Vmware Command Line Management In VSphere 5.0 For Service Console Users ESXI 6.0 V Sphere 5 And 6 Vcenter Server 60 En

User Manual: vmware ESXI - 6.0 - Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users Free User Guide for VMware ESXI Software, Manual

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Technical Note

VMware, Inc. 1

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and

vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

ESXi 6.0

StartingwithvSphere5.0,theserviceconsole(alsocalledconsoleOSorCOS)withitsassociatedLinux

installationisnolongeravailable.IfyouarecurrentlyusingESXserviceconsolecommands,scripts,agents,or

logs,thistechnicalnotehelpsyoutransitiontoanoff‐hostimplementationortousetheESXiShellinspecial

cases.

ThefocusofthisdocumentisonESXCLIcommandsandvicfg-commands.CommandsinthedCLI

commandset,availableinvSphere6.0andlater,areinitiallyformanagingvCenterservicesandnotforhost

management.Thesecommandsarenotdiscussedinthisdocument.

“Introduction”onpage 1

“TransitioningServiceConsoleCommands”onpage 2

“ESXiShellAccess”onpage 5

“ReplacingAgents”onpage 10

“LogginginvSphere5andLater”onpage 10

“RetrievingNetworkingInformation”onpage 13

“A d d i n g Third‐PartyExtensionstoHosts”onpage 13

“ReferencetoReplacementsforServiceConsoleCommands”onpage 13

Introduction

InvSphere5.xandvSphere6.x,VMwareoffersthefollowingtools,CLIs,andAPIsthatreplaceESX4.xservice

consolecomponents.

IMPORTANTChangesmadetothehostusingtheDCUI,thevSphereClient,ESXCLI,orotheradministrative

toolsarecommittedtopermanentstorageeveryhourorupongracefulshutdown.Changesmightbelostifthe

hostfailsbeforetheyarecommitted.

CLI or Tool Description Availability

vCLI IncludesESXCLIcommands,vicfg-

commands,andafewothercommandsfor

managingvSphere.

InstallavCLIpackageonaWindowsorLinux

systemorruncommandsfromvMA.

PowerCLI PowerCLIcmdletsformanagingESXihostsand

virtualmachines.

InstallMicrosoftPowerShellonaWindows

system,andinstallvSpherePowerCLItorun

bothPowerShellandPowerCLIcmdletfromthe

PowerCLIprompt.

VMware, Inc. 2

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

Transitioning Service Console Commands

Ifyouarecurrentlymanagingyourenvironmentwithserviceconsolecommands,youcanperformthesame

managementtasksinvSphere5.0andvSphere5.1inoneofthefollowingways.

UseoneofthevSphereClientinterfaces.

InstallvCLIorPowerCLIonamanagementserver,writescriptswiththosecommands,andrunthescripts

againsttargethosts.See“RunningvCLIorPowerCLICommandsfromRemoteHosts”onpage 3.

Forcertaintroubleshootingandadvancedmanagementcommands,usecommandsfromtheESXCLI

commandsetdirectlytheESXiShell.See“UsingtheESXiShell”onpage 5.

Figure 1illustratesthedifferencesbetweenCLIsinESXi4.1andESXi5.0andlater.

InESX4.1,afairlylargesetofserviceconsolecommandsisavailable.AsmallsetofESXCLIcommands

isavailableinboththeserviceconsoleandaspartofthevCLIpackage.ThevCLIpackageincludes,in

additiontoESXCLIcommands,asetofvicfg-commandsandothercommandsforhostmanagement.

ESXi5.0andlaterdoesnotincludeaserviceconsole.IntheESXiShell,youcanrunamuchexpandedset

ofESXCLIcommandsandasmallsetofothercommands.ThesameESXCLIcommands,aswellasafew

othercommands,areincludedinthevCLIpackageforoff‐hostmanagement.

vMA ALinuxvirtualappliancethatincludesthe

vSphereSDKforPerlandthevCLIpackage.

Alsosupportsthevi‐fastpassauthentication

component.

DeployvMAonanESXisystemandrun

commandsagainstauthenticatedtargetservers

fromvMA.

ESXiShell

commands

Setoftroubleshootingcommandstousewhen

vCLIcannotaccessyourESXisystem.Includes

ESXCLIcommandsandesxcfg-commands

(deprecated).

TheESXiShellisdisabledbydefault.Youcan

enabletheShellforlocalorremoteaccess.

CLI or Tool Description Availability

ESX 4.x Service Console vSphere 5.0 and vSphere 5.1 See

Serviceconsolecommands Off‐hostmanagementwithvCLI.

InstallonWindowsorLinuxorusevMA.

“TransitioningServiceConsole

Commands”onpage 2.“Referenceto

ReplacementsforServiceConsole

Commands”onpage 13listsvCLIor

ESXCLIreplacementsforserviceconsole

commandsandpointstomigrationlists

inthistechnicalnote.

Serviceconsolecommands Off‐hostmanagementwithVMware

PowerCLIcmdletsfromaWindowssystem.

GettingStartedwithvSphere

Command‐LineInterfaces

vSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceSolutions

andExamples

Serviceconsolecommands On‐hostmanagementintheESXiShellis

possibleifsystemfailuresorotherissues

preventyoufromusingoff‐hostmanagement

commands.

ESXiShellisdisabledbydefault

See“ESXiShellLocalAccess”onpage 5

and“RemoteAccesstoESXiShellUsing

SSH”onpage 7.

Agents IfyourunagentsintheESX4.xservice

console,youcanreplacethemwith

infrastructureservicesinmanycases.

Runningthird‐partyagentsintheESXiShell

isnotsupported.

“ReplacingAgents”onpage 10.

Linuxnetworking

commands.

NotavailableintheESXiShell.UseESXCLI

commandsinstead.

See“RetrievingNetworking

Information”onpage 13.

Serviceconsolelogs Fine‐grainedcontroloversystemlogsis

available.Youcansendlogstothelocal

systemortoaremotehost.

“LogginginvSphere5andLater”on

page 10

VMware, Inc. 3

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

Figure 1. Command-Line Interfaces in ESX 4.1 and ESXi 5.0 and later

Using vSphere Client Interfaces

MosttasksyouperformintheESXServiceConsolecanbeperformedbyoneofthegraphicaluserinterfaces

toESXiorvCenterServersystems.Theinterfacesallowyoutomanageyourinfrastructure,andtoperform

operationsonmultiplehostsatthesametime.

InstallthevSphereClientontheWindowssystemofyourchoiceandconnecttoanESXiorvCenterServer

system.Performmanagementoperationsusingtheclient.

UsethevSphereWebClientfromoneofthesupportedbrowsers.ThevSphereWebClientisanew

interfaceandsupportsprimarilyoperationsonvirtualmachines.

vSphere5documentationexplainshowtoperformtasksbyusingoneoftheclientUIs.Onlinehelpisavailable

frombothclientUIs.

Running vCLI or PowerCLI Commands from Remote Hosts

IfyouhavescriptsthatuseESX4.xserviceconsolecommandsorruncommandsintheESX4.xserviceconsole

directly,runningvCLIcommandsorPowerCLIcmdletsfromthehostonwhichyouinstalledthosepackages

givesthebestresults.Runningoff‐hostishighlyrecommendedbecauseitfacilitatesscripting.

YoucanusevCLIevenifhostsareinlockdownmodebytargetingthevCenterServersystemandspecifying

thetargetESXihostwiththe--vihostparameter,forexample:

esxcli --server <my_vc> --vihost <my_esxi> [<authentication>] storage nfs list

Ifyoudonotspecifyadditionalauthenticationparameters,thevCLIinfrastructurepromptsforausername

andpasswordforthevCenterServersystemspecifiedby--server.

vCLI Command Set

ThevCLIcommandsetincludescommonsystemadministrationcommandswhichyoucanrunagainstESXi

systemsfromanymachinewithnetworkaccesstothosesystems.YoucanalsorunmostvCLIcommands

againstavCenterServersystemandtargetanyESXisystemthatvCenterServersystemmanages.

InstallthevCLIcommandsetonasupportedversionsofWindowsorLinux.Theuserrunningacommand

againstaservermustbeauthenticatedforthatserver.ThevCLIpackageincludesseveralcommandsets.

ESXCLIESXCLI

vCLI

ESXCLI ESXCLI

vicfg-and other

commands

vicfg-and other commands

Service console commands

esxcfg-

(deprecated)

POSIX

(subset)

ESX 4.1

ESXi 5

Commands running on host

vCLI

Commands running on host

VMware, Inc. 4

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

ThefollowingdocumentationhelpsyouworkwithvCLIcommands.

GettingStartedwithvSphereCommand‐LineInterfacesgivesoverviewsofavailablecommandsandincludes

instructionsforinstallingvCLIonWidowsorLinuxanddetailedinformationaboutconnectionoptions.

vSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceConceptsandExamplespresentsusageexamplesformanycommands,such

assettingupsoftwareandhardwareiSCSI,addingvirtualswitches,settingupActiveDirectory

authentication,andsoon.Thedocumentincludesthesameexamplewiththevicfg-commandandthe

ESXCLIcommandwheresupported.

vSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceReferenceisareferencetobothvicfg-commandsandESXCLIcommands.

Thevicfg-commandhelpisgeneratedfromthePODavailableforeachcommand,runpod2htmlfor

anyvicfg-commandtogenerateindividualHTMLfilesinteractively.TheESXCLIreferenceinformation

isgeneratedfromtheESXCLIhelp.

Running ESXCLI Commands Against ESXi 4.x Hosts

WhenyourunanESXCLIvCLIcommand,youmustknowthecommandssupportedonthetargethost

specifiedwith--serverorasavMAtarget.

IfyouruncommandsagainstESXi4.xhosts,ESXCLI4.xcommandsaresupported.

IfyouruncommandsagainstESXi5.0hosts,ESXCLI5.0commandsandmostESXCLI5.1commandsare

supported.CommandsthatarenewinESXCLI5.1arenotsupported.

IfyouruncommandsagainstESX5.1hosts,ESXCLI5.0commandsandallESXCLI5.1commandsare

supported.

