Tag Archives: Error

Unable to logon VMware vCenter Appliance with Root

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A couple of weeks ago the VMware vCenter 5.5.0b update was released. Time to upgrade my home lab vCenter Server Appliance from version 5.5.0a to version 5.5.0b. I am using the appliance so this should be easy.

When I was trying to login to the management environment with my root account I was getting errors. Unable to authenticate.


Also when I connected with SSH to the Appliance I’m getting error messages that my password is not correct.


I know for sure that this password is the correct one. I opened a console screen from the vSphere Webclient and that one is also giving me the error.


Also the VMware vSphere Web Client is giving an error.

I am unable to logon with the root account of the appliance.

Ok.. This is a problem. I remembered reading a blog post of William Lam about a problem with the expiration date of the Root Password. So I started searching the VirtualGhetto blog site, and found the article. See http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2013/09/how-to-recover-vcsa-55-from-expired.html

So I followed the steps described in Williams article.

  1. Boot up vCenter Server using a current Linux live CD. I am using a Ubuntu ISO that I had.
  2. Mount the VMware vCenter Server Appliance root partition. This should be /dev/sda3
  3. Edit the /etc/shadow file with your favorite editor. Advice make a copy of the shadow file before editing it.
  4. When the root password is expired there should be an x in front of the password string. This was the case

  5. Remove the x in front of the password string and save the shadow file.
  6. Reboot the VCSA. If everything went well you are able to logon with the root account.

I was able to logon into the appliance again, but to prevent future problems with the password expiration I disabled the expiration in the management page of the VCSA. Because this is my home lab this is ok.


In production environments this is not advisable

Lessons learned:

  • Configure a SMTP server and an alert email account so you will be notified when the password is going to be expired.
  • Or in a home lab environment, disable the expiration date of the root password.

More information:

Solving the “vami.DNS0.vsphere_Management_Assistance_(vMA)” error

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Today I installed a VMware Management Assistance appliance in my home lab. After powering it on the following error message is showing.

 

I started searching and found an VMware KB article that describes the solution. See VMware KB2007012. There is also a solution posted in the VMware forums, see http://communities.vmware.com/message/1887178 

Solution 1. VMware KB2007012

Cause

This issue can occur if you do not have a predefined set of IP address ranges for the vMA appliance virtual machine to choose from.

Resolution

IP pools provide a network identity to vApps. An IP pool is a network configuration that is assigned to a network used by a vApp. The vApp can then leverage vCenter Server to automatically provide an IP configuration to its virtual machines. You can set up an IP address range by specifying a host address range within a network.

To set up a range:

  1. In the Inventory, select the datacenter that contains the vApp.
  2. On the IP Pools tab, right-click the IP pool you want to edit and select Properties.
    Note:If no IP Pools are present, click Add to add a new IP Pool.
  3. Create a DATA/NFS IP Pool.
  4. Name the IP Pool Name DATA/NFS.
  5. In the Properties dialog, click the IPv4 or the IPv6 tab, depending on your IP protocol.
  6. Enter the IP Subnet and Gateway in the respective fields.
  7. Select the Enable IP Pool check box.
    Note: You must enable this setting to specify an IP address range.
  8. Enter a comma-separated list of host address ranges in the Ranges field. A range is specified as an IP address, a pound sign (#), and a number indicating the length of the range. The gateway and the ranges must be within the subnet, but must exclude the gateway address. For example, 10.20.60.4#10, 10.20.61.0#2 indicates that the IPv4 addresses can range from 10.20.60.4 to 10.209.60.13 and 10.20.61.0 to 10.20.61.1.
  9. Click OK when finished.
  10. Click Associations tab, and select the network that should use the IP Pool.

Now the vMA appliance virtual machine will power on.

Note: Ensure that IPv4 has been enabled for the IP Pool. If this is not enabled, the vApp will fail.

Solution 2. Dissable vApp options.

Edit the settings of the vMA. Go to the options tab and disable vApp options.

 

Solving Veeam Error: Host with uuid was not found

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Today I was upgrading an VMware ESX 4.1 host to VMware ESXi 5.1. I did the update with the VMware Update Manager. After a successful upgrade I tried to backup a VM with Veeam Backup & Replication 6.5. This resulted in an error. See screenshot.


How to solve this problem. I found this easy solution in the Veeam Support Forums.

Go to the license screen in Veeam Backup & Replication. Revoke the license of the ESXi host, and start the backup again. If all went well, the ESXi host gets a new Veeam license assigned and the Veeam backup is successful.

Problem solved!!

Extra information can be found: