A command-line interface: a way of managing software by typing text commands rather than using a graphical tool. In vSphere examples include ESXCLI and the ESX host shell, plus the vCenter appliance shell; it should not be confused with the vCenter CLI installer.
Also called command-line interface.
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains CLI in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Chat message roles
Labels on chat messages: instructions go under system, the person's input under user, the model's previous answers under assistant, and results returned by a called tool under tool (or function).
- vSphere
VMware's platform for virtualisation, made up of vCenter and ESX hosts, supplying compute for VCF clusters.
- ESXCLI
Using esxcli namespaces, administrators query and configure ESX hosts, and even patch or upgrade them, whether locally in the ESX Shell, over SSH or from a remote machine.
- ESX
VMware's bare-metal hypervisor, installed on each host in a VCF fleet. Up to version 9.0 it was known as ESXi.
- vCenter
Management software for VMs, clusters and ESX hosts. Each domain in VCF gets a dedicated one.
- Appliance shell
Log in to a vCenter appliance by SSH or console and you land here. Administrators run API commands such as health.system.get to check and adjust the appliance, and can drop into Bash when needed.
- CLI installer
Used for unattended or bulk deployments, this text-mode vCenter installer reads JSON templates to deploy, migrate or upgrade vCenter appliances without prompts.