snapshot

Virtual machine.State.RemoveSnapshot

Virtual machine - State - Create Snapshot

Virtual machine.State.CreateSnapshot

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Note: In vCenter V5.1, the name of the Virtual machine - State permission group has changed to Snapshot
management. When you create the SimpliVity User account, enable both Create snapshot and Remove
Snapshot under Snapshot management.

CLI Command Format
Each OmniCube CLI command uses the following format:
svt-noun-verb

The noun variable specifies the subject of the action, which you specify with the verb variable. For example, in
the command shown next, backup is the subject and show is the action:
svt-backup-show

In most cases, you specify options on the command line. You can specify options in any order. Options use the
following format:
--option_name [parameter]

The option_name variable specifies the name of the option, and the parameter variable (not applicable to all
options) specifies an argument to the option.
For example:
svt-datastore-create --name ds23 --size 250GB --policy dailybackup

If an argument contains spaces or special characters such as the dollar sign ($), surround the argument with
straight quotes as follows:
--backup '2012-Nov-12 14:00'

Command Options
There are two types of command options:
• Command-specific options—Control the execution of a specific operation. For example, when creating a
datastore, you specify the --policy name option to specify the name of the default backup policy.
See Chapter 1, CLI Commands for information about the command-specific options.
• Common options—Apply to all commands, as follows:
◦ vCenter Server identification and authentication options—Supply authentication credentials for a vCenter
Server. See vCenter Server Address and Credentials on page 6.
◦ Command operation options—Enable you to control the operation of a command. See Command
Operation Control Options on page 13.

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You can use environment variables to set the values for the common options. Environment variables are useful
when you are issuing many commands to the same Federation. See Using Environment Variables on page 9.
Some options have a default value. If you do not specify an option on the command line or set the associated
environment variable, the default value is used. If you specify both an option on the command line and set the
associated environment variable, the command line option has precedence.
If you do not supply the required options, an error message describes the missing options and the help display
lists all available options.
To obtain help on a command, specify the --help or --? option. See Obtaining Help on a Command on page 11.

Command Operations that Generate Object Names
The following commands automatically generate a name for the created object, ensuring that the object name is
unique in its destination location. You can override the proposed name string and substitute your preferred name,
if that the name is unique.
• svt-vm-backup Command on page 44—Appends a timestamp to the name of the source VM.
• svt-vm-move Command on page 46—Uses the same name as the source VM.
• svt-vm-clone Command on page 45— The command appends the string -clone- to the original
VM name.
• svt-backup-restore Command on page 60—The command appends the string -restored- to
the original VM name.
You can edit the generated name, or rename the object at a later time.
Note: Serial operations can result in long object names because the timestamp string is appended more than
once.

vCenter Server Address and Credentials
OmniCube operates as an extension to vCenter Server and uses the vCenter Server access control system to
determine which users can access resources and perform Federation tasks.
To run OmniCube CLI commands, you must identify the vCenter Server where the Federation resides and supply
authentication credentials. Alternatively, use an appropriate vCenter Server account. Be aware that you cannot
use a vCenter Server account to run scripts.
Note: If you are using a session, you only need to supply the vCenter Server address and credentials one time.
Otherwise, you must supply the information each time you issue a command or set the credentials using
environment variables.
For information about credential stores and session files, see vCenter Identification and Authentication Options
on page 12.

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You can use several methods to supply the IP address for a vCenter Server if you do not use a vCenter Server
account (single sign-on):
• Use the --serverip-address option on the svt-session-start command line to specify the IP address
for the vCenter Server when starting a session.
• Use the --serverip-address option on each command line.
• Set the VI_SERVER environment variable to the vCenter Server IP address prior to issuing commands.
You might want to use this method if you are using a script. See Using Environment Variables on page 9.
You can use several methods to supply vCenter Server authentication credentials if you do not use a vCenter
Server account:
• Use the --username name option and, optionally, the --password password option on the command line. If
you do not specify the password, you are prompted for the password.The password you enter is not echoed.
Note: Specifying a password by using the --password password option might be an unacceptable security
risk.
• Supply the vCenter Server user name and password when prompted after issuing a command.
• Set the VI_USERNAME and VI_PASSWORD environment variables to the vCenter Server user name and
password prior to issuing commands. See Using Environment Variables on page 9.
Note: Specifying a password in an environment variable might be an unacceptable security risk.
• Specify a session file that contains valid vCenter Server credentials:
◦ On the command line, use the --sessionfile file option.
◦ Prior to issuing commands, set the VI_SESSIONFILE environment variable. See Using Environment
Variables on page 9.
Note: Using a session file might be an unacceptable security risk.
• Specify a credential store file that contains valid vCenter Server credentials:
◦ On the command line, use the --credstore file option.
◦ Before typing any commands, set the VI_CREDSTORE environment variable to specify a credential
store. See Using Environment Variables on page 9.
The order of precedence, from highest to lowest, for vCenter Server authentication is:
• Credentials specified using options on the command line.
• Credentials defined using environment variables.
• Credentials defined in a credential store.
• Credentials specified when prompted.
See vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12 for more information.

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Running CLI Commands Interactively
You can run the OmniCube CLI interactively by entering commands at the prompt.
There are several methods you can use to run the CLI interactively:
• Use an appropriate vCenter Server account (single sign-on). When you do this, you do not need to start a
session.
• Use a session. This method is useful because you only need to supply the vCenter Server address and
credentials one time. As long as the session is valid, you can run CLI commands without needing to enter
the information again. A session is canceled after 30 minutes of inactivity. If a session becomes invalid,
you must run svt-session-start again to create a new session.
Follow these steps to use a session:
1.

Use the svt-session-start command to start a session, supplying vCenter Server IP address and
credentials, as described in vCenter Server Address and Credentials on page 6.

2.

Enter the desired CLI commands.

3.

Use the svt-session-stop command to end the session.

See svt-session-start Command on page 18 and svt-session-stop Command on page 19.
• Enter the desired commands, specifying the vCenter Server address and credentials on each command line.
• Enter the desired commands, specifying the vCenter Server address on the command line and specifying
the authentication credentials when prompted.
• Set the vCenter Server address and credentials in environmental variables prior to issuing commands. See
Using Environment Variables on page 9.
The following example uses a session to create a datastore and then ends the session. The command prompts for
the vCenter Server user name and password; the password you enter at the prompt will not appear:
$ svt-session-start --server 210.0.4.141
vCenter server: 210.0.4.141
Enter username: user25
Enter password for user25:
Saved file to /home/.svt_session
Successful login of user25 to 210.0.4.141
$ svt-datastore-create --name dxlab2 --policy nightly --size 300GB
..........
Task Complete
$ svt-session-stop
Successful: deleted session

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Using CLI Commands in a Script
You can use OmniCube CLI commands in a script. Running commands in a script can be useful if you perform
the same task multiple times. See Example of Using the CLI in a Script on page 1.
Note: You can specify command options that control how a command operates in the script. See Command
Operation Control Options on page 13. However, do not use the --wait n option while scripting. In most
cases, you want a command to complete before a subsequent command runs.
For security reasons, you might want to use a file that contains the vCenter Server credentials (credstore) to
provide vCenter Server credentials in a script. (See vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page
12).

Using Environment Variables
For options that are not command specific, you can use environment variables to set the values. Environment
variables are useful when you are issuing many commands to the same Federation environment. Use the env
command to see what environment variables are set.
See Table-2 and Table-3 for the environment variable for each common command option.
You can set an environment variable on a command line or in a file that is called by a script.
Use the following format:
export variable_name=value

For example:
export VI_SERVER=120.45.2.10

When you set the variable, you can apply it to a command. For example, the following command creates a
datastore and sets a time-out limit of 20 seconds for the operation:
$ svt-datastore-create --name dsEnglab --size 1TB --policy daily
--wait n --timeout 20

The following example performs the same task, but uses environment variables:
$ SVTCLI_WAIT=n SVTCLI_TIMEOUT=20 svt-datastore-create --name dslab
--size 1TB --policy daily

Unlike sessions, environment variables do not time out and remain valid until you log out of the shell.

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2 - CLI Commands
This section describes how to get help on a command and the common OmniCube command options. Also
provided are the format, options, and examples for each command.
The commands are grouped as follows:
• Session Commands on page 17
• Federation and Datacenter Commands on page 21
• Datastore Commands on page 33
• Virtual Machine Commands on page 43
• Backup Commands on page 53
• Backup Policy Commands on page 69
• Software Upgrade Commands on page 79
• Miscellaneous Commands on page 85
• Support Commands on page 95

Obtaining Help on a Command
With any OmniCube command, you can specify the --help or --? option to display help about the command,
including the command syntax and information about the command options.
For example:
$ svt-backup-copy --help
.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| Synopsis: svt-backup-copy --datastore  --vm  --backup 
|
|
--source  --destination 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Description: Ccopy a backup to a remote datacenter. |
+--------------------+--------------+------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Argument
| Default
| Description
| Environment
|
|
|
|
| Variable
|
+--------------------+--------------+------------------------------------+--------------------+
| --datastore
|
| [Required] The datastore for
|
|
|
|
| the original VM (name or ID)
|
|
| --vm
|
| [Required] The original VM
|
|

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|
|
| (name or ID)
|
|
| --backup
|
| The backup being copied,
|
|
|
|
| unspecified means most recent
|
|
| --source
|
| The backup's source
|
|
|
|
| datacenter, unspecified means
|
|
|
|
| any
|
|
| --destination
|
| [Required] The destination
|
|
|
|
| datacenter (name or ID)
|
|
| --sessionfile
|
| File where session info is
| VI_SESSIONFILE
|
|
|
| stored
|
|
| --server
|
| The address of vCenter server
| VI_SERVER
|
| --credstore
|
| Credential store from which to
| VI_CREDSTORE
|
|
|
| pull user credentials
|
|
| --output
| text
| The command output format
| SVTCLI_OUT
|
|
|
| which can be 'text' or 'xml'
|
|
| --timeout
| 120
| The timeout (in seconds) for
| SVTCLI_TIMEOUT
|
|
|
| the command
|
|
| --force
|
| override the "Are you sure? "
| SVTCLI_FORCE
|
|
|
| prompt for set commands
|
|
| --help|?
|
| Displays built-in help
| SVTCLI_HELP
|
| --wait
| y
| Whether or not to block
| SVTCLI_WAIT
|
|
|
| waiting for command to finish
|
|
'--------------------+--------------+------------------------------------+--------------------'

Common Command Options
You can use common options for any CLI command. See the following:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12.
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13.
For common command options, you can use environment variables to set the values. Environment variables are
useful when you are issuing many commands to the same Federation. See Using Environment Variables on page
9.

vCenter Identification and Authentication Options
OmniCube operates as an extension to vCenter Server and uses the vCenter Server access control system to
determine which users can access resources and perform tasks.
To use OmniCube CLI commands, as svtcli user or root user, you must identify the vCenter Server where the
Federation resides and provide valid authentication credentials. Table-2 describes the vCenter Server
identification and authentication options.
Note: You can also use a single sign-on account, in which case you do not need to start a session.
See vCenter Server Address and Credentials on page 6 for more information.

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Table-2 vCenter Identification and Authentication Options

Option
--credstore file

Description
Location (on client) of credential store file that
contains the vCenter Server credentials.

Environment
Variable
VI_CREDSTORE

Commands for setting up a credential store are
included in the vSphere SDK for Perl, which is
installed with the vSphere CLI. The vSphere SDK for
Perl Programming Guide explains how to use a
credential store.
--server ip-address

IP address for vCenter Server.

VI_SERVER

--sessionfile file

Session file that contains a valid session token.

VI_SESSIONFILE

Note:

Using a session file might be an unacceptable
security risk.

For information about the format of a credential store and session file, see the topic: Specifying Authentication
Information in the VMware vSphere 5 Documentation Center (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere50/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vcli.getstart.doc_50%2Fcli_run_remote.5.3.html).

Command Operation Control Options
Table-3 lists the options that control command operation.
Table-3 Command Operation Control Options

Option

Default

Description
Automatically supplies a "yes" response to any "Are you sure?"
prompt and overrides any checks.

Environment
Variable

--force

Wait for a
response

SVTCLI_
FORCE

--output
text | xml

text

Format for the command output, either text or XML.

--timeout
seconds

120

Number of seconds after which the command will expire (time out) as SVTCLI_
long as it has not yet completed.
TIMEOUT

This option is useful for scripting.

--wait y | n y

Whether to wait for a command to complete before returning the
command prompt.

SVTCLI_OUT

SVTCLI_WAIT

Note: Under certain troubleshooting circumstances only, you are prompted to provide an IP address for the
target OmniCube using a hidden --ip option.

Considerations When Using Control Options
• Be careful when using the --wait n option. In many cases, you want a command to complete before a
subsequent command runs.
• When a command exceeds its timeout threshold, you will see the following message:

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2 - CLI Commands

Command still in progress, but timed out
To check status, execute svt-task-show --task
4f186d32-305d-4cc0-a210-1c6f89e-b6a8

(This command continues to show the output of the specified task.)
• Each task has a unique ID string the persists for the duration of the task. When you specify the --wait n
option with a command, you will see the following message:
Task started - ID is c7de83b1-3ce8-4f41-8062-8e86f041c599
The svt-task-show command may be used to monitor the progress of this task.

You can use the svt-task-show command (specifying the task ID) to monitor the progress of a task.

Using XML Output
The option to write the XML output of a command (SVTCLI_OUT) provides additional information that you can
use when scripting. For example, if you use the --output xml option with svt-federation-show (see svtfederation-show Command), yo obtain the following XML output:



xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
1500
255.255.0.0

xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
hc21
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
1

xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
9000
255.255.0.0

xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx


259
1
X.X.X
1218
13298
2
259
0
4


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00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
43e7f31b-8d6e-4ed9-9583-96c604caea5a
1
1
420c4c0a-f523-6382-159b-b563051e356a

xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
9000
255.255.0.0

0ad6e8f8-c5b9-4368-9036-056434dc6517



If you do not specify XML output, the svt-federation-show command output provides only the following
information for a single OmniCube:
$ svt-federation-show
.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---.
|Membership
|
+----------+---------+----------------+-----+-------------+-------------+----------+-------+---------+
|Datacenter|ESXi Host|OmniCube VC Name|State|Management IP|Federation IP|Storage IP|Version|Arbiter |
+----------+---------+----------------+-----+-------------+-------------+----------+-------+---------+
|hc21
|x.x.x.x |XXXXXXXX
|Alive|x.x.x.x
| x.x.x.x
|x.x.x.x
|x.x.x.x|Connected|
'----------+---------+----------------+-----+-------------+-------------+----------+-------+---------'

15

3 - Session Commands
The session commands manage CLI sessions to a vCenter Server.
• svt-session-start—Starts a CLI session to a specified vCenter Server. See svt-session-start Command
on page 18.
• svt-session-stop—Stops a CLI session. See svt-session-stop Command on page 19.
• svt-session-verify—Checks whether a CLI session is valid and extends the session if valid. See svtsession-verify Command on page 20.
Note: You do not need to use a session if you log in with an appropriate vCenter Server account (single signon).

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svt-session-start Command
Use the svt-session-start command to start an authorized CLI session during an svtcli command-line login on
a Virtual Controller. When you provide the username and password of an authorized vCenter Server account,
this command generates a session token and stores the token in a session file. You do not need to do this if you
use an appropriate vCenter Server account.
When you use a session, you supply vCenter Server credentials one time per session. Those credentials apply for
as long as the session is valid.
To support a Federation in Linked Mode using vCenter 5.1, install single sign-on (SSO) using Multi-site mode.
Multi-site mode requires an Active Directory (AD) server for authentication. In such environments, you must
include the AD domain in the login credentials, using the format user-name@domain-name password. For
example:
FedMgr@MyLab51 password.

Note: If you do not supply a vCenter Server IP address, the command defaults to the vCenter Server managing
the Federation.
By default, the session file is created in /home/svtcli/.svt_session, where svtcli is the limited login shell
for CLI sessions on the OmniCube Virtual Controller.
Use the --sessionfile file option to specify a valid, write-enabled location for the session file. If there is no
write-enabled location, the command fails.
A CLI session expires automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity. However, the session file is not deleted. You
can:
• Use the svt-session-stop Command on page 19 to end a session and delete the session file.
• Use the svt-session-verify Command on page 20 to confirm and extend a session before it expires.When a
CLI session expires or ends, you must again supply vCenter Server credentials to run CLI commands.
For security, you can omit the --password option and you are prompted for the password. The password is not
echoed to the screen in plain text.

Format
svt-session-start --username account_name --password account_password
[common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--username

The vCenter Server user name.

--password

The vCenter Server user password.

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

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Examples
Attempt a command outside a valid session
$ svt-backup-show
ERROR [48]: Invalid session credentials.
$ svt-session-start

Specify no credentials
$ svt-session-start
vCenter server: 10.0.5.37
Enter username: Administrator
Enter password for Administrator:xxxxxxxxxxxx
Saved file to /home/svtcli/.svt_session
Successful login of Administrator to 10.0.5.37

Specify a session file path
$ svt-session-start --sessionfile /home/creds
vCenter server: 10.0.5.37
Enter username: Administrator
Enter password for Administrator:
Saved file to /home/svtcli/mysession
Successful login of Administrator to 10.0.5.37

Use Environment Variables
$ export VI_USERNAME=Administrator
$ export VI_PASSWORD=xxxxxxxxxxx
$ svt-session-start
vCenter server: 10.0.5.37
Saved file to /home/svtcli/.svt_session
Successful login of Administrator to 10.0.5.37

svt-session-stop Command
The svt-session-stop command ends a vCenter Server session and deletes the session file. After you end a
session, you must again supply vCenter Server authentication credentials to run CLI commands. See the svtsession-start Command on page 18.
Note: A CLI session expires automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity. However, the session file is not
deleted and you can verify and extend a session for a further 30 minutes. See the svt-session-verify
Command on page 20.

Format
svt-session-stop [common-options]

Options
Options
common-options

Description
Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

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Examples
$ svt-session-stop
Successful: deleted session
$ svt-session-stop
No session exists.

svt-session-verify Command
The svt-session-verify command verifies a vCenter Server session and credentials, then resets the inactivity
timer if the session is valid, extending the session. See the svt-session-start Command on page 18.
You can end an unwanted valid session and delete the credentials. See the svt-session-stop Command on page
19.

Format
svt-session-verify [common-options]

Options
Options
common-options

Description
Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Examples
Valid Session
$ svt-session-verify
Verified session on 120.18.4.20

Invalid Session
$ svt-session-verify
ERROR [47]: Missing session credentials.

20

4 - Federation and Datacenter Commands
Federation commands enable you to manage the OmniCube systems in a Federation and in a Datacenter:
• svt-federation-show—Shows the status of OmniCube systems in a Federation. See svt-federation-show
Command on page 23.
• svt-federation-remove—Removes OmniCube systems from a Federation. See svt-federation-remove
Command on page 21.
• Cloud Datacenter CLI Constraints on page 25
◦ svt-cloud-deploy Command on page 25.
◦ svt-cloud-renamedatacenter Command on page 27.
◦ svt-cloud-undeploy Command on page 27.
• svt-timezone-show Command on page 28.
• svt-timezone-set Command on page 30.
• svt-timezones-list Command on page 29.

svt-federation-remove Command
The svt-federation-remove command removes individual OmniCube systems from a Federation, if there is at
least one other healthy OmniCube in the datacenter.
If there are no healthy OmniCube systems in a datacenter, you can optionally remove all unhealthy OmniCube
systems from that Federation in a single operation.

Removing an OmniCube
An OmniCube cannot remove itself from the Federation to which it belongs. You must run the command from
another Federation OmniCube.
When you use this command, identify the IP address of the OmniCube that is the target for removal. Then, run
the svt-federation-remove command from any other Federation OmniCube, specifying --peerip.
Use the output from svt-federation-show to determine the IP address, located under the ESXi Host column
(see the svt-federation-show Command on page 23).

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The command does not operate on a Federation where all the OmniCube systems in a given datacenter have a
faulty status. You must correct any problems before using the command or you can optionally remove all
unhealthy OmniCube systems from a Federation datacenter. See Removing all OmniCube Systems in a
Datacenter.
Warning:

If you use the --override option to force the removal of an OmniCube, the command does not
check for active VMs or HA compliance. Any data associated with active VMs is permanently
deleted, although remote backups of VMs are still available.

Removing all OmniCube Systems in a Datacenter
If all OmniCube systems in a datacenter have a faulty status (down), you can use the
--datacenter option to forcibly remove all the OmniCube systems in a single operation.
This option does not check for active VMs and datastores because it is assumed that you have decided to do a
tear down of the datacenter. This action permanently deletes all data associated with active VMs. However,
remote backups of such VMs might be available for recovery, depending on your backup strategy.

Re-deploying Removed OmniCube Systems
When you remove an OmniCube from a Federation, you cannot join it back into the same Federation unless:
• The OmniCube is in a healthy state and at an appropriate compatibility level to rejoin the Federation. In
this case, you can delete the Virtual Controller from disk, make sure that the network settings are
appropriate, and deploy the OmniCube. See OmniCube Configuration and Management for more
information.
• You restore the OmniCube to factory defaults and then re-deploy it as a new Federation OmniCube.

Format
svt-federation-remove [--peerip OmniCube-ip | --datacenter datacenter_name]
--override [common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--datacenter

(Required, if --peerip is not specified) The name of a datacenter
containing all the unhealthy OmniCube systems to remove. Intended
to remove all OmniCube systems from a datacenter when every
OmniCube is non-functional. This option is mutually exclusive with
--peerip.

--override

Force the removal of the OmniCube even if active VMs are present
and if the OmniCube is not HA-compliant.
This might cause data loss. This option (or environment variable) is
ignored when you specify the --datacenter option because all
OmniCube systems are removed.

--peerip

(Required if --datacenter is not specified) The Federation IP

22

Environment
Variable

SVTCLI_OVERRIDE

OmniCube CLI Reference

Options

4 - Federation and Datacenter Commands

Description

Environment
Variable

address or Management IP address of an OmniCube that you want to
remove from the Federation.
This option is mutually exclusive with --datacenter. Use the
output from svt-federation-show to determine the IP addresses,
located under the Management IP or Federation IP column.
common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-federation-remove --peerip 129.128.4.55 --override
Are you sure you want to permanently remove this OmniCube from the Federation?
factory defaults before you can redeploy it? Yes

You must reset the OmniCube to

......................................................................................
...................................................................
Task Complete
$ svt-federation-remove --datacenter DMine22
"WARNING: if there are VMs present in this datacenter, this operation will result in data loss. Are you sure
you want to permanently remove all OmniCube systems from federation DMine22? You must reset all OmniCube
systems in this federation to factory defaults before you can redeploy them?". Yes
...............................................................................................
......................................................................................
Task Complete

Related Commands:
• svt-federation-show Command on page 23

svt-federation-show Command
The svt-federation-show command displays information about all OmniCube systems in a Federation and
provides the following data:
• Datacenter—The name of VMware datacenter.
• ESXi Host—The IP address or DNS name of the ESXi instance running on the OmniCube. This is the IP
address that identifies the OmniCube to vCenter Server. You specify this IP address or DNS name when
you add the OmniCube to vCenter Server as an ESXi host.
• OmniCube VC Name—The name of the OmniCube Virtual Controller that hosts the OmniCube Software.
This VM also appears in the vSphere Hosts and Cluster inventory under the OmniCube ESXi host.
• State—The current OmniCube state, which can be:

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◦ Alive (Green)—The OmniCube is healthy.
◦ Faulty (Red)—The OmniCube is in a critical error state and operations have failed over to an alternate
OmniCube in the Federation. It is likely that one or more error or event messages were logged. See svtsupport-capture Command on page 96 for information about capturing log files.
◦ Suspected (Yellow)—The OmniCube has one or more components that show degraded performance.
◦ Unknown (Red)—The OmniCube status is indeterminate, perhaps because it is unable to communicate
with other Federation OmniCube systems. It is possible that one or more error or event messages were
logged. See svt-support-capture Command on page 96 for information about capturing log files.
• Management IP—The IP address of the OmniCube Management network.
• Federation IP—The IP address of the OmniCube Federation network.
• Storage IP—The OmniCube Storage network IP address.
• Version—The OmniCube software release version number.
• Arbiter—The connection status of the SimpliVity Arbiter, connected (green) or disconnected (red).

