Overview
RVTools is a free Windows utility that connects to a VMware vCenter Server or ESXi host over the vSphere API and dumps the entire inventory into a workbook of tabbed worksheets. Each tab covers one object class: vInfo for virtual machines, vCPU and vMemory for their allocations, vDisk and vPartition for storage, vHost for the ESXi hosts, vCluster, vDatastore, vNetwork and so on. It has been the standard VMware inventory snapshot in enterprise IT for years, largely because it needs nothing more than read-only vCenter credentials and produces a file an analyst can open in Excel.
The ReadyWorks connector reads those exports as files. There is no vCenter connection and no credential held by ReadyWorks: the connection points at a directory on the ReadyWorks server (or accepts a manual upload through the console), the job names the CSV to read, and the csv_file.php driver parses the header row into columns and each row into a record in the destination staging table.
This matters when the VMware team will share an inventory dump but will not issue API credentials, which is common during a divestiture, an audit or an early migration assessment. Staged RVTools data reconciles against the CMDB, against Active Directory computer objects and against application ownership records, and it is detailed enough to size migration waves from. If ReadyWorks does hold vCenter credentials, the VMware vCenter connector reads the same estate live and keeps it current between exports.
The connector is inbound only. It reads files and writes staging tables, and it never writes back to vCenter.
NOTE: RVTools writes an Excel workbook by default. Use its CSV export so that each tab becomes its own file, conventionally named RVTools_tab<name>.csv. The connector reads CSV, not the workbook.
Connector Properties
Authentication Methods
The connector offers one method. It handles files on disk or files uploaded through the ReadyWorks console, and it needs no credentials.
Method 1: Comma Separated File (RVTOOLS_370b)
No Authentication
Comma Separated File reads RVTools exports from a path on the ReadyWorks server. Set Server File Path to the directory the exports land in (the default is storage/etl5), and set Manual File Upload to Yes if operators will attach the file through the console instead of dropping it on the server. Nothing is authenticated, so the security boundary is whatever controls write access to that directory.
Connection Configuration Fields (3)
No authentication recipe is stored. The driver script authenticates natively using the fields above.
Inbound Job Fields Enabled (11)
These are the job-level settings exposed for an RVTools import.
Inbound Job Templates (1)
One inbound template ships, covering the vInfo tab. It arrives disabled so that you can point it at your own file name and destination table before it runs.
Job Template Configuration
Settings
Job Parameters and Enumeration
RVTools – Tab Info
CSV File or Path: RVTools_tabvInfo.csv
Outbound Job Templates (0)
This connector ships no outbound templates and does not support outbound jobs.