We are happy to announce a brand-new version of VMware Datacenter CLI (DCLI) has been released! Before diving into the impressive list of updates, let’s take a second to review the history of one of VMware’s newest command line interfaces (CLI).
DCLI was introduced as part of the vSphere CLI 6.5 command set release. DCLI can be used to interact directly with the vSphere Automation APIs (vSphere’s RESTful APIs) to perform VM lifecycle and appliance management tasks. Outside of being installed as part of vSphere CLI, DCLI is also available as part of the vCenter installation process for both the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) and the Windows based installation. We can use DCLI in two main ways, as an interactive shell or through a scripting mode. The interactive shell offers features such as tab complete, the ability to easily recall prior commands, and a wide variety of output options. Scripting mode allows easy integration into existing workflows.
DCLI 2.9.1 is a tremendous update including the following:
Offered as a standalone product
New installation method through the Python Package Index (PyPI)
DCLI 2.9.1 is now offered as a standalone product. This singular update is huge and really opens the door for the other updates. By doing this, it allows DCLI to be released on a more regular cadence, support additional operating systems, support additional VMware products, and can even be open-sourced!
Improved Support Coverage
This release of DCLI adds a ton of support! DCLI can now be installed on a wide variety of operating systems including Windows, Linux, and MacOS systems. Plus, as well as the VMware products it interacts with. DCLI now supports a multitude of Essentially, if the local OS supports Python version 2.7 or greater, then DCLI is supported and can be installed. DCLI also now supports new VMware products, including vSphere, VMware Cloud on AWS, and NSX-T!
New Installation Method
DCLI 2.9.1 has a brand new installation method! As I mentioned earlier, DCLI was previously available as part of the vSphere CLI command set. Now, it is installed in a single step directly from your terminal through PyPI. PyPI is the official 3rd party public repository for Python. This single line will use PyPI to download and install DCLI onto your local system:
Datacenter CLI has made huge improvements in the short time since it’s release with vSphere 6.5. DCLI 2.9.1 reintroduces itself as a standalone product, available exclusively through the Python Package Index, and has newly added support for both VMware Cloud on AWS and NSX-T!
