just looking over vsphere power cli documentation I notice one can backup the config and by looking at the command is a text file:
Backing Up Configuration Data
You can back up configuration data by running vicfg-cfgbackup with the -s option.
vicfg-cfgbackup <conn_options> -s /tmp/ESXi_181842_backup.txt
For the backup filename, include the number of the build that is running on the host that you are backing up. If you are running vCLI on vMA, the backup file is saved locally on vMA. Backup files can safely be stored locally because virtual appliances are stored in the /vmfs/volumes/<datastore> directory on the host, which is separate from the ESXi image and configuration files.
Assuming this backs up all config from a ESXi then I shold be able to compare VMs hosted within and system or even against other blades running ESXi, correct?
Again the goal is make sure VMs are configured identical, except for identification parameters.
Any hints to tell me I am in the right direction, or someone who has run into same need please let me know.
Thanks!