It feels just like yesterday that we released PowerCLI 6.5.3. Shockingly, it was less than a month ago when we released the brand-new module to help manage and automate your NSX-T environments. Yet, we’re back with another brand-new module to manage VMware Cloud on AWS environments as well as a bunch of new and updated storage cmdlets too!
PowerCLI 6.5.4 features the following:
- New module for VMware Cloud on AWS functionality
- 14 new cmdlets added to the Storage module
- Several cmdlets have also been improved in the Storage module
Let’s take a closer look at each of these.
New VMware Cloud on AWS Module
VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) initial availability was announced earlier this year at VMworld US. PowerCLI already works with the vSphere infrastructure out of the box. How about managing the VMC service itself? Doing tasks such as creating SDDCs, adding or removing ESXi hosts, and so forth. PowerCLI 6.5.4 makes all of that possible!
This module is being released as a low-level, API access only, module and will feature the following cmdlets:
- Connect-VMC
- Disconnect-VMC
- Get-VmcService
Note: The VMC API is currently available as a “Technical Preview” and therefore the namespace and functionality provided by the module may change in the future.
When we get started with the VMC module, we’ll notice immediately that it has a little different authentication process than the other connection cmdlets. This module requires you first acquire the OAuth Refresh Token from the VMware Cloud Console:
Copy the refresh token, open a new PowerShell session (after having updated to PowerCLI 6.5.4), and connect to the VMC service with the following command:
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Connect-Vmc -RefreshToken xxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx |
Now that we are connected, we can then display some information about the current Organization with the following commands:
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$org = Get-VmcService com.vmware.vmc.orgs $org.list() |
Example Output:
One other thing you probably want to do is retrieve information about the Org’s SDDC. That information can be found with the following commands:
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$orgId = ($org.list()).id $sddc = Get-VmcService com.vmware.vmc.orgs.sddcs $sddc.list($orgId) |
Example Output:
New Storage Module Cmdlets
The Storage module has added a ton of functionality around vSAN encryption. PowerCLI can now manage Key Management Servers (KMS), configure KMS clusters, manage certificates, and even start the vSAN encryption process on a cluster! There are also a couple of other cmdlets available to repair vSAN objects, obtain evacuation plan information, and manage vSAN rebalance cluster actions.
Here’s a list of all the new cmdlets available:
- Add-KeyManagementServer
- Get-KeyManagementServer
- Set-KeyManagementServer
- Remove-KeyManagementServer
- Get-KmsCluster
- Set-KmsCluster
- New-KmipClientCertificate
- Get-KmipClientCertificate
- Start-VsanEncryptionConfiguration
- Get-VsanEvacuationPlan
- Repair-VsanObject
- Start-VsanClusterRebalance
- Stop-VsanClusterRebalance
- Get-VsanRuntimeInfo
Taking a look at some of these new cmdlets in action:
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PS C:\Users\kruddy> Get-Cluster Demo | Get-VsanRuntimeInfo Cluster VMHost ResyncTrafficMbps ------- ------ ----------------- Demo esx01.corp.local 0 Demo esx02.corp.local 0 Demo esx04.corp.local 0 Demo esx03.corp.local 0 PS C:\Users\kruddy> Get-Cluster Demo | Get-VMHost esx01.corp.local | Get-VsanEvacuationPlan | ft -AutoSize Entity EvacuationMode DataToSyncGB ExtraSpaceNeededGB EvacuationSucess ------ -------------- ------------ ------------------ ---------------- esx01.corp.local Full 41.375 True esx01.corp.local EnsureAccessibility 0 True esx01.corp.local NoDataMigration 0 True |
Improved Storage Module Cmdlets
Last, but not least, there are some cmdlets that have received updates for additional functionality. Here’s a list of the improved cmdlets:
| Cmdlet | Added Functionality |
|---|---|
| Get-VsanTest | Displays vnic and pnic vSAN Stats |
| Start-VsanClusterDiskUpdate | Parameter: EraseDisksBeforeUse Reformats the vSAN disk with encryption settings |
| Get-VsanClusterConfiguration | Displays the Silent Health Check Statuses and Resync Throttling Configuration of a vSAN Cluster |
| Set-VsanClusterConfiguration | Parameter: AddSilentHealthCheck & RemoveSilentHealthCheck Allows for Management of vSAN Health Check Silencing Actions |
| Parameter: ResyncThrottlingMbps Configures Throttling of vSAN Resync Traffic |
|
| Parameter: WitnessHost Replaces the Witness Host in a Stretched Cluster |
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| Test-VsanClusterHealth | Additionally Displays Encryption Health Results |
Summary
PowerCLI 6.5.4 brings some fantastic updates to your PowerShell console and only a month after the last update! This release allows you to manage your VMware Cloud on AWS Org, SDDC, and more directly from PowerCLI. There are also a lot of storage improvements to make automating vSAN clusters a breeze and more secure with 14 new cmdlets and several other having been improved upon.
Updating to PowerCLI 6.5.4 is just as easy as:
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Update-Module VMware.PowerCLI |
For more information on changes made in VMware PowerCLI 6.5.4, including improvements, security enhancements, and deprecated features, see the VMware PowerCLI Change Log. For more information on specific product features, see the VMware PowerCLI 6.5.4 User’s Guide. For more information on specific cmdlets, see the VMware PowerCLI 6.5.4 Cmdlet Reference.
