Verify the virtual machine name, UUID, BIOS serial number, and guest OS hostname

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This KB article explains how to verify the virtual machine's UUID, BIOS serial number, virtual machine name, and the hostname within the guest OS.

Environment

ESXi

Resolution

• UUID

[Procedure]

1. Connect via SSH to the ESXi host where the virtual machine is located.
2. Run the following commands to navigate to the virtual machine folder and check the UUID.
   cd /vmfs/volumes/[datastore_name]/[vm_name]/
   grep "uuid.bios" [vm_name].vmx
   
   Example execution:
[root@esxi:/vmfs/volumes/xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxx/test] grep "uuid.bios" test.vmx
uuid.bios = "xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx-xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx"

 

• BIOSSerialNumber

[Procedure]

*For Linux

1. Connect to the virtual machine via SSH.
2. Run the following command to check the BIOSSerialNumber.
   dmidecode -s system-serial-number
   
   Example execution:
   root@test [ ~ ]# dmidecode -s system-serial-number
   VMware-xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx-xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

 

*For Windows

1. Connect to the virtual machine via RDP.
2. Launch PowerShell and run the following command.
   (Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS).SerialNumber
   
   Example execution:
PS C:\Users\Administrator> (Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS).SerialNumber
VMware-xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx-xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

 

• Virtual machine name

[Procedure]

1. Log in to the vSphere Client.
2. The name displayed in the inventory is the virtual machine name.

 

• Hostname on the guest OS

[Procedure]

1. Log in to the vSphere Client.
2. Select the target virtual machine > The value displayed under "DNS Name" is the hostname on the guest OS.

 

Additional Information

Japanese KB: 仮想マシン名、UUID、BIOSSerialNumber、およびゲストOS上のホスト名を確認する