VMware ESX Server 1.5 Troubleshooting
Knowledge Base Troubleshooting
The following sections will help you diagnose and correct various general problems you may encounter when running ESX Server.
- I can't install the VERITAS Backup Exec Agent for Linux on the ESX Server console operating system.
- I have an application that uses the VMware Perl API to connect to my ESX Server computer. After a short time, those connections are blocked.
- When I type into the remote console, I see unintended repeated characters.
- When I use the console operating system to list the contents of a directory, some files are not shown.
- I am trying to use Norton Ghost 6.5 in a virtual machine, but I frequently get error messages.
The VERITAS Backup Exec Agent for Linux will not install on the ESX Server console operating system without modifications.
Note: It should work correctly without modification on guest operating systems.
Use the following workaround to install the backup agent.
- Extract all files from the tape archive be_agnt.tar.
- Edit the BE_IDENT file
-
Include the lines shown below. All lines between the dashed lines are new lines to be included.
if [ "$MACH" != "aix" ]
then
OSRELEASE=`uname -r`
case "$MACH" in
i386)
OS_VER=`uname -s`
if [ "$OS_VER" = "Linux" ]
then
TARGET=ns_linux
---------------------------------------------------------
temp=`egrep -l "VMware ESX Server" /etc/issue`
if [ "$temp" = "/etc/issue" ]
then
temp2=`egrep -l "1\." /etc/issue`
if [ "$temp2" = "/etc/issue" ]
then
TARGET=linux
fi
fi
---------------------------------------------------------
temp=`egrep -l "Caldera" /etc/issue`
if [ "$temp" = "/etc/issue" ]
then
temp3=`egrep -l "1\." /etc/issue`
temp4=`egrep -l "2\.2" /etc/issue`
if [ "$temp3" = "/etc/issue" ]
then
TARGET=linux_old
elif [ "$temp4" = "/etc/issue" ]
then
TARGET=linux_old
else
TARGET=linux
fi
fi -
Run the INSTALL script.
If it still does not install correctly, please report the problem to the VMware support team.
If you have an application that repeatedly connects to a server or a virtual machine via the Perl API, you may need to change a configuration parameter on the console operating system.
Every time you connect to the Perl API, you connect to port 902 via a service known as inetd. However, inetd limits the number of connections in a short period of time in order to prevent denial-of-service attacks. The default configuration allows about 20 connections in a minute. If there are more than 20 connections, inetd will reject connections for 10 minutes.
You can increase the number of connections allowed in a minute. To do so, edit the file /etc/inetd.conf on the console operating system of the affected ESX Server machines. Find the line
902 stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/vmware-authd vmware-authd
Change it to
902 stream tcp nowait.200 root /usr/sbin/vmware-authd vmware-authd
The use of 200 allows 100 connections in one minute. You can increase this value to any desired number. To activate this change immediately, type this command at the command prompt:
killall -HUP inetd
If you are using a wide-area or low-bandwidth connection, the time delay over the network may be long enough to cause the virtual machine to start auto-repeat.
To reduce these effects, increase the time threshold necessary for auto-repeat in the remote console. Add a line similar to the following to your virtual machine's configuration file:
keyboard.typematicMinDelay = 2000000
The delay is specified in micro-seconds, so the line in the example above increases the repeat time to 2 seconds. This should ensure that you never get auto-repeat unless you intend it.
If you use csh or tcsh as your shell and you use wildcard characters (* or ?) in the filename specification, ls does not list files larger than 2GB. The workaround is to use the bash shell - the default shell for the console operating system - which displays these file listings correctly.
To avoid these errors, use Norton Ghost 7 or higher.