JDMils_Interact's Posts

Hi LucD, yes, your code is now working very well thank you. I really do appreciate your help. *************************************************************************************************************************** My other question is the code I posted which scans each host in the vCenter and looks for the Default Swap File Location property of each host and changes it to a new one. (Default Swap File Location on hosts can be found at: Select host | Configure | Virtual Machines \ Swap File Location. It specifies which datastore to store all VM swap files on, when the VM resides on the respective host.) I'm decommissioning all the old datastores where some are set as the Default Swap File Location on certain hosts, and the code I posted works really well at finding these. The problem with my code is that when the Default Swap File Location is not set to a datastore, it could be either "Not set" or set to "Virtual Machine Directory" and when my code finds these, it crashes. Are you able to help find these situations and handle report them to the user as to what they are set to?

Let me clarify my original request here. This, as far as I'm concerned, is not related directly to the swap files of the VMs. The script I posted in the original post scans all hosts, looks for the datastores in the "Old Datastore Name" column of the CSV import file, and then changes this to the relevant "New Datastore Name". The idea is that before I storage migrate VMs which have their swap files on the datastores which are being decommissioned, I want to change the swap datastore on the hosts first. Then, once the VM is storage migrated, its swapfile should also automatically storage migrate to the new swap datastore specified on the host. Thus the code you supplied may not fit my requirement?

Your code returns a list of VMs on a particular host. The host can be referred to as VMHOST50. This host is in a cluster with other hosts and has its Default Swap File Location set to a specific SWAP datastore.I think this host erorred as a result of running the script on a different set of VMs.   Running the original code again, this time on a specific set of VMs, stored in my import CSV file, an error occurs at this line:     $esx = Get-View $oVM.ExtensionData.Runtime.Host -Property Config.Local.SwapDatastore     But the script continues to run as the error does not stop the script. This would account for the blank SwapFile locations. I thus ran this line manually as I stepped thru the code and got this error:     [DBG]: PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\PowerShell_Scripts\Datastores>> Get-View $oVM.ExtentionData.Runtime.Host -Property Config.local.SwapDatastore Get-View : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VIObject'. The argument is null or empty. Provide an argument that is not null or empty, and then try the command again. At line:1 char:11 + Get-View $oVM.ExtentionData.Runtime.Host -Property Config.local.Swap ... + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-View], ParameterBindingValidationException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.DotNetInterop.GetVIView     The VM on which the above error occurred can be referred to as CUSBP02_Clone. The VM is powered off and is on host VMHOST01. The value of $Parent is:   Name : Parent : Configuration : Recommendation : DrsRecommendation : HciConfig : MigrationHistory : ActionHistory : DrsFault : LinkedView : ResourcePool : Host : Datastore : Network : Summary : EnvironmentBrowser : ConfigurationEx : VMware.Vim.ComputeResourceConfigInfo LifecycleManaged : False CustomValue : OverallStatus : gray ConfigStatus : gray ConfigIssue : EffectiveRole : Permission : DisabledMethod : RecentTask : DeclaredAlarmState : TriggeredAlarmState : AlarmActionsEnabled : False Tag : Value : AvailableField : MoRef : ClusterComputeResource-domain-c66000 Client : VMware.Vim.VimClientImpl   The cluster in the $Parent variable is the cluster in which the VM resides. The host on which this VM resides has its Default Swap File Location set to a specific datastore.  

Yep- there was a section of code updating the $FullDSVMList variable but it did not have all the properties as the same code else where so the code was trying to write less columns for one particular record. Thanks!

Thanks LucD, I tried your sample code and maybe because my hosts are all ESXi 6.7U3 running on a vCenter 7.0u3d they don't have the 'local' property so the code fails at this line: [DBG]: PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Datastores>> Get-View $vm.ExtensionData.Runtime.Host -Property Config.Local.SwapDatastore Get-View : 2/03/2023 9:54:30 AM Get-View The specified path is not correct. Element 'local' doesn't exist. At line:1 char:1 + Get-View $vm.ExtensionData.Runtime.Host -Property Config.Local.SwapDa ... + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-View], VimException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_BaseCmdlet_UnknownError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.DotNetInterop.GetVIView Get-View : 2/03/2023 9:54:30 AM Get-View View with Id 'HostSystem-host-1234567' was not found on the server(s). At line:1 char:1 + Get-View $vm.ExtensionData.Runtime.Host -Property Config.Local.SwapDa ... + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-View], VimException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_GetView_WriteNotFoundError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.DotNetInterop.GetVIView Variable contents: [DBG]: PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Datastores>> $parent.ConfigurationEx.VmSwapPlacement hostLocal [DBG]: PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Datastores>> Get-View $vm.ExtensionData.Runtime.Host | Get-member TypeName: VMware.Vim.HostSystem Name MemberType Definition ---- ---------- ---------- AcquireCimServicesTicket Method VMware.Vim.HostServiceTicket AcquireCimServicesTicket() ConfigureCryptoKey Method void ConfigureCryptoKey(VMware.Vim.CryptoKeyId keyId) Destroy Method void Destroy() Destroy_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference Destroy_Task() DisconnectHost Method void DisconnectHost() DisconnectHost_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference DisconnectHost_Task() EnableCrypto Method void EnableCrypto(VMware.Vim.CryptoKeyPlain keyPlain) EnterLockdownMode Method void EnterLockdownMode() EnterMaintenanceMode Method void EnterMaintenanceMode(int timeout, System.Nullable[bool] evacuatePoweredOffVms, VMware.Vim.HostMaintenanceSpec maintenanceSpec) EnterMaintenanceMode_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference EnterMaintenanceMode_Task(int timeout, System.Nullable[bool] evacuatePoweredOffVms, VMware.Vim.HostMaintenanceSpec maintenanceSpec) Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj) ExitLockdownMode Method void ExitLockdownMode() ExitMaintenanceMode Method void ExitMaintenanceMode(int timeout) ExitMaintenanceMode_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference ExitMaintenanceMode_Task(int timeout) GetAllEventsView Method VMware.Vim.EventHistoryCollector GetAllEventsView(VMware.Vim.EventFilterSpec eventFilterSpec) GetAllTasksView Method VMware.Vim.TaskHistoryCollector GetAllTasksView(VMware.Vim.TaskFilterSpec taskFilterSpec) GetEntityOnlyEventsCollectorView Method VMware.Vim.EventHistoryCollector GetEntityOnlyEventsCollectorView(VMware.Vim.EventFilterSpec eventFilterSpec) GetEntityOnlyTasksCollectorView Method VMware.Vim.TaskHistoryCollector GetEntityOnlyTasksCollectorView(VMware.Vim.TaskFilterSpec taskFilterSpec) GetEventCollectorView Method