6.5.1

Using the Appliance Shell to
Configure the
vCenter Server Appliance 4
You can access all of the vCenter Server Appliance API commands and plug-ins that you can use for
monitoring, troubleshooting, and conguring the appliance by using the appliance shell.
You can run all commands in the appliance shell with or without the pi keyword.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“Access the Appliance Shell,” on page 33
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“Enable and Access the Bash Shell from the Appliance Shell,” on page 34
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“Keyboard Shortcuts for Editing Commands,” on page 34
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“Get Help About the Plug-Ins and API Commands in the Appliance,” on page 35
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“Plug-Ins in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell,” on page 35
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“Browse the Log Files By Using the showlog Plug-In,” on page 36
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“API Commands in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell,” on page 37
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“Conguring SNMP for the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 41
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“Conguring Time Synchronization Seings in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 48
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“Managing Local User Accounts in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 50
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“Monitor Health Status and Statistics in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 52
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“Using the vimtop Plug-In to Monitor the Resource Use of Services,” on page 53
Access the Appliance Shell
To access the plug-ins included in the appliance shell and to be able to see and use the API commands, rst
access the appliance shell.
Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell.
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If you have direct access to the appliance console, press Alt+F1.
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If you want to connect remotely, use SSH or another remote console connection to start a session to
the appliance.
2 Enter a user name and password recognized by the appliance.
You are logged in to the appliance shell and can see the welcome message.
VMware, Inc.
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