VMware vSphere¶

Last verified: v2.0

MEHO's VMware connector provides deep vSphere integration using pyvmomi, the official VMware Python SDK. With 179 operations across compute, storage, networking, monitoring, inventory, and system management, MEHO delivers comprehensive visibility and control over your entire vSphere environment -- from datacenter-level overview down to individual VM disk I/O metrics.

Authentication¶

Method	Credential Fields	Notes
Username/Password	`vcenter_host`, `port`, `username`, `password`	vSphere API session authentication

Setup¶

Create a dedicated vSphere user with the appropriate permissions:
- Read-only: Assign the Read-only global permission for diagnostic use
- Operator: Assign Virtual Machine > Interaction permissions for VM lifecycle operations
Get the vCenter hostname (FQDN or IP address of your vCenter Server).
Add the connector in MEHO using the vCenter host, port (default 443), and credentials.

Service Account Best Practice

Create a dedicated service account (e.g., meho-svc@vsphere.local) rather than using personal admin credentials. This provides audit trail clarity and permission isolation.

SSL Certificates

vCenter often uses self-signed certificates. Enable disable_ssl_verification for initial testing, then configure proper certificates for production.

Operations¶

MEHO provides 179 vSphere operations organized into 6 categories. The tables below show all operations with their trust classification.

Compute (91 operations)¶

VM lifecycle, host management, cluster operations, snapshots, resource pools, and DRS.

Operation	Trust Level	Description
`list_virtual_machines`	READ	List all VMs with power state, CPU/memory, guest info, and resource usage
`get_virtual_machine`	READ	Comprehensive VM details including runtime, config, guest info, and stats
`power_on_vm`	WRITE	Power on a virtual machine
`power_off_vm`	WRITE	Power off a VM (hard shutdown)
`shutdown_guest`	WRITE	Graceful OS shutdown via VMware Tools
`reboot_guest`	WRITE	Graceful OS reboot via VMware Tools
`suspend_vm`	WRITE	Suspend VM state to memory
`reset_vm`	WRITE	Hard reset a VM (like pressing the reset button)
`destroy_vm`	DESTRUCTIVE	Permanently delete a VM and its files
`rename_vm`	WRITE	Rename a virtual machine
`upgrade_vm_hardware`	WRITE	Upgrade VM hardware version
`reconfigure_vm`	WRITE	Change VM CPU, memory, or other settings
`clone_vm`	WRITE	Clone a VM (full or linked)
`create_vm_from_template`	WRITE	Deploy a new VM from a template
`convert_to_template`	WRITE	Convert a VM to a template
`convert_from_template`	WRITE	Convert a template back to a VM
`list_snapshots`	READ	List all snapshots for a VM
`create_snapshot`	WRITE	Create a VM snapshot
`revert_to_snapshot`	WRITE	Revert VM to a snapshot
`delete_snapshot`	DESTRUCTIVE	Delete a VM snapshot
`delete_all_snapshots`	DESTRUCTIVE	Remove all snapshots from a VM
`list_hosts`	READ	List all ESXi hosts with status, CPU, memory, and maintenance state
`get_host`	READ	Detailed host information including hardware model, CPU, and connection state
`enter_maintenance_mode`	WRITE	Put an ESXi host into maintenance mode
`exit_maintenance_mode`	WRITE	Take an ESXi host out of maintenance mode
`reboot_host`	WRITE	Reboot an ESXi host
`shutdown_host`	WRITE	Shut down an ESXi host
`disconnect_host`	WRITE	Disconnect a host from vCenter
`reconnect_host`	WRITE	Reconnect a host to vCenter
`list_clusters`	READ	List all clusters with host count, DRS/HA status, and capacity
`get_cluster`	READ	Cluster details including DRS behavior and HA configuration
`list_resource_pools`	READ	List all resource pools in a cluster
`get_resource_pool`	READ	Resource pool details including reservations and limits
`create_resource_pool`	WRITE	Create a new resource pool
`destroy_resource_pool`	DESTRUCTIVE	Delete a resource pool
`move_vm_to_resource_pool`	WRITE	Move a VM to a different resource pool
`list_drs_recommendations`	READ	Get DRS migration recommendations
`apply_drs_recommendation`	WRITE	Apply a DRS recommendation
`migrate_vm`	WRITE	vMotion a VM to another host

Plus additional VM configuration, guest operations, and advanced cluster operations.

Storage (28 operations)¶

Datastore management, disk operations, Storage DRS, and storage vMotion.

