To power on a virtual machine from the command line:
List the inventory ID of the virtual machine with the command:
vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms |grep <vm name>
Note: The first column of the output shows the vmid.
Check the power state of the virtual machine with the command:
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.getstate <vmid>
Power-on the virtual machine with the command:
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on <vmid>