ESXCLI is a powerful command line tool on an ESXi host. You may need it for troubleshooting, configuration or for automated ESXi installations by using a kickstart file. I'm having an esxcli command line reference on my desktop since vSphere 5.x and I am using it quite often. Here is the command line reference for the latest release of vSphere ESXi 6.7.
New ESXCLI Commands in vSphere 6.7
Posted by fgrehl
on April 20, 2018
1 comment
In vSphere 6.7 the command line interface esxcli has been extended with new features. This post introduces the new and extended namespaces.VMware vSphere 6.7 introduces Skylake EVC Mode
Posted by fgrehl
on April 18, 2018
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To simplify vMotion across CPU generations VMware has introduced Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC). EVC automatically configures server CPUs with Intel FlexMigration or AMD-V Extended Migration technologies to be compatible with older servers. In vSphere 6.7 a now EVC mode has been introduced.
Intel Skylake Generation
Compared to Intel "Broadwell " EVC mode, the Skylake EVC mode exposes additional CPU features:
- Advanced Vector Extensions 512
- Persistent Memory Support Instructions
- Protection Key Rights
- Save Processor Extended States with Compaction
- Save Processor Extended States Supervisor
For more information about EVC Modes see Intel CPU EVC Matrix
VMware vSphere 6.7 Download Links Available
Posted by fgrehl
on April 17, 2018
2 comments
Today VMware made vSphere 6.7 bits available for everyone to download. VMware vSphere 6.7 is now GA.
VMware vSphere 6.7 Release Notes and Download Links
- VMware vCenter Server 6.7 [Release Notes] [Download]
- VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 6.7 [Release Notes] [Download]
- VMware vSphere Replication 8.1 [Release Notes] [Download]
- VMware Guest SDK 10.2.0 [Download]
- VMware Virtual SAN Witness Appliance 6.7 [Download]
- VMware vRealize Orchestrator Plug-In for vSphere Replication 8.1 [Release Notes] [Download]
- VMware vSphere Client SDK 6.7 [Download]
- VMware vSphere Command Line Interface 6.7 [Download]
- VMware vSphere Management SDK 6.7 [Download]
- VMware vSphere Perl SDK 6.7 [Download]
- VMware vSphere SNMP MIBs 6.7 [Download]
- VMware vSphere Virtual Disk Development Kit 6.7.0 [Download]
- VMware vSphere Web Client SDK 6.7 [Download]
Development time
Since vSphere 6.0 VMware started to extend their major release cycles. With 518 days, the development time of vSphere 6.7 was 3 months shorter than the previous version but is still much longer than the release cycles in the vSphere 5 era. Let's hope for smooth upgrades in the next couple of weeks.
| ESX | Release Date | Days since prior release |
| 6.7 | 2018-04-17 | 518 |
| 6.5 | 2016-11-15 | 614 |
| 6.0 | 2015-03-12 | 536 |
| 5.5 | 2013-09-22 | 376 |
| 5.1 | 2012-09-11 | 384 |
| 5.0 | 2011-08-24 | 407 |
| 4.1 | 2010-07-13 | 418 |
| 4.0 | 2009-05-21 | 456 |
| 3.5 | 2008-02-20 | 615 |
| 3.0 | 2006-06-15 | 563 |
| 2.5 | 2004-11-29 | 244 |
| 2.1 | 2004-03-30 | 253 |
| 2.0 | 2003-07-21 | 434 |
| 1.5 | 2002-05-13 | 416 |
| 1.0 | 2001-03-23 |
VMware ESX History Diagram
How to Install VMware vSphere Perl SDK on Debian 9 (stretch)
Posted by fgrehl
on February 7, 2018
No comments
Download the latest Perl SDK for your vSphere version from code.vmware.com and copy it to the system. The download is free, but an My VMware account is required.
- vSphere Perl SDK for vSphere 6.5
- vSphere Perl SDK for vSphere 6.0
- vSphere Perl SDK for vSphere 5.5
- vSphere Perl SDK for vSphere 5.1
Make sure that your system up to date:
# apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
Homeserver - ESXi on HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10
Posted by fgrehl
on November 2, 2017
17 comments
After Hewlett Packard Enterprise has missed offering a Microserver in their 9th Generation, it is now back in Gen10. The Microserver series provides affordable servers intended to be used in SMB and as home servers. Due to its low price and power consumption, you can find this system in many virtualization home labs as ESXi hosts or Storages.
The HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 is available with two different CPUs - AMD Opteron X3216 and X3421. Both models a SoC which means that the CPU cannot be changed like the Intel CPUs in Gen8. They support up to 32GB of unbuffered DDR RAM. The server can be equipped with 4 hard drive from the front.
- HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10, Opteron X3216 (2x 1.6 - 3.0GHz / 15W TDP)
- HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10, Opteron X3421 (4x 2.1 - 3.4GHz / 35W TDP)
Fix for FreeNAS on HPE MicroServer Gen10 X3216 Stuck Console Issue
Posted by fgrehl
on October 26, 2017
7 comments
When you try to install FreeNAS 11 on the new HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 X3216, the installer stops booting and appears to be stuck at:
pcib0: <ACPI Host-PCI bridge> port 0xcf8-0xcff on acpi0
pcib0: _OSC returned error 0x10
pci0: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib0
This article explains how to fix the issue during the installation and how to apply the fix at an installed system using the FreeNAS Web Interface.
Get- and Set-VMLatencySensitivity PowerShell Function
Posted by fgrehl
on October 15, 2017
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The Get-VMLatencySensitivity, Get-VMLatencySensitivityBulk and Set-VMLatencySensitivity PowerShell functions configure can return and set the latency sensitivity level of a virtual machine. You can adjust the latency sensitivity of a virtual machine to optimize the scheduling delay for latency sensitive applications.
The function is part of my Virten.net.VimAutomation module, which is a set of PowerShell function built for managing, troubleshooting and automating VMware based platforms. The module can be easily obtained from the PowerShell Gallery and is available on GitHub.
Critical Patch for All-Flash vSAN with Deduplication (6.0 and 6.5)
Posted by fgrehl
on October 6, 2017
No comments
VMware has released a critical patch for vSAN 6.0 and 6.5. This patch contains a fix for a highly critical vSAN issue that might cause IO read errors and in some cases severe symptoms such as inaccessible VMs, host failures, or stuck resyncs. The issue manifests itself only under highly specific operations and IO patterns.
The bug only affects All-Flash vSAN configurations with deduplication enabled.
Symptoms for this issues are the following messages in the Events tab:
- "vSAN detected an unrecoverable medium or checksum error for component uuid on disk group uuid."
- "vSAN detected and fixed a medium or checksum error for component uuid on disk group uuid."
The following versions are affected according to KB2151042 and KB2151081.
| Name | Patch | Date | Build |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESXi 6.5 Update 1 | ESXi650-update1 | 2017-07-27 | 5969303 |
| ESXi 6.5 Update 1 (Security only) | ESXi650-update1 | 2017-07-27 | 5969300 |
| ESXi 6.5d (vSAN 6.6 Patch) | ESXi650-201704001 | 2017-04-18 | 5310538 |
| ESXi 6.5 Express Patch 1a | ESXi650-201703002 | 2017-03-28 | 5224529 |
| ESXi 6.5 Patch 1 | ESXi650-201703001 | 2017-03-09 | 5146846 |
| ESXi 6.5 Patch 1 (Security Only) | ESXi650-201703001 | 2017-03-09 | 5146843 |
| ESXi 6.5a | ESXi650-201701001 | 2017-02-02 | 4887370 |
| ESXi 6.5 GA | 2016-11-15 | 4564106 | |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3a (Patch 5) | ESXi600-201706001 | 2017-06-06 | 5572656 |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3a (Patch 5) (Security Only) | ESXi600-201706001 | 2017-06-06 | 5485776 |
| ESXi 6.0 Express Patch 7a | ESXi600-201703001 | 2017-03-28 | 5224934 |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3 | ESXi600-update3 | 2017-02-24 | 5050593 |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3 (Security Only) | ESXi600-update3 | 2017-02-24 | 5047589 |
| ESXi 6.0 Patch 4 | ESXi600-201611001 | 2016-11-22 | 4600944 |
| ESXi 6.0 Patch 4 (Security Only) | ESXi600-201611001 | 2016-11-22 | 4558694 |
VMware states that all vSAN customers using All-Flash with deduplication enabled must upgrade to this patch immediately:
Get-VMHostVersion and Get-VMHostLatestVersion PowerShell Function
Posted by fgrehl
on September 25, 2017
No comments
The Get-VMHostVersion and Get-VMHostLatestVersion PowerShell functions are aimed at helping you to identify the version at which your ESXi is currently running, and whether updates are available. Both are using a JSON based ESXi Build database which is also the backend for the ESXi Build Number History provided by virten.net.
The function is part of my Virten.net.VimAutomation module, which is a set of PowerShell function built for managing, troubleshooting and automating VMware based platforms. The module can be easily obtained from the PowerShell Gallery and is available on GitHub.
