Installing And Using Vmcli Utility; Installing Vmcli; Running Vmcli Utility; Vmcli Syntax - Dell iDRAC 8 User Manual

Installing and using VMCLI utility

The Virtual Media Command Line Interface (VMCLI) utility is an interface that provides virtual media features from the management
station to iDRAC on the managed system. Using this utility you can access virtual media features, including image files and physical
drives, to deploy an operating system on multiple remote systems in a network.
NOTE: VMCLI supports only the TLS 1.0 security protocol.
The VMCLI utility supports the following features:
• Manage removable devices or images that are accessible through virtual media.
• Automatically terminate the session when the iDRAC firmware Boot Once option is enabled.
• Secure communications to iDRAC using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
• Execute VMCLI commands until:
– The connections automatically terminate.
– An operating system terminates the process.
NOTE: To terminate the process in Windows, use the Task Manager.

Installing VMCLI

The VMCLI utility is included in the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD.
To install the VMCLI utility:
1. Insert the Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation DVD into the management station's DVD drive.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to install DRAC tools.
3. After successful install, check install\Dell\SysMgt\rac5 folder to make sure vmcli.exe exists. Similarly, check the respective
path for UNIX.
The VMCLI utility is installed on the system.

Running VMCLI utility

• If the operating system requires specific privileges or group membership, you require similar privileges to run the VMCLI
commands.
• On Windows systems, non-administrators must have Power User privileges to run the VMCLI utility.
• On Linux systems, to access iDRAC, run VMCLI utility, and log user commands, non-administrators must prefix sudo to the
VMCLI commands. However, to add or edit users in the VMCLI administrators group, use the visudo command.

VMCLI syntax

The VMCLI interface is identical on both Windows and Linux systems. The VMCLI syntax is:
VMCLI [parameter] [operating_system_shell_options]
For example, vmcli -r iDRAC-IP-address:iDRAC-SSL-port
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