Thank you for scripts and explanations.
Just one question. Do current version have the same performance problems on some cmdlets as it was with previous ones?
Do I have to use the same technique you mentioned in this topic in nowadays?

Thank you

Many thanks for putting in the time to work this out. It is exactly what I was looking for. I have tested this and it works for me, however I have a scenario where custom fields were entered as “Global” instead of “Virtual Machine”. In this instance the fields returned are only VmName and CAValue. CAName is blank. I don’t have the PowerCLI/Powershell skills to work out what is wrong. Any ideas..?

Cheers

Glenn

again thank you for your reply:

i think there is still something wrong, i just added the lines but get the same error:

[vSphere PowerCLI] C:\Scripts> .\export_cf.ps1

Name Port User
—- —- —-
vcserverold 443 vcadmin
You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression.
At C:\Scripts\export_cf.ps1:5 char:23
+ $vmArray.GetEnumerator( <<<< ) | %{

i need to move my vcenter (or all esx hosts) to my new vsphere vcenter. I just connect 3.5 esx hosts to my new vcenter.
regarding to this nice guide iam able to move custom fields from old vcenter to my vsphere vcenter using export-csv.

http://www.virtu-al.net/2009/05/29/powercli-on-steroids-custom-attributes/

—–snip———snip———snip———snip—-

1.Export all custom attributes to a CSV file (backup)
$list = @()
$vmArray.GetEnumerator() | %{
$vmName = $_.Name
$_.Value.Custom.getenumerator() | %{
$row = New-Object psobject
$row | Add-Member -memberType noteproperty -name VmName -value $vmName
$row | Add-Member -memberType noteproperty -name CAName -value $customKeyLookuphttp://$_.Name
$row | Add-Member -memberType noteproperty -name CAValue -value $_.Value
$list += $row
}
}
$list | Export-Csv “C:\CA-backup.csv” -noTypeInformation
—–snip———snip———snip———snip———snip—-

so i connect vi PowerCli to my old vcenter “connect-viserver” and export all CF, “reconnect” all 3.5 esx server to my vsphere vcenter, connect to my new vcenter and import them accordingly:

—–snip———snip———snip———snip———snip—-
# Import all custom attributes from a CSV file (restore)
Import-Csv “C:\CA-backup.csv” | %{
$vmArrayhttp://$_.VmName.Object.setCustomValue($_.CAName,$_.CAValue)
}
—–snip———snip———snip———snip———snip—-

I can’t run this code snippets as a script itself and my PS Skills are limited so here is my Question: Could someone help me to get started ?
I guess i need to connect to my vcenter first.. like “Connect-VIServer vcserver”

your help is much appreciated. thank you
rgrds uxmax

EDIT: so i just add the connection lines in the appropriate (export/import) code “snippets” ?

Great Site btw