Enabling SSH for the ESXi Shell
By default, you cannot access the ESXi Shell using a Secure Shell client. You can enable SSH access from the direct console.
To enable SSH access in the direct console
1. At the direct console of the ESXi host, press F2 and provide credentials when prompted.
2. Scroll to Troubleshooting Options, and press Enter.
3. Select Enable SSH and press Enter once. On the left, Enable SSH changes to Disable SSH. On the right, SSH is Disabled changes to SSH is Enabled.
4. Press Esc until you return to the main direct console screen.
You can enable remote command execution from the vSphere Client.

To enable SSH from the vSphere Client
1. Select the host and click the Configuration tab.
2. Click Security Profile in the Software panel.
3. In the Services section, click Properties.
4. Select SSH and click Options.
5. Change the SSH options.
■ To temporarily start or stop the service, click the Start or Stop button.
■ To enable SSH permanently, click Start and stop with host. The change takes effect the next time you reboot the host.
6. Click OK.
After you have enabled SSH, you can use an SSH client to log in to the ESXi Shell and run ESXi Shell commands.

Accessing the ESXi Shell with SSH
If SSH is enabled on your ESXi host, you can use an SSH client to run commands on that shell.
To access the ESXi Shell with SSH
1. Open an SSH client.
2. Specify the IP address or domain name of the ESXi host.Precise directions vary depending on the SSH client you use. See vendor documentation and support.
3. Provide credentials when prompted.

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