ESX Server 3.0.x Hosts Shown as Disconnected after Upgrading VirtualCenter Server 2.x
Details
You may experience issues connecting to the ESX Server 3.0.x hosts after upgrading VirtualCenter Server 2.x to a later release.
The following error messages may appear:
Failed to install the VirtualCenter Agent service.
A general system error occurred: Create upgrade tmp directory failed.
This issue appears if the directory /tmp/vmware-root is missing on an ESX Server 3.0.1 or 3.0.2 host. Virtual Infrastructure Client reports the host as disconnected and you cannot connect the host because the VirtualCenter Agent (vpxa ) fails to upgrade on the host with the missing directory.
ESX Server patches have been released to address this issue and are the preferred resolution.
The alternative solutions described here can be used either proactively as a pre-upgrade procedure or as a means to correct an environment that has already been upgraded and is now experiencing the issue. In case of the latter, each ESX Server must be manually reconnected after addressing the missing directory issue. The VirtualCenter Agent updates properly and the ESX Server host shows up normally in the VirtualCenter inventory.
Solution
Note: Before you begin please refer to KB1003490 for important information on restarting the mgmt-vmware service.
This issue has been addressed in ESX Server 3.0.1 and 3.0.2 patches.
Note: Hosts that have the appropriate patch installed before VirtualCenter Server is upgraded are not affected.
VMware recommends applying the applicable patches. If you are unable to apply the applicable patches, the following alternative is available as a temporary solution:
Apply one of the following workarounds:
Option 1: Restart Host Agent (hostd) on each ESX Server 3.0.x host.
[root@esxhost]# service mgmt-vmware restart
This creates the missing /tmp/vmware-root directory.
Caution: Issuing service mgmt-vmware restart also restarts any virtual machine configured to auto-start or auto-shutdown. This issue only affects ESX Server 3.0.1 without patch ESX-7557441 .
Option 2: Manually create the missing directory on each ESX Server 3.0.x host.
[root@esxhost]# mkdir -p /tmp/vmware-root
Option 3: Consider using a script to log into each ESX Server 3.0.x host to create the missing directory.
The script attached to this KB article can be downloaded and executed directly on the VirtualCenter Server machine. Run the script before attempting to perform a VirtualCenter Server upgrade.
To utilize this script, there must be an account on each ESX Server 3.0.x host that has permission to log in via SSH. This does not need to be the root account, any user that can log into the host is sufficient.
To execute the script, open a command prompt and type:
cscript CreateTmpDirs.vbs
Note: The script is provided as-is, and is not supported by VMware Technical Support. The script has undergone minimal QA testing and might not work in all environments. Please use one of the other two options above, if necessary.
Option 4: Remove the installed VirtualCenter Agent (vpxa).
Log in to the service console as root and run:
rpm -qa | grep vpxa
The result appears similar to:
VMware-vpxa-2.0.2-75762
Note: If there is no output, there is either: A) n o agent installed, or B) a problem with the agent installation that is beyond the scope of this documentation. File a support request with VMware Support and note this KB Article ID in the problem description. For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request .
Remove the vpxa package. run this command:
rpm -e VMware-vpxa
If the VirtualCenter Server upgrade has already been performed, use the Virtual Infrastructure Client connected to VirtualCenter and reconnect the ESX Server hosts. You are prompted for the root credentials and the updated VirtualCenter Agent is successfully installed. If this workaround has been applied as a pre-upgrade step, normally it is not necessary to perform this additional reconnection step.
Keywords
Unable to reconnect host to VC after upgrading to VC2.0.1 P2 VC2.0.2 2.0.2 2.5 disconnected
