edit VM settings through config files ??

[Thuizt]

Hello,

Is it possible to edit the settings of a VM by directly editing config files on the esxi host ?

And does anyone know where these files are stored ? Searched for them but couldn't find any (yet)

Say use winscp to edit the config file that reflects the VM ??

Thanks

[AntonVZhbankov]

VM config files are .vmx

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VMware vExpert '2009

http://blog.vadmin.ru

[weinstein5]

Yes you can edit the VMX file directly and as Anton pointed out they have a file extension .vmx. They are typically stored with the boot virtual disk and vm log file. If the VM is running you will need to power off and power on the VM for the changes to take effect.

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[Penic_Albin]

And if you dont know where are VM boot files.

/vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/VM_Name

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[Thuizt]

OK, that I know. But the following.

on my datastore is a folder vm1 that contains all the files, including the vmx file

If I rename this folder to vm2 it is not updated in the VMIC. There the VM still points to the folder vm1

So I thought there might be somewhere a config file that lists these settings.

Thank for the replies.

[Penic_Albin]

As i remember you must set full path for VMDK or at least put ./ before file locator in VMX file if you wish to archive that

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[DSTAVERT · Accepted solution]

Remove the original VM. Right click on the VM an "Remove from Inventory". Open the Datastore and browse to the vmx file. Right click and "Add to Inventory"

[Penic_Albin]

Or just remove virtual disk and re add it thru vcenter. But as i can understand you wish to manage everything thru CLI.

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[Thuizt]

Adding again to the inventory does indeed solve the issue but though correct doesn't answer the original question.

Where are those settings stored ????

Thanks for all your answers.

[TomHowarth]

What exactly are you attempting to acheive here. the *.VMX file is defines the VMguest in terms of hardware and functionality. if we had a better idea of your final goal we could help you better, you can not just rename a directory and expect the VM to work, even removing and adding will not slove this issue. by changing the folder name you have changed to path for the VMDK file. and it will no longer be able to find it.

In short a little bit more infomatin as to what you are attempting to do will result in more focused answers and not ones that can cause further issues.

There is a great adage " A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

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Tom Howarth VCP / vExpert

VMware Communities User Moderator

Blog: www.planetvm.net

Contributing author for the upcoming book "[VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment|http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780136083214]”. Currently available on roughcuts