I’m excited to announce that it’s release day yet again! We have a great new update for you with PowerCLI 6.5.3! Just a few short months ago, two to be exact, the last version of PowerCLI was released. That release introduced a new parameter, some new content library functionality for ISOs, and even new support for certain features.
PowerCLI 6.5.3 comes packed with the following:
- New module for NSX-T functionality
- Addition of a ‘Create’ method for use with the ‘Get-*Service’ cmdlets
- Several issues have been resolved
Let’s take a closer look at each of these.
New NSX-T Module
PowerCLI 6.5.3 introduces a brand-new module in order to manage VMware NSX-T environments. NSX-T was announced this year at VMworld US. In a nutshell, NSX-T is the newest iteration of VMware’s multi-hypervisor NSX platform. It is also the key to multi-cloud, and container infrastructures!
This module is being released as a low-level, API access only, module and will feature the following cmdlets:
- Connect-NsxtServer
- Disconnect-NsxtServer
- Get-NsxtService
An example of connecting to an NSX-T server and listing the nodes included in the cluster:
For more information on the NSX-T RESTful API, the API documentation can be viewed on the VMware Code API Explorer.
New Create Method Available
The other major update is around the addition of a ‘Create’ method to the Get-CisService and, newly released, Get-NsxtService cmdlets when used in conjunction with an object’s ‘Help’ property. This streamlines the creation of certain objects for a template-like experience. Those who have worked with specifications when using the ‘Get-View’ cmdlet will be quite familiar with how this ‘Create’ method will work and be interacted with. This method works against the following objects:
- Parameter
- Elements of a parameter (Limited to types: List, Set, Optional)
- Key and value of parameters (Limited to types: Map)
- Fields of a parameter (Limited to types: Structure)
Here’s an example on how the new ‘Create’ method can be used to create and apply settings to a specification in order to make a new VM while using the vSphere Automation SDK API:
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# Connect to the vSphere Automation SDK API Connect-CisServer -Server $serverAddress -User $user -Password $pass # Get the CIS service for VM management $vmService = Get-CisService com.vmware.vcenter.VM # Create a VM creation specification $createSpec = $vmService.Help.create.spec.Create() # Fill in the creation details $createSpec.guest_OS = "WINDOWS_7_64" # Create a placement specification $createSpec.placement = $vmService.Help.create.spec.placement.Create() # Fill in the placement details $createSpec.placement.folder = (Get-Folder vm).ExtensionData.MoRef.Value $createSpec.placement.host = (Get-VMHost | Select-Object -First 1).ExtensionData.MoRef.Value $createSpec.placement.datastore = (Get-Datastore | Select-Object -First 1).ExtensionData.MoRef.Value # Call the create method passing the specification $vmService.create($createSpec) |
Resolved Issues
This release of PowerCLI also contains some usage improvements to a handful of cmdlets.
- New-TagAssignment: When connected to multiple vCenters and using string based inputs for the ‘Tag’ and ‘Entity’ parameters, the cmdlet has been updated to no longer throw an error of “The specified parameter ‘Tag’ expects a single value, but your name criteria ‘…’ corresponds to multiple values.”
- Set-VMHostNetworkAdapter: When configuring an ESXi host’s virtual NIC to use an IPv6 address which is managed through a vCenter Server of version 6.5, the AutomaticIPv6 property has been corrected to no longer flip the switch to ‘True’.
Summary
We are continuing our commitment to getting the latest and greatest functionalities, performance improvements, and issue resolutions with this latest release of PowerCLI 6.5.3. After only 2 months, we have released a new module to manage NSX-T environments, added a new ‘Create’ method for use with the Get-CisService and Get-NsxtService cmdlets, and fixed a handful of issues with existing cmdlets.
Remember, updating your PowerCLI modules is now as easy as: Update-Module VMware.PowerCLI
For more information on changes made in VMware PowerCLI 6.5.3, including improvements, security enhancements, and deprecated features, see the VMware PowerCLI Change Log. For more information on specific product features, see the VMware PowerCLI 6.5.3 User’s Guide. For more information on specific cmdlets, see the VMware PowerCLI 6.5.3 Cmdlet Reference.
