Browse datastore via VIM

[tos2k]

Hi!

Is it possible to browse datastores via VIMservice? All I know so far is that it is possible to rename/move/delete known files, but is it possible to do a real "browse" on a datastore via the webservice too? F.e. list all files in a specific directory?

Thx, Tos2k

[tos2k]

A VIperlToolkit way to get this info is shown in VMware\VMware VI Remote CLI\Perl\lib\VMware\VIext.pm

This is directly done by the good old HttpRequest (plus some argument/Url parsing).

Shall this really be the only way browse datastores by the webService, even in ESX 3.5(i)???

Tos2k

[StefanPahrmann]

Hi,

in the vmperltoolkit there is a sample-app (C:\perl\apps\host\dsbrowse.pl) which shows how to access datastores and to show different settings (name, capacity, filetypes etc.).

Look for the funktion "find_datastores()" and modify it to your needs.

-Stefan

[tos2k]

Hi, thx for Ur reply!

Cant you attach the file to a post here as I cannot find "find_datastore" function in the alpha and beta of vipertoolkit? I cannot find dsbrowse.pl either.

Anyway, I know how to check the different properties of a datastore, are you sure that your reply will make it possible to show files and folders in a specific location on a datastore?

By the way, I am currently developing under .NET and would like to know if this can be achieved by the VimApi of VMware, or if the webservice has to be accessed directly/manually by the HttpRequest object, as seen in the attached VIExt.pm (do_http_get_file called by do_http_get_file). This behaviuor I would merely call a hack than being supported by VMware VimApi...

thx, Tos2k

[ssurana]

Hi,

Attached is the dsbrowse.pl that you are looking for.

~ Sidharth

[tos2k]

Thanks for the investigation!

This topic has been discussed here before:

http://communities.vmware.com/message/743131

Finally, the DatastoreBrowser does its work very good

The resulting files can be picked up like this then:

VimApi.HostDatastoreBrowserSearchResults hsr = (HostDatastoreBrowserSearchResults)result[2];

foreach (VimApi.FileInfo fi in hsr.file)

Console.WriteLine(fi.path);

Tos2k

p.s. Grüße nach Dland

[StefanPahrmann]

You're welcome, I'm glad you solved you're problem.

Anyway I'm living in Denmark (though I lived in Germany some years ago)

[hicksj]

Sidharth,

I've tried using this script in the past, but there appears to be a problem if run against Virtual Center. I haven't had time to investigate where things go wrong in the code, but the results end up with the hosts associated with a datastore being listed repeatedly:

>Hosts associated with this datastore.

> esx008.domain

> esx007.domain

> esx008.domain

> esx009.domain

> esx007.domain

> esx008.domain

> esx009.domain

> esx011.domain

> esx007.domain

> esx008.domain

> esx009.domain

> esx011.domain

> esx010.domain

> esx007.domain

> esx008.domain

> esx005.domain

> esx009.domain

> esx011.domain

> esx010.domain

> esx007.domain

> esx008.domain

> esx005.domain

> esx009.domain

> esx036.domain

> esx011.domain

> esx010.domain

> esx007.domain

> esx008.domain

Is this script only meant to be run directly against hosts? I don't see that as a specified limitation, and the online documentation states it is supported with ESX and VC.