VMWare vCenter cannot contact the specified host error while adding host.

Please search VMware web site first if you get this error and if you haven't looked to general solutions for this issue yet. You might have problems in your network configuration, DNS, IP or Lockdown mode might have enabled on the host. etc.

You may have latency issues if you still get this error and you believe your network configuration is correct.

In my case vCenter starts adding the host in retrieving mode, I can see it can communicate to my host on host's events as well.

But if fails and gives the error below.

Cannot contact the specified host. The host may not be available on the network, a network configuration problem may exist, or the management service on this host is not responding



 

I found this solution at VMware web site (Alarms about the host connection state changing from green to red frequently occur (1020210)) and added

<handshakeTimeoutMs> 120000 </handshakeTimeoutMs>

 

between <ssl> and </ssl> in /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml file, then restarted the management agents, it resolved my issue, hope it helps.

(Restarting the Management agents on an ESXi or ESX host (1003490))



 

 

 

VMWare vCenter Server 5.5 installation on Windows 2012 R2 stuck at Directory Services Installation

I have just experienced the problem below while testing VMware vCenter 5.5 on Windows 2012 R2. It stuck at Installing Directory Services step.


I found the installer was trying to run a non-existing file "ocsetup.exe" at this step, weird thing is vCenter installer doesn't complain about that, it only waits, the log file is under %temp%\vminst.log.

1. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 Begin Logging


2. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 --- CA exec: VMAdamInstall


3. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 Getting Property CustomActionData = 603;603;C:\Users\ADMINI~1.VML\AppData\Local\Temp\{A4400513-2688-45A9-8439-CA991F4E4106};C:\Windows\SysWOW64\;C:\Windows\system32\;C:\Windows\ADAM\


4. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 setupApp = [C:\Windows\system32\ocsetup.exe]


5. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 --- function: SetupComponentOnWindows


6. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 [C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe /c start /w C:\Windows\system32\ocsetup.exe DirectoryServices-ADAM /passive /norestart]


7. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 Util_Launch::Wait: 1 Hide: 1


8. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 Found "C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe"


9. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 09:48:55 Attempting to launch ["C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe" /c start /w C:\Windows\system32\ocsetup.exe DirectoryServices-ADAM /passive /norestart]

I copied ocsetup.exe file from a Windows Server 2008 R2 server's system32 to C:\Windows\system32 folder on Windows Server 2012 R2.

1. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 10:40:44 Attempting to launch ["C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe" /c start /w C:\Windows\system32\ocsetup.exe DirectoryServices-ADAM /passive /norestart]


2. VMware VirtualCenter-build-1235232: 11/27/13 10:41:11 Process returned 0

Hope it helps.

 

 

 

Changing collation of Virtual Center Database

I needed to change VMWare ESX's Virtual Center 2 Database collation while moving the DB to another MS SQL server using different collation, you might not need to change VC2 DB collation but I think it is better to use default server collation. As usual for most databases I got the error below; because of an object dependent on database collation.

• Alter failed for Database 'VirtualCenter2'.  (Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo)


• An exception occurred while executing a Transact-SQL statement or batch. (Microsoft.SqlServer.ConnectionInfo)


• The object 'sys_PhysicalIndexStatistics_Wrapper' is dependent on database collation. The database collation cannot be changed if a schema-bound object depends on it. Remove the dependencies on the database collation and then retry the operation.


• ALTER DATABASE failed. The default collation of database 'VirtualCenter2' cannot be set to SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. (.Net SqlClient Data Provider) (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 5075)

You can easily deal with this issue by using the steps below.

1. After restoring the DB on target server , browse to VC2 DB\Programmability\Functions\Table-valued Functions, right click on sys_PhysicalIndexStatistics_Wrapper then select Script Function As > Create To > New Query Editor, it will create the query needed to re-create the  sys_PhysicalIndexStatistics_Wrapper object.


2. Delete sys_PhysicalIndexStatistics_Wrapper


3. Change collation of the database.


4. Run the query you have created on step 1. , check if sys_PhysicalIndexStatistics_Wrapper created successfully.