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2 Replies Last post: Sep 13, 2008 4:37 AM by lberc
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Free ESXi Automation Limitations?

Sep 12, 2008 6:22 AM

Click to view ajstiles's profile Lurker ajstiles 1 posts since
Jul 14, 2008

I'm waiting for a box to arrive on which I can install ESXi. I'm trying to hammer out the scripting/automation functionalities and limitations of using ESXi without Foundation or Infrastructure. We're currently using VMware Server and the Perl API to do things like load files into running VMs, run scripts inside VMs, and periodically restart VMs. Is it possible to script any of these functions using the Perl API (or other API) using ESXi free? Thanks!

Adam

Tags: 3.5i, esxi_3.5
Reply Re: Free ESXi Automation Limitations? Sep 12, 2008 10:17 AM
Click to view rmrobert's profile Enthusiast rmrobert 56 posts since
Nov 2, 2007 VMware
Yes, all of that should be possible, ESXi isn't crippled in any way.
Reply Re: Free ESXi Automation Limitations? Sep 13, 2008 4:37 AM
Click to view lberc's profile Enthusiast lberc 26 posts since
Sep 1, 2006 VMware

Automation is supported via the VI SDK, which is a remote interface. Bindings are available for Perl , PowerShell , Java, etc. The packages are available on the VMware SDK download site. You can also use the Remote CLI which is similar to ESX Classic COS commands. Here is a thread about configurig with PowerShell (and some Perl) and here is a sketch for integrating with PXE .


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