Format
svt-federation-show [common-options]

Options
Options
common-options

Description
Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-federation-show
.--------------------------------------------------|Membership
+----------+------------+------------------+------+|Datacenter|ESXi Host

|OmniCube VC Name

| State|

+----------+------------+------------------+------+|ds2

|123.12.90.80|OmniCube VC 2.85

| Alive|

+----------+------------+------------------+------+|dc0

|123.12.90.70|OmniCube VC 2.90

| Alive|

+----------+------------+------------------+------+---------------------------------------------------------------.
|
--------------+--------------+------------+--------+-----------+
Management IP| Federation IP| Storage IP | Version| Arbiter

|

--------------+--------------+------------+--------+-----------+
123.19.90.85 | 123.110.2.85 | 123.12.2.85| 1.0.758| Connected |
--------------+--------------+------------+--------+-----------+
123.19.90.75 | 123.110.2.75 | 123.12.2.75| 1.0.758| Connected |
--------------+--------------+------------+--------+-----------+

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Related commands:
• svt-federation-remove Command on page 21
• svt-support-capture Command on page 96
• svt-hardware-show Command on page 86

Cloud Datacenter CLI Constraints
You can run CLI Commands from a physical OmniCube's Virtual Controller, specifying OmniCube Cloud
Datacenter, or you run a CLI command by logging in to the OmniCube Cloud Datacenter.
The following OmniCube CLI constraints apply:
• svt-datastore-*—You cannot create or delete datastores on an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter. However,
you can create or delete datastores on physical OmniCube systems if you run the command while you are
logged in to an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter
• Any command that operates on a datastore, or takes a datastore name as an argument, (such as svt-vm*and svt-backup-*) does not function for an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter.
• svt-federation-remove—If you specify an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter, this command will remove it
from the Federation without undeploying the cloud instance, preserving the data in the Amazon S3 bucket.
Conversely, undeploying an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter by using svt-cloud-undeploy Command
removes the cloud instance and destroys all the associated data.
• svt-hardware-show—An OmniCube Cloud Datacenter has no physical hardware to report.
• svt-session-*—Not required for an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter
• svt-support-capture—Captures limited OmniCube Cloud Datacenter data.

svt-cloud-deploy Command
The svt-cloud-deploy command deploys an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter instance and adds it to a Federation.

Format
svt-cloud-deploy --datacenter datacenter_name --cloudip ip-address
--interface net_interface --subnets subnet_masks --region AWS_region
--adminkey admin_key --adminsecret admin_secret --ockey omnicube_key
--ocsecret omnicube_secret --provider cloud_provider [common-options]

Options
Options
--datacenter

Description
(Required) User-friendly name of the OmniCube Cloud Datacenter to add.

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Options

4 - Federation and Datacenter Commands

Description

--cloudip

(Required) The IP address of the Amazon EC2 cloud instance that will host the
new OmniCube Cloud Datacenter.

--interface

(Required) The virtual elastic network interface (ENI) to which you will attach
the Amazon Web services (AWS) instance. It has the format eni-xxxxxxx.

--subnets

(Required) Specify one or more subnet masks using CIDR format. You must
specify an appropriate range of addresses to allow all physical OmniCube and
OmniCube Cloud Datacenter systems in the Federation to access the AWS
instance. Use the format netmask/N, where N is an integer with a value of: 0, 8,
16, or 32.

--region

(Required) Specify the Amazon region in which this OmniCube Cloud
Datacenter is located, such as "US West".

--adminkey

(Required) The access key identifier for an IAM user account with
administrative privileges. This credential is used once only for deployment and
is not stored.

--adminsecret

(Required) The access secret identifier for an IAM user account with
administrative privileges. This credential is used once only for deployment and
is not stored.

--ockey

(Required) Specify the access key ID for an IAM user with limited privileges to
start, stop, and read/write data to and from the OmniCube Cloud Datacenter
hosted in the AWS instance. This credential is stored securely on the
Federation.

--ocsecret

(Required) Specify the secret access key for an IAM user with limited
privileges to start, stop, and read/write data to and from the OmniCube Cloud
Datacenter hosted in the AWS instance. This credential is stored securely on
the Federation.

--provider

(Optional) The cloud provider to use for cloud services. (In this release, the
cloud provider defaults to amazon.)

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-cloud-deploy --datacenter myclouddc --cloudip 100.20.1.52
--interface eni-dd7745b0
--subnets 100.20.0.0/16:100.130.0.0/16 --region "US West"
--adminkey AKIAJOPL5YXXLIYHFP3A
--adminsecret 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
--ockey AQLAJAGJKGKPLFLHFA3A
--ocsecret erYdZRGgVZft54gcKCdtYdfVmOlrwmQMtudMzkWA

Related Commands:
• svt-cloud-undeploy Command on page 27
• svt-cloud-renamedatacenter Command on page 27

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svt-cloud-renamedatacenter Command
The svt-cloud-renamedatacenter command enables you to rename an existing OmniCube Cloud Datacenter.

Format
svt-cloud-renamedatacenter --datacenter datacenter_name --newdatacenter new_datacenter_name
--adminkey AWS_administrator_key --adminsecret AWS_administrator_secret
[common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--datacenter

(Required) Existing datacenter name.

--newdatacenter

(Required) Replacement datacenter name.

--adminkey

(Required) The access key identifier for an IAM user account with power
user privileges (Admin-user).

--adminsecret

(Required) The access secret for an IAM user account with power user
privileges (Admin-user).

