Category: VMware

In ESXi 8 / vSphere 8.0 the command line interface esxcli has been extended with new features.

esxcli daemon entitlement

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli daemon entitlement add --help
Usage: esxcli daemon entitlement add [cmd options]

Description:
  add                   Add Partner REST entitlements to the partner user.

Cmd options:
  -p|--partner-user-name=<str>
                        Specifies the partner's user name. (required)
  -r|--read-acccess     Grant read access to the partner.
  -w|--write-acccess    Grant write access to the partner.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli daemon entitlement list --help
Usage: esxcli daemon entitlement list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List the installed DSDK built daemons.

Cmd options:
  -p|--partner-user-name=<str>
                        Specifies the partner's user name. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli daemon entitlement remove --help
Usage: esxcli daemon entitlement remove [cmd options]

Description:
  remove                Remove Partner REST entitlments from the partner user.

Cmd options:
  -p|--partner-user-name=<str>
                        Specifies the partner's user name. (required)
  -r|--read-acccess     Remove read access from the partner.
  -w|--write-acccess    Remove write access from the partner.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli hardware devicecomponent list --help
Usage: esxcli hardware devicecomponent list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List all device components on this host.

Cmd options:

esxcli network ip hosts

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli network ip hosts add --help
Usage: esxcli network ip hosts add [cmd options]

Description:
  add                   Add association of IP addresses with host names.

Cmd options:
  -A|--alias=[ <str> ... ]
                        The list of aliases of the host.
  -C|--comment=<str>    Comment line of this item
  -H|--hostname=<str>   The name of the host. (required)
  -I|--ip=<str>         The IP address (v4 or v6) of the host. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli network ip hosts list --help
Usage: esxcli network ip hosts list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List the user specified associations of IP addresses with host names.

Cmd options:

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli network ip hosts remove --help
Usage: esxcli network ip hosts remove [cmd options]

Description:
  remove                Remove association of IP addresses with host names.

Cmd options:
  -H|--hostname=<str>   The name of the host. (required)
  -I|--ip=<str>         The IP address (v4 or v6) of the host. (required)

esxcli nvme

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli nvme device config list
ol stats list
Name          Default   Current   Description
------------  --------  --------  -----------
logLevel      0         0         Log level of this plugin.
adminTimeout  60000000  60000000  Timeout in microseconds of the admin commands issued by this plugin.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli nvme device config set --help
Usage: esxcli nvme device config set [cmd options]

Description:
  set                   Set the plugin's parameter

Cmd options:
  -p|--parameter=<str>  Parameter name (required)
  -v|--value=<str>      Parameter value (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli nvme device log get --help
Usage: esxcli nvme device log get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get NVMe log page

Cmd options:
  -A|--adapter=<str>    Adapter to operate on (required)
  -l|--length=<long>    Log page length. (required)
  -i|--lid=<str>        Log page ID. Both decimal number and hexadecimal number are accepted. Hexadecimal number should start with '0x' or '0X'. (required)
  -I|--lsi=<long>       Log specific ID. The default value is 0.
  -s|--lsp=<long>       Log specific field. The default value is 0.
  -n|--namespace=<long> Namespace ID. The default value is 0xFFFFFFFF.
  -o|--offset=<long>    Log page offset. The default value is 0.
  -p|--path=<str>       Log path. If set, the raw log data will be wrote to the specified file. If not set, the log data will be printed in hex format.
  -r|--rae=<long>       Retain asynchronous event. The default value is 0.
  -u|--uuid=<long>      UUID index. The default value is 0.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli nvme device log persistentevent get
Error: Missing required parameter -a|--action
       Missing required parameter -A|--adapter

Usage: esxcli nvme device log persistentevent get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get NVMe persistent event log

Cmd options:
  -a|--action=<long>    Action the controller shall take during processing this command. 0: Read log data. 1: Establish context and read log data. 2: Release context. (required)
  -A|--adapter=<str>    Adapter to operate on (required)
  -p|--path=<str>       Persistent event log path. This parameter is required if the --action parameter is 0 or 1.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli nvme device log telemetry controller get --help
Usage: esxcli nvme device log telemetry controller get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get NVMe telemetry controller-initiated data

