vSphere Locators
vSphere source locators point to a virtual
machine or vApp within the virtual infrastructure. The vSphere target locator
provides all required information for importing an OVF package or virtual
machine into a cluster, host or resource pool. Both source and target locator
use the same syntax:
vi://<username>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<search-term>
The server name and port can designate either a vCenter server or an ESXi
host. If you omit credentials, OVF Tool prompts you for them. Default installations of
vCenter Server and ESXi use port 443. If you are using the default port, you do not need
to specify it. When using OVF Tool with VMware Server, you had to specify port 8333,
the default port for this discontinued product.
The search term has the following format:
<path>[?<query>=<value>]
If a query is not given, a VC inventory path
lookup is performed using the specified path. Otherwise, the object matching
the query is used. The meaning of the query depends on the object type.
Table 1
shows the different values that you can use in the query field.
Name
| Query
| Source
| Target
|
---|---|---|---|
BIOS
| bios
| BIOS ID of a virtual
machine
| BIOS ID of a host
|
Datastore
| ds
| Datastore path to a virtual
machine
| N/A
|
IP Address
| ip
| IP address of a virtual
machine
| IP address of a host
|
DNS
| dns
| DNS name of a virtual
machine
| DNS name of a host
|
Mo-Ref
| moref
| Managed object reference
(vSphere specific identifier) of a virtual machine or vApp
| Managed object reference
(vSphere specific identifier) of a host, cluster, or resource pool
|
Table 2
shows example values for each query type.
Name
| Query
| Example Value
|
---|---|---|
BIOS
| bios
| vi://localhost?bios=234290984
|
Datastore
| ds
| vi://localhost/TestDatacenter?ds=[foo]/myvm/myvm.vmx
|
IP Address
| ip
| vi://localhost?ip=123.231.232.232
|
DNS
| dns
| vi://localhost?dns=production-vm3.example.com
|
Mo-Ref
| moref
| vi://localhost?moref=vim.VirtualMachine:vm-23423
|
Note: For the
same VM, the Managed Object Reference (MoRef) will be different for vCenter
Server than it is for the ESXi host. For instance, the same VM can have a MoRef
of ‘vm-92’ in vCenter Server and ‘118’ in the ESXi host. Also note that the
syntax contains ‘vm-’ for a vCenter Server MoRef. When the Motif is defined by
vCenter Server, you can see it in the browser address and use it directly. The
OVF Tool script doesn't define and parse the format of a MoRef.
|
You can enter a partial source locator if you do
not know the entire inventory path. In this case, the tool fails but suggests
possible inventory path completions.
Specifying the
Inventory Path to a Virtual Machine or vApp
To specify an inventory path for a virtual
machine or vApp, use the following syntax:
<datacenter name>/vm/<folders>/<vm or vApp
name>
or
<datacenter name>/host/<resource pool
path>/<vm or vApp name>
The use of the
vm
tag after the datacenter
name specifies that you are locating a virtual machine or vApp in the VM and
Template view. Use the host tag after the datacenter name if you are locating a
virtual machine or vApp in the Host and Clusters view.
The following example shows an inventory path
without any folders:
MyDatacenter/vm/MyVM
The following example shows an inventory path
with two nested folders:
MyDatacenter/vm/Folder 1/Sub Folder/MyVM
Specifying the
Inventory Path for a Cluster, Host, or Resource Pool
You can specify an inventory path for a host or
a resource pool. You can nest resource pools similar to folders. To specify an
inventory path for a host or a resource pool as part of target locators, use
the following syntax:
<datacenter name>/host/<host
name>/Resources/<resource pool>
- hostandResources. Fixed parts of the path.
- Resources. Specify only when a resource pool is specified.
- <resource pool>. Can take the value of one or more nested resource pools. If no resource pools are specified, the default resource pool for the host is used.
The following example is of an inventory path
without a specified resource pool:
vi://username:pass@localhost/my_datacenter/host/esx01.example.com
The following example is of an inventory path
with a specified resource pool:
vi://username:pass@localhost/my_datacenter/host/esx01.example.com/Resources/my_resourcepool
You must specify the /host/
section of an inventory path when using a vi destination locator. If you are
specifying the destination of a resource pool, you must include the /Resources/
section of the path.