We have a Linux VM where some user interaction takes place via the DCUI only (such as initial config or network changes, where the VM is not accessible over the network).
I'm wondering if there's a way to access the DCUI remotely via vCenter in an automated fashion -- to send keystrokes and read text responses.
I previously had something close to this in 2014, driving the VI Client with Ranorex, a Windows automation client. Limitations:
* Test client required Windows (still not a deal breaker though)
* Supports VI Client only
* Interaction was nearly "blind". Send keystrokes, wait an appropriate time, and then validate the presence of an image on the DCUI matching the expected text. (No way to read the DCUI as text)
* No way to scrape DCUI output for arbitrary data without doing OCR
For the new case, we'd need to capture the actual responses on the DCUI (such as one-time activation codes, etc.).
The target VM does have VMware Tools installed.
Is there any way to reach the DCUI (ILO, CLI, VRA, API, etc.) and treat it like a terminal or shell where you can see responses as text?