VMwarepartnersmightdevelopcustomESXCLIcommandsthatyoucanrunonhostswherethepartnerVIB

hasbeeninstalled.

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

downintothenamespacesforadditionalhelp.

PowerCLI Cmdlet Set

VMwareoffersacomprehensivesetofPowerCLIcmdlets.YoucaninstallthePowerCLIpackageona

WindowssystemonwhichMicrosoftPowerShellisinstalledandusePowerCLIcmdletstomanagehostsand

virtualmachines.PowerCLIcmdletsandvCLIcommandsoverlapinfunctionality.ThePowerCLIfocusison

virtualmachinemanagement.ThevCLIfocusisonhostmanagement.

SeethevSpherePowerCLIdocumentationset,availableintheVMwareAdministrationAutomationProducts

sectionofhttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

Command Set Description

ESXCLIvCLI

commands

ExtensiblecommandframeworkformanagingmanyaspectsofvSphere.

Runesxcli --helptoseealltop-levelnamespaces.Youcanrun--helpatanylevelofthe

hierarchy.

TheesxclicommandsetintheESXiShellandtheesxclivCLIcommandsetsupportthesame

functionality.WhenrunningvCLIcommands,youmustspecifythetargetserverand

authenticationoptions.

vicfg- (esxcfg-)

vCLIcommands

SetofcommandsformanagingmanyaspectsofvSphere.Foreachvicfg-vCLIcommand,the

packageincludesanesxcfg-vCLIcommandthatisequivalentofthevicfg-vCLIcommand.

Important:esxcfg-vCLIcommandsarenotalwaysequivalenttocorrespondingesxcfg-

serviceconsoleorESXiShellcommands.

vicfg-commandswillbedeprecatedinfuturereleases.Useesxclicommandsinsteadwhere

possible.

Management

commands

Asmallsetofmanagementcommandsisavailable.Commandsincludevifsforfilemigration,

vmware-cmdformanagingvirtualmachines,andvmkfstoolsforVMFSfilemanagement.

IMPORTANTESXCLIonESX4.xhostsdoesnotsupporttargetingavCenterServersystem.Youcantherefore

notruncommandswith--serverpointingtoavCenterServersystemevenifyouinstallvCLI5.0orvCLI5.1.

VMware, Inc. 5

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

Using the ESXi Shell

EachESXihostincludesanESXiShell,whichisdisabledbydefault.Administratorscanusethatshellto

performtroubleshootingandadvancedtaskssuchastestingscriptsinnonproductionenvironments.

Youcanaccesstheshellasfollows:

Enablelocalaccessandusethelocalshellonthephysicalconsoleorusingaserialport.See“ESXiShell

LocalAccess”onpage 5.

EnableSSHaccessandusetheshelloveramanagementnetworkwithSSH.See“ESXiShellAccess”on

page 5.

TheESXiShellincludesthefollowingcommandsets.

ESXi Shell Access

AnESXisystemincludesadirectconsolethatallowsyoutostartandstopthesystemandtoperformalimited

setofmaintenanceandtroubleshootingtasks.ThedirectconsoleincludestheESXiShell.TheESXiShell

includesasetoffullysupportedESXCLIcommandsandasetofcommandsfortroubleshootingand

remediation.YoumustenableaccesstotheESXiShellfromthedirectconsoleofeachsystem.Youcanenable

accesstothelocalESXiShelloraccesstotheESXiShellwithSSH.

ESXi Shell Local Access

TheESXiShellisdisabledbydefault.YoucanenabletheESXiShellfortroubleshootingfromthedirectconsole.

AllESXCLIcommandsthatareavailableintheESXiShellarealsoincludedinthevCLIpackage.Installthe

vCLIpackageordeploythevMAvirtualappliance,andruncommandsagainstyourESXihosts,insteadof

runningcommandsintheESXiShellitself.SeeGettingStartedwithvSphereCommand‐LineInterfaces.

IMPORTANTESXiShellisintendedforexperiencedCLIusers.Minorerrorsintheshellcanresultinserious

problems.InsteadofrunningcommandsdirectlyintheESXiShell,usevCLIcommandsorPowerCLIcmdlets.

Command Set Description

ESXCLIcommands ExtensiblecommandframeworkformanagingmanyaspectsofvSphere.

Runesxcli --helptoseealltop-levelnamespaces.Youcanrun--helpatanylevelofthe

hierarchy.

TheesxclicommandsetintheESXiShellandtheesxclivCLIcommandsetsupportthesame

functionality.WhenrunningvCLIcommands,youmustspecifythetargetserverand

authenticationoptions.

esxcfg-commands

(deprecated)

SetofcommandsformanagingmanyaspectsofvSphere.Mostesxcfg-commandsavailable

intheESX4.xserviceconsoleareavailableintheESXiShellbutaredeprecatedinESXi5.0and

willberemovedinafuturerelease.

UseESXCLIcommandsinsteadofesxcfg-commands.IfnoESXCLIcommandexists,usethe

vicfg-commandsinthevCLIcommandset.

Othercommands AsmallsetofPOSIX-stylecommandsisincludedintheshell(see“ShellCommands”on

page 9).ThesecommandsarenotsupportedbyVMwarebutareincludedforusein

troubleshootingsituations.UsethevSphereClientorVMwarecommandsinsteadwhere

possible.

localclicommands SetoftroubleshootingcommandsforusewithVMwareTechnicalSupport.localcli

commandsequivalenttoESXCLIcommandsbutbypassthehostdaemon(hostd).

Warning:localclicommandsareonlyforsituationswhenhostdisunavailableandcannot

berestarted.Afteryourunalocalclicommand,youmustrestarthostd.Usinglocalcli

commandsinothersituationsisnotsupported.Aninconsistentsystemstateandpotential

failurecanresult.

NOTEForsecurityreasons,youshouldenableESXiShellonlywhenrequired.

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Enabling the ESXi Shell

YoucanenabletheESXiShellfromthedirectconsoleandfromthevSphereClient.EnablingtheESXiShell

meansmakingitaccessibleasalocalconsoleavailabledirectlyoroveranout-of-bandnetwork.

To enable the ESXi Shell from the Direct Console

1AccessthedirectconsoleoftheESXihost,pressF2,andprovidecredentialswhenprompted.

2Scroll

toTroubleshootingOptions,andpressEnter.

3 SelectEnableESXiShellandpressEnter.

Ontheleft,EnableESXiShellchangestoDisableESXiShell.Ontheright,ESXiShellisDisabled

changestoESXiShellisEnabled.

4 (Optional)Configurethetime-outfortheESXiShell

a SelectModifyESXiShelltimeoutandpressEnter.

bEnterthetime-outvalueinminutesandpressEnter.

5PressEscuntilyoureturntothemaindirectconsolescreen.

YoucanenabletheESXiShellfromthevSphereClient.

To enable the local or remote ESXi Shell from the vSphere Client

1 Selectthehost,clicktheConfigurationtab,andclickSecurityProfileintheSoftwarepanel.

2IntheServicessection,clickProperties.

3 SelectESXiShellandclickOptions.

4 ChangetheESXiShelloptions.

Totemporarilystartorstoptheservice,clicktheStartorStopbutton.

Toenableaccesspermanently,clickStartandstopwithhost.Thechangewilltakeeffectthenexttime

yourebootthehost.

5ClickOK.

AfteryouhaveenabledtheESXiShell,youcanuseitfromthatmonitororthroughanout-of-bandnetwork

connection.

To enable to local or remote ESXi Shell from the vSphere Web Client

1 Selectthehost,clicktheManagetab,andclickSettings.

2UnderSystem,selectSecurityProfile.

3IntheServicespanel,clickEdit.

4 Selectaservicefromthelist.

ESXiShell

SSH

DirectConsoleUI

5ClickServiceDetailsandselectthestartuppolicyStartandstopmanually.

WhenyouselectStartandstopmanually,theservicedoesnotstartwhenyourebootthehost.Ifyouwant

theservicetostartwhenyourebootthehost,selectStartandstopwithhost.

6 SelectStarttoenabletheservice.

7ClickOK.

AfteryouhaveenabledtheESXiShell,youcanuseitfromthatmonitororthroughanout-of-bandnetwork

connection.

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Setting Timeouts for the ESXi Shell

TheESXiShellsupportsavailabilitytimeoutandidletimeouts.Bydefault,eachtimeoutisdisabled.

Availabilitytimeout.TheamountoftimethatcanelapsebeforeyoumustloginaftertheESXiShellis

enabled.Afterthetimeoutperiod,theserviceisdisabledandusersarenotallowedtologin.

Idletimeout.Theamountoftimethatcanelapsebeforetheuserisloggedoutofanidleinteractive

sessions.ChangestotheidletimeoutapplythenexttimeauserlogsintotheESXiShellanddonotaffect

existingsessions.

To set ESXi Shell timeouts from the Direct Console

1FromtheTroubleshootingModeOptionsmenu,selectModifyESXiShellandSSHtimeoutsandpress

Enter.

2EntertheavailabilitytimeoutandpressEnter.

3EntertheidletimeoutandpressEnter.

4PressEscuntilyoureturntothemainmenuoftheDirectConsoleInterface.

To set ESXi Shell timeouts from the vSphere Web Client

1 Selectthehostintheinventory,clicktheManagetab,andclickSettings.

2UnderSystem,selectAdvancedSystemSettings.

3Intheleftpanel,clickUserVars.

4 SelectUserVars.ESXiShellTimeOutandclicktheEditicon

5Entertheavailabilitytimeoutinminutes.

YoumustrestarttheSSHserviceandtheESXiShellserviceforthetimeouttotakeeffect.

6 SelectUserVars.ESXiShellInteractiveTimeOutandclicktheEditicon

7Entertheavailabilitytimeoutinminutes.

YoumustrestarttheSSHserviceandtheESXiShellserviceforthetimeouttotakeeffect.

8ClickOK.

Accessing the ESXi Shell with the Direct Console

AfteryouenableESXiShellaccess,youcanaccessthelocalshell.

To access the local ESXi Shell

1Atthemaindirectconsolescreen,pressAlt-F1toopenavirtualconsolewindowtothehost.

