With the release of PowerCLI 10.0.0, VMware adds support for Mac OS and Linux! Now you can install PowerCLI and PowerNSX on Linux System including RHEL, Centos, Unbuntu and Mac OS. To complete installation of VMware PowerCLI 10 and PowerNSX, firstly you need to install Powershell Core 6.0.

In most of enterprise environments, we won’t be so lucky to have Internet access for all your Redhat RHEL systems. In this blog, I will show you how to install Powershell, PowerCLI and PowerNSX offline on Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server.

Software version:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 7.5 (Maipo)

PowerShell v6.0.2

VMware PowerCLI 10.1.1

VMware PowerNSX 3.0.1110

Step 0: Prerequisite

You have another Windows workstation/server or Linux which have Internet access and Powershell installed so that we can download all required packages.

In addition, make sure that your RHEL meet the following prerequisites:

• openssl devel (version 1.0.2k and above) package installed

[root@localhost Powershell]# rpm -qa | grep openssl
openssl-1.0.2k-12.el7.x86_64
xmlsec1-openssl-1.2.20-7.el7_4.x86_64
openssl-libs-1.0.2k-12.el7.x86_64
openssl-devel-1.0.2k-12.el7.x86_64

• “Development tools” packages installed

You can find out which packages are included in the “Development Tools” packages by CLI: yum group info “Development Tools”

Step 1: Install PowerShell v6.0.2

Go to website https://packages.microsoft.com/rhel/7/prod/ to download the required packages including dotnet and powershell.

• Installed the following dotnet packages via “rpm -ivh”

[root@localhost yum.repos.d]# rpm -qa | grep dotn
dotnet-runtime-2.0.5-2.0.5-1.x86_64
dotnet-runtime-deps-2.1-2.1.0-1.x86_64
dotnet-hostfxr-2.0.5-2.0.5-1.x86_64
dotnet-sdk-2.1.4-2.1.4-1.x86_64
dotnet-host-2.1.0-1.x86_64

• Install  Powershell 6.0.2

rpm -ivh powershell-6.0.2-1.rhel.7.x86_64.rpm

After you successfully installed Powershell, you need to create “Modules” directory for PowerCLI and PowerNSX modules. This “Modules” directory is under your home directory: /home/username/.local/share/powershell/Modules for current user or /usr/local/share/powershell/Modules for all users.

Step 2: Install PowerCLI Core

Since PowerCLI version 6.5, you can’t download the PowerCLI package from VMware directly any longer. You have to connect to PowerShell Gallery via Internet to install PowerCLI. As our RHEL has no Internet access. We firstly need to use “Save-Module” to download the latest PowerCLI package then upload to our RHEL system for installation.

Save-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Path /root/powershell/powercli10

After uploading all sub-directories to the RHEL server, you copy all directories/files under the “Modules” directory which you created in Step 1.

[root@localhost powershell]# cd Modules/
[root@localhost Modules]# ls -al
total 4
drwxr-xr-x. 24 root root 4096 Jun 19 13:59 .
drwxr-xr-x. 5 root root 54 Jun 18 19:51 ..
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 27 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.DeployAutomation
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 27 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.ImageBuilder
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.PowerCLI
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 27 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.Vim
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.Cis.Core
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.Cloud
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.Common
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.Core
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 27 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.HA
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 27 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.HorizonView
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.License
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.Nsxt
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.PCloud
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 VMware.VimAutomation.Sdk
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:52 VMware.VimAutomation.Srm
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:52 VMware.VimAutomation.Storage
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 21 Jun 19 08:52 VMware.VimAutomation.StorageUtility
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:52 VMware.VimAutomation.Vds
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:52 VMware.VimAutomation.Vmc
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:52 VMware.VimAutomation.vROps
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 27 Jun 19 08:52 VMware.VumAutomation

Now your PowerCLI is nearly ready for use.

Issue “pwsh” from bash then you start PowerShell

[root@localhost Modules]# pwsh
PowerShell v6.0.2
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

https://aka.ms/pscore6-docs
Type ‘help’ to get help.