VMware.Vim.EventHistoryCollector GetEventCollectorView(VMware.Vim.EventFilterSpecRecursionOption recursionOption, VMware.Vim.EventFilterSpec eventFilterSpec) GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode() GetTaskCollectorView Method VMware.Vim.TaskHistoryCollector GetTaskCollectorView(VMware.Vim.TaskFilterSpecRecursionOption recursionOption, VMware.Vim.TaskFilterSpec taskFilterSpec) GetType Method type GetType() PowerDownHostToStandBy Method void PowerDownHostToStandBy(int timeoutSec, System.Nullable[bool] evacuatePoweredOffVms) PowerDownHostToStandBy_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference PowerDownHostToStandBy_Task(int timeoutSec, System.Nullable[bool] evacuatePoweredOffVms) PowerUpHostFromStandBy Method void PowerUpHostFromStandBy(int timeoutSec) PowerUpHostFromStandBy_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference PowerUpHostFromStandBy_Task(int timeoutSec) PrepareCrypto Method void PrepareCrypto() QueryHostConnectionInfo Method VMware.Vim.HostConnectInfo QueryHostConnectionInfo() QueryMemoryOverhead Method long QueryMemoryOverhead(long memorySize, System.Nullable[int] videoRamSize, int numVcpus) QueryMemoryOverheadEx Method long QueryMemoryOverheadEx(VMware.Vim.VirtualMachineConfigInfo vmConfigInfo) QueryProductLockerLocation Method string QueryProductLockerLocation() QueryTpmAttestationReport Method VMware.Vim.HostTpmAttestationReport QueryTpmAttestationReport() RebootHost Method void RebootHost(bool force) RebootHost_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference RebootHost_Task(bool force) ReconfigureHostForDAS Method void ReconfigureHostForDAS() ReconfigureHostForDAS_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference ReconfigureHostForDAS_Task() ReconnectHost Method void ReconnectHost(VMware.Vim.HostConnectSpec cnxSpec, VMware.Vim.HostSystemReconnectSpec reconnectSpec) ReconnectHost_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference ReconnectHost_Task(VMware.Vim.HostConnectSpec cnxSpec, VMware.Vim.HostSystemReconnectSpec reconnectSpec) Reload Method void Reload() Rename Method void Rename(string newName) Rename_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference Rename_Task(string newName) RetrieveFreeEpcMemory Method long RetrieveFreeEpcMemory() RetrieveHardwareUptime Method long RetrieveHardwareUptime() setCustomValue Method void setCustomValue(string key, string value) SetViewData Method void SetViewData(VMware.Vim.ObjectContent objectContent, string[] properties) ShutdownHost Method void ShutdownHost(bool force) ShutdownHost_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference ShutdownHost_Task(bool force) ToString Method string ToString() UpdateFlags Method void UpdateFlags(VMware.Vim.HostFlagInfo flagInfo) UpdateIpmi Method void UpdateIpmi(VMware.Vim.HostIpmiInfo ipmiInfo) UpdateProductLockerLocation Method string UpdateProductLockerLocation(string path) UpdateProductLockerLocation_Task Method VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference UpdateProductLockerLocation_Task(string path) UpdateSystemResources Method void UpdateSystemResources(VMware.Vim.HostSystemResourceInfo resourceInfo) UpdateSystemSwapConfiguration Method void UpdateSystemSwapConfiguration(VMware.Vim.HostSystemSwapConfiguration sysSwapConfig) UpdateViewData Method void