VM /ETC

updated 013010: several commenters indicated an issue with trasfering large files via the datastore browser. As of VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6, VMware has fixed this issue. So, be sure to upgrade! More on this here.

Running the latest version of ESX3.5 enables a lot of usability enhancements in the VI Client. Many of the administrative tasks and configurations previously performed on the Service Console or by third party tools are now accessible as new options directly from the GUI. For example, you previously could not use the Datastore Browser to upload files such as ISOs to the ESX hosts, but instead had to use a tool such as WinSCP or other similar methods. With the ESX3.5 VI Client you can now transfer files right from the client. What makes this native ability even cooler is the fact that you no longer have to enable remote root access or create a special user. If you connect the VI Client to VirtualCenter as a local administrator, or if you connect to the ESX host as root you can use the VI Client to upload files without any other configurations.

The following screenshot of the VI Client is showing the Summary Tab of the ESX host.

In the Resources box is the Datastore section. Right clicking any datastore listed and selecting Browse will open the Datastore Browser. In my example I am using a stand alone ESX Foundation host that only has local storage, but if this were a SAN connected host than all volumes available would be listed.

You can see in the next screen shot that I have created an ISO folder on the local VMFS where I am storing copies of CDs needed by the VMs. The Upload button is next to the Create New Folder button and looks like a stack of disks with the green up arrow on it.

Clicking Upload opens a window which lets you browse for the file to transfer. In this example I have the Windows 2003 R2 .iso files on my USB thumb drive.

After selecting the cd1.iso the upload process begins!

As Eric Sloof points out in the Nitro.nl post ESX 3i Uploading Files, using the VI Client is also the only option for transferring files to an ESXi host.

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