To run the API examples shown in this book, you need access to a test installation of vSphere and a development workstation or virtual machine, including:

vCenter Server
Data center storage space to create virtual machines
A user role with permissions on vCenter Server that allow you to create folders and tag objects in the vSphere inventory.
A developer workstation, with space to download & install SDKs

The example code creates an inventory object folder and a tag for the folder. You can run these examples in your on-premises data center.

If you do not have a vSphere test environment readily available, you can easily create a test environment with VMware Cloud™ on AWS. Refer to the following documentation:

Alternatively, you may be able to install vCenter Server as a virtual machine running on VMware Workstation™ or VMware Fusion®. This is not a supported feature, but some users have used the Open Virtualization Format Tool to set up test installations using the vCenter Server Appliance™ running on Workstation or Fusion. If you choose this method, the following links are helpful: