Using the PowerCLI Datastore Provider

Use the PowerCLI Datastore Provider to access the contents of one or more datastores through a file system interface, so that it is easier to navigate, manipulate, and automate tasks.

The items in a datastore are files that contain configuration, virtual disk, and other data associated with a virtual machine.

When you connect to a server with Connect-VIServer, the cmdlet builds two default datastore drives: vmstore and vmstores.

To access the datastores of the last connected vCenter Server or ESXi, run: cd vmstore:\.

To access the datastores available on all vCenter Server and ESXi systems you are currently connected to, run: cd vmstores:\.

Use the dir and cd commands to navigate the inventories.