2Providecredentialswhenprompted.

Whenyoutypethepassword,charactersarenotdisplayedontheconsole.

3Tologout,typeexitintheshell.

4Toreturntothedirectconsole,pressAlt-F2.

Remote Access to ESXi Shell Using SSH

IfSecureShellisenabledfortheESXiShell,youcanrunshellcommandsbyusingaSecureShellclientsuch

asSSHorPuTTY.

Enabling SSH for the ESXi Shell

Bydefault,youcannotaccesstheESXiShellusingaSecureShellclient.YoucanenableSSHaccessfromthe

directconsole.

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To enable SSH access in the direct console

1AtthedirectconsoleoftheESXihost,pressF2andprovidecredentialswhenprompted.

2ScrolltoTroubleshootingOptions,andpressEnter.

3 SelectEnableSSHandpressEnteronce.

Ontheleft,EnableSSHchangestoDisableSSH.Ontheright,SSHisDisabledchangestoSSHis

Enabled.

4Press

Escuntilyoureturntothemaindirectconsolescreen.

YoucanenableremotecommandexecutionfromthevSphereClient.

To enable SSH from the vSphere Client

1 SelectthehostandclicktheConfigurationtab.

2ClickSecurityProfileintheSoftwarepanel.

3IntheServicessection,clickProperties.

4 SelectSSHandclickOptions.

5 ChangetheSSHoptions.

Totemporarilystartorstoptheservice,clicktheStartorStopbutton.

ToenableSSHpermanently,clickStartandstopwithhost.Thechangetakeseffectthenexttimeyou

rebootthehost.

6ClickOK.

AfteryouhaveenabledSSH,youcanuseanSSHclienttologintotheESXiShellandrunESXiShell

commands.

Accessing the ESXi Shell with SSH

IfSSHisenabledonyourESXihost,youcanuseanSSHclienttoruncommandsonthatshell.

To access the ESXi Shell with SSH

1OpenanSSHclient.

2SpecifytheIPaddressordomainnameoftheESXihost.

PrecisedirectionsvarydependingontheSSHclientyouuse.Seevendordocumentationandsupport.

3Providecredentialswhenprompted.

ESXi Shell Commands

TheESXiShellincludesseveralsetsofcommands.

Table 1. ESXi Shell Commands

Command Set Description

ESXCLIcommands AlargesetofnewESXCLIcommandssupportsmanyadministrativetasks.Thecommandsare

fullysupportedandtestedbyVMwareandincludecommand-linehelp.SeeGettingStartedwith

vSphereCommand‐LineInterfaces.

esxcfg-commands Theesxcfg- commandsavailableintheserviceconsolearedeprecated.Thecommandswill

beremovedfromtheESXiShellinafuturerelease.See“ReferencetoReplacementsforService

ConsoleCommands”onpage 13.

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ESXCLI Commands

TheESXiShellinESXi5includesalargesetofnewESXCLInamespacesandcommands.ThecompleteESXCLI

commandsetisalsopartofthevCLIpackage.TheESXCLIcommandsyntaxinESXi5ismoreflexiblethan

thesyntaxinESXi4andsupportsmultiplenamespaces.

esxcli [dispatch_option] <namespace> [namespace, ...] <cmd> [cmd_options]

Eachcommandcanuseanarbitrarynumberofnamespaces,anddifferentcommandshaveadifferentnumber

ofelements.Allcommandshavealsobeenreviewedforconsistencyandmostcommandshavebeenrenamed.

Forexample:

Eachgetcommandreturnssinglevalues.

esxcli hardware memory get

Thelistcommandsareusedformultiplereturnvalues.

esxcli hardware cpu list

Manycommandshaveoptions.Useanequalsignoraspacebetweentheoptionandtheoptionvalue.

esxcli storage nfs add --host=<host_name> --share=<share_name> --volume=<volume_name>

esxcli storage nfs add --host <host_name> --share <share_name> --volume <volume_name>

Shell Commands

IncontrasttoVMwareESX,VMwareESXidoesnotincludeaconsoleOSwithalargesetofshellcommands

andothersoftware.However,asmallsetofshellcommandsisavailableintheESXiShell.

Youcanseealistofcommandsin/usr/bin.Whenyoulistthecommandswithls -al,noticethatseveralof

theutilitiesareredirectedtocommandsappropriateinthevSphereenvironment.Thefollowingcommands

producedifferentresultsthantypicalshellcommands.

Severalcommandsareredirectedtovmkvsitools.

Pingcommandsareredirectedtovmkping.

SomeadditionalcommandsareavailableintheESXiShellforcertaintroubleshootingtasks.Usethese

commandswheninstructedbyaVMwareKnowledgeBasearticleorVMwareTechnicalSupportstaff.

Usermanagementcommandsaredeprecated.

Goto/usr/binandrunls -atoseeacompletelist.

POSIX-like

commands

See“ShellCommands”onpage 9.

localclicommands SetoftroubleshootingcommandsforusewithVMwareTechnicalSupport.localcli

commandsareequivalenttoESXCLIcommandsbutbypassthehostdaemon(hostd).

Warning:localclicommandsareonlyforsituationswhenhostdisunavailableandcannot

berestarted.Afteryourunalocalclicommand,youmustrestarthostd.Usinglocalcli

commandsinothersituationsisnotsupported.Aninconsistentsystemstateandpotential

failurecanresult.

IMPORTANTForacompletelistofESXCLIcommands,seethevSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceReference.The

vSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceConceptsandExamplesdocumentillustrateshowtoperformcommontaskswith

ESXCLIorvicfg-commands.

IMPORTANTThecommandsarenottestedorsupportedbyVMware.UseVMwarecommandssuchas

ESXCLI,vicfg-commands,andsoon,instead.

IMPORTANTvmkvsitoolsisintendedforusewithVMwareTechnicalSupport.Donotuse

vmkvsitoolstomanageyoursystem.

Table 1. ESXi Shell Commands (Continued)

Command Set Description

VMware, Inc. 10

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

Replacing Agents

WithESX4.x,managementagentsandhardwaremonitoringandmanagementagentsrunintheservice

console.WithESXi5,agentsareimplementedinotherways.

Managementagents.VMwarepartnerscreatemanagementagentsbyusingoneofthevSphereAPIs.

Hardwareagents.DevelopersuseCIM(CommonInformationModel)agents.CIMisastandards-based

approachtomonitoringhardwareresources.CIMoutputisreadablebythird-partymanagementtools.

TheVMkernelcanincludebothVMwareCIMprovidersandPartnerCIMproviders.UseavSphereClient

loggedintoavCenterServersystemtoviewhardwareinformationincludingalarms.UsethevSphere

ClientextensionframeworkorthevSphereCIMSDKforcustomization.

Infrastructureserviceagents.AdministratorscanuseagentsavailableintheESXiShell.Agentsinclude

hostd(hostdaemon),vpxa,NTP,syslog,SNMP,andsoon.UsethevSphereSDK,vCLIcommands,or

ESXCLIcommandstomanagetheagents.

Logging in vSphere 5 and Later

LogginginvSphere5hasbeensignificantlyenhanced.Younowhavefine-grainedcontroloversystemlogs,

thelocationwherelogsaresent,and,foreachlog,defaultsizeandrotationpolicy.Youcansetuploggingwith

thevSphereClientorwiththeesxcli system syslogcommand.Youcanalsosetuploggingbehaviorfora

hostbyusingtheHostProfilesinterfaceinthevSphereClientandcanthenimportthathostprofileintoother

hosts.

Remote Logging Setup in ESXi

YoucanmovemostESXilogginginformationoffthehost.Collectingdatatoacentrallocationisespecially

usefulforhostsprovisionedwithAutoDeploy.Youcanperformthesetasks:

SetupNTPontheESXihostsyouaremonitoringandonthesystemsthathosttheloggingservicesorstore

thelogs.YoucanusethevSphereClientorthevicfg-ntpvCLIcommandtosetupNTP.

Configuresyslogtosavelogstoaremotehost.Youcansendlogstoaspecificdirectory,andconfigure

subloggers.See“UsingESXCLIforSyslogConfiguration”onpage 10.

vCenterServerandESXihaveSNMPagents.YoucansetupthevCenterServerSNMPagentwiththe

vSphereClient.YoucansetuptheESXiSNMPagentwiththevSphereClientortheesxcli system snmp

commands.SeevSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceSolutionsandExamples.

ListenforCIMindications.

Using ESXCLI for Syslog Configuration

Theesxcli system syslogcommandallowsyoutoconfiguretheloggingbehaviorofyourESXisystem.

YoucanperformthesamecustomizationswiththevSphereclient,asdiscussedinthevCenterServerandHost

Managementdocumentation.Thecommandhasthefollowingoptions:

Table 2. Infrastructure Services for Production Environments

Function ESX ESXi Management

Timesynchronization NTPagentinservice

console

Built-inNTPservice vicfg-ntpcommand

Centralizedlogcollection Syslogagentinservice

console

Built-inSyslogservice esxcli system syslog

commands

vSphereClient

SNMPmonitoring SNMPagentinservice

console

Built-inSNMPserviceesxcli system snmp

command

Localaccess

authentication

ActiveDirectory(AD)

agentinserviceconsole

BuiltinActiveDirectory

service

Built-inActiveDirectory

service

vSphereClient

vicfg-authconfigvCLI

command.

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Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxcli system syslog Examples

Thefollowingworkflowillustrateshowyoumightuseesxcli system syslogforlogconfiguration.

1Showconfigurationoptions.

esxcli system syslog config get

Default Rotation Size: 1024

Default Rotations: 8

Log Output: /scratch/log

Logto Unique Subdirectory: false

Remote Host: <none>

2Setalllogstokeeptwentyversions,thenstartoverwritingtheoldestlog.

esxcli system syslog config set --default-rotate=20

3SettherotationpolicyforVMkernellogsto10rotations,rotatingat2MB.

esxcli system syslog config logger --id=vmkernel --size=2048 --rotate=10

4Sendlogstoremotehostmyhost.mycompany.com.ThelogswillusethedefaultUDPport,514.

esxcli system syslog config set --loghost='myhost.mycompany.com'

5Sendlogs/scratch/mylogsontheremotehostmyhost.mycompany.comusingTCP/IPport1514.

esxcli system syslog config set --loghost='tcp://myhost.mycompany.com:1514'

--logdir='/scratch/mylogs'

6Sendalogmessageintoalllogssimultaneously.

esxcli system syslog mark --message="this is a message!"

