Script: ESX: Grep Info From All VMX Files

Summary: I used this small command/script to grep all nic devices from all the virtual devices that are registered on the host
Date: Around 2014
Refactor: 1 May 2025: Checked links and formatting.

vmware, bash

for vm in `vmware-cmd -l`; do grep -i displayname "$vm"; grep -i 'ethernet..virtualdev' "$vm" ; done

This could also be implemented in a script to make it more readable:

for vm in `vmware-cmd -l`;
   do grep -i displayname "$vm";
   grep -i 'ethernet..virtualdev' "$vm" ;
done

This will give you an output like this:

displayName = "SLES11-PROXY"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"
ethernet1.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"
ethernet2.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"
displayName = "W2K8-Template"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"
displayName = "W2K3-REPORTS"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
displayName = "WINXP-RDP-SJOERD"
displayName = "SLES11-REVPROXY"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"
ethernet1.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"
ethernet2.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"

Note: The Windows XP box listed does have a network card, being the “flexible” adapter. This card however is not listed in the VMX file.