Cmd options:
  -A|--adapter=<str>    Adapter to operate on (required)
  -d|--data=<long>      Data area to get telemetry data, 3 is selected if not set
  -p|--path=<str>       Telemetry log path (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli nvme device log telemetry host get --help
Usage: esxcli nvme device log telemetry host get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get NVMe telemetry host-initiated data

Cmd options:
  -A|--adapter=<str>    Adapter to operate on (required)
  -d|--data=<long>      Data area to get telemetry data, 3 is selected if not set
  -p|--path=<str>       Telemetry log path (required)

esxcli storage core

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage core nvme device list --help
Usage: esxcli storage core nvme device list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List the NVMe devices currently registered with the PSA.

Cmd options:
  -d|--device=<str>     Filter the output of this command to only show a single device.
  -o|--exclude-offline  If set this flag will exclude the offline devices.
  -p|--pe-only          If set this flag will list the mount points of PE type.
  --skip-slow-fields    Do not show the value of some fields that need more time to fetch. The output will show the value <skipped> for such fields.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage core nvme path list --help
Usage: esxcli storage core nvme path list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List all the NVMe paths on the system.

Cmd options:
  -d|--device=<str>     Limit the output to paths to a specific device. This name can be any of the UIDs for a specific device.
  -p|--path=<str>       Limit the output to a specific path. This name can be either the UID or the runtime name of the path.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage core scsi device list
t10.ATA_____Samsung_SSD_850_EVO_M.2_500GB___________S33DNX0J600488T_____
   Display Name: Local ATA Disk (t10.ATA_____Samsung_SSD_850_EVO_M.2_500GB___________S33DNX0J600488T_____)
   Has Settable Display Name: true
   Size: 476940
   Device Type: Direct-Access
   Multipath Plugin: HPP
   Devfs Path: /vmfs/devices/disks/t10.ATA_____Samsung_SSD_850_EVO_M.2_500GB___________S33DNX0J600488T_____
   Vendor: ATA
   Model: Samsung SSD 850
   Revision: 1B6Q
   SCSI Level: 5
   Is Pseudo: false
   Status: on
   Is RDM Capable: false
   Is Local: true
   Is Removable: false
   Is SSD: true
   Is VVOL PE: false
   Is Offline: false
   Is Perennially Reserved: false
   Queue Full Sample Size: 0
   Queue Full Threshold: 0
   Thin Provisioning Status: yes
   Attached Filters:
   VAAI Status: unsupported
   Other UIDs: vml.0100000000533333444e58304a36303034383854202020202053616d73756e
   Is Shared Clusterwide: false
   Is SAS: false
   Is USB: false
   Is Boot Device: true
   Device Max Queue Depth: 31
   IOs with competing worlds: 31
   Drive Type: unknown
   RAID Level: unknown
   Number of Physical Drives: unknown
   Protection Enabled: false
   PI Activated: false
   PI Type: 0
   PI Protection Mask: NO PROTECTION
   Supported Guard Types: NO GUARD SUPPORT
   DIX Enabled: false
   DIX Guard Type: NO GUARD SUPPORT
   Emulated DIX/DIF Enabled: false

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage core scsi path list
sata.vmhba0-sata.0:0-t10.ATA_____Samsung_SSD_850_EVO_M.2_500GB___________S33DNX0J600488T_____
   UID: sata.vmhba0-sata.0:0-t10.ATA_____Samsung_SSD_850_EVO_M.2_500GB___________S33DNX0J600488T_____
   Runtime Name: vmhba0:C0:T0:L0
   Device: t10.ATA_____Samsung_SSD_850_EVO_M.2_500GB___________S33DNX0J600488T_____
   Device Display Name: Local ATA Disk (t10.ATA_____Samsung_SSD_850_EVO_M.2_500GB___________S33DNX0J600488T_____)
   Adapter: vmhba0
   Controller: Not Applicable
   Channel: 0
   Target: 0
   LUN: 0
   Plugin: HPP
   State: active
   Transport: sata
   Adapter Identifier: sata.vmhba0
   Target Identifier: sata.0:0
   Adapter Transport Details: Unavailable or path is unclaimed
   Target Transport Details: Unavailable or path is unclaimed
   Maximum IO Size: 33554432

esxcli storage osdata

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage osdata create --help
Usage: esxcli storage osdata create [cmd options]

Description:
  create                Create an OSData partition on a disk.