7Reloadthesyslogdaemonandapplyconfigurationchanges.

esxcli system syslog reload

Viewing Logs in the ESXi Shell

IntheESX4.xshell,thelocationforlogsis/var/log.IntheESXiShell,youcanalsofindallcurrentlogsinthe

/var/logdirectory.Someofthelogsaresymboliclinkstothe/var/run/logdirectory.

Table 3. esxcli syslog Options

Option Description

mark Markalllogswiththespecifiedstring.

reload Reloadtheconfigurationandupdateanyconfigurationvaluesthathavechanged.

config get Retrievethecurrentconfiguration.

config set Settheconfiguration.Useoneofthefollowingoptions.

--logdir=<path>–Savelogstoagivenpath.

--loghost=<host>–Sendlogstoagivenhost(seediscussiononloghostformat

below)

--logdir-unique=<true|false>–Specifywhetherthelogshouldgotoaunique

subdirectoryofthedirectoryspecifiedinlogdir.

--default-rotate=<int>–Defaultnumberoflogrotationstokeep

--default-size=<int>–Sizebeforerotatinglogs,inkilobytes.

config logger list Showcurrentlyconfiguredsub-loggers.

config logger set Setconfigurationoptionsforaspecificsublogger.Useoneofthefollowingoptions:

--id=<str>–IDoftheloggertoconfigure(required)

--reset=<str>–Resetvaluestodefault

--rotate=<long>–Numberofrotatedlogstokeepforaspecificlogger(requires

--id)

--size=<long>–Setsizeoflogsbeforerotationforaspecificlogger,inkilobytes

(requires--id)

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Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

Mostlogsareattoplevelandnotinsideadirectoryunder/var/run/log.Availablelogsdependonwhich

pluginsareinstalledandwhatotherchangesmighthavebeenmadetothesystem.Thefollowingtablelists

somefrequentlyusedlogsintheESXiShell.

Core Dump Setup for ESXi

Acoredumpcanbeusedtodeterminethereasonforsystemfailure.WithESX,thecoredumpwasplacedon

thelocaldiskinmanycases.WithESXi,youhavetwooptionsformanagingcoredumps.

CreateadiagnosticpartitiononSANstorage.Eachhostmusthaveadiagnosticpartitionof100MB.If

multiplehostsshareaSAN,configureadiagnosticpartitionwith100MBforeachhost.

InstallandconfigureESXiDumpCollector.NewinESXi,theDumpCollectorserviceallowsyoutosend

coredumpstoanetworkserver.ESXiDumpCollectorisespeciallyusefulfordeterminingreasonsfor

failureofESXihostsprovisionedwithAutoDeploy.

Youcanuseesxcli system coredumptoconfigurearemoteorlocalcoredumppartition.Youcanalsouse

theNetworkConfigurationhostprofiletosetuphoststouseESXiDumpCollector.Foreithercase,youcan

applythehostprofileofahostthatusesESXiDumpCollectortootherhosts.

To use ESXi Dump Collector

1InstalltheESXiDumpCollectorserviceonthevCenterServersystemoraWindowsorLinuxsystemof

yourchoice.

ESXiDumpCollectorisoneoftheservicesyoucaninstallusingthevCenterServersysteminstallation

package.SeevSphereInstallationandSetup.

IfyouusethevCenterServeronLinuxappliance,ESXiDumpCollectorispreinstalled.

2SetupESXisystemsthatshoulduseESXiDumpCollectorwithcommandsintheesxcli system

coredumpnamespace.

Twonamespacesaresupportedinsidethisnamespace.

esxcli system coredump partition

get:Retrieveoneofthedumppartitionvalues.

list:ListallpartitionsonthesystemthathaveapartitiontypematchingtheVMwareCore

partitiontype.

set:Setthecoredumppartitionforthissystem.

esxcli system coredump network

get:GetthecurrentlyconfigureparametersforESXiDumpCollector(networkcoredump),if

enabled.

set:Settheparametersusedfornetworkcoredump.

ThefollowingexamplesetsupthenetworkandenablesESXiDumpCollectorwiththeESXCLIvCLI

command.

esxcli --server MyESXiHost system coredump network set --interface-name vmk0 --server-ipv4 10XX...

--port 6500

esxcli --server MyESXiHost system coredump network get --enable true --type network

ESX 4.x shell ESXi 5.x shell Description

/var/log/vmware/hostd.log /var/log/hostd.log Logforthehostdaemon.

/var/log/vmkwarning /var/log/vmkwarning.log

/var/log/vmksummary /var/log/vmksummary.log

/var/log/messages /var/log/vmkernel.log VMkernelwarningsandVMkernel

events.

/var/log/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log /var/log/vpxa.log vCenterServeragentlog.

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Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

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

Retrieving Networking Information

LinuxcommandsforretrievingnetworkinginformationarenotincludedintheESXiShell.Youcaninstead

useESXCLIcommands.

OnESXi5,ifconfiginformationistheinformationfortheVMkernelNICthatattachestotheManagement

Networkportgroup.YoucanretrievethatinformationbyusingESXCLIcommands.

esxcli network ip interface list

esxcli network ip interface ipv4 get -i vmk<X>

esxcli network ip interface ipv6 get -n vmk<X>

esxcli network ip interface ipv6 address list

YoucanretrieveinformationaboutDNSwiththeesxcli network ip dnscommandinthefollowingtwo

namespaces:

esxcli network ip dns search

esxcli network ip dns server

ForinformationcorrespondingtotheLinuxnetstatcommand,usethefollowingESXCLIcommand.

esxcli network ip connection list

Adding Third-Party Extensions to Hosts

TheprocessofaddingpatchesissimplifiedinESXi5.Allpatchesandthird-partyextensionscanbemade

availableasVIBpackages.WhenaVMwarepartnerreleasesathird-partyextensionasaVIBpackage,the

partnercanmakethepackageavailableasaZIPdepot(offlinedepot).

1 DownloadtheZIPdepottoyourESXisystembutdonotunpackit.

2Runesxcli software vibtoaddthepackagetoyoursystem.

3 RebootyourESXisystem

Rebootisalwaysrecommended.Somepatchesdonotrequirereboot.

TheVIBsystemrefreshesthehostdaemonafteryourebootyoursystem.IftheVIBrequiresanexceptionto

thefirewallrules,rebootingalsoupdatesthefirewallruleset.

Youcaninsteaduseafirewallconfigurationfiletospecifyportrulesforhostservicesyouwanttoenablefor

theextension.

vSphereSecuritydocumentationdiscusseshowtoadd,apply,andrefreshafirewallrulesetandliststheesxcli

network firewallcommands.TheESXi5ruleset.xmlformatisthesameasinESX/ESXi4.x,buthastwo

additionaltags,enabledandrequired.ThefirewallonESXi5.0andonESXi5.1stillsupportstheoldformat.

vSphereUpgradedocumentationdiscussesusingesxcli software sourcesandesxcli software vibto

exploreandinstallpatchesandextensions.

Insomesituations,youmightusevSphereUpdateManagerinsteadoftheesxclicommandtoinstall

third-partyextensions.Theextensionvendorprovidesinformationontheinstallorupgradeprocess.

Reference to Replacements for Service Console Commands

Table 4listscommonESX/ESXi4.xserviceconsolecommandsandcorrespondingESXi5shellcommands.

ThelinksintheCommandcolumnofthetablepointtomoredetailedinformationforeachcommand,with

correspondingESXCLIcommandsforeachoptionwhereavailable.ClickthelinkintheMoreInformation

columnforatablewithdetailedinformationaboutthatcommand.

IMPORTANTThisdocumentdoesnotpresentacompletelistofESXCLIcommands.Thefocusisonreplacing

existingserviceconsolecommands.SeethevSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceReferenceforacompletelistof

commands.

VMware, Inc. 14

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

Table 4. Replacements for Service Console Commands

Service Console

Command ESXi 5 Replacement More Information

Deprecated

ESXi Shell

esxcli SyntaxformostESXCLIcommandshaschanged.“ESXCLICommand

Syntax”onpage 15

No

esxcfg-advcfg esxcli system settings advanced “esxcfg-advcfg”onpage 17 Yes

esxcfg-dumppart esxcli system coredump “esxcfg-dumppart”on

page 18

Yes

esxcfg-firewall InESX4.x,protectstheserviceconsole.InESXi5.x,

esxcfg-firewallisnotnecessarybecausenoservice

consoleexists.

Theesxcli network firewallcommandisavailablefor

ESXifirewallmanagement.

vSphereSecurity

documentation.

N.A.

esxcfg-info ProvidesaviewoftheinternalstateoftheVMkerneland

serviceconsolecomponents.Someofthefunctionalityis

coveredbycertainESXCLIcommands.

“esxcfg-info”onpage 19 No

esxcfg-ipsec esxcli network ip ipsec “esxcfg-ipsec”onpage 20 No

esxcfg-swiscsi

esxcfg-hwiscsi

esxcli iscsi “esxcfg-swiscsiand

esxcfg-hwiscsi”onpage 21

Yes

esxcfg-module esxcli system module “esxcfg-module”on

page 23

Yes

esxcfg-mpath esxcli storage core pathcommands.“esxcfg-mpath”onpage 23 Yes

esxcfg-nas esxcli storage nfs “esxcfg-nas”onpage 24 Yes

esxcfg-nics esxcli network nic “esxcfg-nics”onpage 24 Yes

esxcfg-rescan esxcli storage corecommands. “esxcfg-rescan”onpage 25 Yes

esxcfg-route esxcli network ip routecommands “esxcfg-route”onpage 22 Yes

esxcfg-scsidevs Useesxcli storage coreandesxcli storage core

filesystemcommands.

