Powering on virtual machine from ESXi host (CLI)

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article guides you through the different methods of powering on a virtual machine. Alternative methods are useful when there is something preventing the use of one method or when another method is more useful due to particular environmental requirements.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.x

Resolution

Starting a virtual machine via the vSphere Client/Virtual Infrastructure Client connected to vCenter Server/VirtualCenter

To start a virtual machine from vCenter Server/VirtualCenter:

1. Connect to your vCenter Server/VirtualCenter using the vSphere Client/ Virtual Infrastructure Client.
2. Select the virtual machine you want to power on from inventory.
3. Right-click on the virtual machine name and click Power On.
4. Or alternatively select the virtual machine's Summary tab and click Power On.
   
   This graphic shows the options available in the virtual machine's Summary tab.
   
   

Starting a virtual machine via the vSphere Client/Virtual Infrastructure Client connected directly to an ESXi host

To start a virtual machine from the vSphere Client/Virtual Infrastructure Client connect directly to an ESXi host:

1. Connect to your ESXi host using the vSphere Client /Virtual Infrastructure Client.
2. Select the virtual machine you want to power on from inventory.
3. Right-click on the virtual machine and click Power On.
4. Or alternatively select the virtual machine's Summary tab and click Power On
   
   The following graphic shows the options available in the virtual machine's Summary tab.
   
   
   
   Note: There are not as many options when connecting to an ESXi host as there are when connecting to a vCenter Server/VirtualCenter.

Note: If you were unable to start the virtual machine from vCenter Server/VirtualCenter but were successful from an ESXi host, your vCenter Server server service may need to be restarted, see Stopping, starting or restarting the vCenter Server service (344633) .

Starting a virtual machine via the command line of an ESXi host

To start a virtual machine from the service console of an ESXi host:

1. Log into the VMware ESXi host UI client 

   Go to Service tab and enable "SSH" service
   Putty to the ESXi
   Login with root credentials
   To list all running virtual machines and their corresponding VMIDs, run the command:

   #vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
   
   Sample Output: 
   VMid    Name                File                                                       Guest OS    Version   Annotation
   2         VMName   [DatastoreName] VMName/VMName.vmx   otherGuest   vmx-9

2. Power on the virtual machine using the VMID found in the previous "vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms" command output and run:
   

   #vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on VMID
   
   Sample Output:
   #vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on 2

Note: If you are still unable to power on your virtual machine after trying the steps in this article:

• Gather the VMware Support Script Data. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for ESXi hosts and vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
• File a support request with VMware Support and note this KB Article ID in the problem description.