PowerCLI Essentials

Key Features

• Automate VMware's VSphere environment by learning the essentials of PowerCLI
• Impress your peers by developing scripts to perform administration tasks
• Discover the intricate workings of PowerCLI through simple and real-life examples

Book Description

Have you ever wished you could automatically get a report with all the relevant information about your VMware environments in exactly the format you want? Or that you could automate a crucial task that needs to be performed on a regular basis? Powerful Command Line Interface (PowerCLI) scripts do all these things and much more for VMware environments. PowerCLI is a command-line interface tool used to automate VMware vSphere environments. It is used to handle complicated administration tasks through use of various cmdlets and scripts, which are designed to handle certain aspects of VSphere servers and to help you manage them.

This book will show you the intricacies of PowerCLI through real-life examples so that you can discover the art of PowerCLI scripting. At the start, you will be taught to download and install PowerCLI and will learn about the different versions of it. Moving further, you will be introduced to the GUI of PowerCLI and will find out how to develop single line scripts to duplicate running tasks, produce simple reports, and simplify administration. Next, you will learn about the methods available to get information remotely. Towards the end, you will be taught to set up orchestrator and build workflows in PowerShell with update manager and SRM scripts.

What you will learn

• Download and install PowerCLI and its basics as well as the basics of PowerShell
• Enchance your scritping experience
• Build longer scripts and simpler reports
• Relate a task in VMware administration to a PowerCLI script
• Discover methods to acquire and change information remotely
• Set up orchestrator to manage your workflow

About the Author

Chris Halverson is a senior consultant for VMware in the Professional Services Organization in Canada. He specializes in the full Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) stack, architecting, designing, and deploying customer solutions. He has been active in the VMware community as a VMUG leader for the past 4 years and prides himself as an active participant in the local IT market over the past 17 years. Previous roles have allowed him to work on enterprise architecture bringing process and rigor to the administration aspect of the position and automation that made the job smarter. There is even an aspect where "I replaced myself with a small script" has been heard from him when discussing the former roles.

When Chris is not working on building the virtual community, he shares his time and energy with his tremendous wife, three boys, and one princess. Excited to spend time watching and helping them figure out life for themselves, he encourages them in their sports, through their schooling, and through their own walk of faith.

Over the past few years, Chris has also been able to achieve a dream as a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, crossing off one of those bucket list items.

Chris has also acted as a book reviewer.

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to Essential Administration with PowerCLI
2. Comparing Point and Click Administration to PowerCLI and Scripting
3. Enhancing the Scripting Experience
4. Windows Administration within VMware Administration
5. Workflows and vRealize Orchestrator
6. Running Workflows with Other VMware Products