VMware

VMware VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3 Release Notes

 

VMware Infrastructure Management Installer | 03 Oct 2008
VirtualCenter 2.5 Server Update 3 | 03 Oct 2008 | Build 119801
Virtual Infrastructure Client | 03 Oct 2008 | Build 119826

VMware Infrastructure Management Installer | 03 Oct 2008 (English Only)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Server Update 3 | 03 Oct 2008 | Build 119598
Virtual Infrastructure Client | 03 Oct 2008 | Build 119598

See Selecting the Appropriate VMware Infrastructure Management Installer for information.

Last Document Update: 18 Dec 2008

Check frequently for additions and updates to these release notes.

 

These release notes include the following topics:

Note: In many public documents, VMware ESX Server 3.5 is now known as VMware ESX 3.5 and VMware ESX Server 3i version 3.5 as VMware ESXi 3.5. These release notes continue to use the previous convention to match the product interfaces and documentation. A future release will update the product names.

What's New

This release provides resolutions to multiple issues. For more information, see the Resolved Issues section.

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Prior Releases of VMware Infrastructure 3

Features and known issues from prior releases of VMware Infrastructure 3, which include ESX Server 3.x and VirtualCenter 2.x releases, are described in the release notes for each release. To view release notes for prior releases of VMware Infrastructure 3 components, click one of the following links:

ESX Server Releases

VirtualCenter Releases

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Before You Begin

Note: If you are installing this release from any source other than physical DVD media, see the knowledge base article Filenames over 64 characters in ESX Server ISO image may get truncated during content extraction (KB 1005283) for important information on a known installation issue.

ESX Server, VirtualCenter, and Virtual Infrastructure Client Compatibility

The ESX Server, VirtualCenter, and Virtual Infrastructure Client Compatibility Matrixes provides details on the compatibility of current and previous versions of VMware Infrastructure 3 components, including ESX Server, VirtualCenter, and the VI Client.

See the ESX Server Compatibility Guides before installing this software. You must verify that your server, I/O, storage, guest operating system, management agent, and backup software are compatible. These guides also address minimum requirements and scaling limits associated with this release. To view a guide, click one of the following links:

  • Systems Compatibility Guide for ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i (PDF)
  •  I/O Compatibility Guide for ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i (PDF)
  • Storage/SAN Compatibility Guide for ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i (PDF)
  • Backup Software Compatibility Guide for ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i (PDF)

Installation and Upgrade

Read the Installation Guide for step-by-step guidance on installing and configuring ESX Server and VirtualCenter.

Although the installation processes are straightforward, several subsequent configuration steps are essential. In particular, read the following:

Installing Using the VMware Infrastructure Management Installer and Physical Media

New: For this release, the VMware Infrastructure Management Installer requires a DVD drive when you use physical media to install VMware Infrastructure software.

Selecting the Appropriate VMware Infrastructure Management Installer

Two builds of VMware Infrastructure Management Installer are available for download. Select one of the following options:

  • VMware-VIMSetup-2.5.0-U3-English.iso or VMware-VIMSetup-2.5.0-U3-English.zip – These files include an English-only version of the VI Client, which runs in English regardless of the language of the Windows system. Use this installer to install a VI Client that will run in English on Chinese, German or Japanese versions of the Windows operating system.
  • VMware-VIMSetup-2.5.0-U3-localized.iso or VMware-VIMSetup-2.5.0-U3-localized.zip – These files include a localized installer that installs all files needed to run in English, Chinese, German, or Japanese. The VI Client used at runtime will correspond to the locale of the current Windows operating system if the locale is Chinese, German or Japanese. On Windows operating systems set to locales other than Chinese, German, or Japanese, the English version of the VI Client will be used.

Changes to Virtual Infrastructure Client Installer

The VI Client standalone installer (available from ESX Server Web Access) allows installation of the VMware Infrastructure Update service, which is used for updating and patching ESX Server 3i hosts. The standalone VI Client Installer  is now modified to allow optional installation of the VMware Infrastructure Update service so as to reduce unnecessary proliferation of this tool. Note that the VirtualCenter Unified Installer  (available as part of the VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3 download) now installs VMware Infrastructure Update service when you choose the VI Client installation option.

Upgrading or Migrating to VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3

This release supports upgrading from VirtualCenter 1.4.1, VirtualCenter 2.0.2 (including Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, and Update 5), VirtualCenter 2.5, VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 1, or VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2 to VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3. Review the detailed upgrade and migration instructions and guidelines that are provided in the Upgrade Guide.

Note: Previous versions of VMware Update Manager are not compatible with VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3, and must be upgraded to VMware Update Manager 1.0 Update 3 during the installation process.

