vCLI host management commands from earlier versions have been replaced with commands that have equivalent functionality.
The following table lists vCLI host management commands in alphabetical order and the corresponding ESXCLI command if available. For ESXCLI, new commands and namespaces are added with each release. See the Release Notes for the corresponding release for information.
Functionality of the DCLI command set that is being added in vSphere 6.0 and later is different from these commands. They are not included in the table.
vCLI 4.1 Command | vCLI 5.1 and later Command | Comment |
---|---|---|
esxcli | esxcli (new syntax) | All vCLI 4.1 commands have been renamed. Significant additions have been made to ESXCLI. Many tasks previously performed with a vicfg- command is now performed with ESXCLI. |
resxtop | resxtop (No ESXCLI equivalent) Supported only on Linux. |
Monitors in real time how ESXi hosts use resources. Runs in interactive or batch mode. See Using resxtop for Performance Monitoring. See the vSphere Resource Management documentation for a detailed reference. |
svmotion | svmotion (No ESXCLI equivalent) Must run against a vCenter Server system. |
Moves a virtual machine’s configuration file, and, optionally, its disks, while the virtual machine is running. |
vicfg-advcfg | esxcli system settings advanced | Performs advanced configuration. The advanced settings are a set of VMkernel options. These options are typically in place for specific workarounds or debugging. Use this command as instructed by VMware. |
vicfg-authconfig | vicfg-authconfig (No ESXCLI equivalent) | Remotely configures Active Directory settings for an ESXi host. See Using vicfg-authconfig for Active Directory Configuration. |
vicfg-cfgbackup | vicfg-cfgbackup (No ESXCLI equivalent) Cannot run against a vCenter Server system. |
Backs up the configuration data of an ESXi system and restores previously saved configuration data. See Backing Up Configuration Information with vicfg-cfgbackup. |
vicfg-dns | esxcli network ip dns | Specifies an ESXi host’s DNS (Domain Name Server) configuration. |
vicfg-dumppart | esxcli system coredump | Sets both the partition (esxcli system coredump partition) and the network (esxcli system coredump network) to use for core dumps. Use this command to set up ESXi Dump Collector. |
vicfg-hostops | esxcli system maintenancemode esxcli system shutdown |
Manages hosts. |
vicfg-ipsec | esxcli network ip ipsec | Sets up IPsec (Internet Protocol Security), which secures IP communications coming from and arriving at ESXi hosts. ESXi hosts support IPsec using IPv6. See Setting Up IPsec. |
vicfg-iscsi | esxcli iscsi | Manages hardware and software iSCSI storage. |
vicfg-module | esxcli system module | Enables VMkernel options. Use this command with the options listed in this document, or as instructed by VMware. |
vicfg-mpath vicfg-mpath35 |
esxcli storage core path | Configures storage arrays. See Managing Paths. |
vicfg-nas | esxcli storage nfs | Manages NAS/NFS filesystems. |
vicfg-nics | esxcli network nic | Manages the ESXi host's uplink adapters. |
vicfg-ntp | vicfg-ntp (No ESXCLI equivalent) | Defines the NTP (Network Time Protocol) server. See Manage an NTP Server. |
vicfg-rescan | esxcli storage core adapter rescan | Rescans the storage configuration. |
vicfg-route | esxcli network ip route | Manages the ESXi host's route entry. |
vicfg-scsidevs | esxcli storage core device | Finds and examines available LUNs. See Examining LUNs. |
vicfg-snmp | esxcli system snmp | Manages the SNMP agent. See Managing ESXi SNMP Agents. Using SNMP in a vSphere environment is discussed in detail in the vSphere Monitoring and Performance documentation. New options added in vCLI 5.0. Expanded SNMP support added in vCLI 5.1. |
vicfg-syslog | esxcli system syslog | Specifies log settings for ESXi hosts including local storage policies and server and port information for network logging. See Configuring ESXi Syslog Services. The vCenter Server and Host Management documentation explains how to set up system logs using the vSphere Web Client. |
vicfg-user | vicfg-user (No ESXCLI equivalent) | Creates, modifies, deletes, and lists local direct access users and groups of users. See Managing Users. The vSphere Security documentation discusses security implications of user management and custom roles. |
vicfg-vmknic | esxcli network ip interface | Adds, deletes, and modifies VMkernel network interfaces. |
vicfg-volume | esxcli storage filesystem | Supports resignaturing the copy of a VMFS volume, and mounting and unmounting the copy. |
vicfg-vswitch | esxcli network vswitch | Adds or removes virtual switches or modifies virtual switch settings. See Setting Up Virtual Switches and Associating a Switch with a Network Interface. |
vifs | vifs (No ESXCLI equivalent) | Performs file system operations such as retrieving and uploading files on the ESXi system. See Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools. |
vihostupdate | esxcli software vib | Updates legacy ESXi hosts to a different version of the same major release. You cannot run vihostupdate against ESXi 5.0 and later hosts. |
vmkfstools | vmkfstools (No ESXCLI equivalent) | Creates and manipulates virtual disks, file systems, logical volumes, and physical storage devices on an ESXi host. See Managing the Virtual Machine File System with vmkfstools. |
vmware-cmd | vmware-cmd (No ESXCLI equivalent) | Performs virtual machine operations remotely. This includes, for example, creating a snapshot, powering the virtual machine on or off, and getting information about the virtual machine. |