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
# svt-cloud-renamedatacenter --datacenter AWSwestDC --datacenter AWSwestSVT
--adminkey AKIAJOPL5YXXLIYHFP3A
--adminsecret cjYdZRhgVZStKbCMnCrtYdrVhZSrlNoMtudNzkWA
................
Task Complete

Related Commands:
• svt-cloud-deploy Command on page 25
• svt-cloud-undeploy Command on page 27

svt-cloud-undeploy Command
The svt-cloud-undeploy command removes an OmniCube Cloud Datacenter instance from a Federation,
destroying any data remaining in the OmniCube cloud datacenter.
Before you remove a OmniCube Cloud Datacenter from a Federation:

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OmniCube CLI Reference

4 - Federation and Datacenter Commands

• Move backups that you want to preserve from the OmniCube Cloud Datacenter to a physical Federation
datastore or another OmniCube Cloud Datacenter.
To preserve the relationship between a backup and the original VM from which the backup was taken,
make sure that you move a backup to the datacenter where the original VM resides.
• Make sure your current VM backups are redirected to a physical datastore by adding new policies or new
rules to existing policies.
• Delete any obsolete policy rules that direct backups to the OmniCube Cloud Datacenter that you intend to
remove.

Format
svt-cloud-undeploy --datacenter datacenter_name --adminkey adminkey
--adminsecret admin secret [common-options]

Options
Options

Default

Description

--datacenter

(Required) Name of the OmniCube Cloud Datacenter to remove.

--adminkey

(Required) The access key identifier for an IAM user account with power user privileges
(Admin-user).

-adminsecret

(Required) The access secret for an IAM user account with power user privileges (Adminuser).

commonoptions

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
svtcli@omnicube-ip3-105:~$ svt-cloud-undeploy --datacenter myclouddc
--adminkey AKLAXCRL5FHPUHQHBA3A
--adminsecret cjYdbRhgVZStKPOcjCrtYdrwRZSiwmoMtuEGzkWA

Related Commands:

• svt-cloud-deploy Command on page 25
• svt-cloud-renamedatacenter Command on page 27

svt-timezone-show Command
The svt-timezone-show command displays the time zone configured for backups taken in a Federation
datacenter.
Use the svt-timezone-set command to configure the datacenter time zone. Use the svt-timezones-list
command to list the time zone region/locale values supported by OmniCube.

Format
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4 - Federation and Datacenter Commands

svt-timezone-show --datacenter datacenter_name [common-options]

Options
Options
--datacenter

Default
local

Description
The datacenter for which you require the time zone setting.
Common options applicable to all commands. See:

common-options

• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-timezone-show
The Time Zone for datacenter  is "America/New_York"
$ svt-timezone-show --datacenter DNMRK22
The Time Zone for datacenter DNMRK22 is "Europe/Copenhagen"

Related Commands:
• svt-timezone-set Command on page 30
• svt-timezones-list Command on page 29

svt-timezones-list Command
The svt-timezones-list command lists the time zone identifiers supported by OmniCube for Federation
datacenters.
Use the svt-timezone-show command to display the current datacenter time zone. Use the svt-timezoneset command to change the datacenter time zone.

Format
svt-timezones-list [common-options]

Options
Options

Default

common-options

Description
Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-timezones-list | more
Africa/Abidjan
Africa/Accra
Africa/Addis_Ababa

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Africa/Algiers
.
.
.
.

Related Commands:
• svt-timezone-show Command on page 28
• svt-timezone-set Command on page 30

svt-timezone-set Command
The svt-timezone-set command sets the time zone used for backups for all OmniCube systems in a
Federation datacenter.
Use the svt-timezone-show command to display the current datacenter time zone. Use the svttimezones-list command to list the time zone region/locale values supported by OmniCube.

Format
svt-timezone-set
[common-options]

--timezone region/locale --datacenter datacenter_name

Options
Options
--timezone

Default
America/New_York

Description
(Required) The time zone region/locale for the Federation datacenter.

--datacenter

The datacenter that will use the specified time zone. All OmniCube systems
in the datacenter use the same time zone.

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-timezone-set --timezone America/Pacific
ERROR [169]: The specified time zone was not defined. You can execute 'svt-timezones-list'
for list of valid time zone names.
$ svt-timezone-set --timezone America/Phoenix
..
Task Complete

See Also:

30

OmniCube CLI Reference

4 - Federation and Datacenter Commands

• svt-timezone-show Command on page 28
• svt-timezones-list Command on page 29

31

5 - Datastore Commands
The following commands manage datastores in a Federation:
• svt-datastore-create—Creates a datastore. See svt-datastore-create Command on page 34.
• svt-datastore-delete—Deletes a datastore. See svt-datastore-delete Command on page 35.
• svt-datastore-policy-set—Sets the default backup policy for a datastore. See svt-datastore-policy-set
Command on page 36.
• svt-datastore-resize—Enables you to increase or decrease the storage capacity of a datastore. See svtdatastore-resize Command on page 37.
• svt-datastore-share—Allows a Non-SimpliVity ESXi host to access a Federation datastore. See svtdatastore-share Command on page 38.
• svt-datastore-show—Displays the datastores in a Federation. See svt-datastore-show Command on page
39.
• svt-datastore-unshare —Stops sharing a datastore previously shared by using svt-datastore-share.
See svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40.

33

OmniCube CLI Reference

5 - Datastore Commands

svt-datastore-create Command
The svt-datastore-create command creates a datastore in the Federation and sets the backup policy for new
VMs that you create in the datastore.
See svt-policy-create Command on page 70 for information about creating a backup policy.
Note: Use the svt-vm-policy-set command to set a backup policy for an individual VM and override the
default policy. See svt-vm-policy-set Command on page 47.

Format
svt-datastore-create --name name --policy name --size [nGB|nTB]
--datacenter datacenter [common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--datacenter

The name of the datacenter that contains this datastore, defaulting to the current
datacenter.

--name

(Required) Name of the new datastore.

--policy

(Required) Name of the backup policy. A backup policy enables you to schedule VM
backup operations.

--size

(Required) Size of the new datastore expressed as nGB or nTB. The size of a datastore
is defined as the maximum amount of data the datastore can contain before the written
data is deduplicated and compressed.

