An ESXi system includes a direct console (also called DCUI) that allows you to start and stop the system and to perform a limited set of maintenance and troubleshooting tasks. The direct console includes the ESXi Shell, which is disabled by default. You can enable the ESXi Shell in the direct console or by using the vSphere Client. You can enable local shell access or remote shell access:
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■ Remote shell (SSH) access allows you to connect to the host using a shell such as PuTTY, specify a user name and password, and run commands in the shell.The ESXi Shell includes all ESXCLI commands, a set of deprecated esxcfg- commands, and a set of commands for troubleshooting and remediation.
Important All ESXCLI commands that are available in the ESXi Shell are also included in the vCLI package.VMware recommends you install the vCLI package on a supported Windows or Linux system or deploy the vMA virtual appliance, and run commands against your ESXi hosts. Run commands directly in the ESXi Shell in troubleshooting situations only.
2 Scroll to Troubleshooting Options and press Enter.
3 Choose Enable ESXi Shell and press Enter.On the left, Enable ESXi Shell changes to Disable ESXi Shell. On the right, ESXi Shell is Disabled changes to ESXi Shell is Enabled.
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2 In the Services section, click Properties.
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■ To change the Startup policy across reboots, click Start and stop with host and reboot the host.
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5 Click OK.The ESXi Shell timeout setting specifies how long, in minutes, you can leave an unused session open. By default, the timeout for the ESXi Shell is 0, which means the session remains open even if it is unused. If you change the timeout, for example, to 30 minutes, you have to log in again after the timeout period has elapsed.
Note If you are logged in when the timeout period elapses, your session will persist. However, the ESXi Shell will be disabled, preventing other users from logging in.
a Select Modify ESXi Shell timeout and press Enter.
a In the Configuration tab’s Software panel, click Advanced Settings.
b In the left panel, click UserVars.
c Locate UserVars.ESXiShellTimeOut and enter the timeout value in minutes.
d Click OK.After you enable the ESXi Shell in the direct console, you can use it from main direct console screen or remotely through a serial port.
4 To log out, type exit in the shell.See vSphere Installation and Setup documentation for information on serial port setup.