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You can shut down or reboot ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts using any of the following methods:

ESX 4.x

Log in to the ESX service console and perform one of the following steps from the service console to shutdown or reboot ESX 4.x hosts.

1. Run the shutdown –r now command to reboot the system.
   Note: This command shuts down the virtual machines running on the ESX 4.0 hosts.
2. Run the reboot command to reboot the system.
3. Run the poweroff command to shut down ESX. After the shutdown, a message indicates that it is safe to power off your system. Press the power button until the machine powers off. You can then manually reboot the system.

ESXi 4.x/5.0

1. In the console screen of the ESXi 4.0 host, press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to see the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) screen.
2. In the DCUI screen, press F12 to view the shutdown related options for the ESXi host.
   • Press F2 to shut down.
   • Press F11 to reboot.

ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0

1. Shut down or vMotion all virtual machines running on ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts.
2. Put the ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts in the maintenance mode.
3. Right-click the ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 host that you want to shut down, and click Reboot or Shut Down.
   • If you select Reboot, the ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 host shuts down and reboots.
   • If you select Shut Down, the ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 host shuts down. You must manually power the system back.
4. Provide a reason for the shut down or reboot. This information is added to the log.

• To put ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts in the maintenance mode, run the following command from vMA (vSphere Management Assistant) or vCLI (vSphere Command-Line Interface) console screen:

  /usr/lib/vmware-vcli/apps/host/hostops.pl --target_host <ESX-Host-FQDN> --operation enter_maintenance --url https://<vCenter-Host>/sdk/vimService.wsdl

• To reboot ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts, run the following command from vMA or vCLI console screen:

  /usr/lib/vmware-vcli/apps/host/hostops.pl --target_host <ESX-Host-FQDN> --operation reboot --url https://<vCenter-Host>/sdk/vimService.wsdl

• To shut down ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts, run the following command from vMA or vCLI console screen:
  
  /usr/lib/vmware-vcli/apps/host/hostops.pl --target_host <ESX-Host-FQDN> --operation shutdown --url https://<vCenter-Host>/sdk/vimService.wsdl

From vCLI  or vMA (vCLI 5.0)

Note: For more information on the vicfg-hostops command, please reference the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference documentation.

• To put ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts in the maintenance mode, run the following command from or vCLI (vSphere Command-Line Interface) console screen:

  vicfg-hostops.pl –server <ip address> –username root –password <password> –operation enter

• To reboot ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts, run the following command from the vCLI console screen:

  vicfg-hostops.pl –server <ip address> –username root –password <password> –operation reboot

• To remove ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts from maintenance mode, run the following command from the vCLI console screen:

  vicfg-hostops.pl –server <ip address> –username root –password <password> –operation exit

• To shut down ESX/ESXi 4.x or ESXi 5.0 hosts, run the following command from the vCLI console screen:

  vicfg-hostops.pl –server <ip address> –username root –password <password> –operation shutdown

Note: For information on Running VMware CLI 4.x commands on ESXi 5.0 hosts, see   Running VMware CLI 4.x commands on ESXi 5.0 hosts (2004291).