Shell warning
Why is VMWare so opposed to shell access? SSH has proven far more secure than VMWare's own services (see: slpd exploits).
And when you really need shell access to your ESXi instances is exactly when you'll be unable to enable them (over the network via web interface).
At least if they had an option under F2 on the console to turn it on and off I might consider it, but no, you can restore the whole system to defaults, but you can't turn on a console where you can do some real debugging / repairs when you need to.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