“esxcfg-scsidevs”on

page 22

Yes

esxcfg-vmknic esxcli network ip interfacecoversmostoptionsand

includesanumberofoptionsnotavailableinthe

esxcfg-vmkniccommand.

“esxcfg-vmknic”on

page 25

Yes

esxcfg-volume esxcli storage filesystem “esxcfg-volume”on

page 26

Yes

esxcfg-vswif Usedtoconfigureserviceconsolenetworkingin4.xsystems.

NotneededandnotavailableintheESXi5.xESXiShell.

Yes

esxcfg-vswitch esxcli network vswitch standardforstandardswitches.

esxcli network vswitch dvsfordistributedswitches.

“esxcfg-vswitch”on

page 27

Yes

esxtop SupportedintheESXi5.xESXiShell.Ifyoudonothave

accesstotheESXiShell,usetheresxtopremotevCLI

commandfromasupportedLinuxsystemorfromvMA.

“esxtop”onpage 29 No

esxupdate esxclisoftware vib

Note:Bothesxupdateandvihostupdatearenotsupported

againstESXi5.0andESXi5.1hosts.

“esxupdate”onpage 29 Yes

vmkfstools ThevmkfstoolscommandisavailableintheESXi5.xESXi

Shell.ThevmkfstoolsvCLIcommandoptionsdifferslightly

fromtheshellcommandoptions.

“vmkfstools”onpage 29 No

vmkping Useesxcli network diag ping.vSphereCommand‐Line

InterfaceReference.

Yes

VMware, Inc. 15

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

ESXCLI Command Syntax

InESXi4.x,allESXCLIcommandsmustfollowthesamesyntax.

esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> <app> <cmd> [cmd_options]

InESXi5.0andESXi5.1,theESXCLIcommandsyntaxismoreflexible.Eachcommandcanuseanarbitrary

numberofnamespaces.Differentcommandshaveadifferentnumberofelements.

esxcli <conn_options> <namespace> [namespace, ...] <cmd> [cmd_options]

Updates to ESXCLI 4.x Commands

Thefollowingtablelistsequivalentcommandsforesxclicorestoragecommands.

vmware-cmd NotavailableinESXiShell.AvailableinvCLI.Inmanycases,

VMwarePowerCLIcmdletsperformthesametasksas

vmware-cmd.

Usevmware-cmd--help

forinformation.

Yes

vm-support Createsatararchivecontainingdebugginginformationfor

theserver.

ThiscommandisintendedforusewithVMwareSupport.No

equivalentvCLIcommandexists.

Usevm-support --help

formoreinformation.

No

Table 4. Replacements for Service Console Commands (Continued)

Service Console

Command ESXi 5 Replacement More Information

Deprecated

ESXi Shell

IMPORTANTYoumustupdateallESXCLIcommandsexplicitly;noscriptsareavailableforthetask.Starting

withvSphere5.0,mostmanagementcommandswillbeESXCLIcommands.

Table 5. esxcli 4.x corestorage namespace

ESXCLI in ESXi 4.x ESXCLI in ESXi 5.x

corestorage claiming reclaim --<option>

corestorage claiming unclaim --<option>

storage core claiming reclaim --<option>

storage core claiming unclaim --<option>

corestorage claimrule add --<options>

corestorage claimrule convert --commit

corestorage claimrule delete --<option>

corestorage claimrule list --claimrule

corestorage claimrule load --claimrule-class

corestorage claimrule move --<option>

corestorage claimrule run --<option>

storage core claimrule add --<options>

Severalnewoptionsforthiscommandareavailable.Seethe

vSphereCommand‐LineInterfaceReference,orrunthe

commandwith--help.

storage core claimrule convert --commit

storage core claimrule remove --<option>

storage core claimrule list --claimrule-class

storage core claimrule load --claimrule-class

storage core claimrule move --<option>

storage core claimrule run --<option>

corestorage device list --device storage core device stats get

storage core device list --device

Otherlistcommandsareincludedinthisnamespace.

corestorage plugin list --plugin-class storage core plugin list --plugin-class

VMware, Inc. 16

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

Thefollowingtablelistsequivalentcommandsforesxcli storage nmpcommands.

Theesxcli networkcommandsincludedinESXCLI4.1havebeenrenamed.Manyadditionalnetworking

commandsareavailableinESXCLI5.x

Theesxcli swiscsinamespacesupportsafewmanagementcommandsforsoftwareiSCSIinESXi4.1.The

commandshavebeenrenamed.ESXCLIequivalentshavealsobeenaddedfortheesxcfg-swiscsiand

esxcfg-hwiscsicommands.

Table 6. esxcli nmp namespace

esxcli storage nmp commands in ESXi 4.x esxcli storage nmp commands in ESXi 5.x

nmp device list --list

nmp device list --device

nmp device setpolicy <option>

nmp path list [--device|--path]

nmp fixed getpreferred <option>

nmp psp list

nmp psp getconfig [--device|--path]

nmp psp setconfig

[--config|--device|--path]

nmp roundrobin getconfig <option>

nmp roundrobin setconfig <option>

nmp satp list

nmp satp listrules

nmp satp addrule <option>

nmp satp deleterule <option>

nmp satp getconfig --device

nmp satp getconfig --path

nmp satp setconfig --config --device

nmp satp setconfig --config --path

nmp satp setdefaultpsp [--boot | --psp |

--satp]

nmp device list

nmp device list --device

nmp device set <option>

nmp psp generic deviceconfig get --device

nmp psp fixed deviceconfig set <option>

nmp psp generic deviceconfig get [--device]

nmp psp generic deviceconfig set

[--config|--path]

nmp psp roundrobin deviceconfig get <option>

nmp psp roundrobin deviceconfig set <option>

nmp satp list

nmp satp rule list

nmp satp rule add <option>

nmp satp rule remove <option>

nmp satp generic deviceconfig get --device

nmp satp generic pathconfig get --path

nmp psp generic deviceconfig set

nmp psp generic pathconfig set

nmp satp set [--boot | --psp | --satp]

Table 7. esxcli network namespace

esxcli 4.x esxcli 5.x Comment

network neighbors list network ip neighbor list ListARPtableentries.

network connection list network ip connection list ListactiveTCP/IPconnections.

Table 8. esxcli swiscsi namespace

ESXCLI 4.x esxcli 5.x Comment

swiscsi nic [--add |

--list | --remove]

iscsi networkportal [add | list

| remove]

PerformoperationsontheiSCSInetwork

portal(iSCSIVMkernelNIC).

swiscsi vmknic --list iscsi logicalnetworkportal list PerformoperationsontheiSCSIlogical

networkportal.

VMware, Inc. 17

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

The4.1esxcli vmsnamespaceallowsyoutolistvirtualmachinesandforciblystopthem.Thenamespacehas

beenrenamed.

esxcfg-advcfg

Insteadofesxcfc-advcfg,useesxcli system settings advanced.Thefollowingcommandsare

supported.

swiscsi vmnic --list iscsi physicalnetworkportal

list

PerformoperationsontheiSCSIphysical

networkportal(uplink).

swiscsi session [--add |

--list | --remove]

iscsi session [add | list |

remove]

PerformoperationsoniSCSIsessions.

Note:Theaddandremovecommandsare

intendedonlyforusebyVMware

partners.

Usetheiscsi session connection

namespacetoperformoperationsonthe

iSCSIconnection.

esxcli 4.x esxcli 5.x Comment

vms vm kill vm process kill Forciblykillvirtualmachinesthatarenotrespondingtonormalstop

operations.Requiresthetypeofkilloperation(soft,hard,force)

andtheworldIDofthevirtualmachinetokill.

vms vm list vm process list DisplaytheworldIDofvirtualmachinesonthehost.

Table 9. esxcfg-advcfg Replacement Commands

esxcfg-advcfg option ESXCLI Command Description

-g|--get system settings advanced list

-o=option

GetthevalueoftheVMkerneladvanced

configurationoption.Us--optionto

retrieveinformationforasingleoption,or

--treetolimitthelisttoaspecificsubtree.

-s|--set <value> system settings advanced set SetthevalueoftheVMkerneladvanced

configurationoption.

-d|--default system settings advanced set

-d|--default

ResetaVMkerneladvancedconfiguration

optiontodefault.

-l|--list system settings advanced list ListallVMkerneladvancedconfiguration

options.

-q|--quiet Nolongersupported

-k|--set-kernel system settings kernel set SetaVMkernelloadtimeoptionvaluefor

thenextboot.

-j|--get-kernel system settings kernel list GetaVMkernelloadtimeoptionvaluefor

thenextboot.

-c|--get-config Notsupported

-m|--set-message system welcomemsg set Setthewelcomemessageforthedirect

console.Youcanretrievethemessagewith

system welcomemsg get.

-u|--uuid system uuid get EnsuretheVMkernelsystemUUIDisset

andprintit.

-G|--get-user-var system settings advanced list | grep

<var>

Getthevalueofauser-specifiedgeneric

value.

-S|--set-user-var system settings advanced set Setthevalueofauser-specifiedgeneric

value.

Table 8. esxcli swiscsi namespace (Continued)

ESXCLI 4.x esxcli 5.x Comment

VMware, Inc. 18

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxcfg-dumppart

WhenusingtheESXiShell,youcanconfigureyoursystemtosavecoredumpstoalocalpartitionortousethe

ESXiDumpCollectorandsavecoredumpstoaprespecifiedlocalorremotepartition.

Useesxcli coredump partitioncommandstoconfigurealocaldumppartition.

InstallESXiDumpCollectortosupportsendingcoredumpstoaremotehostandrunesxcli coredump

networkcommandstoconfiguretheremotedumppartition.

Thefollowingtableliststheesxcfg-dumppartcommandoptionsandcorrespondingESXCLIcommands.

-D|--del-user-var Addingordeletinguservariablesisnolonger

supported.

-U|--user-var --option=<str> Nameoftheuservariabletouseforwhen

retrievingandsettinguservariables.

-A|--add-option

<name>

Nolongersupported.

ThisoptionwasusedtoaddCIMoptions.Use

theCIMSDKinstead.

-T|--add-type Addingordeletinguservariablesisnolonger

supported.

-E|--add-desc Addingordeletinguservariablesisnolonger

supported.