Plug-Ins Updates

This release of the VMware Infrastructure 3 software suite also includes the following:

 

Resolved Issues

This release resolves issues in the following subject areas:

Miscellaneous

  • FLEX License Server Upgrade
    This release of VirtualCenter upgrades the FLEX license server to version 10.8.6 in order to resolve known issues with previous releases of the license server and to provide enhance debugging capabilities. The new FLEX license-server is packaged with the VMware Infrastructure Management Installer. Fresh installations of the license server will use the new version but the license server will not be automatically upgraded when using the VMware Infrastructure Management Installer to upgrade an existing installation. To upgrade an existing license server installation, use the standalone installer (VMware-licenseserver.exe) that can be found in the /vpx folder of the installer directory structure.

Security

  • WebAccess Component JRE Updated to Version 1.5.0_16
    The currently installed version of JRE depends on your patch deployment history.
    For more information about security issues fixed in version 1.5.0_16 and in earlier
    versions, see the JRE release notes at http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/ReleaseNotes.html.
    For a list of the CVE identifiers related to the fixed security issues in JRE 1.5.0_16, see the Secunia advisory at http://secunia.com/advisories/31010.

  • VMware VirtualCenter Password Might Be Displayed in Error Window
    This release resolves an issue where a user's password might be displayed in clear text on the login screen. When logging in to VirtualCenter Server 2.0 with Virtual Infrastructure Client 2.5, the user password might be displayed in a dialog box on the VI Client in clear text if the login fails. The dialog box alerting the user to the failed login might be hidden under other windows.
    The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2008-4278 to this issue.

Server Configuration

  • Custom vpxa Server IP address Setting Does Not Work
    This release resolves an issue in some previous releases where changes to the vpxa <serverIP> option do not take effect. The vpxa agent does not send heartbeats to the IP specified in <serverIP>.Instead, it sends them to the IP specified in the host sync.
    To enable this feature on ESX Server 3.5, modify the vpxa.cfg file by adding the following line:
         <preserveServerIp> true </preserveServerIp>
    When this feature is enabled, vpxa.cfg file will look similar to the following sample:
         <config>
              <vpxa>
                   **** existing stuff *****
                   <preserveServerIp> true </preserveServerIp>
              </vpxa>
              **** existing stuff *****
         </config>
  • Host DNS Configuration Does Not Accept Domain Entry Without Suffix
    In previous releases of VirtualCenter, hosts could not be configured with a domain entry that did not contain a suffix. For example, the host named host123 can not be configured as host123, but is required to be have a domain entry such as host123.com or host123.net. This release resolves the issue and hosts can be configured with domain entries without a suffix.

Upgrade and Installation

  • Connecting to an ESX Server Host Through VirtualCenter Will Not Upgrade a Localized VI Client
    This releases resolves an issue where when you connect to an ESX Server host using the globalized version of VirtualCenter (not the English-only version), the localized VI client in use is not upgraded to the Update 2 version.
  • Statistics Events and Tasks are Not Deleted from the Database
    In previous releases, using the VMware Infrastructure Management Installer to upgrade an existing VirtualCenter installation, the installer allows you to select whether to preserve Tasks and Events or Performance data. Selecting the discard data option did not result in any information being truncated from the database, all statistics were retained. In this release, selecting the discard option will result in the selected data being removed from the database.
  • VI Client Acknowledges Installed Plug-Ins Correctly
    In previous releases, if the Plugin Manager Window is closed before the plug-ins are enabled or installed completely, and if the Plugin Manager window is launched again, the Installed tab might fail to acknowledge the installed plug-ins and the Available tab might display a Download and install button even though the plug-ins are installed. This release resolves the issue.
  • Installation of VI Client Fails When Installation file is Downloaded from VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2 Web Interface
    The VI Client installation file that is downloaded from the VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2 web interface might be incomplete, and the file size might be different each time you download the file. When you run the downloaded installation file, installation of VI Client might fail with an error message similar to the following:
    Initialization setup failure
    This release resolves the issue.

