List all the VMs running on the host:

~ # vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
Vmid     Name                        File                 Guest OS      Version   Annotation
612    vm_name1    [datastore] vm_name1/vm_name1.vmx     rhel6_64Guest   vmx-10
633    vm_name2    [datastore] vm_name2/vm_name2.vmx     rhel6_64Guest   vmx-10
646    vm_name3    [datastore] vm_name3/vm_name3.vmx     rhel6_64Guest   vmx-10
647    vm_name4    [datastore] vm_name4/vm_name4.vmx     rhel6_64Guest   vmx-10
664    vm_name5    [datastore] vm_name5/vm_name5.vmx     rhel6_64Guest   vmx-10


To poweroff a VM



vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off 612   #here 612 is a vim id


To poweron a VM

vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on 612   #here 612 is a vim id

There are somany commands you can use are as below:

Commands available under vmsvc/:
acquiremksticket                   get.snapshotinfo
acquireticket                          get.spaceNeededForConsolidation
connect                                   get.summary
convert.toTemplate              get.tasklist
convert.toVm                         getallvms
createdummyvm                   gethostconstraints
destroy                                    login
device.connection                  logout
device.connusbdev                message
device.disconnusbdev           power.getstate
device.diskadd                       power.hibernate
device.diskaddexisting         power.off
device.diskremove                power.on
device.getdevices                  power.reboot
device.toolsSyncSet              power.reset
device.vmiadd                       power.shutdown
device.vmiremove                power.suspend
devices.createnic                   power.suspendResume
disconnect                              queryftcompat
get.capability                         reload
get.config                                setscreenres
get.config.cpuidmask            snapshot.create
get.configoption                     snapshot.dumpoption
get.datastores                        snapshot.get
get.disabledmethods             snapshot.remove
get.environment                    snapshot.removeall
get.filelayout                          snapshot.revert
get.filelayoutex                      snapshot.setoption
get.guest                                 tools.cancelinstall
get.guestheartbeatStatus    tools.install
get.managedentitystatus     tools.upgrade
get.networks                         unregister
get.runtime                           upgrade

To revert to a previous version of ESXi after upgrade:

1). From the Console screen press F2
2). Then press F12 to see the shutdown options for your ESXi.
3). Press F11 to reboot.
4). When the Hypervisor progress bar starts loading, press Shift+R.
5). Now you will see a warning message:

Current hypervisor will permanently be replaced
with build: X.X.X-XXXXXX. Are you sure? [Y/n]

6). Press Shift+Y to roll back the ESXi to previous version.
7). Press Enter to boot in to the selected ESXi version.

PSOD vSphere ESXi 5.x Collect Logs from ESXi Server

~ # esxcfg-mpath –l     (to list all the device paths)

~ # esxcfg-mpath –s     (to change the path state)

~ # esxcfg-mpath –bd     <naa name of your device/lun> (to list the paths and state)

Other ESXi path command options:

esxcfg-mpath <options> [–path=<path>]

-l|–list                     List all Paths on the system with their

detailed information.

-L|–list-compact             List all Paths with abbreviated information

-m|–list-map                 List all Paths with adapter and device mappings.

-b|–list-paths               List all devices with their corresponding paths.

-G|–list-plugins             List all Multipathing Plugins loaded into the

-s|–state <active|off>       Set the state for a specific LUN Path.  Requires

path UID or path Runtime Name in –path

-P|–path                     Used to specify a specific path for operations.

The path name may be either the long Path UID or

the shorter runtime name of the path.  This can

be used to filter any of the list commands to

a specific path if applicable.

-d|–device                   Used to filter the list commands to display

only a specific device.

-h|–help                     Show this message.

CASE: We had set up a local environment with 1 ESX server. therefore we used local storage for the VM’s. Expansion and the request for DRS and HA brought us to 3 ESX servers and a W2K8 Storage Server as iSCSI SAN. Now we needed to bring the Virtual Machines from local storage to shared storage. This is how I did it:

1) download and install remote Command Line Interface (RCLI)
2) run this code:

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VI Remote CLI\bin> svmotion.pl –interactive
Entering interactive mode. All other options and environment variables will be ignored.

Enter the VirtualCenter service url you wish to connect to: VCENTER
Enter your username: DOMAIN\USER
Enter your password: *****

Attempting to connect to https://vcenter/sdk. Connected to server.

Enter the name of the datacenter: DATACENTER01
Enter the datastore path of the virtual machine: [ESX01:storage1] VMachine01/VMachine01.vmx
Enter the name of the destination datastore: MySAN_LUN0

You can also move disks independently of the virtual machine. If you want the disks to stay with the virtual machine, then skip this step..
Would you like to individually place the disks ? no

Performing Storage VMotion. 0%
|——————————————————-|100% ################################################################

Storage VMotion completed succesfully.

Disconnecting.

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VI Remote CLI\bin>

VMotion is a non interruptive process, that means while doing the VMotion the VM and the applications running in that VM
(GOS) will not get effected.

There are 3 types of Migrations are possible from vCenter (VC).

VMware VMotion requirements:
1. Both the ESX hosts should have the same CPU.
2. Both the ESX hosts should have shared storage.
3. Both the ESX hosts should have VMkernal port group configured for VMotion.
4. Both the ESX hosts using the private network of atleast 1 Gbps for VMotion.
5. Both the ESX hosts are added to the vCenter.

========================================================================================

VMotion

Migrating a powered-on VM (Virtual Machine) from one ESX host to another ESX host is called the VMotion.

VMotion is a non interruptive process, that means while doing the VMotion the VM and the applications running in that VM
(GOS) will not get effected.

There are 3 types of Migrations are possible from vCenter (VC).

VMware VMotion requirements:
1. Both the ESX hosts should have the same CPU.
2. Both the ESX hosts should have shared storage.
3. Both the ESX hosts should have VMkernal port group configured for VMotion.
4. Both the ESX hosts using the private network of atleast 1 Gbps for VMotion.
5. Both the ESX hosts are added to the vCenter.