How to Connect to vCenter with PowerCLI

PowerCLI, VMware’s PowerShell module, is a powerful tool for managing and automating VMware environments. With PowerCLI, you can perform a wide range of tasks, from simple VM management to complex automation workflows. One of the fundamental tasks is connecting to vCenter Server, which allows you to access and manage your VMware infrastructure programmatically. In this guide, we’ll walk through the process of connecting to vCenter using PowerCLI:

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have the VMware PowerCLI module installed on your system. You can install it via PowerShell by running:

Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Scope CurrentUser

Connecting to vCenter Server:

Once the module is imported, you can use the Connect-VIServer cmdlet to establish a connection to your vCenter Server. Replace vcenter.example.com with the hostname or IP address of your vCenter Server.

Connect-VIServer -Server vcenter.example.com

Provide Credentials:

You will be prompted to enter your credentials. Alternatively, you can pass the credentials directly using the -User and -Password parameters.

Connect-VIServer -Server vcenter.example.com -User "YourUsername" -Password "YourPassword"

Code Example:

This example code utilises what we have discussed above to connect to vCenter. The script then get a list of all Virtual Machines and exports them to a .csv file in the C:\Temp\ directory:

# Import the PowerCLI Module
Import-Module VMware.PowerCLI
 
# Define vCenter Server details
$vCenterServer = "vcenter.example.com"
$Username = "YourUsername"
$Password = "YourPassword"
 
# Connect to vCenter Server
try {
    Connect-VIServer -Server $vCenterServer -User $Username -Password $Password -ErrorAction Stop
    Write-Host "Connected to vCenter Server successfully."
}
catch {
    Write-Host "Failed to connect to vCenter Server: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red
    exit
}
 
# List all VMs and export to CSV
try {
    $VMs = Get-VM
    $VMs | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Temp\VM_List.csv" -NoTypeInformation
    Write-Host "VM list exported to VM_List.csv."
}
catch {
    Write-Host "Error occurred while retrieving VMs: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red
}
finally {
    # Disconnect from vCenter Server
    Disconnect-VIServer -Server $vCenterServer -Confirm:$false
}

Note: It is good practise to disconnect from vCenter once you have finished. You can disconnect from vCenter using Disconnect-VIServer

Import-Module VMware.PowerCLI: Imports the PowerCLI module into the current PowerShell session.
Connect-VIServer: Establishes a connection to the specified vCenter Server.
-Server: Specifies the hostname or IP address of the vCenter Server.
-User and -Password: Provide the username and password for authentication.
Get-VM: Retrieves a list of all virtual machines managed by the vCenter Server.
Export-Csv: Exports the VM list to a CSV file named “VM_List.csv” without including the object type information.
Disconnect-VIServer: Terminates the connection to the vCenter Server.

By following these steps and using the provided code examples, you can easily connect to your vCenter Server using PowerCLI and perform various management tasks efficiently.

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How to Connect to vCenter with PowerCLI