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Troubleshooting the VMware ESX Server Management Service when it will not start

Symptoms

  • ESX host is Not Responding in VirtualCenter
  • ESX host is Disconnected in VirtualCenter
  • Cannot connect an ESX host to VirtualCenter. The following error message appears in Virtual Infrastructure Client when you try to add or reconnect the server to VirtualCenter:

    Unable to access the specified host.  It does not exist, the server software is not responding, or there is a network problem.

  • Cannot connect directly to the ESX host with the Virtual Infrastructure Client. The following error message appears when trying to connect directly to the ESX Server with the Virtual Infrastructure Client:

    VMware Infrastructure Client could not establish the initial connection with server <your server>. Details: A connection failure occurred.

Purpose

This article guides you through troubleshooting the Management Service (vmware-hostd) if it is not starting on your ESX host. The article aims to help you eliminate the common causes for your problem by verifying the ESX host network configuration, storage configuration, and by ensuring the Management Service configuration is not corrupt. 

Resolution

Validate that each troubleshooting step below is true for your environment. Each step provides instructions or a link to a document, in order to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Please do not skip a step.
 
  1. Verify that the ESX Server Management service cannot be restarted. For more information, see Restarting the Management agents on an ESX or ESXi Server (1003490).

    Note: If you perform a corrective action in any of the following steps, attempt to restart the ESX Server Management service again.

  2. Verify that there is adequate disk space available on the ESX Server service console. For more information, see  Investigating disk space on an ESX Server (1003564).

  3. Verify that the ESX Server service console firewall is actively allowing connections to be established. For more information, see  Troubleshooting the firewall policy on an ESX Server (1003634).

  4. Verify that no processes are over utilizing the resources on the ESX Server service console. For more information, see Checking for resource starvation of the ESX Server service console (1003496).

  5. Verify that the storage configuration for the ESX Server service console is correct.  If the storage is not properly configured the ESX Server management service may stop responding causing the ESX Server to appear to be non-responsive. For more information, see Verifying the storage configuration of an ESX Server (1003659).
     
Note: If your problem still exists after trying the steps in this article, please:

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1003561
  • Updated: Oct 7, 2009
  • Products:
    VMware ESX
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ESX 3.0.x
    VMware ESX 3.5.x