ESX common commands
Virtual Machine Management
Listing all registered virtual machines
# vmware-cmd -l
Registering a virtual machine
# vmware-cmd -s register /vmfs/volumes/storage/VM/MyVM.vmx
VM operations
Possible values: start|stop|reset|suspend hard|soft
# vmware-cmd -U user -P pass1234 -H VCServer1 -h ESXHost /vmfs/volumes/storage1/MyVMs/VM1.vmx stop soft
Creating a snapshot
# vmware-cmd -U user -P pass1234 -H VCServer1 -h ESXHost /vmfs/volumes/storage1/MyVMs/VM1.vmx createsnapshot
Relocating a virtual machine's storage (including the disks)
# svmotion --url=https://myvc.mycorp.com/sdk --datacenter=DC1 --vm="[storage1] myvm/myvm.vmx:new_datastore"
Relocating a virtual machine's configuration file, but leaving the virtual disks
# svmotion --datacenter='My DC' --vm='[old_datastore] myvm/myvm.vmx:new_datastore' --disks='[old_datastore] myvm/myvm_1.vmdk:old_datastore, [old_datastore] myvm/myvm_2.vmdk:old_datastore'
File Management
Creating a virtual disk
# vmkfstools -c 2048m virtualdisk.vmdk
Creating a VMFS
# vmkfstools -C vmfs5 -b 1m -S my_test_vmfs /vmfs/devices/disks/test.ID:1
Copying a file to another location
# vifs -c "[StorageName] VM/VM.vmx" "[StorageName] Backups/VM.vmx"
Listing all the directories
# vifs --server -D "[StorageName] vms"
Host Management
Shutting down a single host
# vicfg-hostops --operation shutdown --force
Rebooting entire cluster
# vicfg-hostops --operation reboot --cluster
Backing up configuration data
# vicfg-cfgbackup -s /tmp/ESXi_backup.tgz
Restoring configuration data
# vicfg-cfgbackup -l /tmp/ESXi_backup.tgz
To set up Active Directory, after synchronizing the ESXi host and Active Directory, the following command must be run:
# vicfg-authconfig --server= --username= --password= --authscheme AD --joindomain --adusername= --adpassword=
User Management
Listing the existing users
# vicfg-user -e user -o list
Adding a new user with specified login ID and password
# vicfg-user -e user -o add -l userx -p password1234
Creating a group
# vicfg-user -e group -o add -d test
Virtual Network Management
Listing all virtual switches and associated port groups
# esxcli network vswitch standard list
Listing all virtual switches and associated port groups
# vicfg-vswitch -l
Creating a new virtual switch
# esxcfg-vswitch a TestvSwitch
Adding or removing network cards (known as vmnics) to or from a vNetwork Distributed Switch (vDS)
# esxcfg-vswitch -P vmnic -V unused_dvPort_ID dvSwitch
Viewing the list of physical adapters and their link status
# esxcfg-nics l
Storage Management
Listing all logical devices known on the system
# esxcli storage core device list OR # vicfg-scsidevs --list
Listing all devices, along with corresponding paths, state of the path, adapter type, and other information
# esxcli storage core path list OR # vicfg-mpath --list-paths
Setting the state of a LUN path to "off"
# esxcli storage core path set --state off --path vmhba32:C0:T1:L0 OR # vicfg-mpath --state off --path vmhba32:C0:T1:L0
Rescanning a storage adapter
# esxcli storage core adapter rescan --adapter=TestAdapter OR # vicfg-rescan TestAdapter
Enabling or disabling a path
# esxcfg-mpath -P path -s state
Checking the ESXi host hardware info
# esxcfg-info | less i
Filtering out information about a specific system
# esxcfg-info | grep 'system uuid'
Listing paths to a single device
# esxcli storage nmp path list --device
Setting configuration parameters for third-party extensions
# esxcli storage nmp roundrobin setconfig
iSCSI Storage Management
Enabling software iSCSI
# esxcli iscsi software set --enabled=true OR # vicfg-iscsi --swiscsi enable
Adding a new adapter
# esxcli iscsi networkportal add -n -A
Setting the iSCSI name and alias
# vicfg-iscsi --iscsiname name