-F|--add-default Addingordeletinguservariablesisnolonger

supported.

-N|--add-min Addingordeletinguservariablesisnolonger

supported.

-M|--add-max Addingordeletinguservariablesisnolonger

supported.

-H|--add-hidden

<val>

Addingordeletinguservariablesisnolonger

supported.

-L|--del-option

<name>

Nolongersupported.

ThisoptionwasusedtoaddCIMoptions.Use

theCIMSDKinstead.

-V|--has-option

<name>

Useesxcli system settings advanced

listtolistalloptionsinstead.

TheESXCLIcommandliststhevalueofthe

VMkerneladvancedconfigurationoptions.

Theoutputincludesthecurrentsettingfor

eachoption.

-r|--restore Nolongeravailable.Internaluseonlyin

previousversions.

IMPORTANTYoucannolongeruseesxcfg-dumpparttoenablecoredumps.UseESXCLIinstead.

Table 9. esxcfg-advcfg Replacement Commands (Continued)

esxcfg-advcfg option ESXCLI Command Description

VMware, Inc. 19

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

-

esxcfg-info

NocomprehensivesetofequivalentESXCLIcommandscorrespondingtoesxcfg-infoisavailableyet.The

followingcommandsareofferingsomeoftheesxcfg-infocapability.

Table 10. esxcfg-dumppart Replacement Commands

esxcfg-dumppart Option ESXCLI Command Description

-l | --list system coredump partition list ListallpartitionsontheESXisystem

thathavetheappropriatepartition

typetoactasadiagnosticpartition.

Important:Executionmighttake

severalminutesandslowdownyour

ESXihostbecausethecommandscans

allLUNsonthesystem.

-t | --get-active system coredump partition get Displaytheactivediagnosticpartition

forthissystem.RunningtheESXCLI

commandreturnstheactive

configuredpartition.

Ifanactivepartitionexists,the

commandreturnsthenaanumberof

theLUNandthecorresponding

partition,intheformat naa.xx...:p.

-c | --get-config system coredump partition get Gettheconfigureddiagnosticpartition

forthesystem.

-S | --smart-activate system coredump partition set

--smart --enable= true

Runthesmartactivatealgorithmto

activatetheconfigureddump

partition,orifnopartitionis

configured,selectthebestpossible

candidatebasedonthemediaofthe

availabledumppartitions.

-a | --activate system coredump partition set

--enable=true

Makethespecifiedpartitionthe

currentdiagnosticpartition.

-d | --deactivate system coredump partition set

--enable=false

Deactivatetheactivediagnostic

partitionordeactivateESXiDump

Collector.

CAUTION:Ifyourunthiscommand,

yoursystemcannotwriteerrorstoa

fileuntilanotherpartitionisactivated.

Youloseanyerrorrecordiferrors

occur.

-s <naa.xx:1> | --set

<naa.xxxxxxxx:1>

system coredump partition set

--partition xxx.xxx

Setandactivatethediagnostic

partition.Specifythepartitionusing

naa.xxx:1oreui.xxxsyntax.

-C | --copy [-n |

--newonly] [-z |

--zdumpname] [-o |

--slot]

NocorrespondingESXCLIcommand.

-L --log NocorrespondingESXCLIcommand.

Table 11. ESXCLI Information Retrieval Commands

Command Description

hardware bootdevice list Listthebootdeviceorderforthishost,ifavailable.

hardware clock get Displaythecurrenthardwareclocktime.

hardware cpu cpuid get GetinformationfromtheCPUIDinstructiononeach

CPUonthishost.

harware cpu cpuid get --cpu=<n> GetinformationfromtheCPUIDinstructiononCPU

number<n>.

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esxcfg-ipsec

InvSphere5.1,youcanusecommandsintheesxcli network ip ipsecnamespaceinplaceofthe

esxcfg-ipseccommand.

hardware cpu global get ListinformationandconfigurationglobaltoallCPUs.

hardware cpu list ListallCPUsonthishost.

hardware memory get Getinformationaboutmemory.

hardware pci list ListallthePCIdevicesonthishost.

hardware platform get Getinformationabouttheplatform.

network vswitch standard list ListthevirtualswitchesontheESXihost.

network vswitch standard policy shaping get Retrievethenetworkshapinginformationforthe

virtualswitch.

network vswitch standard policy failover get Retrievethefailoverpolicyinformationforthevirtual

switch.

network vswitch standard policy security get Retrievethesecuritypolicyinformationforthe

virtualswitch.

network vswitch standard portgroup policy shaping

get

Retrievethenetworkshapinginformationforthe

portgroup.

network vswitch standard portgroup policy failover

get

Retrievethefailoverpolicyinformationfortheport

group.

network vswitch standard portgroup policy security

get

Retrievethesecuritypolicyinformationfortheport

group.

network nic list ListthephysicalNICscurrentlyinstalledandloaded

onthesystem.

network ip interface list ListtheVMkernelnetworkinterfacescurrently

knowntothesystem.

network ip dns server list PrintalistoftheDNSservercurrentlyconfiguredon

thesystemintheorderinwhichtheywillbeused.

Table 12. esxcfg-ipsec Replacement Commands

vicfg-ipsec Option esxcli Command or Option

--action [none|discard|ipsec] | network ip ipsec sp add --action

--add-sa <sa> | network ip ipsec sa add

--add-sp <sp> | network ip ipsec sp add

--dir [in | out] | network ip ipsec sp add --flowdirection

--dst-port <port> | network ip ipsec sp add --destinationport

--flush-sa | network ip ipsec sp remove --removeall

--flush-sp | network ip ipsec sa remove --removeall

--ealgo [null | 3des-cbc | aes128-cbc]| network ip ipsec sa add --encryptionalgorithm

--ekey <e_key>| network ip ipsec sa add --encryptionkey

--ialgo [hmac-sha1 | hmac-sha2-256] | network ip ipsec sa add --integrityalgorithm

--ikey <i_key> | network ip ipsec sa add --integritykey

--list-sa <sa> | network ip ipsec sa list

--list-sp <sp> | network ip ipsec sp list

--remove-sa <sa> | network ip ipsec sa remove

Table 11. ESXCLI Information Retrieval Commands (Continued)

Command Description

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Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxcfg-swiscsi and esxcfg-hwiscsi

TheESX4.xserviceconsoleincludestwocommandsforiSCSImanagement.

Theesxcfg-swiscsicommandmanagessoftwareiSCSI.EquivalentESXCLIcommandsareavailablein

vSphere5.

Theesxcfg-hwiscsicommandmanagedhardwareiSCSI.

--remove-sp <sp> | network ip ipsec sp remove

--sa-dst <destination> network ip ipsec sa add --sadestination

network ip ipsec sa remove --sadestination

--sa-src <IP> | network ip ipsec sa add --sasource

network ip ipsec sa remove --sasource

--sa-name <name> | network ip ipsec sa add --saname

network ip ipsec sa remove --saname

--sp-dst <destination> | network ip ipsec sp add --spdestination

--spi <spi> | network ip ipsec sa add --saspi

network ip ipsec sa remove --saspi

--sp-src <source> | network ip ipsec sp add --spsource

--spmode <mode> | network ip ipsec sp add --spmode

--src-port <port> | network ip ipsec sp add --sourceport

--ulproto [any | tcp | udp | icmp6] network ip ipsec sp add --sourceport

--upperlayerprotocol

Table 13. esxcfg-swiscsi Replacement Commands

esxcfg-swiscsi Option ESXCLI Command Description

-e --enable iscsi software set --enabled=true EnableSoftwareiSCSIonthesystem,if

disabled.

-D --disable iscsi software set

--enabled=false

DisableSoftwareiSCSIonthesystem,if

enabled.

-q --query iscsi software get CheckifSoftwareiSCSIisenabledor

disabledonthesystem.

-s --scan iscsi adapter discovery rediscover

-A <adapter_name>

storage core adapter rescan [-A

<adapter_name> | -all]

Scanthesystemfordisksavailablethrough

SoftwareiSCSIinterface.Callthetwo

commandsinorder.

-k --kill Notsupported

-r --restore Notsupported

Table 12. esxcfg-ipsec Replacement Commands

vicfg-ipsec Option esxcli Command or Option

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Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxcfg-route

Theesxcfg-routecommandhasequivalentESXCLIcommands.Thenewcommandsethasenhanced

functionality.

esxcfg-scsidevs

Theesxcfg-scsidevscommandhasequivalentESXCLIcommandsforsomeoftheoptions.

Table 14. esxcfg-hwiscsi Replacement Commands

esxcfg-hwiscsi Option ESXCLI Command Description

-l iscsi physicalnetworkportal param get Listcurrent

configuration

-a [allow | deny]

<vmkernel_SCSI_adapter>

1.Findtheadapter.

iscsi adapter list

2.GetARPredirectioninformation.

iscsi physicalnetworkportal param get -A vmhba4

3.EnableARPredirect.

iscsi physicalnetworkportal param set --option

ArpRedirect=true -A vmhba4

AllowordenyARP

redirectiononthe

adapter.

-j [enable | disable]

<vmkernel_SCSI_adapter>

1.Findtheadapter.

iscsi adapter list

2.Getjumboframeinformation.

iscsi physicalnetworkportal param get -A vmhba4

3,SetMTUto9000toenablejumboframes.

set the mtu to 9000 to enable jumbo frames.

esxcli iscsi physicalnetworkportal param set

-o=MTU -v=9000 -A vmhbaXX

YoucanlatersetMTUbackto1500todisablejumboframes.

esxcli iscsi physicalnetworkportal param set

-o=MTU -v=1500 -A vmhbaXX

Enableordisable

jumboframesupport.

Table 15. esxcfg-rout Replacement Commands

esxcfg-route Option ESXCLI Command Description

add network ip route ipv4 add

network ip route ipv6 add

AddsanIPv4orIPv6route.Youspecifythegateway

andthenetwork.

del network ip route ipv4

remove

network ip route ipv6

remove

RemoveanIPv4orIPv6route.Youspecifythegateway

andthenetwork.

list network ip route ipv4 list

network ip route ipv6 list

ListsconfiguredIPv4orIPv6routs

--family Includedinthecommandasanamespace.

