Managing inventory, hosts, VMs, and templates via vCenter

The vCenter Server inventory is a hierarchy of objects. This object hierarchy includes folders, which contain virtual machines and templates, and also clusters containing multiple ESXi hosts. Other objects that are visible in the inventory object tree are resource pools, data stores, and networks. The objects are grouped in a relevant way, so that together they provide a natural structure over which permissions are applied.

The topmost element of the vCenter Server Inventory hierarchy is known as Root Object, which is nothing more than the vCenter Server itself. It can't be removed from the entire inventory.

Data center objects

It is an important object in the vCenter Inventory Hierarchy. Objects are generally based on their geographical locations. Every data center object will have its own set of ESXi hosts, virtual machines, networks, and data stores.

In order to represent organizations or business units, companies may create multiple...