Cmd options:
  --clearpartitions     Erase existing partitions and force the operation.
  -d|--diskname=<str>   Target disk device on which to create the OSData partition. (required)
  -m|--mediasize=<str>  The size of the created partition.
                            default: 128 GB
                            max: Use whole device
                            min: 32 GB
                            small: 64 GB
                          (required)

esxcli storage vvol stats

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol stats add --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol stats add [cmd options]

Description:
  add                   Add entity for stats tracking

Cmd options:
  -e|--entity=<str>     entity Id (required)
  -n|--namespace=<str>  entity namespace (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol stats disable --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol stats disable [cmd options]

Description:
  disable               Disable stats for complete namespace

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol stats enable --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol stats enable [cmd options]

Description:
  enable                Enable stats for complete namespace

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol stats get --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol stats get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get stats for given stats namespace

Cmd options:
  -d|--dump=<str>       Dump the stats in log file with given custom message
  -e|--entity=<str>     entity Id
  -n|--namespace=<str>  node namespace expression
  -r|--raw              Enable raw format output

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol stats list --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol stats list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List all supported stats

Cmd options:
  -n|--namespace=<str>  node namespace expression

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol stats remove --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol stats remove [cmd options]

Description:
  remove                Remove tracked entity

Cmd options:
  -e|--entity=<str>     entity Id (required)
  -n|--namespace=<str>  entity namespace (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol stats reset --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol stats reset [cmd options]

Description:
  reset                 Reset stats for given namespace

Cmd options:
  -e|--entity=<str>     entity Id
  -n|--namespace=<str>  node namespace (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli storage vvol vmstats get --help
Usage: esxcli storage vvol vmstats get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get the VVol information and statistics for a specific virtual machine.

Cmd options:
  -c|--get-config-vvol  Get config VVol stats along with data VVols.
  -v|--vm-name=<str>    Display name of the virtual machine. (required)

esxcli system health report

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system health report get --help
Usage: esxcli system health report get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Displays one or more health reports

Cmd options:
  --all-reports         Retrieve all the health reports. The default behavior is to retrieve only the latest health report.
  -f|--filename=<str>   The absolute path on the ESXi host where the health report(s) should be copied. If multiple reports are specified, they will be concatenated to this file.
  -r|--report-names=[ <str> ... ]
                        Specifies one or more health reports to display. The name(s) of the report can be obtained from the 'esxcli system health report list' command. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system health report list
Name                    Time
----------------------  ----
vmw.memoryHealth        2022-12-08T01:53:01+00:00
vmw.ssdStorageHealth    2022-12-08T01:53:31+00:00
vmw.coreServicesStatus  2022-12-08T01:54:01+00:00
hostd-health            2022-12-08T01:55:01+00:00
vmw.vpxaStatus          2022-12-08T01:54:31+00:00
vmw.PSODCount           2022-12-08T01:20:01+00:00
vmw.autoscaler          2022-12-08T01:55:01+00:00

esxcli system ntp stats get

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system ntp stats get --help
Usage: esxcli system ntp stats get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Report operational state of Network Time Protocol Daemon

esxcli system security

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system security keypersistence disable --help
Usage: esxcli system security keypersistence disable [cmd options]

Description:
  disable               Disable key persistence daemon.

Cmd options:
  --remove-all-stored-keys
                        Confirm deletion of all stored keys. This confirmation is required.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system security keypersistence enable --help
Usage: esxcli system security keypersistence enable [cmd options]

Description:
  enable                Enable key persistence daemon.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system settings encryption get --help
Usage: esxcli system settings encryption get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get the encryption mode and policy.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system settings encryption recovery list --help
Usage: esxcli system settings encryption recovery list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List recovery keys.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system settings encryption recovery rotate --help
Usage: esxcli system settings encryption recovery rotate [cmd options]

Description:
  rotate                Rotate the recover key.

