VMware Cloud Community
MICDROP
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
Jump to solution

Can I use 'su -' command in ESXi 5.5 ?

For security reasons, my customer wants to use the 'su -' command.

However, when I type 'su -', 'sudo' in ESXi, ESXi not found 'su -', 'sudo' commands.

I found some posting that the 'su -' command in the 3.x and 4.x versions of esxi, but did the command disappear from the 5.x or later version?

Additional, my customer wants to change the 3 files permission.

(/etc/shadow/  ,  /etc/cron.d/cron.allow   ,   /etc/cron.d/cron.deny)

Changing permissions is very easy, but doesn't this affect to ESXi?

Regards

Reply
0 Kudos
1 Solution

Accepted Solutions
berndweyand
Expert
Expert
Jump to solution

the su/sudo commands doesnt exist in esxi. long times ago they were available in the service console of esx3/4, but not esxi

i would not recommend to change the permissions of the files. but why do ou want to change the permissions ? keep the root-account secure and/or enable lockdown mode

View solution in original post

Reply
0 Kudos
5 Replies
berndweyand
Expert
Expert
Jump to solution

the su/sudo commands doesnt exist in esxi. long times ago they were available in the service console of esx3/4, but not esxi

i would not recommend to change the permissions of the files. but why do ou want to change the permissions ? keep the root-account secure and/or enable lockdown mode

Reply
0 Kudos
scott28tt
VMware Employee
VMware Employee
Jump to solution

Given that 5.5 has been out of support for 2 years, you might want to advise your client to upgrade if they are running anything like production workloads.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Although I am a VMware employee I contribute to VMware Communities voluntarily (ie. not in any official capacity)
VMware Training & Certification blog
Reply
0 Kudos
NathanosBlightc
Commander
Commander
Jump to solution

I found some posting that the 'su -' command in the 3.x and 4.x versions of esxi

They are all about the VMware ESX, not the ESXi ! (They have many differences) Please check those posts carefully again ...

However, it's not supported to do any actions you required on ESXi like a Linux, because really the ESXi is not just a Linux after all.

Please mark my comment as the Correct Answer if this solution resolved your problem
Reply
0 Kudos
depping
Leadership
Leadership
Jump to solution

your customer should be more concerned about the version of vSphere they are running than about the use of "su -" to be honest 😄

Reply
0 Kudos
nachogonzalez
Commander
Commander
Jump to solution

Hello, hope you are doing fine

IMHO: Most of VMware products are Linux based but that doesn't mean VMware should be managed as a Linux server.
vCenter and ESXi support AD authentication (Also for SSH CLI), both products have GUI, CLI (PowerCLI, SSH) and an API for management

Also versions olders than vSphere 6.5 are out of support for some time.

I wouldn't care for su / sudo (It's not necessary on day to day operations) and I should care on upgrading to a newer version

Warm regards

Reply
0 Kudos