VMware ESXi data store browser alternative

The VMware data store browser utility that comes with the Vsphere client, well… it sucks. I have found it to be extremely slow when uploading files, as well not giving accurate transfer rates and times most of the time. After spending close to 3 hours trying to upload a 2Gb image to the data store via the data store browser. I finally decided to make the switch to WinSCP. Little did I know SSH is disabled by default on ESXi, but there is a way to enable it. By the time I was done I was able to transfer my 2GB image to my ESXi data store in less then 15 minutes, quite a drastic improvement. So if you want to ditch the crappy data store browser, here are the instructions to follow.

Enable SSH

The first thing we have to do is to enable SSH access to our ESXi host. I know this works for ESXi 4.0 I have not tested in other versions, but feel free to try it.

1. On the ESXi console press ALT+F1.
2. Type unsupported and hit enter.
3. Type in your password – If you did not set a password the type unsupported as the password.
4. Now, on the command line type vi /etc/inetd.conf.
5. Look for a the line that starts with #ssh.
6. Highlight the move your cursor so that is on top of the #.
7. Hit x to remove the # from the line.
8. Hit Esc key
9. type :wq and hit enter.
10. To make sure your file saved vi /etc/inetd.conf in the command line and make sure the # is not at the beginning of the line anymore. If it is, repeat steps 5 – 9.
11. Restart your ESXi server. SSH is now enabled.

Manipulating files with WinSCP

1. Download WinSCP from here.
2. Run WinSCP
3. Under host name type your ESXi server ip address.
4. Type root for your username
5. Type in the root password
6. Change the file protocol to SCP and click login

This should open a file browser with the contents of your ESXi server. You are now free move files from your PC to your ESXi server without using the crappy data store browser that comes with Vsphere client.

Enjoy!