Esxcli

Disable the firewall

Disable the firewall completely.

esxcli network firewall set --enabled false

Install a patch bundle

esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/yourvolumename/patch/patch.zip

install a vib file

esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/yourvolumename/patch/patch.vib

enable 2GB Sparse disks

By default the 2GB Sparse disk format is disabled since -I think- ESXi version 5.x If you try to import a disk in 2GB disk format you'll get the following error:

# vmkfstools -i /vmfs/volumes/storage/myVM/myVM.vmdk -d thin myVM.vmdk
Failed to open '/vmfs/volumes/storage/myVM/myVM.vmdk': The system cannot find the file specified (25).

Test if you have sparse format enabled:

esxcli system module list | grep multiextent

You can enable the 2GB disk format by using:

esxcli system module load -m multiextent

resources

VMware Front Experience:

How to write your own esxcli plugin

esxcli plugin to run shell commands