Hi,
I have a problem with one cmdlets: get-vsan-stat
Get-VsanStat : 10/11/2017 6:54:33 AM Get-VsanStat Method not found:
‘VMware.VimAutomation.Cis.Core.Interop.V1.CisClient
VMware.VimAutomation.Cis.Core.Interop.V1.CisClientManagerBase.GetClientByConnectionId(System.String)’.
There’s been a new version of the PowerCLI 6.5.3 release that’s been updated on the PowerShell Gallery. Please run another Update-Module and let me know if you’re still experiencing that problem.
Thanks.
Hi guys
Getting the same error when trying to run the Get-Tag and Get-TagAssignment cmdlets.
Regards
Tom Otomanski
There’s been a new version of the PowerCLI 6.5.3 release that’s been updated on the PowerShell Gallery. Please run another Update-Module and let me know if you’re still experiencing that problem.
Thanks.
I hope I will find an answer here.
I am new to power cli, and started using it from couple of months. I was very happy with PowerCLI 6.3 but I recently upgraded to PowerCLI 6.5 (Powershell 4.0 or 5.0) as our vcenter is upgraded to 6.5.
The moment I upgraded, I started running into memory issues.
Each end every command of powercli leaks memory and not freed for ever until I force garbage collect.
Connect-VIserver, get-vm etc, all commands are leaking memory big time. Have you seen this kind of issue any time? is there anyway we can contain this leak.
Here is my envivonment: Windows 2012 R2 server, .net 4.0, PowerShell 4.0/5.0, PowerCLI 6.5, Vcenter 6.5.
Appreciate your help.
Regards
Vijay
I’ve been following your VMTN thread regarding the issue: https://communities.vmware.com/thread/574071
To this point, you’re the first to bring this up. I haven’t been able to reproduce it in multiple environments.
I see from the thread that you’re running a script, if you can limit it down to one specific cmdlet that’s leaking memory I would urge you to open a Support Request. For more information on open an SR, see the following blog: http://blogs.vmware.com/PowerCLI/2017/08/powercli-support-breakdown.html
Thank you so much for replying. I will go through the support request channel and see what information I can provide. In my opinion, it is the combination of garbage collection happening slow and a memory leak.
Also, I see that almost all commands like power-on VM, power-off VM, get-vm, get-vm <> etc are leaking. It is not just limited one command.
Also, do you think if you can revise your support Matrix? Because, in our environment, with PowerCLI 6.0 and Vcenter 6.5, it is working normally. We see issues with PowerCLI 6.5.x series.
Please see the update to the VMTN thread.
Is an offline installer available?
The modules can be obtained for offline systems by making use of ‘Save-Module’ through the PowerShell Gallery.
For more information see the “Offline Install of PowerCLI to a Computer Without an Internet Connection” section of the following blog: https://blogs.vmware.com/PowerCLI/2017/04/powercli-install-process-powershell-gallery.html
I believe in the past, there was guidance not to use the “Update-Module” cmdlet as it didn’t remove the old modules properly. Is that no longer the case?
https://code.vmware.com/doc/preview?id=5731#/doc/GUID-36B57546-7378-4ED8-8780-43B6CE9914AF.html
“If you use Update-Module, the existing version of the module is not removed. To update a module, you should first uninstall the existing version of the module and then install the new version.”
I would consider that to be a personal preference.
Personally, I don’t uninstall modules prior to an update. That allows the Update-Module command to complete a little faster since it only needs to download the new modules instead of downloading all of the modules.
There’s no risk of issues when having PowerCLI 6.5.1 or newer versions all being on the same system, one of the huge benefits or switching over to modules!
Only a small question…
Do you know at what date VMRC is supported on Windows Server 2016?
We want to offer our customers the VMware Remote Console via Remote Desktop Services (on Windows Server 2016), but we cant, because it does not work…
VMware Support just said it is not supported, but didnt said when it will be!
Maybe I find some help here?
I am definitely not the right person to talk to about that.
However it does look like VMRC 10.0.2 added Server 2016 support: https://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/vmrc/100/vmware-remote-console-1002-release-notes.html
If that doesn’t help, reply back here and I will try to find someone that can help.
Thanks meant for delivering this type of great details. http://bit.ly/2zg5G3A
Hydroponic tomatoes require quite a lot of further
care and nurturing when they are first set for cultivation.
There seems to be quite a few questions and comments over this new installation method so I created a walkthrough video to illustrate the process