Managed Object - FileManager

Property of: ServiceContent
See also: Datacenter
Since: VI API 2.5

Managed Object Description

This managed object type provides a way to manage and manipulate files and folders on datastores. The source and the destination names are in the form of a URL or a datastore path.

A URL has the form

scheme://authority/folder/path?dcPath=dcPath&dsName=dsName

where

scheme is http or https.

authority specifies the hostname or IP address of the VirtualCenter or ESX server and optionally the port.

dcPath is the inventory path to the Datacenter containing the Datastore.

dsName is the name of the Datastore.

path is a slash-delimited path from the root of the datastore.

A datastore path has the form

[datastore] path

where

datastore is the datastore name.

path is a slash-delimited path from the root of the datastore.

An example datastore path is "[storage] path/to/file.extension". A listing of all the files, disks and folders on a datastore can be obtained from the datastore browser.
See HostDatastoreBrowser

Properties

Name	Type	Description
None

Methods

Methods defined in this Managed Object
ChangeOwner, CopyDatastoreFile_Task, DeleteDatastoreFile_Task, MakeDirectory, MoveDatastoreFile_Task

ChangeOwner

Change the owner for a file.

This method is currently not supported.

Required Privileges: Dynamic - See discussion above
Since: vSphere API 4.0

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
_this	ManagedObjectReference	A reference to the FileManager used to make the method call.
name	xsd:string
datacenter* P	ManagedObjectReference to a Datacenter
owner	xsd:string

*Need not be set P Required privilege: System.View

Return Value

Type	Description
None

Faults

Type	Description
FileFault
InvalidDatastore
RuntimeFault	Thrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.
UserNotFound

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition

         <element xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:vim25="urn:vim25" name="ChangeOwner" type="vim25:ChangeOwnerRequestType"/>
         <element xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:vim25="urn:vim25" name="ChangeOwnerResponse">
            <complexType/>
         </element>

CopyDatastoreFile_Task

Copies the source file or folder to the destination.

If the destination file does not exist, it is created. If the destination file exists, the force parameter determines whether to overwrite it with the source or not. Folders can be copied recursively. In this case, the destination, if it exists, must be a folder, else one will be created. Existing files on the destination that conflict with source files can be overwritten using the force parameter. Files and disks are always copied in binary format during recursive copy.

If source (or destination) name is specified as a URL, then the corresponding datacenter parameter may be omitted.

If any intermediate level folder specified by the source and destination does not exist, a FileNotFound fault is thrown.

If a file of a virtual machine is overwritten on the destination datastore as a result of the force parameter, it may corrupt that virtual machine.

If the source is an extent of a virtual disk, this operation treats the extent as a file.

If source and destination resolve to the same file system location, the call has no effect.

It is important to note that this operation will provide transactional guarantees only for a file. No guarantees are provided when copying a folder. If the intent is to clone a virtual machine registered in the inventory, with transactional guarantees, please refer to CloneVM_Task.

Datastore.FileManagement privilege is required on both source and destination datastores.

Required Privileges: Dynamic - See discussion above

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
_this	ManagedObjectReference	A reference to the FileManager used to make the method call.
sourceName	xsd:string	The name of the source, either a URL or a datastore path referring to the file or folder to be copied.
sourceDatacenter* P	ManagedObjectReference to a Datacenter	If `sourceName` is a datastore path, the datacenter for that datastore path. Not needed when invoked directly on ESX. If not specified on a call to VirtualCenter, `sourceName` must be a URL.
destinationName	xsd:string	The name of the destination, either a URL or a datastore path referring to the destination file or folder.
destinationDatacenter* P	ManagedObjectReference to a Datacenter	If `destinationName` is a datastore path, the datacenter for that datastore path. Not needed when invoked directly on ESX. If not specified on a call to VirtualCenter, it is assumed that the destination path belongs to the source datacenter.
force*	xsd:boolean	If true, overwrite any identically named file at the destination. If not specified, it is assumed to be false.

*Need not be set P Required privilege: System.View

Return Value

Type	Description
ManagedObjectReference to a Task	This method returns a Task object with which to monitor the operation.

Faults

Type	Description
CannotAccessFile	Thrown if the source cannot be accessed because of insufficient permissions.
FileAlreadyExists	Thrown if a file with the given name already exists at the destination, and the force flag is false.
FileFault	Thrown if there is a generic file error
FileLocked	Thrown if the source file or folder is currently locked or in use.
FileNotFound	Thrown if the file or folder specified by sourceName is not found, or, any intermediate level folder specified by the destinationName is not found.
InvalidDatastore	Thrown if the operation cannot be performed on the source or destination datastores. Typically, a specific subclass of this exception is thrown.
NoDiskSpace	Thrown if there is not enough space available at the destination datastore.
RuntimeFault	Thrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

DeleteDatastoreFile_Task

Deletes the specified file or folder from the datastore. If a file of a virtual machine is deleted, it may corrupt that virtual machine. Folder deletes are always recursive. The datacenter parameter may be omitted if a URL is used to name the file or folder.

If the source is an extent of a virtual disk, this operation treats the extent as a file.

It is important to note that this operation will provide transactional guarantees only for a file. No guarantees are provided when deleting folders. If the intent is to delete a virtual machine registered in the inventory, please refer to Destroy_Task.

Requires Datastore.FileManagement privilege on the datastore.

