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VMware Storage

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VMware vSphere storage management: datastores, iSCSI, vSAN. Domain-focused MCP skill with 11 tools.

VMware Storage

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VMware vSphere storage management: datastores, iSCSI, vSAN — 11 MCP tools, domain-focused and lightweight.

Split from vmware-aiops for lighter context and local model compatibility.

License: MIT

Companion Skills

Skill Scope Tools Install
vmware-aiops ⭐ entry point VM lifecycle, deployment, guest ops, clusters 31 uv tool install vmware-aiops
vmware-monitor Read-only monitoring, alarms, events, VM info 8 uv tool install vmware-monitor
vmware-vks Tanzu Namespaces, TKC cluster lifecycle 20 uv tool install vmware-vks
vmware-nsx NSX networking: segments, gateways, NAT, IPAM 31 uv tool install vmware-nsx-mgmt
vmware-nsx-security DFW microsegmentation, security groups, Traceflow 20 uv tool install vmware-nsx-security
vmware-aria Aria Ops metrics, alerts, capacity planning 18 uv tool install vmware-aria

Quick Install

# Via PyPI
uv tool install vmware-storage

# Or pip
pip install vmware-storage

Configuration

mkdir -p ~/.vmware-storage
cp config.example.yaml ~/.vmware-storage/config.yaml
# Edit with your vCenter/ESXi credentials

echo "VMWARE_MY_VCENTER_PASSWORD=your_password" > ~/.vmware-storage/.env
chmod 600 ~/.vmware-storage/.env

# Verify
vmware-storage doctor

MCP Tools (11)

Category Tools Type
Datastore list_all_datastores, browse_datastore, scan_datastore_images, list_cached_images Read
iSCSI storage_iscsi_enable, storage_iscsi_status, storage_iscsi_add_target, storage_iscsi_remove_target, storage_rescan Read/Write
vSAN vsan_health, vsan_capacity Read

Common Workflows

Set Up iSCSI Storage on a Host

  1. Enable iSCSI adapter: vmware-storage iscsi enable esxi-01
  2. Add target: vmware-storage iscsi add-target esxi-01 10.0.0.100
  3. Verify: vmware-storage iscsi status esxi-01

The add-target command automatically rescans storage. Use --dry-run to preview any write command first.

Find Deployable Images Across Datastores

  1. List all datastores: vmware-storage datastore list
  2. Scan for images: vmware-storage datastore scan-images datastore01
  3. Browse with a pattern: vmware-storage datastore browse datastore01 --pattern "*.iso"

vSAN Health Assessment

  1. Check health: vmware-storage vsan health Cluster-Prod
  2. Check capacity: vmware-storage vsan capacity Cluster-Prod
  3. If issues found, investigate with vmware-monitor for alarms and events

CLI

# Datastore
vmware-storage datastore list
vmware-storage datastore browse datastore01
vmware-storage datastore scan-images datastore01

# iSCSI
vmware-storage iscsi status esxi-01
vmware-storage iscsi enable esxi-01
vmware-storage iscsi add-target esxi-01 192.168.1.100
vmware-storage iscsi remove-target esxi-01 192.168.1.100
vmware-storage iscsi rescan esxi-01

# vSAN
vmware-storage vsan health Cluster-Prod
vmware-storage vsan capacity Cluster-Prod

# Diagnostics
vmware-storage doctor

MCP Server

# Run directly
uvx --from vmware-storage vmware-storage-mcp

# Or via Docker
docker compose up -d

Agent Configuration

Add to your AI agent's MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware-storage": {
      "command": "vmware-storage-mcp",
      "env": {
        "VMWARE_STORAGE_CONFIG": "~/.vmware-storage/config.yaml"
      }
    }
  }
}

Why a Separate Skill?

vmware-aiops has 33 MCP tools — too heavy for local LLMs (7B-14B). By splitting storage into its own skill:

  • 11 tools — fits comfortably in small model context windows
  • Domain-focused — storage admins get only what they need
  • Composable — use alongside vmware-monitor or vmware-aiops as needed

Version Compatibility

vSphere Support Notes
8.0 Full vSAN SDK built into pyVmomi 8.0.3+
7.0 Full All storage APIs work
6.7 Compatible iSCSI + datastore features work; vSAN limited

Safety

Feature Description
Read-heavy 6/11 tools are read-only
Input validation IP addresses and ports validated before iSCSI operations
Audit logging All operations logged to ~/.vmware-storage/audit.log
No VM operations Cannot create, delete, or modify VMs
Credential safety Passwords only from environment variables, never config files

Troubleshooting

Problem Cause & Fix
iSCSI enable fails with "already enabled" Not an error — adapter is already active. Run iscsi status to see configured targets.
"Datastore not found" when browsing Datastore names are case-sensitive. Run datastore list to get the exact name.
vSAN health shows "unknown" vSAN health requires a vCenter connection, not standalone ESXi.
Rescan doesn't discover new LUNs Wait 15-30 seconds after adding targets, then rescan again. Verify target IP is reachable from ESXi.
"Password not found" error Variable names follow VMWARE_<TARGET_UPPER>_PASSWORD (hyphens → underscores). Check ~/.vmware-storage/.env.
Connection timeout to vCenter Use vmware-storage doctor --skip-auth to bypass auth checks on high-latency networks.

License

MIT

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