PS /root/.local/share/powershell/Modules>

As VMware PowerCLI 10 release notes, not all modules are supported with PowerShell Core 6.0 on RHEL. So before you import the PowerCLI modules, you have to change the  “VMware.PowerCLI.psd1” file to only load supported modules. The location of “VMware.PowerCLI.psd1” file  is as below

[root@localhost 10.1.1.8827524]# pwd
/root/.local/share/powershell/Modules/VMware.PowerCLI/10.1.1.8827524
[root@localhost 10.1.1.8827524]# ls -al
total 64
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 115 Jun 19 09:45 .
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root root 28 Jun 19 08:51 ..
-rw-r–r–. 1 root root 15196 Jun 18 21:57 PSGetModuleInfo.xml
-rw-r–r–. 1 root root 16413 Jun 14 10:36 VMware.PowerCLI.cat
-rw-r–r–. 1 root root 11603 Jun 14 10:36 VMware.PowerCLI.ps1
-rw-r–r–. 1 root root 14692 Jun 19 09:45 VMware.PowerCLI.psd1

Edit the above file like below (comment each line which include the un-supported module by adding # in the beginning)

# Modules that must be imported into the global environment prior to importing this module
RequiredModules = @(
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Sdk”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.1.0.8342078″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Common”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.1.0.8342134″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.Vim”;”ModuleVersion”=”6.7.0.8343295″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Core”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.1.0.8344055″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Srm”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.0.0.7893900″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.License”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.0.0.7893904″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Vds”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.1.0.8344219″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Vmc”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.0.0.7893902″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Nsxt”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.1.0.8346947″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.vROps”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.0.0.7893921″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Cis.Core”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.1.0.8377811″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.HA”;”ModuleVersion”=”6.5.4.7567193″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.HorizonView”;”ModuleVersion”=”7.5.0.8827468″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.PCloud”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.0.0.7893924″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Cloud”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.0.0.7893901″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.DeployAutomation”;”ModuleVersion”=”6.7.0.8250345″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.ImageBuilder”;”ModuleVersion”=”6.7.0.8250345″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.Storage”;”ModuleVersion”=”10.1.0.8313015″}
@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VimAutomation.StorageUtility”;”ModuleVersion”=”1.2.0.0″}
#@{“ModuleName”=”VMware.VumAutomation”;”ModuleVersion”=”6.5.1.7862888″}
)

If we have not removed the unsupported from the list of “Must Import Module”, we will see error like below:

Import-Module : The VMware.ImageBuilder module is not currently supported on the Core edition of PowerShell.
At line:1 char:1
+ import-module VMware.PowerCLI
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : OperationStopped: (The VMware.Imag… of PowerShell.:String) [Import-Module], RuntimeException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : The VMware.ImageBuilder module is not currently supported on the Core edition of PowerShell.,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.ImportModuleCommand 

Now you are ready to import PowerCLI modules.

PS /root/.local/share/powershell/Modules> import-module VMware.PowerCLI
$<5> Welcome to VMware PowerCLI!

Log in to a vCenter Server or ESX host: Connect-VIServer
To find out what commands are available, type: Get-VICommand
To show searchable help for all PowerCLI commands: Get-PowerCLIHelp
Once you’ve connected, display all virtual machines: Get-VM
If you need more help, visit the PowerCLI community: Get-PowerCLICommunity

Copyright (C) VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

PS /root/.local/share/powershell/Modules>

However, when use cmdlet Connect-VIServer to connect vCenter server, you will see an error similar like this:

Error
Connect-VIServer : 06/22/18 11:22:26 AM Connect-VIServer The libcurl library in use (7.29.0) and its SSL backend (“NSS/3.21 Basic ECC”) do not support custom handling of certificates. A libcurl built with OpenSSL is required.

The cause of this error is that RHEL libcurl library is too old which doesn’t support OpenSSL. Please refer the following link which suggests how to fix the above issue by getting curl 7.52.1 installed.

https://www.opentechshed.com/powercli-core-on-centos-7/

[root@localhost ~]# curl –version
curl 7.52.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu) libcurl/7.52.1 OpenSSL/1.0.2k zlib/1.2.7
Protocols: dict file ftp ftps gopher http https imap imaps pop3 pop3s rtsp smb smbs smtp smtps telnet tftp
Features: IPv6 Largefile NTLM NTLM_WB SSL libz UnixSockets HTTPS-proxy

When we try to use “Connect-VIServer” cmdlet again, we see another error. This will happen when you connect to vCenter via IP or your RHEL think the received certificate is not valid:

Connect-VIServer : 6/21/18 11:40:16 AM Connect-VIServer Error: Invalid server certificate. Use Set-PowerCLIConfiguration to set the value for the InvalidCertificateAction option to Ignore to ignore the certificate errors for this connection.
Additional Information: Could not establish trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel with authority ‘10.1.1.2’.
At line:1 char:1
+ Connect-VIServer -Server 10.1.1.2
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : SecurityError: (:) [Connect-VIServer], ViSecurityNegotiationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_ConnectivityServiceImpl_Reconnect_CertificateError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.ConnectVIServer

We have two options here:

1. Get valid certifcate for vCenter;
2. Change PowerCLI configuration to disable SSL certificate verification;

Although option 2 is not good from security point of view, I still show you here so that I can go ahead for PowerNSX installation.

