6.5
Table Of Contents
- Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces
- Contents
- About This Book
- Managing vSphere with Command-Line Interfaces
- Installing vCLI
- Running Host Management Commands in the ESXi Shell
- Running vCLI Host Management Commands
- Overview of Running vCLI Host Management Commands
- Protecting Passwords
- Authenticating Through vCenter Server and vCenter Single Sign-On
- Authenticating Directly to the Host
- Trust Relationship Requirement for ESXCLI Commands
- Common Options for vCLI Host Management Command Execution
- Using vCLI Commands in Scripts
- Run Host Management Commands from a Windows System
- Run Host Management Commands from a Linux System
- Running DCLI Commands
- Index
DCLI Syntax
Each DCLI command uses the same syntax.
The command name can be followed by DCLI connection and formaing options, each preceded by a plus
(+) sign. You also specify the namespace, the command, and the command options. Namespaces are nested.
N The order in which DCLI options are provided on the command line is not important. However, you
must specify DCLI options with a plus (+) and command-specic options with a minus (-).
The syntax of a DCLI command is the following.
dcli +[DCLI options] <namespace> [<namespace> ...] <cmd> --[cmd option] [option value]
The following table describes the DCLI syntax elements.
Syntax Element Description
DCLI options
Predened options for connection information including the vSphere Automation SDK endpoint
and formaing options. Always preceded by a plus (+) sign.
Not required when you run the command in the vCenter Server Appliance shell or from the
command prompt of a vCenter Server Windows installation.
namespace
Groups DCLI commands. Namespaces correspond to the vSphere Automation SDK namespaces
and are nested.
command
Reports on or modies the state of the system.
option and value Command option and value pairs preceded by two minus signs (--).
Example
$dcli +server my_remote_vc +username user42 com vmware cis tagging tag list
vCLI Package Contents
vCLI is not a command set but a package of several command sets.
You usually install vCLI on an administration server and run scripts from there against other hosts or, for
DCLI, against vCenter Server systems. Some vCLI commands can also be run locally on the ESXi host or the
vCenter Server system.
When you install the vCLI package, the following command sets become available.
n
DCLI commands - These commands are available as part of vCLI, from the vCenter Server Appliance,
and from the command-prompt of a vCenter Server Windows installation.
n
Host Management commands - Includes the following command sets.
n
ESXCLI commands - The ESXCLI commands included in the vCLI package are equivalent to the
ESXCLI commands available in the ESXi Shell.
n
vicfg- commands - The vicfg- command set is similar to the deprecated esxcfg- command set in
the ESXi Shell. vicfg- commands are still included in this release but are deprecated. Migrate to
ESXCLI where possible.
n
Miscellaneous commands - A small set of commands for managing and monitoring ESXi hosts,
including vmkfstools and resxtop . In many cases, equivalent but slightly dierent commands are
available in the ESXi Shell.
I ESXi Shell is intended for experienced users only. Minor errors in the shell can result in serious
problems. Instead of running commands directly in the ESXi Shell, use vCLI or PowerCLI.
Chapter 1 Managing vSphere with Command-Line Interfaces
VMware, Inc. 13