Compare Image Profiles with PowerCLI Cmdlets

You can compare two image profiles by using the Compare-EsxImageProfile cmdlet, for example, to see if they have the same VIB list or acceptance level . Comparing image profiles or their properties is also possible by using the PowerShell comparison operators.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and Prerequisite Software.

Procedure

In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work with.

Option	Action
Remote depot	Run `Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl <depot_url>`.
ZIP file	Download the ZIP file to a local file system. Run `Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\<file_path>\<offline-bundle>.zip`

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

(Optional) Run the Get-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to view a list of all image profiles in all available depots.
In the list, you can locate the names of the image profiles you want to compare.
Before comparing the image profiles, assign them to variables.
For example, you can create variables $imageProfile1 and $imageProfile2 to hold the names of the compared images profiles.
```
$imageProfile1
				= Get-EsxImageProfile -Name "ImageProfile1"
$imageProfile2
				= Get-EsxImageProfile -Name "ImageProfile2"
```

Compare the two image profiles by using the Compare-EsxImageProfile cmdlet or the -eq comparison operator, which returns a Boolean value.

Compare the two image profiles to get a full description of the differences by using the Compare-EsxImageProfile cmdlet.
```
Compare-EsxImageProfile -ReferenceProfile
					 $imageProfile1 -ComparisonProfile $imageProfile2
```

Compare the two image profiles by VIB list and acceptance level using the -eq comparison operator.

   if ($imageProfile1 -eq $imageProfile2) {
      Write-host "Successfully verified that both image profiles are equal."
   } else {
      Write-host "Failed to verify that the image profiles are equal."
   }

Compare the two image profiles by a specific property using the -eq comparison operator.

   if ($imageProfile1.vendor -eq $imageProfile2.vendor) {
      Write-host "Successfully verified that both image profiles are equal."
   } else {
      Write-host "Failed to verify that the image profiles are equal."
   }