Cmd options:
  -k|--keyid=<str>      The ID of the new recovery key. If no value is specified, the system will generate a new key.
  -u|--uuid=<str>       The UUID of the recovery key to be rotated. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system settings encryption set --help
Usage: esxcli system settings encryption set [cmd options]

Description:
  set                   Set the encryption mode and policy.

Cmd options:
  -m|--mode=<str>       Set the encryption mode.
  -e|--require-exec-installed-only=<bool>
                        Require executables to be loaded only from installed VIBs.
  -s|--require-secure-boot=<bool>
                        Require secure boot.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system settings gueststore repository get --help
Usage: esxcli system settings gueststore repository get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get GuestStore repository.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system settings gueststore repository set --help
Usage: esxcli system settings gueststore repository set [cmd options]

Description:
  set                   Set or clear GuestStore repository.

Cmd options:
  --url=<str>           URL of a repository to set; to clear GuestStore repository, set --url "" (required)

esxcli system syslog config logfilter

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system syslog config logfilter add --help
Usage: esxcli system syslog config logfilter add [cmd options]

Description:
  add                   Add a log filter.

Cmd options:
  -f|--filter=<str>     The filter to be added. Format is: numLogs | ident | logRegexp. 'numLogs' sets the maximum number of log entries for the specified log messages. After reaching this number, the specified log messages are filtered and ignored. 'ident' specifies one or more
                        system components to apply the filter to the log messages that these components generate. 'logRegexp' specifies a case-sensitive phrase with Python regular expression syntax to filter the log messages by their content. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system syslog config logfilter get --help
Usage: esxcli system syslog config logfilter get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Show the current log filter configuration values.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system syslog config logfilter list --help
Usage: esxcli system syslog config logfilter list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  Show the added log filters.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system syslog config logfilter remove --help
Usage: esxcli system syslog config logfilter remove [cmd options]

Description:
  remove                Remove a log filter.

Cmd options:
  -f|--filter=<str>     The filter to be removed. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli system syslog config logfilter set --help
Usage: esxcli system syslog config logfilter set [cmd options]

Description:
  set                   Set log filtering configuration options.

Cmd options:
  --log-filtering-enabled=<bool>
                        Enable or disable log filtering. (required)

esxcli vsan hardware vcg

[[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan hardware vcg add --help
Usage: esxcli vsan hardware vcg add [cmd options]

Description:
  add                   Map unidentified vSAN hardware device with VCG ID.

Cmd options:
  -d|--device-id=<str>  Unidentified Device ID. It can be seen with command "esxcli storage core device list" (e.g. nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress_8086_Dell_Express_Flash_NVMe_P4610_1.6TB_SFF_BTLN9443030C1P6AGN). (required)
  -v|--vcg-id=<long>    VCG ID. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan hardware vcg get
Usage: esxcli vsan hardware vcg get [cmd options]

Description:
  get                   Get the vSAN VCG ID for a vSAN hardware device. Output is VCG ID while "N/A" means device ID is not mapped.

Cmd options:
  -d|--device-id=<str>  Unidentified Device ID. It can be seen command "esxcli storage core device list" (e.g. nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress_8086_Dell_Express_Flash_NVMe_P4610_1.6TB_SFF_BTLN9443030C1P6AGN). (required)

esxcli vsan storagepool

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan hardware vcg add --help
Usage: esxcli vsan hardware vcg add [cmd options]

Description:
  add                   Map unidentified vSAN hardware device with VCG ID.

Cmd options:
  -d|--device-id=<str>  Unidentified Device ID. It can be seen with command "esxcli storage core device list" (e.g. nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress_8086_Dell_Express_Flash_NVMe_P4610_1.6TB_SFF_BTLN9443030C1P6AGN). (required)
  -v|--vcg-id=<long>    VCG ID. (required)

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan storagepool list --help
Usage: esxcli vsan storagepool list [cmd options]

Description:
  list                  List vSAN storage pool configuration.

