Running vCLI Host Management Commands

You can run vSphere Command-Line Interface (vCLI) host management commands from the command line of the system where you installed the package, from the vMA command line, and from scripts.

Host management commands, which include ESXCLI and vicfg- commands, require at a minimum the target server to run the command on. Users must authenticate to the host, and can only perform tasks that they are authorized to perform.

Note See Running DCLI Commands for information about DCLI commands, which you can use to manage vCenter Server services.

This chapter includes the following topics:

■	Overview of Running vCLI Host Management Commands

■	Protecting Passwords

■	Authenticating Through vCenter Server and vCenter Single Sign-On

■	Authenticating Directly to the Host

■	Trust Relationship Requirement for ESXCLI Commands

■	Common Options for vCLI Host Management Command Execution

■	Using vCLI Commands in Scripts

■	Running Host Management Commands from a Windows System

■	Running Host Management Commands from a Linux System

Important If an ESXi system that you target is in lockdown mode, you cannot run vCLI commands against that system directly. You must target a vCenter Server system that manages the ESXi system and use the --vihost option to specify the ESXi target. See vCLI and Lockdown Mode.