TOPIC
    about_server_authentication

SHORT DESCRIPTION
    When connecting to a vSphere or vCloud server, you need to authenticate by
    providing valid credentials.

LONG DESCRIPTION
    When connecting to a vSphere or vCloud server, you need to authenticate by
    providing valid credentials. PowerCLI follows a certain logic for
    authenticating a server session. When you connect to a server with the
    Connect-VIServer or Connect-CIServer cmdlets, you can provide either a user
    name and password through the User and Password parameters, or a
    PSCredential object through the Credential parameter. If you provide both
    User/Password and Credential, the cmdlet accepts only the value of the
    Credential parameter and discards the User and Password parameters.

Authenticating Using a Pscredential Object
    When you run the Connect-VIServer or Connect-CIServer to establish a server
    connection, you can use the Credential parameter to provide a PSCredential
    object that contains credentials for the specified server. If the provided
    credentials are not valid, the cmdlets show an error message.

Authenticating Through the User and Password Parameters
    Instead of providing a PSCredential object, you can directly specify a user
    name and password through the User and Password parameters of
    Connect-VIServer or Connect-CIServer.
    If you specify only the User parameter without providing a value to
    Password, the cmdlet searches the credential store for credentials that
    correspond to the specified server and user. If such a credential is found,
    the cmdlet uses it to authenticate with the server. If no such a credential
    is found, you are prompted to provide credentials.
    If you run Connect-VIServer or Connect-CIServer without specifying the User,
    Password, or Credential parameters, the cmdlet searches the credential store
    for available credentials for the specified server. If only one credential
    object is found, the cmdlet uses it to authenticate with the server. If none
    or more than one PSCredential objects are found, the cmdlet tries to perform
    a SSPI authentication. If the SSPI authentication fails, the cmdlet prompts
    you to provide credentials.

NOTE
    If PowerCLI runs in a non-interactive mode, Connect-VIServer and
    Connect-CIServer will not prompt you for new credentials after the server
    authentication fails. To try to authenticate using new credentials, run the
    cmdlet again.

COPYRIGHT
    Copyright (C) VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more
    U.S. Patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents.