UpdateViewData(Params string[] properties), void UpdateViewData() WaitForTask Method System.Object WaitForTask(VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference taskReference) AlarmActionsEnabled Property bool AlarmActionsEnabled {get;} AnswerFileValidationResult Property VMware.Vim.AnswerFileStatusResult AnswerFileValidationResult {get;} AnswerFileValidationState Property VMware.Vim.AnswerFileStatusResult AnswerFileValidationState {get;} AvailableField Property VMware.Vim.CustomFieldDef[] AvailableField {get;} Capability Property VMware.Vim.HostCapability Capability {get;} Client Property VMware.Vim.VimClient Client {get;} ComplianceCheckResult Property VMware.Vim.ComplianceResult ComplianceCheckResult {get;} ComplianceCheckState Property VMware.Vim.HostSystemComplianceCheckState ComplianceCheckState {get;} Config Property VMware.Vim.HostConfigInfo Config {get;} ConfigIssue Property VMware.Vim.Event[] ConfigIssue {get;} ConfigManager Property VMware.Vim.HostConfigManager ConfigManager {get;} ConfigStatus Property VMware.Vim.ManagedEntityStatus ConfigStatus {get;} CustomValue Property VMware.Vim.CustomFieldValue[] CustomValue {get;} Datastore Property VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference[] Datastore {get;} DatastoreBrowser Property VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference DatastoreBrowser {get;} DeclaredAlarmState Property VMware.Vim.AlarmState[] DeclaredAlarmState {get;} DisabledMethod Property string[] DisabledMethod {get;} EffectiveRole Property int[] EffectiveRole {get;} Hardware Property VMware.Vim.HostHardwareInfo Hardware {get;} LicensableResource Property VMware.Vim.HostLicensableResourceInfo LicensableResource {get;} LinkedView Property VMware.Vim.HostSystem_LinkedView LinkedView {get;} MoRef Property VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference MoRef {get;} Name Property string Name {get;} Network Property VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference[] Network {get;} OverallStatus Property VMware.Vim.ManagedEntityStatus OverallStatus {get;} Parent Property VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference Parent {get;} Permission Property VMware.Vim.Permission[] Permission {get;} PrecheckRemediationResult Property VMware.Vim.ApplyHostProfileConfigurationSpec PrecheckRemediationResult {get;} RecentTask Property VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference[] RecentTask {get;} RemediationResult Property VMware.Vim.ApplyHostProfileConfigurationResult RemediationResult {get;} RemediationState Property VMware.Vim.HostSystemRemediationState RemediationState {get;} Runtime Property VMware.Vim.HostRuntimeInfo Runtime {get;} Summary Property VMware.Vim.HostListSummary Summary {get;} SystemResources Property VMware.Vim.HostSystemResourceInfo SystemResources {get;} Tag Property VMware.Vim.Tag[] Tag {get;} TriggeredAlarmState Property VMware.Vim.AlarmState[] TriggeredAlarmState {get;} Value Property VMware.Vim.CustomFieldValue[] Value {get;} Vm Property VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference[] Vm {get;}   I checked the VM, and the host it is on has it's Default Swap File Location set to the new datastore (DS04- I manually changed this- it WAS set to DS-03) while the swap file for this VM is still on the old datastore (DS-03)