Operation	Trust Level	Description
`list_datastores`	READ	List all datastores with capacity and free space
`get_datastore`	READ	Detailed datastore info including connected hosts
`get_vm_disks`	READ	List all virtual disks attached to a VM with size and datastore
`browse_datastore`	READ	Browse files and folders in a datastore
`get_datastore_vms`	READ	List all VMs stored on a specific datastore
`get_host_datastores`	READ	List datastores accessible from a specific host
`relocate_vm`	WRITE	Storage vMotion -- relocate VM to different datastore
`add_disk`	WRITE	Add a new virtual disk to a VM
`extend_disk`	WRITE	Extend an existing virtual disk
`attach_disk`	WRITE	Attach an existing VMDK to a VM
`detach_disk`	WRITE	Detach a virtual disk without deleting the VMDK
`consolidate_disks`	WRITE	Consolidate VM disk files after snapshot operations
`create_vmfs_datastore`	WRITE	Create a new VMFS datastore on a host
`create_nfs_datastore`	WRITE	Create a new NFS datastore on a host
`expand_vmfs_datastore`	WRITE	Expand a VMFS datastore
`destroy_datastore`	DESTRUCTIVE	Remove a datastore from vCenter
`remove_datastore`	DESTRUCTIVE	Unmount a datastore from a specific host
`enter_datastore_maintenance_mode`	WRITE	Put datastore into maintenance mode
`exit_datastore_maintenance_mode`	WRITE	Take datastore out of maintenance mode
`get_storage_pods`	READ	List Storage DRS pods (datastore clusters)
`get_storage_pod`	READ	Storage DRS pod details including member datastores
`scan_host_storage`	WRITE	Rescan storage adapters to discover new LUNs

Plus additional disk management, refresh, and CBT (Changed Block Tracking) operations.

Networking (17 operations)¶

Networks, distributed switches, port groups, NICs, and firewall rules.

Operation	Trust Level	Description
`list_networks`	READ	List all networks in vCenter
`get_vm_nics`	READ	List all network adapters on a VM with MAC and network info
`get_host_networks`	READ	List all networks available on a specific host
`list_distributed_switches`	READ	List all vSphere Distributed Switches
`get_distributed_switch`	READ	Detailed DVS configuration
`list_port_groups`	READ	List all port groups (standard and distributed)
`get_port_group`	READ	Port group details including VLAN configuration
`create_dvs_portgroup`	WRITE	Create a new distributed port group
`destroy_dvs_portgroup`	DESTRUCTIVE	Delete a distributed port group
`query_used_vlans`	READ	Get VLAN IDs in use on a DVS
`add_network_adapter`	WRITE	Add a NIC to a VM
`remove_network_adapter`	WRITE	Remove a NIC from a VM
`change_network`	WRITE	Change which network a VM adapter connects to
`get_host_firewall_rules`	READ	Get ESXi host firewall rules
`enable_firewall_ruleset`	WRITE	Enable a firewall ruleset on a host
`disable_firewall_ruleset`	WRITE	Disable a firewall ruleset on a host

Monitoring (18 operations)¶

Performance metrics (quickStats and PerformanceManager API), alarms, and events.

Operation	Trust Level	Description
`list_alarms`	READ	Get currently triggered alarms in vCenter
`get_vm_performance`	READ	VM performance from quickStats (CPU MHz, memory MB, uptime)
`get_host_performance`	READ	Host performance from quickStats (CPU, memory, fairness)
`get_cluster_performance`	READ	Aggregated performance metrics for a cluster
`get_detailed_vm_performance`	READ	Comprehensive VM metrics via PerformanceManager -- disk I/O, network throughput, CPU ready time, memory swap. Supports realtime to 7-day intervals.
`get_detailed_host_performance`	READ	Comprehensive host metrics via PerformanceManager -- per-NIC throughput, storage latency, CPU per-core
`get_cluster_detailed_performance`	READ	Aggregated PerformanceManager metrics across all hosts in a cluster
`get_datastore_performance`	READ	Datastore capacity and status (type, free space, maintenance mode)
`list_available_metrics`	READ	Discover available performance counters for an entity
`get_events`	READ	Recent events from the vCenter event log
`acknowledge_alarm`	WRITE	Acknowledge a triggered alarm
`retrieve_hardware_uptime`	READ	ESXi host hardware uptime in seconds
`get_cluster_resource_usage`	READ	Current resource usage summary for a cluster
`get_cluster_ha_status`	READ	High Availability runtime information
`query_memory_overhead`	READ	Query memory overhead for a VM on a host

Inventory (15 operations)¶

Datacenters, folders, templates, content libraries, tags, and search.

Operation	Trust Level	Description
`list_datacenters`	READ	List all datacenters in vCenter
`list_folders`	READ	List all VM folders
`create_folder`	WRITE	Create a new inventory folder
`rename_folder`	WRITE	Rename an inventory folder
`destroy_folder`	DESTRUCTIVE	Delete an empty folder
`move_into_folder`	WRITE	Move a VM or folder into another folder
`register_vm`	WRITE	Register an existing VM (VMX file) into vCenter
`list_content_libraries`	READ	List all content libraries
`get_content_library_items`	READ	List items in a content library
`list_tags`	READ	List all tags defined in vCenter
`list_tag_categories`	READ	List all tag categories
`list_templates`	READ	List all VM templates
`get_template`	READ	Template details
`search_inventory`	READ	Search vCenter inventory by name pattern
`get_inventory_path`	READ	Get the full inventory path of an entity

System (10 operations)¶

vCenter info, licensing, tasks, and host services.

