looking for parameter definitions for PowerCLI commands in ESXi 6.5
So I’ve got a nice script to remove VIBs from ESX hosts that I point it at but the problem is that there are a number of parameters I can define but I don’t know *exactly* how they work and I can’t find strict definitions.
If I look at this list here: https://www.virten.net/2016/11/how-to-use-esxcli-v2-commands-in-powercli/
I can see that the command I’m interested in: $esxcli.software.vib.remove
has 5 parameters I can define:
*dryrun
*force
*maintenancemode
*noliveinstall
*vibname
I know what vibname, force and dryrun do but I don’t exactly understand what maintenancemode and noliveinstall do specifically.
My hope is that maintenancemode = $true would tell the command not to run unless the server was in maintenancemode, and I’m not exactly certain what noliveinstall would do.
Also, in the scripts I’ve seen it in, the parameters seem to all be answered in order like this: **$null, $false, $false, $true, @($_.Name)** but other than vibname, I’m not 100% certain of the order, and I don’t want to get it wrong.
I did a LOT of searching trying to find definitions of the parameters and it was hard enough just finding this list, so I’m not sure what I’m missing there but some clarity would be helpful. Thanks!
View Reddit by junon – View Source
I found this:https://www.virten.net/2016/11/vmware-esxi-6-5-esxcli-command-reference/
Which might be what you’re looking for in terms of what it’s doing. If the formatting is screwed up before I’m sorry I’m on mobile so you could just go to the link and Ctrl+F for “esxcli software vib remove”
Usage: esxcli software vib remove [cmd options]
Description:
remove Removes VIB packages from the host. WARNING: If your
installation requires a reboot, you need to disable HA
first.
Cmd options:.
–dry-run Performs a dry-run only. Report the VIB-level
operations that would be performed, but do not change
anything in the system.
-f|–force Bypasses checks for package dependencies, conflicts,
obsolescence, and acceptance levels. Really not
recommended unless you know what you are doing. Use of
this option will result in a warning being displayed
in the vSphere Client. Use this option only when
instructed to do so by VMware Technical Support.
–maintenance-mode Pretends that maintenance mode is in effect.
Otherwise, remove will stop for live removes that
require maintenance mode. This flag has no effect for
reboot required remediations.
–no-live-install Forces an remove to /altbootbank even if the VIBs are
eligible for live removal. Will cause installation to
be skipped on PXE-booted hosts.
-n|–vibname=[ <str> … ]
Specifies one or more VIBs on the host to remove. Must
be one of the following forms: name, name:version,
vendor:name, vendor:name:version. (required)