[READ] List all datastores with capacity, usage percentage, and accessibility.

Use this first for the ds_name that browse_datastore and scan_datastore_images require.

Returns the list envelope: 'items' holds one row per datastore, and 'returned'/'total'/'truncated' state whether the listing is complete. Enumerated in one pass, so truncated is always false.

[READ] Browse files in a datastore directory.

Use this for arbitrary files or a glob; prefer scan_datastore_images for deployable images. ds_name comes from list_all_datastores.

Returns the list envelope: 'items' holds one row per file, and 'returned'/'total'/'truncated' state whether the listing is complete. All matches are returned, so truncated is always false.

[READ] Scan a datastore for deployable images (OVA, ISO, OVF, VMDK).

Use this for a live scan of one datastore; prefer list_cached_images for a cached answer. ds_name comes from list_all_datastores.

Returns the list envelope: 'items' holds one row per image, and 'returned'/'total'/'truncated' state whether the listing is complete. All patterns are browsed, so truncated is always false.

[READ] List deployable images (OVA/OVF/ISO/VMDK) from the local cache registry — instant, no vCenter connection or datastore I/O.

Reads ~/.vmware-storage/image_registry.json, populated by prior datastore scans; results may be stale or empty if no scan has run. For a live listing use scan_datastore_images instead. Returns the list envelope: 'items' holds {datastore, name, ds_path, size_mb, type, modified} and is empty if nothing matches, while 'returned'/'total'/'truncated' state whether the listing is complete. The whole registry is filtered in memory, so truncated is always false.

[WRITE] Enable the software iSCSI adapter (vmhba) on an ESXi host.

Required prerequisite before storage_iscsi_add_target. Idempotent: if the adapter is already enabled, returns its HBA device and IQN without making changes. Modifies host storage configuration but is non-disruptive (no reboot, no impact on existing datastores). Audit-logged to ~/.vmware/audit.db. Check current state first with storage_iscsi_status. Returns a confirmation string; errors include remediation hints.

[READ] Get the software iSCSI adapter state and configured send targets for an ESXi host.

Returns {host, enabled, hba_device, iqn, send_targets: [{address, port}]}; when the adapter is disabled, enabled=false with null device/IQN and an empty target list. Use this before storage_iscsi_enable / storage_iscsi_add_target / storage_iscsi_remove_target to check prerequisites, and afterwards to verify the change took effect.

[WRITE] Add an iSCSI send (dynamic discovery) target to an ESXi host's software iSCSI adapter, then automatically rescan all HBAs and VMFS volumes to discover new LUNs.

Prerequisite: software iSCSI must be enabled first (storage_iscsi_enable); otherwise returns an error with guidance. Idempotent: a duplicate address:port returns "already configured" without changes. No separate storage_rescan call is needed afterwards. Audit-logged to ~/.vmware/audit.db. Returns a confirmation string.

[WRITE] Remove an iSCSI send target from an ESXi host's software iSCSI adapter, then rescan all HBAs and VMFS volumes.

Destructive: LUNs served only by this target become inaccessible after the rescan — first verify the target exists (storage_iscsi_status) and that no datastores depend on it (list_all_datastores). Errors if the address:port pair is not configured or software iSCSI is disabled. Reversible only by re-adding via storage_iscsi_add_target. Audit-logged to ~/.vmware/audit.db. Returns a confirmation string.

[WRITE] Rescan all HBAs and VMFS volumes on an ESXi host to discover newly presented LUNs and datastores.

Use this when a storage array presents new LUNs, or after out-of-band SAN changes. Not needed after storage_iscsi_add_target / storage_iscsi_remove_target — those rescan automatically. Non-destructive: only triggers device and VMFS discovery (deletes nothing), but it is I/O-visible on the host and may take a minute or two with many paths. Audit-logged to ~/.vmware/audit.db. Returns a confirmation string; errors include remediation hints.

[READ] Get vSAN overall health, per-check-group health, and per-host disk-group layout for a cluster.

Returns {cluster_name, vsan_enabled, overall_health, overall_health_description, health_queried, health_not_queried_reason, health_checked_at, test_groups: [{group_id, group_name, group_health}], host_count, hosts_read, hosts_not_read: [{host, reason}], disk_groups_complete, disk_groups: [{host, cache_disk, cache_size_gb, capacity_disks}]}. overall_health is what vSAN reports — green / yellow / red, and sometimes "unknown", which is vSAN's own answer. When the health service could not be asked at all, overall_health is null and health_queried is false with the reason: a null is "not measured", never a measurement. health_checked_at is the age of vCenter's cached summary (the same one Skyline Health shows); this tool reads the cache rather than triggering a full health run. Check disk_groups_complete before treating disk_groups as the cluster's inventory: vCenter cannot read a disconnected or notResponding host, and an empty disk_groups on such a cluster does NOT mean it has none — the unread hosts are named in hosts_not_read and in the message. If vSAN is not enabled, returns vsan_enabled=false with a message rather than an error. Use vsan_capacity for space usage instead. No side effects.

[READ] Get space usage of a cluster's vSAN datastore for capacity planning.

Returns {cluster_name, vsan_enabled, datastore_name, accessible, total_gb, used_gb, free_gb, usage_pct}. When the vSAN datastore is inaccessible (accessible=false) the four figures are null with a message, not 0 — vCenter answers 0 for a datastore it cannot reach, and 0 GB used reads as a healthy empty datastore. accessible=null means the summary did not say. If vSAN is not enabled on the cluster, returns vsan_enabled=false with an explanatory message rather than an error; errors only if the cluster name is not found. Use vsan_health for disk-group layout and host details; use list_all_datastores for non-vSAN (VMFS/NFS) datastore usage. No side effects.

[READ] Get vSAN data-efficiency (deduplication + compression) status for a cluster.

Returns {cluster_name, vsan_enabled, dedup_enabled, compression_enabled}. Reads it via the vSAN Management SDK (VsanVcClusterConfigSystem), not base pyVmomi. When vSAN reports no data-efficiency config (space efficiency off, or an OSA cluster without it), dedup_enabled/compression_enabled come back null with a message rather than a fabricated false. Errors only if the cluster name is not found. Use vsan_capacity for space usage and vsan_health for disk-group layout. No side effects.

Note: vSAN Global Deduplication and vSAN-to-vSAN replication are NOT exposed here — neither has a verified SDK object (global dedup has no distinct field; v2v replication lives in the separate vSAN Data Protection plane). Use the vCenter/vSAN UI for those.