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dvSwitch scripting – Function index

Over the last few weeks I have published a number of blog entries that showed how you could use PowerShell, PowerCLI and the SDK to automate the management of the vNetwork Distributed Switch.

To facilitate the use of the functions I provided in these posts I created a table that lists all the dvSwitch related functions together with a link to the post where they were published.

Functionname Description Link
New-dvSwitch Creates a new dvSwitch Part 1
Get-dvSwHostCandidate Find hosts that can be connected to a dvSwitch Part 1
Add-dvSwHost Add a host to a dvSwitch Part 1
Get-dvSwitch Find a dvSwitch by name Part 2
New-dvSwPortgroup Create a new dvPortgroup Part 2
Get-VLANRanges Internal function ! Do not use directlu. Part 2
Set-VM2dvPortgroup Connect a VirtualMachine to a dvPortgroup Part 2
New-InternaldvSwvNic Internal function ! Do not use directly. Part 3
New-dvSwConsole Create a Service Console on a dvSwitch Part 3
New-dvSwvmKernel Create a vmKernel on a dvSwitch Part 3
Set-dvSwPgvMotion Enable vMotion on a vmKernel dvPortgroup Part 3
Set-dvSwPgFTLogging Enable FT logging on a vmKernel dvPortgroup Part 3
Set-dvSwUplink Update the number of uplinks on a dvSwitch Part 4
Add-dvSwHostpNic Add pNics to a dvSwitch Part 4
Set-dVSwPgTeam Set up Nic Teaming on a portgroup on a dvSwitch Part 4
<script> Clone a guest and connect to a dvPG Part 5
New-dvSwPVLAN Create PVLAN Part 6
Set-dVSwPgPVLAN Assign a PVLAN to a portgroup Part 6
Get-dvSwPg Find a portgroup Part 7
Set-dvSwPgVLAN Change the VLAN Id of a portgroup Part 7
Get-dvSwNetworkAdapter Get network adapter information Part 8
Set-dvSwNetworkAdapter Change portgroup connection of a network adapter Part 8
Get-dvPgTrafficShaping Get the traffic shaping settings of a portgroup Part 9
Set-dvPgTrafficShaping Set the traffic shaping settings of a portgroup Part 9
New-dvSwNetworkResourcePool Create a user-defined network resource pool Part 10
Remove-dvSwNetworkResourcePool Remove a user-defined network resource pool Part 10
Get-dvSwNetworkResourcePool Retrieve user-defined network resourcepool(s) Part 10
Set-dvSwSIOC Enable/disable NetIOC on a dvSw Part 10
Get-dvSwSIOC Retrieve the NetIOC status Part 10
Get-dvVmPort Get port used by VM NIC Part 11

dvSwitch scripting – Part 4 – NIC teaming

The previous parts (Part1, Part2 & Part 3) in the dvSwitch series showed how to create a dvSwitch, a portgroup for Virtual Machines and a Service Console & vmKernle portgroup. The test setup now looks something like this:

dvSw-part4-startThe double Service Consoles and vmKernel connection might look confusing at first. But when you select one these connections, the vSphere client will show you to which uplink a specific connection is going.

Continue reading dvSwitch scripting – Part 4 – NIC teaming →

dvSwitch scripting – Part 3 – Service Console & vmKernel

In the previous dvSwitch posts (see Part1 & Part2) I created a dvSwitch with a dvPortgroup, and we migrated some guests to this dvSwitch .

In this part I’ll show you how to create Service Console and vmKernel portgroups over the dvSwitch. Again, all the shown scripts will do a minimal configuration of the new portgroups. More advanced configurations will be discussed in future posts in the dvSwitch series.

This is the schematic view of the configuration that we currently have.dvSw1-config3

Continue reading dvSwitch scripting – Part 3 – Service Console & vmKernel →

Scheduled Tasks – MethodAction

With the introduction of vSPhere the types of Tasks you can select when you create a new Scheduled Task has increased. This is a very useful feature that allows you to schedule for example your (s)vMotions, your Snapshots, your Imports and Exports and so on.

Schedule-Task-Listbox

In the PowerCLI Community there was a recent question on how these Scheduled Tasks can be created from PowerShell (see relocate vm’s from csv file and create schedule task in VC).

Being able to create a Scheduled Task for a svMotion for several guests from a PowerShell script, instead of clicking away in the vSphere Client, would be another step on the path of vSphere automation. Continue reading Scheduled Tasks – MethodAction →

dvSwitch scripting – Part 2 – dvPortgroup

In Part 1 of the dvSwitch scripting series I created a simple dvSwitch with 2 uplinks, which I connected to all the ESX hosts that were returned as possible candidates. In this part I will show you how to add a dvPortgroups and how you can connect Virtual Machines to this dvPortgroup.

This is the schematic of what we have so far.

dvSw1-general1 Continue reading dvSwitch scripting – Part 2 – dvPortgroup →

dvSwitch scripting – Part 1 – Creation

With the introduction of vSphere one of the new features that was introduced was the vNetwork Distributed Switch. This new type of switch offers many more features than the “classical” vSwitch we knew.

In the current PowerCLI build there are no cmdlets present to create, configure, manage and remove this new type of switch. Surely this will change in one of the upcoming PowerCLI releases.

To bridge the time till the next release, I decided to write a number of functions that would allow PowerCLI users to work with the vNetwork Distributed Switch. Continue reading dvSwitch scripting – Part 1 – Creation →

Events: a great source of information – Part 1

On the PowerCLI community someone raised a question how he could get a list of guests that were created longer than 30 days ago. The obvious source to get this kind of information are the events that VI/vSphere keeps. Note that in vSphere you will have to take into account how long events are kept! The current PowerCLI build provides the Get-ViEvent cmdlet that allows you to get at the information. Continue reading Events: a great source of information – Part 1 →

The Onyx alternative ?

On Carter’s vSPhere PowerCLI Blog site we learned, just before VMworld, about Project Onyx. The program that will come out of this project will allow users to generate PowerShell code from actions done in the vSphere Client. But while we wait till the program comes in GA, is there an alternative for finding out what API call(s) an action in the vSphere Client generates ? In fact there is. And it’s free ! Continue reading The Onyx alternative ? →

Automating Converter Enterprise jobs with PS

With VMware vCenter you get a feature-rich free product called VMware vCenter Converter. One of the things you can do with the Convertor product is to read disk images created by VMware Consolidated Backup and import them in a vCenter. In the current release the Convertor doesn’t come with any support for the PowerCLI automation tools but that doesn’t mean we can’t use the Convertor from our PowerShell scripts. Continue reading Automating Converter Enterprise jobs with PS →

The vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide – A little gem from VMworld

When you attend a conference like VMworld you get lots of goodies pushed your way.  With some of these you only realise when you are back home what you were given. The vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide is a good example of such a little gem that came my way during the last VMworld. Continue reading The vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide – A little gem from VMworld →