Required Privileges: Dynamic - See discussion above

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
_this	ManagedObjectReference	A reference to the FileManager used to make the method call.
name	xsd:string	The name of the file or folder, either a URL or a datastore path referring to the file or folder to be deleted.
datacenter* P	ManagedObjectReference to a Datacenter	If `name` is a datastore path, the datacenter for that datastore path. Not needed when invoked directly on ESX. If not specified on a call to VirtualCenter, `name` must be a URL.

*Need not be set P Required privilege: System.View

Return Value

Type	Description
ManagedObjectReference to a Task	This method returns a Task object with which to monitor the operation.

Faults

Type	Description
CannotDeleteFile	Thrown if the delete operation on the file or folder fails.
FileFault	Thrown if there is a generic file error
FileLocked	Thrown if the source file or folder is currently locked or in use.
FileNotFound	Thrown if the file or folder specified by name is not found.
InvalidDatastore	Thrown if the operation cannot be performed on the datastore. Typically, a specific subclass of this exception is thrown.
RuntimeFault	Thrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

MakeDirectory

Create a folder using the specified name. If the parent or intermediate level folders do not exist, and the parameter createParentDirectories is false, a FileNotFound fault is thrown. If the intermediate level folders do not exist, and the parameter createParentDirectories is true, all the non-existent folders are created.

Requires Datastore.FileManagement privilege on the datastore.

Required Privileges: Dynamic - See discussion above

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
_this	ManagedObjectReference	A reference to the FileManager used to make the method call.
name	xsd:string	The name of the folder, either a URL or a datastore path referring to the folder to be created.
datacenter* P	ManagedObjectReference to a Datacenter	If `name` is a datastore path, the datacenter for that datastore path. Not needed when invoked directly on ESX. If not specified on a call to VirtualCenter, `name` must be a URL.
createParentDirectories*	xsd:boolean	If true, any non-existent intermediate level folders will be created. If not specified, it is assumed to be false.

*Need not be set P Required privilege: System.View

Return Value

Type	Description
None

Faults

Type	Description
CannotCreateFile	Thrown if the create operation on the folder fails.
FileAlreadyExists	Thrown if a file or folder with the given name already exists at the destination.
FileFault	Thrown if there is a generic file error
FileNotFound	Thrown if the createParentDirectories is false and a intermediate level folder specified by name is not found.
InvalidDatastore	Thrown if the operation cannot be performed on the datastore. Typically, a specific subclass of this exception is thrown.
RuntimeFault	Thrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition

         <element xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:vim25="urn:vim25" name="MakeDirectory" type="vim25:MakeDirectoryRequestType"/>
         <element xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:vim25="urn:vim25" name="MakeDirectoryResponse">
            <complexType/>
         </element>

MoveDatastoreFile_Task

Moves the source file or folder to the destination.

If the destination file does not exist, it is created. If the destination file exists, the force parameter determines whether to overwrite it with the source or not. If the source path is a folder, then the destination path must not exist; the destination cannot be overwritten even with a force flag in that case. Folder moves are recursive, treating all files and disks to move as binary.

If source (or destination) name is specified as a URL, then the corresponding datacenter parameter may be omitted.

If any intermediate level folder specified by the source and destination does not exist, a FileNotFound fault is thrown.

If a file of a virtual machine is moved, it may corrupt that virtual machine. If a file of a virtual machine is overwritten on the destination datastore as a result of the force parameter, it may corrupt that virtual machine.

If the source is an extent of a virtual disk, this operation treats the extent as a file.

If source and destination resolve to the same file system location, the call has no effect.

It is important to note that this operation will provide transactional guarantees only for a file. No guarantees are provided for folder moves. If the intent is to move a virtual machine registered in the inventory, with transactional guarantees, please refer to RelocateVM_Task. If the intent is to rename a virtual machine registered in the inventory, please refer to Rename_Task.

Datastore.FileManagement privilege is required on both source and destination datastores.

Required Privileges: Dynamic - See discussion above

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
_this	ManagedObjectReference	A reference to the FileManager used to make the method call.
sourceName	xsd:string	The name of the source, either a URL or a datastore path referring to the file or folder to be moved.
sourceDatacenter* P	ManagedObjectReference to a Datacenter	If `sourceName` is a datastore path, the datacenter for that datastore path. Not needed when invoked directly on ESX. If not specified on a call to VirtualCenter, `sourceName` must be a URL.
destinationName	xsd:string	The name of the destination, either a URL or a datastore path referring to the destination file or folder.
destinationDatacenter* P	ManagedObjectReference to a Datacenter	If `destinationName` is a datastore path, the datacenter for that datastore path. Not needed when invoked directly on ESX. If not specified on a call to VirtualCenter, it is assumed that the destination path belongs to the source datacenter.
force*	xsd:boolean	If true, overwrite any identically named file at the destination. If not specified, it is assumed to be false.

*Need not be set P Required privilege: System.View

Return Value

Type	Description
ManagedObjectReference to a Task	This method returns a Task object with which to monitor the operation.

Faults

Type	Description
CannotAccessFile	Thrown if the source file or folder cannot be moved because of insufficient permissions.
FileAlreadyExists	Thrown if a file with the given name already exists at the destination, and the force flag is false. For folders, if the destination exists, this fault is thrown regardless.
FileFault	Thrown if there is a generic file error
FileLocked	Thrown if the source file or folder is currently locked or in use.
FileNotFound	Thrown if the file or folder specified by sourceName is not found, or, any intermediate level folder specified by the destinationName is not found.
InvalidDatastore	Thrown if the operation cannot be performed on the source or destination datastores. Typically, a specific subclass of this exception is thrown.
NoDiskSpace	Thrown if there is not enough space available on the destination datastore.
RuntimeFault	Thrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None