Operation	Trust Level	Description
`get_vcenter_info`	READ	vCenter Server version and build information
`list_tasks`	READ	Recent tasks from the vCenter task manager
`query_host_connection_info`	READ	Connection information for a host
`get_host_services`	READ	List services on an ESXi host with status
`start_host_service`	WRITE	Start a service on an ESXi host (e.g., SSH, NTP)
`stop_host_service`	WRITE	Stop a service on an ESXi host
`restart_host_service`	WRITE	Restart a service on an ESXi host
`refresh_host_services`	WRITE	Refresh the service list on a host
`get_license_info`	READ	vCenter license information and usage
`get_licensed_features`	READ	List of licensed features in vCenter

Example Queries¶

Ask MEHO questions like:

"List all VMs with snapshots older than 30 days"
"Show CPU and memory utilization for the Production cluster"
"What datastores are running low on space -- under 20% free?"
"Which VMs are powered off and using more than 100GB of storage?"
"Get the disk I/O latency for web-server-01 over the past hour"
"Are there any triggered alarms in vCenter right now?"
"Show me the DRS recommendations for the Production cluster"
"Which ESXi hosts are in maintenance mode?"
"What's the network throughput for db-server-02?"
"Find all VMs with the name pattern 'test-*' and show their resource usage"

Topology¶

VMware vSphere discovers these entity types:

Entity Type	Key Properties	Cross-System Links
Datacenter	name	Top-level container for all vSphere objects
ClusterComputeResource	name, num_hosts, total_cpu_mhz, total_memory_mb, drs_enabled, ha_enabled	Contains Hosts, manages DRS and HA
HostSystem	name, connection_state, power_state, maintenance_mode, cpu_model, memory_mb	Host -> Cluster (member of), hosts VMs
VirtualMachine	name, power_state, num_cpu, memory_mb, ip_address, guest_os, vm_tools_status	VM -> K8s Node via providerID matching (hostname/IP), VM -> Host (running on), VM -> Datastore (storage)
Datastore	name, type, capacity_gb, free_space_gb, accessible	Connected to Hosts, stores VM files
Network	name, type, vlan_id	Connected to VMs via NICs
ResourcePool	name, cpu_reservation, memory_reservation_mb	Contains VMs, nested within Clusters
Folder	name, child_count	Organizes VMs and other inventory objects
Snapshot	name, description, created, state, quiesced	Point-in-time capture of VM state
DistributedVirtualSwitch	name, uuid, num_ports, num_hosts	Centralized network management across hosts
DistributedPortGroup	name, vlan_id, dvs_name, num_ports	Port group on a distributed switch

Cross-System Links¶

The key cross-system link is VM -> Kubernetes Node. When Kubernetes runs on vSphere (e.g., Tanzu, Rancher, or manual kubeadm), MEHO matches Kubernetes node providerID and hostnames back to VMware VMs. This enables tracing from a failing Kubernetes pod to the underlying vSphere VM and its ESXi host -- revealing whether the root cause is at the application, OS, or infrastructure layer.

Troubleshooting¶

vSphere API Version Compatibility¶

Symptom: Some operations fail with "method not found" or similar errors Cause: Older vCenter versions may not support all operations (e.g., PerformanceManager detailed metrics require vSphere 6.5+) Fix: Check your vCenter version with get_vcenter_info. Consider upgrading if running vSphere 6.0 or earlier.

SSL Certificate Issues¶

Symptom: Connection fails with certificate verification errors Cause: vCenter uses a self-signed certificate or an untrusted CA Fix: Enable disable_ssl_verification for testing, or install the vCenter CA certificate on the MEHO server. You can download the CA cert from https://<vcenter>/certs/download.zip.

Performance Statistics Level¶

Symptom: get_detailed_vm_performance returns incomplete or empty metrics Cause: vCenter statistics collection level is too low (Level 1 only collects basic counters) Fix: Increase the statistics collection level in vCenter: Administration > vCenter Server Settings > Statistics > Statistics Intervals. Level 2 or higher provides disk and network counters.

Permission Denied on Write Operations¶

Symptom: Read operations work but write operations (power on, snapshot, etc.) return permission errors Cause: The service account has read-only permissions Fix: Assign appropriate privileges to the MEHO service account. For VM lifecycle operations, add Virtual Machine > Interaction privileges. For storage operations, add Datastore privileges.

VMware Tools Not Installed¶

Symptom: shutdown_guest and reboot_guest fail; VM shows "Tools not installed" Cause: VMware Tools (or open-vm-tools) is not installed in the guest OS Fix: Install VMware Tools in the guest. Without Tools, use power_off_vm and reset_vm instead (these are hard operations that don't require guest cooperation).