https://www.projecthomelab.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Managing_your_VMware_vSphere_Homelab_without_vCenterManaging your VMware vSphere Homelab without vCenter - Revision history2026-05-10T01:01:43ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.44.2https://www.projecthomelab.org/index.php?title=Managing_your_VMware_vSphere_Homelab_without_vCenter&diff=188&oldid=prevTravis: 1 revision imported2020-07-31T17:01:05Z<p>1 revision imported</p>
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</td></tr></table>Travishttps://www.projecthomelab.org/index.php?title=Managing_your_VMware_vSphere_Homelab_without_vCenter&diff=187&oldid=prevopenhomelab>Theodore at 18:20, 26 May 20162016-05-26T18:20:19Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[Category:Management]]<br />
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.<br />
<br />
==PowerShell==<br />
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:<br />
# Get Information on the IPMI connected host (Get-PcsvDevice)<br />
# Power On an IPMI connected host (Start-PcsvDevice)<br />
# Power Off an IPMI connected host (Stop-PcsvDevice)<br />
<br />
===Links===<br />
<br />
==ESXi Embedded Host Client==<br />
VMware Labs has created a web management interface for ESXi that installs directly on the ESXi server.<br />
<br />
All you need to manage ESXi is a browser. No extras required (no Java, no Flash, even works from Safari on an iPad)!<br />
<br />
https://labs.vmware.com/flings/esxi-embedded-host-client<br />
<br />
Simply download the installation file from VMware, ssh into your ESXi host and install it. No reboot required.<br />
<br />
When installed the server can be managed from https://<i>servername</i>/ui<br />
<br />
==PowerCLI==<br />
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.<br />
For example, to move a VM between independent ESXi hosts with no shared storage we could<br />
# Shutdown the Source VM on the Source Host (see the Shutdown-VMGuest cmdlet)<br />
# De-register the Source VM on the Source Host (see Remove-VM)<br />
# Mount the Source Datastore as a PowerShell Drive (see Get-Datastore and New-PSDrive)<br />
# Mount the Target Datastore as a PowerShell Drive<br />
# Move the VM files (so all the config files, VMDK's etc) between the two Drives (see Copy-DatastoreItem)<br />
# Register the (now Target) VM on the Target Host (see New-VM -VMFilePath)<br />
# Power on the Target VM (see Start-VM)<br />
<br />
All of these steps are available at the Free licensing level and higher.<br />
<br />
===Links===<br />
<br />
==ESXi Shell==<br />
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. <br />
<br />
<br />
===Links===<br />
*[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]<br />
*[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]<br />
<br />
==VMware Converter==<br />
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.<br />
<br />
===Links===<br />
[http://www.vmware.com/uk/products/converter/ VMware Converter Product Page (including Download and Documentation)]<br />
<br />
==Veeam Backup==<br />
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.<br />
<br />
===Links===<br />
[[Veeam]] on Open Homelab<br />
<br />
==Someone else's vCenter==<br />
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.<br />
[[File:Deploy-OVF-Template-Host.png|thumb|200px|Deploy OVF Template]]</div>openhomelab>Theodore