ESXi Shell
Access with the Direct Console

ESXi

system includes a Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) that you can use to start and stop the system and to perform a limited set of maintenance and troubleshooting tasks.

You can use the direct console to access the

ESXi Shell

, which is disabled by default. You can enable the

ESXi Shell

in the direct console or by using the

vSphere Client

. You can enable local shell access or remote shell access.

With local shell access, you can log in to the shell directly from the Direct Console. See Enabling Local ESXi Shell Access.

With remote shell (SSH) access you can connect to the host by using a shell such as PuTTY, specify a user name and password, and run commands in the shell. See Remote ESXi Shell Access with SSH.

The

ESXi Shell

includes all ESXCLI commands, a set of deprecated

esxcfg-

commands, and a set of commands for troubleshooting and remediation.

All ESXCLI commands that are available in the

ESXi Shell

are also included in the ESXCLI package.

You can install the ESXCLI package on a supported Windows or Linux system, and run commands against your

ESXi

hosts. Run commands in the

ESXi Shell