The ESX host's local command shell, previously called the ESXi Shell. It is off by default, can be turned on from the DCUI, vSphere Client or VMware Host Client, and has its own availability and idle timeout settings.
Also called formerly ESXi Shell.
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Terms in this definition
- ESX
VMware's bare-metal hypervisor, installed on each host in a VCF fleet. Up to version 9.0 it was known as ESXi.
- LSDOU
The sequence in which Group Policy is processed: the local policy first, followed by site, domain and organisational unit policies. The nearest, last-processed setting takes effect unless Enforced or Block Inheritance alters that.
- DCUI
Text console on an ESX host or the vCenter appliance, used to set up networking initially, troubleshoot, and turn on SSH or the ESX Shell.
- vSphere Client
vCenter's built-in HTML5 browser interface and the main tool for administering vCenter, its hosts and virtual machines.
- VMware Host Client
Each ESX host serves this browser interface for direct management of itself and its VMs, handy if vCenter cannot be reached.
- Idle timeout
The time, 4 minutes by default, that a TCP flow with no activity is kept open on a load balancer rule. It does not provide session stickiness.
Related terms
- 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.