PS /root/.local/share/powershell/Modules> Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction ignore -confirm:$false

Scope ProxyPolicy DefaultVIServerMode InvalidCertificateAction DisplayDeprecationWarnings WebOperationTimeout
Seconds
—– ———– ——————- ———————— ————————– ——————-
Session UseSystemProxy Multiple Ignore True 300
User Ignore
AllUsers

Step 3: Install PowerNSX

• Create a sub-directory called “PowerNSX” under “Modules” directory

[root@localhost powershell]# cd Modules/
[root@localhost Modules]# ls -al
total 4
drwxr-xr-x. 24 root root 4096 Jun 19 13:59 .
drwxr-xr-x. 5 root root 54 Jun 18 19:51 ..
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 48 Jun 19 14:01 PowerNSX

• Download PowerNSX package from Github (https://github.com/vmware/powernsx) and upload the downloaded zip file to my RHEL server. Then unzip zip file and copy the  following 2 files into PowerNSX directory:

PowerNSX.psd1
PowerNSX.psm1

[root@localhost Modules]# ls -al PowerNSX/
total 1572
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 48 Jun 19 14:01 .
drwxr-xr-x. 24 root root 4096 Jun 19 13:59 ..
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 15738 Jun 19 14:01 PowerNSX.psd1
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 1588500 Jun 19 14:00 PowerNSX.psm1

Now you are ready to start using PowerNSX on RHEL. In my example, I query the current transport-zone and create a logical switch called PowerNSX within found NSX transport zone.

PS /root/.local/share/powershell/Modules/PowerNSX> Import-Module PowerNSX
PS /root/.local/share/powershell/Modules/PowerNSX> Get-Module

ModuleType Version Name ExportedCommands
———- ——- —- —————-
Manifest 3.1.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management {Add-Content, Clear-Content, Clear-Item, Clear-ItemProperty…}
Manifest 3.1.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility {Add-Member, Add-Type, Clear-Variable, Compare-Object…}
Script 3.0.1110 PowerNSX {Add-NsxDynamicCriteria, Add-NsxDynamicMemberSet, Add-NsxEdgeInterfaceAddress, Add-NsxFirewallExclusionListMember…}
Script 1.2 PSReadLine {Get-PSReadlineKeyHandler, Get-PSReadlineOption, Remove-PSReadlineKeyHandler, Set-PSReadlineKeyHandler…}
Manifest 10.1.1…. VMware.PowerCLI
Script 6.7.0.8… VMware.Vim
Script 10.1.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Cis.Core {Connect-CisServer, Disconnect-CisServer, Get-CisService}
Script 10.1.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Common
Script 10.1.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Core {Add-PassthroughDevice, Add-VirtualSwitchPhysicalNetworkAdapter, Add-VMHost, Add-VMHostNtpServer…}
Script 10.1.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Nsxt {Connect-NsxtServer, Disconnect-NsxtServer, Get-NsxtService}
Script 10.1.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Sdk {Get-InstallPath, Get-PSVersion}
Script 10.1.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Storage {Add-KeyManagementServer, Copy-VDisk, Export-SpbmStoragePolicy, Get-KeyManagementServer…}
Script 1.2.0.0 VMware.VimAutomation.StorageUtility Update-VmfsDatastore
Script 10.1.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Vds {Add-VDSwitchPhysicalNetworkAdapter, Add-VDSwitchVMHost, Export-VDPortGroup, Export-VDSwitch…}
Script 10.0.0…. VMware.VimAutomation.Vmc {Connect-Vmc, Disconnect-Vmc, Get-VmcService}

PS /root/.local/share/powershell/Modules/PowerNSX> Connect-NsxServer -vCenterServer 10.1.1.2

 

When we checked NSX manager, we can see PowerNSX logical switch is created with VXLAN-ID 6059.