Targeting the Host Directly

You can target the host directly from an administration server on which you installed ESXCLI or by running scripts.

• Open a command prompt on a Linux or Windows system on which you installed ESXCLI. Enter commands into that command prompt, specifying connection options. See Authenticating Directly to the Host.
• Prepare scripts that contain ESXCLI commands. Then run the scripts from a system that has the ESXCLI package installed. See Using ESXCLI Commands in Scripts.

When you run commands against an ESXi host, you must be authenticated for that host.