VirtualCenter, VI Client, and Web Access

  • VirtualCenter Server Remains Responsive to the VI Client
    This release modifies the VirtualCenter database SQL scripts to resolve issues that might cause the VirtualCenter Server to stop responding to the VI Client with multiple timeout, and prevents users from logging in to the VirtualCenter Server.
  • Start and Stop of NTP and SSH Services from the ESX Server Service Console Do Not Get Reflected in the VI Client
    This release resolves an issue where service start or stop performed on the ESX Server service console does not get reflected in the VI Client for the NTP Client and SSH Server services.
  • Assert Error 1319 Encountered When Opening Console to Virtual Machine from VI Client
    This release resolves an issue where an error similar to VMware VirtualCenter unrecoverable error: (mks) ASSERT C:/ob/bora-59306/bora/lib/left/pollLeft.c:1420 bugNr=1319 is encountered when opening a console window to a virtual machine.
  • QueryPerf Query Operation Returns Performance Statistics of Virtual Machine that Remain Connected
    This release resolves an issue where the QueryPerf operation executed on more than one virtual machine might fail, when a virtual machine is removed while the performance statistics are being retrieved.
    Starting with this release, when a virtual machine is removed while the performance statistics are being retrieved, the QueryPerf query returns performance statistics of virtual machines that remain connected.
  • VirtualCenter Server Remains Responsive with More Than 2400 Virtual Machine in a Folder Structure
    This release resolves an issue where, when there are more than 2400 virtual machines in a single folder structure, and SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2000 is used as the external database server, selecting the Task & Events tab might cause the VirtualCenter Server to stop responding with an error message similar to the following:
    Database temporarily unavailable or has network problems
  • Removing Virtual Machine Folders Does Not Delete Virtual Machines from the ESX Server Host Datastore
    Starting with this release, in the VirtualMachines and Templates view, removing a virtual machine folder does not delete virtual machines from the host datastore. Virtual machines that were on a managed host remain on the host, but VirtualCenter Server no longer manages them.
  • Permissions Can Be Configured for Individual Virtual Machines and Resource Pools in VI Client
    Starting with this release, when the VI Client is connected directly to a host running ESX Server 3.5 or higher, the Permissions tab is available for individual virtual machines and resource pools.
  • VirtualCenter Server Restarts Even If Resource Pool with Name "Resources" is Created
    In previous releases, if a resource pool with name "Resources" is created in the VirtualCenter Server and the VMware VirtualCenter Server service is restarted, the VirtualCenter Server might fail to start with a message similar to the following:
    Could not start the VMware VirtualCenter Server service on Local Computer.
    Error 1067: The Process terminated unexpectedly.
    This release resolves the issue.
  • Sysprep doesn't work on virtual machines or templates from VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2 on ESX Server 3.0.x hosts
    For virtual machines or templates with customization specifications created in VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2, Sysprep will not run when a virtual machine is deployed to an ESX Server 3.0.x host. The virtual machine is deployed, but Sysprep doesn't run and you have a clone of the virtual machine with the same NetBIOS name as the original used for creating customization settings. The clone does not join the specified domain or run any other parts of the customization script. This release resolves this issue.
  • Overriding Group Permissions Does Not Cause Group Names to Return in Different Letter Cases
    This release resolves an issue where, when you override group permissions defined on a managed entity, the VirtualCenter Server might display group names twice in different letter cases in the Permissions tab.

VMware High Availability (HA)

