WFA and single ESXi Host

[AKLOCKMANN]

Hi Community,

Is it possible to connect from a WFA with a single ESXi Server? I want to mount a cloned datastore to single ESXi server without a vCenter. Furthermore i want to register these VMs and start them.

Thanks for your help!

Regards Arne

[sinhaa]

Hi Arne,

@ Is it possible to connect from a WFA with a single ESXi Server?

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Yes of course. WFA is a very intelligent automation frame-work and allows great flexibility to use a number of ways to automate. Any CLI or API connetivity for remote hostsif exists, it can be used with WFA.

You can use VMware Power CLI Powershell cmdlets to connect to an ESXi host. VMware power CLI is not shipped with WFA, you would need to download and install in on your WFA server.

@ I want to mount a cloned datastore to single ESXi server without a vCenter.

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This is quite simple to do using vmware cmdlets.

@ Furthermore i want to register these VMs and start them.

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If its possible using using powershell cmdlets, its possible using WFA.

Alternately you can use VCLI or vmware SDK also in WFA for managing ESXi. WFA only provides some vmware commands using posh cmdlets, you can see them for examples.

regards,

sinhaa 

[mbeattie]

Hi Arne,

Yes it's absolutely possible to do this with WFA using the vSphere PowerCLI and Data ONTAP PowerShell CmdLets. Do you want select an existing datastore and clone it then mount it to the standalone ESXi host or do you just want to mount an existing flexclone volume? What type of datastore (NFS, iSCSI, FCP?). It possible but will require you to add the credentials for the ESXi host to the WFA credential cache (and update them if your standalone ESXi root password ever changes).

You can use WFA to automate any functionality that you can perform in the vSphere client (IE browse the cloned datastore, register the VM's into the ESXi host inventory and power them on). If you are aren't using the latest ESXi release with the webclient then check out project onyx:

https://labs.vmware.com/flings/onyx

If you are using vSphere 6.X check out:

https://labs.vmware.com/flings/onyx-for-the-web-client

http://blogs.vmware.com/PowerCLI/2015/07/new-fling-onyx-web-client.html

This will help translate the vSphere GUI actions into PowerShell code to help build your workflow. Hope this helps

/matt