I found a solution which works 30% of the time. Script is below. The code works really well when the host's Default Swap File Location is set to a specific datastore. However when the setting is set to either "No datastore specified. Location defaults to the virtual machine directory." or "Virtual machine directory", I get the error: [MyHost01.MyDomain] Retrieving host Swap File Location setting. Get-Datastore : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'Id'. The argument is null or empty. Provide an argument that is not null or empty, and then try the command again. At C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Datastores\Replace-HostSwapDatastore.ps1:72 char:53 + ... inalSwapDatastore = Get-Datastore -ID $Host_config.LocalSwapDatastore + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-Datastore], ParameterBindingValidationException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.GetDatastore This is error is happening at this line: $oHostOriginalSwapDatastore = Get-Datastore -ID $Host_config.LocalSwapDatastore   Let me add a spanner in the works. Sometimes, for some hosts, when the host's Default Swap File Location is set to "Virtual machine directory", the script does not error!? And the hosts on which this happens are all in the same cluster. I checked the cluster's Swap File Location, and it too is set to "Virtual machine directory". Does anyone know how to get the code to retrieve one of the following from each host? The actual datastore the Default Swap File Location is set to. "Virtual machine directory" "No datastore specified. Location defaults to the virtual machine directory."   The somewhat working code: # Replace ESXi host's Swap File Location from one datastore to another. # # This function shows the Open File dialog to the user so the user can # select the import CSV file. # Function Get-FileName($InitialDirectory) { [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.windows.forms") | Out-Null $OpenFileDialog = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.OpenFileDialog $OpenFileDialog.initialDirectory = $initialDirectory $OpenFileDialog.filter = "CSV (*.csv) | *.csv" $OpenFileDialog.ShowDialog() | Out-Null $OpenFileDialog.FileName } # Calling the function: # ----------------------------------------------------------- # # Check if connected to vCenter server. # $ConnectionvCenter = $global:DefaultVIServers if ($ConnectionvCenter.Count -gt 0) # Connection exists. { Write-Host "Already connected to vCenter server '" $ConnectionvCenter.name "'. Continuing..." -foregroundcolor "Green" } Else { # No connection to vCenter. Write-Host "ERROR: Not connected to any vCenter servers. Try the command:" -ForegroundColor "Red" Write-Host " Connect-ViServer <vCenterServerName>" -ForegroundColor "White" Write-Host "Stopping script." -ForegroundColor "Red" Write-Host "" Throw "Not connected to vCenter server." } # Get the CSV import file name and path: $ImportCSVFile = Get-FileName Write-Host "Script starting." -ForegroundColor Green # Check if the user cancelled the request. if ($ImportCSVFile -eq "") { # They did! Throw "No file selected. Ending script" } # Load the file contents # Time to get going! $VMData = Import-CSV $ImportCSVFile -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue # Loop through each host foreach ($oHost in Get-VMHost -Name *) { $host_view = $Null $host_config = $Null $oHostOriginalSwapDatastore = $Null $oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName = $Null # Get the current swap datastore $HostName = $($oHost.Name) $StringPrefix = "[$HostName] " Write-Host "+---------------------------------------START HOST SWAP CHECK----------------------------------------------------------------------------+" Write-Host "$StringPrefix Retrieving host Swap File Location setting." -ForegroundColor Yellow <# $HostOriginalSwapDatastoreID = $oHost | Select VMSwapfileDatastoreId # Get the datastore that corresponds to the current scratch location $oHostOriginalSwapDatastore = Get-Datastore -ID $Host_SwapDatastoreID $oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName = $oHostOriginalSwapDatastore.Name #> $host_view = Get-View -ViewType HostSystem -Filter @{'Name' = $HostName} $host_config = $host_view.Config $oHostOriginalSwapDatastore = Get-Datastore -ID $Host_config.LocalSwapDatastore $oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName = $oHostOriginalSwapDatastore.Name if (!$oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName) { Write-Host "$StringPrefix Datastore [$oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName] was not found. Trying next host." Continue } Write-Host "$StringPrefix Host swap file datastore is currently [$oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName]" -ForegroundColor Cyan # Check if the swap datastore needs to be updated Write-Host "$StringPrefix Checking if host Swap File Location needs to be replaced." -ForegroundColor Yellow [Bool]$HostSwapFileChanged = $False ForEach ($Row in $VMData) { If ($Row.'Old Datastore Name' -eq $oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName) { $TargetDatastoreName = $Row.'New Datastore Name' Write-Host "$StringPrefix Host Swap File Location needs to be replaced. Changing it to [$TargetDatastoreName]." -ForegroundColor Magenta $oHost | Set-VMHost -VMSwapfileDatastore $TargetDatastoreName -WhatIf $HostSwapFileChanged = $True } } If ($HostSwapFileChanged) { Write-Host "$StringPrefix Host's Swap datastore was changed from [$oHostOriginalSwapDatastoreName] to [$TargetDatastoreName]." -ForegroundColor Green } Else { Write-Host "$StringPrefix Host's Swap datastore was not changed." -ForegroundColor Cyan } Write-Host "+---------------------------------------END HOST SWAP CHECK-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+" } Write-Host "Script Finished." -ForegroundColor Green  