Cmd options:
  -d|--device=<str>     Filter the output of this command to only show a single device with specified device name.
  -u|--uuid=<str>       Filter the output of this command to only show a single device with specified UUID.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan storagepool mount --help
Usage: esxcli vsan storagepool mount [cmd options]

Description:
  mount                 Mount vSAN disk from storage pool.

Cmd options:
  -d|--disk=[ <str> ... ]
                        Name of disk to mount from storage pool. e.g.: mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0. Multiple devices can be provided using format -d device1 -d device2 -d device3.
  -u|--uuid=[ <str> ... ]
                        The vSAN UUID of disk to mount from storage pool. e.g.: 52afa1de-4240-d5d6-17f9-8af1ec8509e5. Multiple UUIDs can be provided using format -u uuid1 -u uuid2 -u uuid3.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan storagepool rebuild --help
Usage: esxcli vsan storagepool rebuild [cmd options]

Description:
  rebuild               Rebuild vSAN storage pool disks.

Cmd options:
  -d|--disk=<str>       Name of disk to rebuild for use by vSAN storage pool. E.g.: mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0.
  -m|--evacuation-mode=<str>
                        Action to take upon removing storage pool from vSAN (default noAction). Available modes are
                            EnsureObjectAccessibility: Evacuate data from the disk to ensure object accessibility in the vSAN cluster, before removing the disk.
                            EvacuateAllData: Evacuate all data from the disk before removing it.
                            NoAction: Do not move vSAN data out of the disk before removing it.
  -u|--uuid=<str>       The vSAN UUID of the disk to rebuild for use by vSAN storage pool. E.g.: 5291022a-ad03-df90-dd0f-b9f980cc005e.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan storagepool remove --help
Usage: esxcli vsan storagepool remove [cmd options]

Description:
  remove                Remove physical disk from storage pool usage. Exactly one of --disk or --uuid param is required.

Cmd options:
  -d|--disk=<str>       Specify individual vSAN disk to remove from storage pool. e.g.: mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0.
  -m|--evacuation-mode=<str>
                        Action the vSAN service must take before the disk can be removed (default noAction). Allowed values are:
                        ensureObjectAccessibility: Evacuate data from the disk to ensure object accessibility in the vSAN cluster, before removing the disk.
                        evacuateAllData: Evacuate all data from the disk before removing it.
                        noAction: Do not move vSAN data out of the disk before removing it.
  -f|--force            Forcefully remove unhealthy disk that has run into permanent metadata read/write errors.
                        Use -f|--force option only if remove disk operation failed repeatedly without force option.
                        Only 'noAction' evacuation mode is supported with -f|--force option.
  -u|--uuid=<str>       Specify UUID of vSAN disk to remove from storage pool. e.g.: 52afa1de-4240-d5d6-17f9-8af1ec8509e5.

[root@ESXI-8:~] esxcli vsan storagepool unmount --help
Usage: esxcli vsan storagepool unmount [cmd options]

Description:
  unmount               Unmount vSAN disk from storage pool.

Cmd options:
  -d|--disk=<str>       Name of disk to unmount from storage pool. e.g.: mpx.vmhba2:C0:T1:L0.
  -m|--evacuation-mode=<str>
                        Action to take upon unmounting storage pool from vSAN (default noAction). Available modes are
                            EnsureObjectAccessibility: Evacuate data from the disk to ensure object accessibility in the vSAN cluster, before unmounting the disk.
                            EvacuateAllData: Evacuate all data from the disk before unmounting it.
                            NoAction: Do not move vSAN data out of the disk before unmounting it.
  -f|--force            Forcefully unmount unhealthy disk that has run into permanent metadata read/write errors.
                        Use -f|--force option only if unmount disk operation failed repeatedly without force option.
                        Only 'noAction' evacuation mode is supported with -f|--force option.
  -u|--uuid=<str>       The vSAN UUID of disk to unmount from storage pool. e.g.: 52afa1de-4240-d5d6-17f9-8af1ec8509e5.

For reference ESXCLI full commands list for ESXi 8.0.

For reference ESXCLI full commands list for ESXi 7.0.

For reference ESXCLI full commands list for ESXi 6.x.