VMware ESXi MCP Server

A professional Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for VMware ESXi hypervisor management. This enterprise-ready solution provides secure, standardized interfaces for ESXi host operations, virtual machine lifecycle management, and infrastructure monitoring.

Features

Core ESXi Management

• Host Operations: Power management, maintenance mode, configuration

• Virtual Machine Lifecycle: Create, clone, migrate, snapshot management

• Resource Monitoring: CPU, memory, storage, network utilization

• Security Management: User permissions, SSL certificates, firewall rules

• Storage Operations: Datastore management, VMFS operations, NFS/iSCSI configuration

MCP Integration

• Standardized Protocol: Full MCP specification compliance

• Tool Discovery: Dynamic capability advertisement

• Resource Management: Efficient connection pooling and caching

• Error Handling: Comprehensive error reporting and recovery

• Authentication: Secure credential management with token refresh

Enterprise Features

• High Availability: Connection failover and retry mechanisms

• Audit Logging: Comprehensive operation tracking

• Role-Based Access: Granular permission controls

• Performance Optimization: Bulk operations and async processing

• Exception Management: Comprehensive error handling with custom exception classes

• Monitoring Integration: Prometheus metrics and health checks

Related MCP server: vSphere-MCP-Pro

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher

• VMware ESXi 6.7 or later

• Network connectivity to ESXi host

• Valid ESXi credentials with appropriate permissions

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/uldyssian-sh/vmware-esxi-mcp.git
cd vmware-esxi-mcp

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Configure environment
cp config.example.yaml config.yaml
# Edit config.yaml with your ESXi details

Configuration

Create config.yaml:

esxi:
  host: "esxi-host.example.com"
  username: "root"
  password: "${ESXI_PASSWORD}"
  port: 443
  ssl_verify: true
  timeout: 30

mcp:
  server_name: "vmware-esxi-mcp"
  version: "1.5.0"
  capabilities:
    - "vm_management"
    - "host_operations"
    - "resource_monitoring"

logging:
  level: "INFO"
  file: "esxi-mcp.log"
  max_size: "10MB"
  backup_count: 5

security:
  api_key: "${MCP_API_KEY}"
  rate_limit: 100
  session_timeout: 3600

Usage

# Start the MCP server
python -m vmware_esxi_mcp --config config.yaml

# Or use environment variables
export ESXI_HOST="esxi-host.example.com"
export ESXI_USERNAME="root"
export ESXI_PASSWORD="your-password"
export MCP_API_KEY="your-api-key"

python -m vmware_esxi_mcp

MCP Tools

Virtual Machine Management

create_vm

Create a new virtual machine with specified configuration.

{
  "name": "create_vm",
  "description": "Create a new virtual machine",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "vm_name": {"type": "string"},
      "cpu_count": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 1},
      "memory_mb": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 512},
      "disk_size_gb": {"type": "integer", "minimum": 1},
      "network": {"type": "string"},
      "guest_os": {"type": "string"}
    },
    "required": ["vm_name", "cpu_count", "memory_mb", "disk_size_gb"]
  }
}

power_vm

Control virtual machine power state.

{
  "name": "power_vm",
  "description": "Control VM power state",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "vm_name": {"type": "string"},
      "action": {"type": "string", "enum": ["on", "off", "reset", "suspend"]}
    },
    "required": ["vm_name", "action"]
  }
}

Host Management

get_host_info

Retrieve comprehensive ESXi host information.

{
  "name": "get_host_info",
  "description": "Get ESXi host system information",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "include_hardware": {"type": "boolean", "default": true},
      "include_network": {"type": "boolean", "default": true},
      "include_storage": {"type": "boolean", "default": true}
    }
  }
}

maintenance_mode

Manage host maintenance mode operations.

{
  "name": "maintenance_mode",
  "description": "Enter or exit maintenance mode",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "action": {"type": "string", "enum": ["enter", "exit"]},
      "evacuate_vms": {"type": "boolean", "default": true},
      "timeout": {"type": "integer", "default": 300}
    },
    "required": ["action"]
  }
}

Architecture

Component Overview

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   MCP Client    │────│  ESXi MCP       │────│   VMware ESXi   │
│   Application   │    │  Server         │    │   Host          │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
                              │
                       ┌─────────────────┐
                       │   Configuration │
                       │   & Logging     │
                       └─────────────────┘

Security Architecture

• Authentication: Multi-factor authentication support

• Authorization: Role-based access control (RBAC)

• Encryption: TLS 1.3 for all communications

• Audit Trail: Comprehensive logging of all operations

• Input Validation: Strict parameter validation and sanitization

Development

Project Structure

vmware-esxi-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── vmware_esxi_mcp/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── server.py
│   │   ├── tools/
│   │   ├── auth/
│   │   └── utils/
├── tests/
├── docs/
├── examples/
├── requirements.txt
└── setup.py

Testing

# Run unit tests
python -m pytest tests/

# Run integration tests
python -m pytest tests/integration/ --esxi-host=test-host

# Run security tests
python -m pytest tests/security/

Contributing

1. Fork the repository

2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)

3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')

4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)

5. Open a Pull Request

Security Considerations

Production Deployment

• Use strong, unique passwords for ESXi accounts

• Enable certificate verification in production

• Implement proper network segmentation

• Regular security updates and patches

• Monitor and audit all operations

Best Practices

• Rotate credentials regularly

• Use least-privilege access principles

• Enable comprehensive logging

• Implement proper backup strategies

• Test disaster recovery procedures

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Connection Timeout

# Check network connectivity
ping esxi-host.example.com

# Verify ESXi SSH/API access
curl -k https://esxi-host.example.com/sdk

Authentication Failures

• Verify credentials in configuration

• Check ESXi user permissions

• Ensure account is not locked

SSL Certificate Issues

• Update ESXi SSL certificates

• Configure proper certificate validation

• Check certificate expiration dates

Performance Tuning

Optimization Guidelines

• Use connection pooling for multiple operations

• Implement proper caching strategies

• Optimize batch operations

• Monitor resource utilization

• Configure appropriate timeouts

Monitoring Metrics

• API response times

• Connection pool utilization

• Error rates and types

• Resource consumption

• Operation success rates

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributors

• uldyssian-sh LT - Initial work and maintenance

• dependabot[bot] - Dependency updates

• actions-user - Automated workflows

References

• VMware vSphere API Documentation

• Model Context Protocol Specification

• VMware ESXi Security Guide

• Python VMware Libraries

Support

For support and questions:

• Create an issue in this repository

• Check the documentation

• Review troubleshooting guide

Maintained by: uldyssian-sh

Disclaimer: Use of this code is at your own risk. Author bears no responsibility for any damages caused by the code.

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