OK, so the MOB is a generic view of some APIs, and the APIs are the core of the communications- so not all APIs will appear in the MOB. Is that correct? I added the code to refresh the services view on the vCenter so that changes to the services are now reflecting on the vCenter Services section of the hosts' web GUI. However, some hosts are showing this error when the code runs: Get-View : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VIObject'. The argument is null or empty. Provide an argument that is not null or empty, and then try the command again. At C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\PowerShell_Scripts\Vulnerabilities\Remove-Vuln_2023-02.ps1:157 char:20 + ... = Get-View (Get-VMHost $ESXiHostName).ExtensionData.ConfigManager.Se ... + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-View], ParameterBindingValidationException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.DotNetInterop.GetVIView You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression. At C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\PowerShell_Scripts\Vulnerabilities\Remove-Vuln_2023-02.ps1:158 char:5 + $ss.RefreshServices() + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvokeMethodOnNull The error happens when this command is executed: $ss = Get-View (Get-VMHost 192.168.30.5).ExtensionData.ConfigManager.ServiceSystem Thanks for your help so far.

Can you help me out here? I can access the vCenter & Host MOBs however I cannot find the option you mentioned. How do I navigate there?   Is there a MOB tree online where you can search for what you want and find a path to get there by navigating the MOB?

Thanks for your response. I did see the PowerShell example from VMware stating you can shutdown the SLPD service using PowerCLI, however I initially tested the sample code on my ESXi hosts and some hosts, particularly those which were deemed vulnerable just by their build version, returned no result. Here is my testing results on an ESXi 6.7 host with SLPD service running: Checked the SLPD service status via SSH: [root@MyHost:~] /etc/init.d/slpd status slpd is running   [root@MyHost:~] esxcli network firewall ruleset list -r CIMSLP Name    Enabled ------  ------- CIMSLP     true   [root@MyHost:~] chkconfig --list | grep slpd slpd                    on   OK, so the SSH commands all show the SLPD service is running, firewall is allowing connections and the service is set to restart on host restart. Then I ran the VMware-recommended PowerShell script on the same host: PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Vulnerabilities> $VMHost = Get-VMHost -Name 'MyHost.MyDomain.com.au' PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Vulnerabilities> $service = $VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where-Object { $_.Key -eq "slpd" } PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Vulnerabilities> $Service PS C:\Users\jmilano\Documents\Powershell_Scripts\Vulnerabilities> As you can see from displaying the value of the variable $Service, the PowerShell script returns no results. I checked the web GUI for this host and it only shows the CIM Server as a service, there is no SLPD service in the GUI. The hosts I tested this on are VMware ESXi, 6.7.0, 14320388.   I then checked the SLPD service from SSH again and nothing has changed: [root@MyHost:~] /etc/init.d/slpd status slpd is running   [root@MyHost:~] esxcli network firewall ruleset list -r CIMSLP Name    Enabled ------  ------- CIMSLP     true   [root@MyHost:~] chkconfig --list | grep slpd slpd                    on   From what I can determine, if you cannot see the SLPD service in the web GUI then you cannot turn it off using just straight PowerCLI. And this will most likely be the hosts which are ESXi 6.7 with a very low build value.   So if you want to be sure that you mitigate this vulnerability on ALL your hosts, you're better off running the "work around" commands supplied by VMware using SSH from PowerShell. This is for all those admins out there who have not upgraded their hosts to V7 yet. I guess if you have all V7 hosts then the VMware sample code will work fine.   *** Interesting note: All my vCenters are now V7 running ESXi 6.7 hosts atm as we are about to upgrade the hosts. No matter if I turn off the SLPD service from an SSH session, as per the VMware workaround instructions, or by using my custom PowerShell script (same thing really!), the service status as displayed in the web GUI does NOT change- so the SLPD service in the web GUI will show "Running" although it is not. Using the VMware PowerShell script samples DOES change the Service status in the web GUI, and from what I can see it is because the PowerCLI commands create a task in vCenter/ESXi hosts, you can see the task popup in the Recent Tasks pane at the bottom of the web GUI when you run the VMware PowerShell samples, so this seems to trigger the vCenter server to update the web GUI service status. Strange!

Like I said in my previous post, what does the permission "Configure Datastore" actually provide? Does it allow the user to add a datastore to the hosts? I think "Configure" is too generic as a word to describe datastore permissions.

I've seen that article:   Configure datastore Allows configuration of a datastore.   To me it doesn't really mean much. To configure a datastore is to do what? Add a datastore to a host or set permissions on a datastore, etc?

You are correct. And this is the exact reason I posted my process above. When you upgrade from vCenter 6.7 to 7.0, the VMTools updates which are in the vCenter repo are for ESXi 7.x/8.x and thus my ESXi 6.7 hosts cannot be used to patch any VMTools vulnerabilities. In my situation, I have vCenter 7.0 however my 500 hosts have not been updated yet, and I have a VMTools vulnerability at hand. Thus, the method I posted above allows you to download the VMTools 12.1.x offline bundle for ESXi 6.7, add it to the Lifecycle manager repo and install it to all your ESXi 6.7 hosts using a baseline. Using this method I am able to immediately fix the VMTools vulnerability on my VMs which reside on the ESXi 6.7 hosts while I'm in the process of upgrading them to 7.0. I posted the above so that I may help anyone who is in the same situation as me.