How to create Datacenter Objects and add ESXi hosts to a vCenter instance using vSphere PowerCLI

Overview

Creating a Datacenter object using VMware PowerCLI involves using PowerShell commands to interact with VMware vCenter Server. PowerCLI is a powerful tool that allows you to automate various tasks in your virtual environment. Here’s how you can create a datacenter object using PowerCLI:

Step 1: Install VMware PowerCLI

If you haven’t already installed VMware PowerCLI, you can download and install it from the VMware website. Once installed, you can launch the PowerCLI console or use PowerShell to interact with the VMware environment.

Step 2: Connect to vCenter Server

Open the PowerCLI console or a PowerShell window and connect to your vCenter Server using the Connect-VIServer cmdlet. Replace vcenter-server with your server’s hostname or IP address and provide valid credentials when prompted:

> Connect-VIServer -Server

Step 3: Create a Datacenter object

Create parameters for datacenter name, ESXi hosts and ESXi credentials.

Use the New-Datacenter cmdlet to create a new datacenter.

Step 4: Adding ESXi hosts

Use the foreach command to recursively add ESXi hosts to the vCenter as shown.

Verify the same in the vSphere client.

Step 4: Adding ESXi hosts

Use the Get-VM cmdlet to view the VMs residing on the host.

Conclusion

Please note that these steps are a basic outline of creating a datacenter object and adding ESXi hosts to the vCenter using PowerCLI. You can further customize and extend the process using additional PowerCLI cmdlets and scripting techniques as needed for your environment. Always make sure to test your scripts in a controlled environment before applying them to production systems.

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