Create and Use a Session File

You can create a session file with the save_session script.

The save_session script is in the /apps/session directory of the vSphere SDK for Perl, which is included in the vCLI package. You can use the session file, which does not reveal password information, when you run vCLI commands. If the session file is not used for 30 minutes, it expires.

If you use a session file, other connection options are ignored.

Procedure

Navigate to the directory where the script is located.

The following examples show possible locations of the script.

Operating System	Command
Windows	`cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\Perl\apps\session`
Linux	`cd /usr/share/lib/vmware-vcli/apps/session`

Run save_session.

You can use the save_session.pl script or the --savesessionfile option to the vCLI command. You must specify the server which to connect to and the name of a session file in which the script saves an authentication cookie.

save_session --savesessionfile <location> --server <server>

The following examples show the correct syntax for each OS.

Operating System	Command
Windows	`save_session.pl --savesessionfile C:\Temp\my_session --server my_server --username <username> --password <password>`
Linux	`save_session --savesessionfile /tmp/vimsession --server <servername_or_address> --username <username> --password <password>`

Note

If you specify a server, but no user name or password, the script prompts you.

When you run vCLI commands, pass in the session file using the --sessionfile option.

<command> --sessionfile <sessionfile_location> <command_options>

The following examples show the correct syntax for each OS.

Operating System	Command
Windows	`esxcli --sessionfile C:\Temp\my_session network ip interface list` `vicfg-mpath.pl --sessionfile C:\Temp\my_session --list`
Linux	`esxcli --sessionfile /tmp/vimsession network ip interface list` `vicfg-mpath --sessionfile /tmp/vimsession --list`