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-datastore-create --name ds2 --policy dailydr --size 4TB
......................................................................................
Task Complete

Related commands:
• svt-datastore-delete Command on page 35
• svt-datastore-policy-set Command on page 36
• svt-datastore-resize Command on page 37
• svt-datastore-share Command on page 38
• svt-datastore-show Command on page 39
• svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40

34

OmniCube CLI Reference

5 - Datastore Commands

svt-datastore-delete Command
The svt-datastore-delete command deletes a datastore from the Federation.
Note: You cannot delete a datastore if it contains active VMs or backups of deleted VMs.

Format
svt-datastore-delete --name name [common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--name

(Required) Name of the datastore.

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-datastore-delete --name datalab
This action will destroy any data remaining on the datastore.
Proceed? (y/n): y
................................................
Task Complete

If VMs or backups exist, the command fails as follows:
~$ svt-datastore-delete --name MKO
This action will destroy any data remaining on the datastore.
Proceed? (y/n): y
....................................................................
ERROR [30]: You cannot delete a datastore that is used by VMs. Migrate or remove VMs and try again.
$

Related commands:
• svt-datastore-create Command on page 34
• svt-datastore-policy-set Command on page 36
• svt-datastore-resize Command on page 37
• svt-datastore-share Command on page 38
• svt-datastore-show Command on page 39
• svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40

35

OmniCube CLI Reference

5 - Datastore Commands

svt-datastore-policy-set Command
The svt-datastore-policy-set command changes the default backup policy for a datastore. The new default
policy applies only to any new VMs that you create after the policy change. Existing VMs continue to use the
policy that was in force at their time of creation or the policy that you subsequently assigned to that VM.
See svt-policy-create Command on page 70 for information about creating a backup policy. You must add one or
more rules to a backup policy to create backups. See the svt-policy-rule-create Command on page 72.
Use the svt-policy-show Command to display available policies and svt-datastore-show Command to list
datastores.
Note: Use the svt-vm-policy-set command to set a backup policy for an individual VM and override the
default policy. See svt-vm-policy-set Command on page 47.

Format
svt-datastore-policy-set --datastore name --policy name [common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--datastore

(Required) Name of the datastore.

--policy

(Required) Name of the new backup policy.

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-datastore-policy-set --datastore ds4 --policy hourly_12
...........................................
Task Complete

Related commands:
• svt-datastore-create Command on page 34
• svt-datastore-delete Command on page 35
• svt-datastore-resize Command on page 37
• svt-datastore-share Command on page 38
• svt-datastore-show Command on page 39
• svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40

36

OmniCube CLI Reference

5 - Datastore Commands

svt-datastore-resize Command
The svt-datastore-resize command enables you to increase or decrease the capacity of a datastore by
specifying a new size in GB, TB or PB.
When decreasing the size of a datastore, you cannot specify a size that is smaller than the space currently
allocated to VMs in the datastore. The minimum size is 1GB.
You can list datastores to view the current size. See the svt-datastore-show Command on page 39.
Note: The size of a datastore is defined as the maximum amount of data the datastore can contain before the
written data is deduplicated and compressed.

Format
svt-datastore-resize --name datastore_name --size [nGB|nTB|nPB]
[common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--name

(Required) Name of the SimpliVity datastore.

--size

(Required) The revised size of the SimpliVity datastore in gigabytes terabyte, or
petabytes (GB,TB,PB).

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-datastore-resize --name finance-ds --size 2TB

Related Commands
• svt-datastore-create Command on page 34
• svt-datastore-delete Command on page 35
• svt-datastore-policy-set Command on page 36
• svt-datastore-share Command on page 38
• svt-datastore-show Command on page 39
• svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40

37

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5 - Datastore Commands

svt-datastore-share Command
The svt-datastore-share command enables you to allow access to Federation datastores from Non-SimpliVity
ESXi hosts. This enables you to use vMotion™ and Storage vMotion™ and to enable VMs running on an ESXi
host to access a datastore in a Federation, with no disruption to users. The VM remains running on the original
ESXi host.
Before sharing a datastore, you must configure the NFS and network settings in the Non-SimpliVity ESXi host
and configure the /etc/hosts file on Non-SimpliVity ESXi hosts. See OmniCube Configuration and
Management for information about the required settings.
See OmniCube Release Notes for other constraints on datastore sharing and Non-SimpliVity ESXi host
requirements.
Use the svt-datastore-show Command on page 39 to list datastores and the svt-datastore-unshare Command on
page 40 to stop sharing datastores.
Note: You can use the --force common option to bypass command checking when adding multiple hosts by
using a script.

Format
svt-datastore-share --host non-simplivity-name|IP --datastore
datastore-name [common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--datastore

[Required] The datastore for which access will be enabled.

--host

The name or IP address of a non-SimpliVity ESXi host that will access the datastore, as it appears in
the vSphere client.

commonoptions

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-datastore-share --host 129.23.45.67 --datastore ds9research

Before sharing a datastore, you must first configure the non-SimpliVity ESXi hosts as described in the OmniCube
user documentation
Proceed? (y/n)

Related commands:
• svt-datastore-create Command on page 34
• svt-datastore-delete Command on page 35
• svt-datastore-policy-set Command on page 36
• svt-datastore-resize Command on page 37

38

OmniCube CLI Reference

5 - Datastore Commands

• svt-datastore-show Command on page 39
• svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40

svt-datastore-show Command
The svt-datastore-show command displays information about the datastores and shares in the Federation:
• Datastore—The datastore name.
• Datacenter —The datacenter containing the named datastore.
• Policy—The datastore-wide default backup policy. See svt-datastore-policy-set Command on page 36 and
svt-policy-show Command on page 76.
• Size—The physical storage space allocated for this datastore. See svt-datastore-resize Command on page
37.
• Created at—The date and time of datastore creation. See svt-datastore-create Command on page 34.
• Shares—The name of a Non-SimpliVity ESXi host accessing this datastore. See svt-datastore-share
Command on page 38 and svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40.
See also thesvt-vm-show Command on page 50.

