PowerCLI: Return the iSCSI Software Adapter

In my previous postsabout how to manage iSCSI targets with PowerCLI part 1 and part 2. I used the following line to return the iSCSI adapter:

$hba = $esx | Get-VMHostHba -Type iScsi

But when I used this line against a vSphere 4.1 update 1 host with Broadcom BCM5709 (Dell Poweredge R710). vSphere will use these adapters as Broadcom iSCSI Adapters. And when you run the $hba = $esx | Get-VMHostHba -Type iScsi one-liner, it will return all the vmhba adapters.

[vSphere PowerCLI] C:\> $esx | Get-VMHostHba -Type iScsi

Device     Type         Model                          Status

——     —-         —–                          ——

vmhba32    IScsi        Broadcom iSCSI Adapter         unbound

vmhba33    IScsi        Broadcom iSCSI Adapter         unbound

vmhba34    IScsi        Broadcom iSCSI Adapter         unbound

vmhba35    IScsi        Broadcom iSCSI Adapter         unbound

vmhba37    IScsi        iSCSI Software Adapter            online

This “problem” can easily be resolved with a Where statement. In the following Where statement you look for a Model that equals “iSCSI Software Adapter”. There is only one Software adapter in ESX(i) so it will return the right vmhba. The PowerCLI line will look like this:

$esx | Get-VMHostHba -Type iScsi | Where {$_.Model -eq "iSCSI Software Adapter"} 

[vSphere PowerCLI] C:\> $esx | Get-VMHostHba -Type iScsi | Where {$_.Model -eq "iSCSI Software Adapter"}

Device     Type         Model                          Status

——     —-         —–                          ——

vmhba37    IScsi        iSCSI Software Adapter         online

So the bottom line. Test your code on different setups and update it when necessary 😉