Automating with PowerCLI
Generally considered the tool of choice for automating vSphere, PowerCLI provides the ability to easily manage nearly all components in a vSphere environment.
People with Windows administration backgrounds generally have some familiarity with PowerShell and find adopting PowerCLI more natural than adopting the other tools. Individuals who are comfortable with console administration will find PowerCLI easy to pick up and use.
In the following sections, we will introduce you to PowerShell, walk you through the initial configuration of PowerCLI on multiple platforms, examine essential PowerCLI cmdlets, demonstrate how to build more scripts that use the functionality of PowerCLI, and discuss the new features found in PowerCLI 10.
PowerShell and PowerCLI
PowerCLI would not be possible were it not for PowerShell. Based on the .NET Framework, PowerShell is a command-line and scripting language developed by Microsoft. As a standard Microsoft automation platform, PowerShell...