Editing Managing your VMware vSphere Homelab without vCenter

[[Category:Management]]
Running standalone/free [[VMware vSphere]] ESXi Hypervisors without vCenter means you're missing out on some of the features- creating templates, cloning, moving VMs from host to host etc. There are ways to get vCenter licensing on your homelab - [https://www.vmug.com/Advantage VMUG Advantage] and the [https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/vexpert vExpert Scheme] are a couple of good examples -however there are some workarounds you can do to imitate some of the functionality.

==PowerShell==
With Microsoft Windows 8 and Windows 10 comes great responsibility!  in Microsoft PowerShell you can now power on your hosts via there IPMI/ILO interface (if you have IPMI connected hosts obviously!).  with the commandlets you can:
# Get Information on the IPMI connected host (Get-PcsvDevice)
# Power On an IPMI connected host (Start-PcsvDevice)
# Power Off an IPMI connected host (Stop-PcsvDevice)

===Links===

==ESXi Embedded Host Client==
VMware Labs has created a web management interface for ESXi that installs directly on the ESXi server.

All you need to manage ESXi is a browser. No extras required (no Java, no Flash, even works from Safari on an iPad)!

https://labs.vmware.com/flings/esxi-embedded-host-client

Simply download the installation file from VMware, ssh into your ESXi host and install it. No reboot required.

When installed the server can be managed from https://<i>servername</i>/ui

==PowerCLI==
PowerCLI won't let you do anything you're not licensed for- just because the Move-VM cmdlet exists doesn't mean it will run and let you vMotion guests- but you can use PowerCLI to move or copy VMs, there's just a bit of thinking involved to put the script together.
For example, to move a VM between independent ESXi hosts with no shared storage we could
# Shutdown the Source VM on the Source Host (see the Shutdown-VMGuest cmdlet)
# De-register the Source VM on the Source Host (see Remove-VM)
# Mount the Source Datastore as a PowerShell Drive (see Get-Datastore and New-PSDrive)
# Mount the Target Datastore as a PowerShell Drive
# Move the VM files (so all the config files, VMDK's etc) between the two Drives (see Copy-DatastoreItem)
# Register the (now Target) VM on the Target Host (see New-VM -VMFilePath)
# Power on the Target VM (see Start-VM)

All of these steps are available at the Free licensing level and higher.

===Links===

==ESXi Shell==
There's lots of functionality available through the ESXi Shell- remember, as with PowerCLI, you still don't have access to unlicensed features just because you're using the command line. 


===Links===
*[http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2012/06/how-to-copy-vms-directly-between-esxi.html How to Copy VMs Directly Between ESXi Hosts Without Shared Storage]
*[https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1918 Using SCP to copy files to or from an ESX host]

==VMware Converter==
This free tool from VMware allows you to move Virtual Machines between different infrastructures so can be used, amongst other things, to cold-migrate between ESXi hosts.

===Links===
[http://www.vmware.com/uk/products/converter/ VMware Converter Product Page (including Download and Documentation)]

==Veeam Backup==
Veeam Backup, right from the free offering, allows you to backup a VM and this backup can be restored to a different target host- in effect a cold-migration with an intermediate step.

===Links===
[[Veeam]] on Open Homelab

==Someone else's vCenter==
Creating an OVF/OVA template requires vCenter, but you can deploy them direct to an ESXi host. So if you have access to a VCenter somewhere outside your homelab (an employer perhaps) then you can use that to create the OVF files and then deploy them back at home.
[[File:Deploy-OVF-Template-Host.png|thumb|200px|Deploy OVF Template]]