vmware esxi scp copying usage

using scp to copy to another instance of esxi.  apparently doesn't work out of the box.
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1918

copied here for future ref

Using SCP to copy files to or from an ESX host (1918)

Details

This article provides information on the SCP utility that is used to copy files to or from an ESX host.

Solution

Important: If you are moving virtual disk files, see Moving or Copying Virtual Disks in a VMware Environment (900).

VMware recommends that you use SCP to copy files to or from ESX hosts. The ESX host installation includes SCP as part of the SSH package.

To prevent performance and data management related issues on ESX, see Moving or copying a virtual machine within a VMware environment (1000936).

To copy a file from the ESX host to another server, use this syntax:

scp local_filename user@server:/path/where/file/should/go

Note: To be able to copy files using SCP, you need to start the SSH client in the source and destination ESX hosts. To start the SSH client, run this command:

service sshd restart

All machines to which you copy files must also have SSH (which includes SCP) installed, configured, and be available on the same network.

Many Linux and Unix distributions include SSH and SCP. If you need to download the software, see http://www.openssh.com/. For a list of Windows clients, see http://www.openssh.com/windows.html.

In some situations, you may need to use SCP without a password prompt. For more information, see Adding SSH Keys to the Service Console so vmsnap Stops Prompting for a Password (1719).

If you want to use FTP, you need to enable its use in the ESX host. For more information, see Enabling FTP for ESX Server (1868).