Remote ESXi Shell Access with SSH

If Secure Shell is enabled for the ESXi Shell, you can run shell commands by using a Secure Shell client such as SSH or PuTTY.

Enabling SSH for the ESXi Shell

By default, remote command execution is disabled on an ESXi host, and you cannot log in to the host using a remote shell. You can enable remote command execution from the direct console or from the vSphere Client.

To enable SSH access in the direct console

1	At the direct console of the ESXi host, press F2 and provide credentials when prompted.

2	Scroll to Troubleshooting Options and press Enter.

3	Choose Enable SSH and press Enter once.

On the left, Enable SSH changes to Disable SSH. On the right, SSH is Disabled changes to SSH is Enabled.

4	Press Esc until you return to the main direct console screen.

To enable SSH from the vSphere Client

1	Select the host and click the Configuration tab.

2	Click Security Profile in the Software panel.

3	In the Services section, click Properties.

4	Select SSH and click Options.

5	Change the SSH options.

■	To change the Startup policy across reboots, click Start and stop with host and reboot the host.

■	To temporarily start or stop the service, click the Start or Stop button.

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Click OK.

To enable the remote ESXi Shell from the vSphere Web Client

1	Select the host, click the Manage tab, and click Settings.

2	Under System, select Security Profile.

3	In the Services panel, click Edit.

4	Select SSH from the list.

5	Click Service Details and select the startup policy Start and stop manually.

When you select Start and stop manually, the service does not start when you reboot the host. If you want the service to start when you reboot the host, select Start and stop with host.

6	Select Start to enable the service.

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Click OK.

After you have enabled SSH, you log in to the ESXi Shell remotely and run ESXi Shell commands.

Using the ESXi Shell with SSH

If SSH is enabled on your ESXi host, you can run commands on that shell using an SSH client.

To access the remote ESXi Shell

1	Open an SSH client.

2	Specify the IP address or domain name of the ESXi host.

Precise directions vary depending on the SSH client that you are using. See vendor documentation and support.

3	Provide credentials when prompted.