Table 16. esxcfg-scsidevs Replacement Commands

esxcfg-scsidevs Option ESXCLI Command Description

-a |--hbas storage core adapter

list

PrintthemappingsforeachSCSIhostbusadapter(HBA)to

theinformationaboutthatadapter.

-l | --list storage core device

list

Listallthestoragedevicesknowntothesystem,including

bothSCSIandnon-SCSIdevices.Thelistcanbefilteredusing

the--deviceoptiontolimittheoutputtospecificdevice.

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Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

ESXCLIdoesnothaveequivalentoptionsforthe--device,--vfat,and--hba-device-listfiltering

options.

The-o|--offline-cos-devand-n|--online-cos-devoptionsareserviceconsolespecificoptionsandnot

applicabletoESXi5.x.

esxcfg-module

Theesxcfg-modulecommandsupportsmanipulationoftheVMkernelloadablemodulesanddevice

drivers.Forthefollowingesxcfg-moduleoptions,ESXCLIcommandsareavailable.

esxcfg-mpath

Theesxcfg-mpathcommandsupportslistinginformationaboutFibreChanneloriSCSILUNsandchanging

apath’sstate.InvSphere5,equivalentESXCLIcommandsareavailable.

-c

-u

storage core device

list

Listallthedeviceuniqueidentifiers.Includethemapping

fromprimaryidentifiertoallsecondaryidentifiers.Thelist

canbefilteredusingthe--deviceoptiontolimittheoutput

tospecificdevice.

-m

-f

storage filesystem

list

PrintthemappingsfromaVMFSvolumetothedeviceand

partitionsusedinthatVMFS.

Table 17. esxcfg-module Replacement Commands

esxcfg-module Option ESXCLI Command Description

--get-options <module_name>

-g <module_name>

system module parameters

list

Returnstheoptionstringconfiguredtobe

passedtothemodulewhenthemoduleis

loaded.

--set-options <options>

<module_name>

-s <options> <module_name>

system module parameters

set

Specifiestheoptionstringtobepassedtothe

modulewhenthemoduleisloaded.

-e --enable system module set

--enabled=true

Enablethegivenmodule,indicatingthatit

shouldloadatboottime.

-d --disable system module set

--enabled=false

Disablethegivenmoduleandpreventitfrom

loadingatboot.Disablingthemodulehasno

immediateeffectonthemodulestateona

runningsystem.

-q --query system module list

--enabled=[true|false]

Querythesystemforthemodulestoloadat

boot.

-m --mod-name -<name> Notsupported.

-u --unload Notsupported.

--list

-l

system module list

--loaded=[true|false]

ListthesetofcurrentlyloadedVMkernel

modules.

-i --show-info system module get

system module parameters

list

Showinformationaboutthemodule.This

commandcanberunagainstamodulefile.

-f --force system module <cmd>

--force

Skipmodulevalidationforalloptions.Theget

andlistcommandsdonotsupport--force.

-v --verbose -<level> Not supported Displaymoreverboseinformation.

Table 16. esxcfg-scsidevs Replacement Commands (Continued)

esxcfg-scsidevs Option ESXCLI Command Description

VMware, Inc. 24

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxcfg-nas

Theesxcfg-nascommandmanipulatesNASfilesystemsassociatedwithESXisystems.InvSphere5,

equivalentESXCLIcommandsareavailable.

ESXCLIalsoincludescommandstomountandunmounttheNASfilesystem.

esxcfg-nics

Theesxcfg-nicscommandmanagesphysicalNICs(uplinkadapters)usedbyanESXihost.InvSphere5,

equivalentESXCLIcommandsareavailable.

Table 18. esxcfg-mpath Replacement Commands

esxcfg-mpath Option ESXCLI Command Description

-l --list <path> |

<device>

storage core path list

storage core device list

Listdetailedinformationforallpathsonthesystem

orforthespecifiedpathordevice.

-L --list-compact Notsupported

-m --list-map storage core device list FordevicescurrentlyregisteredwiththePSA,listthe

filtersattachedtothem.(Notanexactequivalent)

-b --list-paths storage core path list Listalldeviceswiththeircorrespondingpaths,orlist

pathsforthespecifieddevice.

-G --list-plugins storage core plugin list Listallmultipathingpluginsloadedintothesystem.

Ataminimum,thiscommandreturnsNMP(Native

MultipathingPlugin).Ifothermultipathingplugins

havebeenloaded,theyarelistedaswell.

-s --state storage core path setstate

--path=<path>

--state=[active|off]

SetthestateofagivenLUNpathtoeitheractiveor

off.Thisoptionrequiresthatthe--pathoptionsisset

andspecifieseitherthepathUIDorthepathruntime

name.

Ifyouarechangingapath’sstate,thechange

operationfailsifI/Oisactivewhenthepathsettingis

changed.Reissuethecommand.Youmust

successfullyperformatleastoneI/Ooperationbefore

thechangetakeseffect.

Table 19. esxcfg-nas Replacement Commands

esxcfg-nas Option ESXCLI Command Description

--add <name>

-a <name>

storage nfs add AddanewNASfilesystemtotheESXihost.

YoumustspecifythehostnameorIPaddressofthe

NFSvolumetoadd,thesharenameontheremote

system,andthevolumenametousefortheNFS

mount.

--delete <name>

-d <name>

storage nfs remove

--volume-name=<NAS_volume_name>

RemoveanexistingNFSvolumefromtheESXihost.

ThiscommandunmountstheNASfilesystemand

removesitfromthelistofknownfilesystems.

--list

-l

storage nfs list ListallknownNASfilesystemswiththeirmount

name,sharename,andhostname.Indicatethe

mountstatusforeachfilesystem.

--host <n_host>

-o <n_host>

storage nfs add --host AddorremoveaspecifiedNAShost(notESXihost).

Usedwithotheroptions.

--readonly

-y

storage nfs add --readonly AddthenewNFSfilesystemwithread-onlyaccess.

--share <share>

-s <share>

storage nfs add --share=<share> AddorremoveaspecifiedNAShost(notESXihost.

Usedwithotheroptions.

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Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxcfg-rescan

Theesxcfg-rescancommandrescansthestorageconfiguration.InvSphere5,equivalentESXCLIcommands

areavailable.

Inaddition,ESXCLIsupportsseveralotherrescancommand.Runesxcli storage core adapter rescan

--help.

esxcfg-vmknic

Theesxcfg-vmkniccommandadds,deletes,andmodifiesVMkernelnetworkinterfaces.InvSphere5,

equivalentESXCLIcommandsareavailable.

Table 20. esxcfg-nics Replacement Commands

esxcfg-nics Option ESXCLI Command Description

--auto

-a

network nic set

--auto

Setthespecifiednetworkadaptertoautonegotiateitsspeedand

duplexsettings.

--duplex

[full|half] <nic>

-d [full|half]

<nic>

network nic set

--duplex

Settheduplexvalueatwhichagivennetworkadaptershouldrun

toeitherfull(transmitdatainbothdirectionsatthesametime)or

half(transmitdatainonedirectionatatime).

--list

-l

network nic list

network nic get

<adapter>

Listinformationaboutallthenetworkadapters.Usenetwork nic

get <adapter>tolistinformationaboutonespecificadapter,for

exampleesxcli network nic get -n vmnic0

--speed <speed>

<nic>

-s <speed> <nic>

network nic set

--speed=<long>

Setthespeedatwhichagivennetworkadaptershouldrun.Valid

valuesforspeedare10,100,1000,or10000.

Table 21. esxcfg-rescan Replacement Commands

esxcfg-rescan Option ESXCLI Command Description

-a|--add storage core adapter rescan

--type=add

Scanforaddeddevices.

-d|--delete <vmhba#> storage core adapter rescan

--type=delete --adapter <vmhba#>

Scanremovingdeaddevices

-A|--all storage core adapter rescan Scanalladapters.Bydefault,thecommand

scansalladapters.Youcanspecifyindividual

adaptersbyusingthe--adapteroption.

-u|--update <vmhba#> storage core adapter rescan

--type=update --adapter <vmhba#>

Scanexistingpathsandupdatetheirstate.

Table 22. esxcfg-vmknic Replacement Commands

esxcfg- option ESXCLI Command Description

--add --ip<address>

--netmask <netmask>

<port-group-name>

network ip interface add AddaVMkernelNICtothesystem.

Whenthecommandcompletes

successfully,thenewlyaddedVMkernel

NICisenabled.

--delete <nic_name> network ip interface remove RemoveaVMkernelNIC.

--disable -D network ip interface set

--interface-name=<NIC>

--enabled=[true|false]

TheESXCLIcommandenablesordisables

thespecifiedVMkernelNIC.

--dvs-name <dvs>

-s

Notsupported.

--dvport_id

<port_id>

Notsupported.

--enable network ip interface ipv4 set

--interface-name=<NIC>

SetandenablethespecifiedVMkernel

NICifitisdisabled.

esxcfg-volume

Theesxcfg-volumecommandmanagesLVMsnapshotorreplicavolumes.InvSphere5,equivalentESXCLI

commandsareavailableintheesxcli storage filesystemandintheesxcli storage vmfsnamespaces.

--enable-ipv6 -6

[true | false]

network ip interface ipv6 set

--enable-dhcpv6

network ip interface ipv6 address

[list|add|remove]

EnableIPv6forthenextboot;managethe

IPv6address.

--ip <address> -i

<address>

network ip interface ipv4 set

--interface-name=<NIC>

network ip interface ipv6 set

--interface-name=<NIC>

TheIPaddresstobeusedforthe

VMkernelNIC.

IfyousetastaticIPv4address,youmust

specifythe--netmaskoptioninsame

command.

--list -l network ip interface list

network ip interface ipv4 list

network ip interface ipv6 list

ListVMkernelnetworkinterfaces.

ListIPv4addressesassignedtothe

system.

ListIPv6addressesassignedtothe

system.

--mtu <mtu> network ip interface set

--interface-name=<NIC> --mtu=<long>

MTUfortheinterfacebeingcreated.Used

atthetop-levelipnamespace,notinside

theipv4oripv6namespace.

