vD vDan VMware · VCF · NSX · K8S

ESXi Advanced and Kernel Settings Explorer

Short answer: this explorer lists every ESXi advanced setting (esxcli system settings advanced) and every VMkernel setting (esxcli system settings kernel) of 42 ESXi releases from 6.0 Update 3 to 9.0.1, with the default value, the allowed range, the description and whether esxcli can change it. Pick a release and browse its settings by namespace, search by name or description, switch on “New in this release” or “Default changed” to see what a release brought against the previous one, compare any two releases in Compare, and copy the esxcli and PowerCLI commands to read or set a value. The data comes from William Lam’s esxi-advanced-and-kernel-settings repository and shows the defaults as shipped, not the values of any particular host.

Prefer a full window? Open the explorer full screen →

How to use it

  • Browse. Advanced settings are grouped by their namespace (Net, Disk, VMkernel, Syslog, VSAN and so on), kernel settings by subject. A green new badge marks a setting the chosen release introduced, an amber changed badge a default that differs from the previous release, cli a setting esxcli can write, and a dashed hidden badge an option that esxcli system settings advanced list does not return without a name (read it with -o); the panel says where its values come from.
  • Compare. Pick two releases to list what was added, what disappeared and which defaults moved, for example 8.0 Update 3 against 9.0. The strip above the list shows the same numbers for the chosen release against the previous one.
  • Commands. The panel builds the esxcli read and set commands and the PowerCLI equivalent for the selected setting. Kernel settings need a reboot; several advanced settings say so in their description.
  • Deep links and Markdown. “Copy link” gives a URL that opens the explorer on that setting and release (?setting=Net.TcpipHeapMax&esxi=901). The Markdown button exports the current list, or the comparison, as a table.

Sources