VMware ESXi SSH CLI commands

One of the biggest challenges I run into working with ESXi hosts is the lack of a real usable CLI. The remote CLI provided by VMware is clunky at best and makes administration a bit of a pain. I did some poking around and managed to find some interesting CLI commands that work for ESXi.

Most of these have no manual page but will output a help message if run by themselves. I would recommend using extreme caution and using a test host to determine the usefulness in your environment before using them on an important system. Also keep in mind that the examples that I give are not the "only" way the commands can be used.

vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
Lists all vm's running on hypervisor and provides vmid

vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off vmid
Powers off vmid referenced from getallvms command

vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on vmid
Powers off vmid referenced from getallvms command

vim-cmd vmsvc/power.reboot vmid
Reboots vmid referenced from getallvms command

vim-cmd vmsvc/destroy vmid
Deletes the vmdk and vmx files from disk

vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter
Puts hypervisor into maintenance mode

vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit
Takes hypervisor out of maintenance mode

vim-cmd solo/registervm /vmfs/vol/datastore/dir/vm.vmx
Registers vm in hypervisor inventory

vim-cmd vmsvc/unregister vmid
Unregisters vm with hypervisor

vim-cmd vmsvc/tools.install vmid
Starts vmware tools installation for VM

vim-cmd hostsvc/net/info
Provides information about hypervisor networking

chkconfig -l
Shows daemons running on hypervisor. Can also be used for configuration.

esxtop
Same as linux top for vmware

vmkerrcode -l
List of vmkernel errors

esxcfg-info
Lists a LOT of information about the esx host

esxcfg-nics -l
Lists information about NIC's. Can also be used for configuration.

esxcfg-vswitch -l
Lists information about virtual switching. Can also be used for configuration.

dcui
Provides console screen to ssh session

vsish
Vmware interactive shell

decodeSel /var/log/ipmi_sel.raw
Read System Event Log of server