ESXi Host Management

This guide covers key daily management tasks for VMware ESXi hosts, including networking, storage, patch management, CLI commands, and hardware monitoring.

1️⃣ Networking Configuration

• Set static IP address and hostname on ESXi host.
• Configure Standard Switches (vSwitch) for basic networking.
• Use Distributed Switches (VDS) for centralized networking via vCenter.
• Ensure proper VLAN tagging if required by your physical network.
• Enable VMkernel adapters for vMotion, Management, and Storage traffic.
• Reference: VMware Networking Documentation

2️⃣ Storage Configuration

• Connect storage using iSCSI, NFS, or Fibre Channel protocols.
• Use vSAN for software-defined storage if licensed and clustered.
• Create Datastores to store VM files (VMDK, ISO, snapshots).
• Monitor storage health and performance regularly.

3️⃣ Host Patching & Updates

Keeping your ESXi hosts updated is crucial for stability and security.

• Use vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) or Update Manager (VUM) in vCenter for automated patching.
• Manually update via offline bundles if needed: ESXi Patch Manual Guide
• Check compatibility matrix before upgrading major versions.

4️⃣ SSH & CLI Management

• Enable SSH temporarily for troubleshooting (disable afterward for security).
• Use ESXCLI for advanced command-line operations:
• esxcli network nic list - View physical NIC status.
• esxcli storage filesystem list - View mounted datastores.
• esxcli hardware cpu global get - View CPU info.
• esxcli system version get - Check ESXi version.
• Full ESXCLI reference: ESXCLI Documentation

5️⃣ Monitoring Host Health

• Monitor hardware sensors: temperature, fan, memory errors, disk health via vCenter or directly on ESXi host client.
• Integrate with external monitoring tools (vRealize Operations, Nagios, Zabbix).
• Set up SNMP traps or syslog forwarding for centralized logging.

Next Step

Now that your hosts are managed, proceed to learn about VMware NSX Software-Defined Networking for advanced network virtualization.