To retrieve information from an inventory object, you start with ServiceInstance, the root object of the inventory. You access an object using a
TraversalSpec in conjunction with a property collector, using the properties that identify an object’s position in the hierarchy.
Instance Diagram of Root Folders in an Inventory shows the
childEntity and
folder properties that define the default objects in the inventory of a standalone ESX/ESXi system. The inventory begins with the
ServiceContent.rootFolder property. The
rootFolder has a
childEntity that consists of a managed object reference to a
Datacenter managed object.