Uploading Files to ESXi Local Datastore without vSphere Client / WebClient

In one of our remote locations, we wanted to build DC VM. We had the iso file for Win2008 but unfortunately not vSphere Client to upload iso to datastore. The internet speed was very poor (8 kBps) where we weren't able to download vSphere Client. Lucky we had SSH enabled on that host which is a standard we are following for each new deployed ESXi box.

Here is the procedure to upload to local datastore through SFTP.

1. Connect to ESXi server using SFTP client (I used WinSCP)

2. Navigate to /vmfs/volumes/<local-datastore-name>/

3. Drag and drop the iso image from local disk to local datastore.

ESXi Keepalives

In my office, we are currently in the process of deploying ESXi hosts on Drilling Rigs. Those are placed in middle of oceans and using VSAT networks for communication.

The challenge was having those hosts connected to vCenter which is placed in our HQ where the latency can reach upto 1.5 sec.

ESX/ESXi hosts send heartbeats every 10 seconds. vCenter Server has a window of 60 seconds to receive the heartbeats. If the UDP heartbeat message is not received by vCenter Server, it treats the host as not responding.

To increase the timeout limit: 

1. Open the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\vpxd.cfg file (on Windows 2008, C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\vpxd.cfg) using a text editor.

2. Add this information in the <vpxd> tags:
   
   <heartbeat>
   <notRespondingTimeout>120</notRespondingTimeout>
   </heartbeat>

3. Restart the VMware VirtualCenter Server service.