--netmask <netmask>

-n

network ip interface ipv4 set

--interface=<NIC> --netmask=<netmask>

network ip interface ipv4 set

--interface=<NIC> --netmask=<netmask>

IPnetmask(X.X.X.X)tobeusedforthe

VMkernelNIC.SettinganIPnetmask

requiresthatthe--interfaceoptionbe

giveninsamecommand.

--peerdns -p network ip interface ipv4 set

--interface=<NIC>

--peer-dns=[true|false]

network ip interface ipv6 set

--interface=<NIC>

--peer-dns=[true|false]

SetpeerDNS.Ifset,thesystemusesthe

hostname,IPaddressanddomain

returnedbyDHCP.ValidonlyforDHCP.

--portgroup

<port_group>

Notneeded.

--unset-ip

-U

Notneeded.

Table 23. esxcfg-volume Replacement Commands

esxcfg-volume Option ESXCLI Command Description

--list -l storage vmfs snapshot

list

ListunresolvedsnapshotLUNsorreplicasofVMFSvolumes.

--mount -m

--persistent -M

storage vmfs snapshot

mount

MountasnapshotorreplicaofaVMFSvolume.Usethe

--nopersistoptiontomountthevolumenon-persistently.

Table 22. esxcfg-vmknic Replacement Commands (Continued)

esxcfg- option ESXCLI Command Description

VMware, Inc. 27

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxcfg-vswitch

Theesxcfg-vswitchcommandmanagesvirtualswitches.InvSphere5,equivalentESXCLIcommandsare

available.

--resignature

<VMFS-UUID|label>

storage vmfs snapshot

resignature

Resignatureasnapshotorreplicavolume.

--umount -u

<VMFS-UUID|label>

storage vmfs snapshot

unmount

DisconnectandunmountanexistingVMFSorNASvolume.

Thecommanddoesnotdeletetheconfigurationforthe

volume,butremovesthevolumefromthelistofmounted

volumesandhaltsallI/Oornetworktrafficforthisvolume.

Table 24. esxcfg-vswitch Replacement Commands

esxcfg-vswitch Option ESXCLI Command Description

--add | -a

<switch_name>

network vswitch standard add Addanewvirtualswitch.

--add-pg | -A

<portgroup>

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard portgroup add

portgroup-name=<string>

vswitch-name=<string>

Addaportgrouptothespecifiedvirtual

switch.

--add-dvp-uplink |

-P

Notsupported. Addanuplinkadaptertoadistributed

virtualport(DVP).

--add-pg-uplink |

-M

esxcli network vswitch standard

portgroup policy failover set

--active-uplinks=vmnic1,vmnic6,vminic7

Updatethelistofactiveuplinksforthe

portgroup.Thiscommandfailssilently

iftheuplinkadapterdoesnotexist.

--check | -c

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard list Checkwhetheravirtualswitchexists.

Print1iftheswitchexistsandprint0

otherwise.Usethevirtualswitchname,

e.g.vSwitch0orvSwitch1,tospecifythe

virtualswitch.

--check-pg | -C

<port_group>

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard portgroup list Checkwhetherthespecifiedportgroup

existsornot.

--delete | -d

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard remove

--vswitch-name=<vswitch>

Removeavirtualswitch.Runningthe

commandwiththisoptionfailsifany

portsonthevirtualswitchareinuseby

VMkernelnetworksorvirtualmachines.

--del-pg | -D

<port_group>

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard portgroup

remove --vswitch-name=<vswitch>

--portgroup-name=<portgroup>

Removeaportgroupfromthevirtual

switch.Runningthecommandwiththis

optionfailsiftheportgroupisinuse,for

example,byavirtualmachineora

VMkernelnetwork.

--del-dvp-uplink |

-Q <adapter_name>

--dvp <DVPort_id>

<dvswitch_name>

ESXCLIdoesnotsupportdistributedswitches.

UsethevSphereClienttoconfiguredistributed

switches.

--del-pg-uplink |

-N <adapter_name>

<port_group>

<dvswitch_name>

network vswitch standard portgroup

policy failover set

--active-uplinks=vmnic1,vmnic6,vminic7

Updatethelistofactiveuplinksforthe

portgroup.

--dvp | -V ESXCLIdoesnotsupportdistributedswitches.

UsethevSphereClienttoconfiguredistributed

switches.

--get-cdp | -b

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard listincludes

CDPinformation.

PrintthecurrentCDP(CiscoDiscovery

Protocol)settingforthisvirtualswitch

(validforvSphere4.0andlater).

Table 23. esxcfg-volume Replacement Commands (Continued)

esxcfg-volume Option ESXCLI Command Description

--link | -L

<physical_nic>

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard uplink add

--uplink --vswitch

Addanuplinkadapter(physicalNIC)to

avirtualswitch.Runningthecommand

withthisoptionattachesanewunused

physicalnetworkadaptertoavirtual

switch.

--list | -l network vswitch standard list Listallvirtualswitchesandtheirport

groups.

--mtu | -m

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard set

--mtu=<long>

SettheMTU(maximumtransmission

unit)ofthevirtualswitch.Thisoption

affectsallphysicalNICsassignedtothe

virtualswitch.

--pg | -p

<port_group>

network vswitch standard portgroup set

--vlan-id=<long>

Providethenameoftheportgroupfor

the--vlanoption.SpecifyALLtoset

VLANIDsonallportgroupsofavirtual

switch.

--set-cdp | -B

<vswitch_name>

[down | listen |

advertise | both]

network vswitch standard set

--cpd-status=<string>

SettheCDPstatusforagivenvirtual

switch(validforvSphere4.0andlater).

Toset,specifydown,listen,advertise,

orboth.

--unlink | -U

<physical_nic>

<vswitch_name>

network vswitch standard uplink remove

--uplink=<uplink> --vswitch=<vswitch>

Removeanuplinkadapterfromavirtual

switch.Anuplinkadaptercorresponds

toaphysicalEthernetadaptertowhich

thevirtualswitchisconnected.Ifyou

removethelastuplinkadapter,youlose

physicalnetworkconnectivityforthat

switch.

--vlan | -v --pg

<port_group>

network vswitch standard portgroup set

--portgroup-name=<str>

--vlan-id=<long>

SettheVLANIDforaspecificportgroup

ofavirtualswitch.Settingtheoptionto0

disablestheVLANforthisportgroup.If

youspecifythisoption,youmustalso

specifythe--portgroupoption.

-X --set-maxactive network vswitch standard portgroup

policy failover set

--active-uplinks=vmnic1,vmnic6,vminic7

Explicitlyspecifythemaximumnumber

ofactiveuplinks.

Atanytime,thereisoneportgroupNIC

array,andacorrespondingsetofactive

uplinks.Forexample,assumethe

portgroupnicarrayis[vmnic1,vmnic0,

vmnic3,vmnic5,vmnic6,vmnic7]and

active-uplinksissettothreeuplinks

(vmnic1,vmnic0,vmnic3),andtherest

arestandbyuplinks.Ifyousettheactive

uplinkswithnewset[vmnic3,vmnic5],

thoseuplinksoverridetheoldset.The

NICarraychangesto[vmnic3,vmnic5,

vmnic6,vmnic7]andmax-active

becomes2.

Table 24. esxcfg-vswitch Replacement Commands (Continued)

esxcfg-vswitch Option ESXCLI Command Description

VMware, Inc. 29

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

esxtop

TheesxtopcommandisavailableandsupportedintheESXiShell.SearchthevSphereDocumentationCenter,

orseethevSphereResourceManagementdocumentation.

esxupdate

TheesxupdatecommandallowsyoutomanageESX4.0andlatersystems.Usethecommandsintheesxcli

softwarenamespacetoinstall,update,remove,ordisplayindividualVIBs(softwarepackages).Use

commandsintheesxcli software sourcesnamespacetoquerydepotcontentsforVIBsandimageprofiles.

AnimageprofiledefinesanESXiimageandconsistsofVIBs.

vicfg-snmp

InvSphere5,youcanusethevicfg-snmpcommandtomanagetheESXiSNMPagent.InvSphere5.1,the

esxcli system snmpnamespacehascorrespondingcommands.

vmkfstools

vmkfstoolsissupportedintheESXiShellandasavCLIcommand.SomedifferencesexistbetweentheESXi

Shellvmkfstoolscommandandthevmkfstools.plvCLIcommand.

NoequivalentESXCLIcommandexists.

vmware-cmd

Thevmware-cmdcommandisincludedinthevCLIpackage,butisnotavailableintheESXiShell.

vm-support

Thevm-supportcommandisavailableintheESXiShell.ThecommandisnotincludedinthevCLIpackage.

IMPORTANTTheupdateprocessinthevSphere5environmenthasbeensimplifiedanddiffersfromthe

processinvSphere4.1.Severalcommandoptionsdonothavedirectequivalents.SeetheUpgradeGuide.

Table 25. esxupdate Replacement Commands

esxupdate

Command ESXCLI Command Description

query esxcli software vib list ListallinstalledVIBpackages.

info vSphere5doesnotsupportbulletins.Instead,

youupdateyoursystemwithindividualVIBsor

imageprofiles.SeetheUpgradedocumentation.

esxcli software vib get --vibname=<str>

esxcli software profile get

DisplayinformationononeormoreVIBs.

update esxcli software vib update

esxcli software profile update

esxcli software vib install

esxcli software profile install

TheupdatecommandupdatesVIBpackages

butdoesnotinstallnewVIBs.

TheinstallcommandinstallsVIBpackages

fromaURLordepot.Thecommandinstalls,

upgrades,ordowngradesVIBs.

remove esxcli software vib remove RemoveselectedVIBsfromthehost.

stage Nolongernecessary.

scan Nolongernecessary.

Runesxcli software sources profile to

queryforimageprofilesinadepot.

Runesxcli software sources vibtodisplay

informationaboutVIBURLsandfiles.

IMPORTANTThevSphereClientnowsupportsalloptionstovm-support.IfyoucannotusethevSphere

ClienttoaccessyourESXisystem,youcanusethevm-supportcommand.

30

Command-Line Management in vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users

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