Format
svt-datastore-show [common-options]

Options
Options
common-options

Description
Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-datastore-show
.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
| Datastores

|

+----------+-----------+--------+-------+------------------------+-----------------+
| Datastore| Datacenter| Policy | Size

| Created At

| Shares

|

+----------+-----------+--------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
| svtfs1

|

ds25SSF

| 1hour

| 6.00TB| Sat Jul 7 14:25:56 2012| nfsservr.svt

|

+----------+-----------+--------+--------------------------------+-----------------+
| svtfs1b

|

SanFran

| 1hour

| 3.00TB| Sat Jul 7 14:26:11 2012|

|

'----------+-----------+--------+--------------------------------+-----------------'

Related commands:
• svt-datastore-create Command on page 34

39

OmniCube CLI Reference

5 - Datastore Commands

• svt-datastore-delete Command on page 35
• svt-datastore-policy-set Command on page 36
• svt-datastore-resize Command on page 37
• svt-datastore-share Command on page 38
• svt-datastore-unshare Command on page 40

svt-datastore-unshare Command
The svt-datastore-unshare command stops sharing Federation datastores with a Non-SimpliVity ESXi host.
See svt-datastore-share Command on page 38.

Format
svt-datastore-unshare --host non-simplivity-name|IP --datastore datastore-name
[common-options]

Options
Options

Description

--datastore

[Required] The datastore to stop sharing.

--host

The name or IP address of the Non-SimpliVity ESXi host that accessed the Federation datastore.

common-options Common options applicable to all commands. See:

• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-datastore-unshare --datastore ds9research --host nfsservr.svt

Related commands:
• svt-datastore-create Command on page 34
• svt-datastore-delete Command on page 35
• svt-datastore-policy-set Command on page 36
• svt-datastore-resize Command on page 37
• svt-datastore-share Command on page 38
• svt-datastore-show Command on page 39

40

OmniCube CLI Reference

5 - Datastore Commands

41

6 - Virtual Machine Commands
You use the vSphere Client to create a virtual machine (VM) in a Federation.
The following commands manage VMs in a Federation:
• svt-vm-backup—Creates a manual backup of a Federation VM. See svt-vm-backup Command on page 44.
• svt-vm-clone—Creates a new VM in the Federation that is a copy of an existing Federation VM. See svtvm-clone Command on page 45.
• svt-vm-move—Enables you to relocate a VM to a different datacenter. See svt-vm-move Command on
page 46.
• svt-vm-policy-set —Sets the backup policy for a Federation VM. See svt-vm-policy-set Command on
page 47.
• svt-vm-restore—Restores a Federation VM from a backup. See svt-vm-restore Command on page 49.
• svt-vm-show —Display information about all VMs in a Federation. See svt-vm-show Command on page
50.

43

OmniCube CLI Reference

6 - Virtual Machine Commands

svt-vm-backup Command
The svt-vm-backup command creates a manual backup of a virtual machine (VM) at the current time. A backup
saves the state of the VM at the time you created the backup.
Unlike a policy backup, a manual backup is not deleted during the automatic cleanup performed by a backup
policy (see the svt-policy-rule-create Command on page 72). You must manually delete these backups to make
sure that they do not consume excessive system resources. See the svt-backup-show Command on page 62 for
information about displaying manual backups.
The default operation is to take an instantaneous copy without using VMware operations. Manual backup options
include:
• Application consistent—Include a VMware application consistent snapshot in the backup. This type of
backup brings guest VM applications to a consistent state before taking a backup. Using application
consistency increases the time required to complete a backup, and you should not use it for guest VMs that
have high I/O.
• Remote datacenter—Specify a remote destination for the backup.
• Name—By default, the command creates a unique name for the backup by appending a timestamp to the
VM name. You can override the default by specifying a unique name for the backup. You can also rename
a backup at any time. See the svt-backup-rename Command on page 59.
You can later restore the VM from the backup or create a new VM that has the same point-in-time data as the
source VM (at the time you created the backup). See the svt-vm-restore Command on page 49.
Note: To back up VMs by using a regular schedule (for disaster protection), use a backup policy. See the svtpolicy-create Command on page 70 and the svt-vm-policy-set Command on page 47.

Format
svt-vm-backup --datastore datastore-name --vm vm-name --name backup-name
--appconsistent --destination datacenter-name [common-options]

Options
Options

Default

Description

--appconsistent

Creates a VMware application consistent backup.

--datastore

(Required) Name or GUID of the datastore that contains the VM.

--destination

local

The destination datacenter where the new backup is stored.

--name

An optional name for the new backup. The default name appends a
timestamp to the VM name to ensure unique backup names.

--vm

(Required) Name or GUID of the VM.

common-options

Common options applicable to all commands. See:
• vCenter Identification and Authentication Options on page 12
• Command Operation Control Options on page 13

Example
$ svt-vm-backup --vm user3 --datastore ds2 --name backup3-12 --appconsistent
..............................................................................

44

OmniCube CLI Reference

6 - Virtual Machine Commands

..............................................................................
................................................
Task Complete

Related commands:
• svt-vm-clone Command on page 45
• svt-vm-move Command on page 46
• svt-vm-policy-set Command on page 47
• svt-vm-restore Command on page 49
• svt-vm-show Command on page 50
• Backup Policy Commands on page 69
• Backup Commands on page 53

svt-vm-clone Command
The svt-vm-clone command creates a new virtual machine (VM) that contains the same contents as an existing
VM. The new VM has a different name, but resides in the same datastore as the original VM. Characteristics of
the cloned VM are:
• Clone name—By default, the command appends the string -clone- to the original VM name.
You can override this by specifying the --name option.
• Power status— The clone is powered off. Make sure you have sufficient CPU and memory resources
before powering on the VM.
• Backup—As for any VM, you can back up a cloned VM using a policy (see the svt-policy-create
Command on page 70) or a manual backup (see the svt-vm-backup Command on page 44).
Note: Serial clone and backup operations can cause long object names. Use the appropriate renaming option to
shorten the name.

Format
svt-vm-clone --datastore datastore --vm vm --name new-name
--appconsistent [common-options]

Options
Options
--appconsistent

Description
The resulting clone is created from an application consistent snapshot of the source VM,
and is application consistent when powered on.

--datastore

(Required) Name or GUID of the datastore containing the VM that you want to clone.

--name

Name of the cloned (new) VM. If not specified, a name is assigned to the clone in the format
-clone--
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