Automate "ISO" File Retrieval from VMware vCenter Datastores Using PowerShell

Feb 11

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If you've ever needed to manage a multitude of ISO files across multiple datastores in a VMware vCenter environment, you know how time-consuming and error-prone it can be to manually search for these files. That's where PowerShell comes in handy! By leveraging PowerShell scripts, you can automate the process of retrieving information about all ISO files from datastores, saving you time and reducing the risk of human error.

Why PowerShell?

PowerShell is a powerful scripting language that allows system administrators to automate tasks and manage systems efficiently. Its integration with VMware PowerCLI enables us to interact with VMware vSphere environments seamlessly.

Prerequisites:

Make sure you have the VMware.PowerCLI module installed before running the script.

# Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Scope CurrentUser

Now, here's the script:

The script below connects to a vCenter server, searches all datastores for .iso files (you can modify it to search for anyother files as well).

Procedure:

Connect to you vCenter Server.
# Connect-VIServer -Server $vcenterServer -User $vcUser -Password $vcPassword
The script below connects to a vCenter server, searches all datastores for .iso files. Please note, it may take some time based on number of datastores to search through and show the result.

# Get all datastores
$datastores = Get-Datastore

# Write the header once
Write-Host "Datastore | FilePath | FileName"

foreach ($datastore in $datastores) {
# Get all .iso files in the datastore
$isoFiles = Get-ChildItem -Path $datastore.DatastoreBrowserPath -Recurse -Include *.iso

foreach ($isoFile in $isoFiles) {
$isoFileDetail = @{
"Datastore" = $datastore.Name
"FilePath" = $isoFile.FullName
"FileName" = $isoFile.Name
}

# Output the file details under the header
Write-Host "$($datastore.Name) | $($isoFile.FullName) | $($isoFile.Name)"
}
}

With this script, you can automate the tedious task of managing ISO files, allowing you to focus on more critical aspects of your VMware environment.

Below are The Screenshots For Your Reference:

Situation:

Here, I have multiple ISO files across multiple datastores in my vCenter.
Connected to vCenter, using above command line.
Now, since I have PowerShell script with me, I can automate to retrieve the same details/results. Below is the output result after running the above script.