  • HA network compliance check
    During the configuration of HA in VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2, the Task & Events tabs might display the following error message and recommendation:
    HA agent on <esxhostname> in cluster <clustername> in <datacenter> has an error Incompatible HA Network:
    Consider using the Advanced Cluster Settings das.allowNetwork to control network usage.
    Starting with VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2, HA has an enhanced network compliance check to increase cluster reliability. This enhanced network compliance check helps to ensure correct cluster-wide heartbeat network paths. VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3 allows you to bypass this check to prevent HA configuration problems. To bypass the check, add das.bypassNetCompatCheck=true to the HA advanced settings.
  • In HA-DRS cluster, the Enter Maintenance Mode Task Stalls and Virtual Machines are Not Migrated
    In previous releases of VirtualCenter, virtual machines might not be automatically migrated off a host entering maintenance mode if there is not enough failover capacity in an HA-DRS cluster. The enter maintenance mode task stalls at 2% indefinitely, and is not completed even if HA admission control is disabled. This release resolves the issue by allowing the evacuations if HA admission control is disabled. Note that admission control is enabled by default (see Implications of enabling or disabling VMware HA strict admission control when using DRS and VMware DPM (KB 1007006) for more information). Note that the task might also stall if the virtual machines cannot be evacuated for other reasons.
  • After HA Advanced Settings are Created, They Cannot Be Deleted
    In previous releases, advanced settings created on the Advanced Options page for an HA cluster cannot be deleted. Attempts to delete the advanced setting result in an object reference error. This release resolves the issue and advanced settings can be deleted normally.
  • Unable to Power On Virtual Machine in a DRS cluster with Virtual Machine User permissions
    This release resolves an issue in previous releases where users with the Virtual Machine User permission are unable to power on a virtual machine in a DRS cluster if DRS is set to Manual.
  • Increased Memory Consumption by VMware HA Agent Causes the ESX Server Host to Stop Responding
    This release resolves an issue where high memory consumption by the VMware HA agent might cause an ESX Server host in an HA-enabled cluster to stop responding.
    When the ESX Server host stops responding, messages similar to the following are visible in the log files:
    <Log_Date> 01:01:39 <Host-Name> kernel: size-32 367 754 64 13 13 1
    <Log_Date> 01:01:39 <Host-Name> kernel: Out of Memory: Killed process <Process_ID>(<Process_Name>).
    <Log_Date> 01:17:52 <Host-Name> syslogd 1.4.1: restart.
  • VI Client Might Display ESX Server Hosts as Not Responding During HA-DRS Cluster Operations
    This release resolves an issue where during HA-DRS cluster operations such as adding or removing a host from a DRS cluster, applying DRS recommendations, migrating virtual machines across resource pools, or performing power on or off operations on virtual machines in a resource pool, the VI Client might display the ESX Server host as Not responding, even when the host IP can be reached.
    Note: This update, in conjunction with patch ESXe350-200809401-I-SG on ESX Server 3i host, and patch ESX350-200809404-SG on ESX Server host provides a full resolution to this issue.
  • Suppress "No management Network Redundancy" warning
    This release introduces an option to suppress the warning message "Host xxx currently has no management network redundancy" for a host configured as a node in an HA cluster. Set the advanced option das.ignoreRedundantNetWarning to "true" to suppress the warning on hosts not configured in an HA cluster. If the warning appears for host already configured in a cluster, set the option and reconfigure HA on that host to clear the configuration issue.
  • VMware HA Can Be Configured on a Cluster Regardless of the Letter Case of the ESX Server Host Names
    In the VirtualCenter Update 2 release, configuring VMware HA might fail on a cluster that has ESX Server hosts with host names in upper case, displaying an error message similar to the following:
    Unable to contact primary HA agent in cluster/
    This release resolves the issue, and VMware HA can be configured on a cluster regardless of the letter case of the ESX Server host names.
  • HA Agent Error is Intermittently Reported
    In previous releases, when the esx.conf file of an ESX Server host that is a part of an HA cluster is locked, VirtualCenter might intermittently report errors similar to the following:
    HA agent on <HOST_Name> in cluster <CLUSTER_NAME> has an error.
    The vpxa.log file of the corresponding ESX Server host might contain entries similar to the following:
    Error trying to perform list Error interacting with configuration file /etc/vmware/esx.conf: Failed attempting to lock file.
    Another process has locked the file for more than 10 seconds.
    The process holding the lock is /usr/bin/perl-w/usr/sbin/esxcfg-boot-o (17959).
    This operation will complete if it is run again after the lock is released.
    This release resolves the issue, as the esx.conf file lock no longer affects HA agent configuration.

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Known Issues

Backup

  • Consolidate Helper Snapshots Might Not Be Removed Automatically
    In the ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 release, Consolidate Helper snapshots are created iteratively to minimize the amount of time a virtual machine is inactive during snapshot creation. As a result, the Consolidate Helper snapshots are now called Consolidate Helper-XXX and not just Consolidate Helper. When you use VMware Consolidated Backup 1.1 with ESX Server 3.5 Update 2, if vcbMounter encounters a failure during a snapshot delete operation, this temporary snapshot might be left behind. The vbCleanup.bat command does not delete this Consolidate Helper-XXX snapshot. You must manually delete it using the VI Client. This issue does not exist in VMware Consolidated Backup 1.5.
  • Applications Running on the Virtual Machine Might Throw Errors During Quiesced Snapshot Creation
    Taking quiesced snapshots of a virtual machine requires interaction with the applications running on it. If an application is experiencing high levels of load, it might cause issues during quiesced snapshot creation. These issues could be either application errors, such as failure to write data to disk, or errors in taking the snapshot.
    You can clone a powered-on virtual machine. This, however, involves a quiesced snapshot creation, and you might get errors, if a high-load application is running on the virtual machine.
    Note: You can run custom scripts in the virtual machine as part of the quiesced snapshot creation operation. These scripts could be used to shut down the application and bring it back up after the snapshot creation. To know more about running such custom scripts, refer to the "VMware Consolidated Backup" chapter of the "Virtual Machine Backup Guide" in the VMware Infrastructure Documentation Set.

CIM and API

  • VI Client Displays Incorrect Name for Power Supply Redundancy Sensor on HP Servers
    When you connect to an ESX Server installation on an HP server system using the VI Client, the VI Client incorrectly displays the power supply redundancy sensor on the server as a physical power supply source. For example, for an HP server with redundancy sensor that has two physical power supplies, the VI Client displays the redundancy sensor as Power Supplies for Power Supply 3.
  • Executing a CallMethod query on a CIM_RecordLog instance might fail
    In ESX Server 3.5 Update 2, executing a CallMethod query (cm) on a CIM_RecordLog instance might not succeed at all times. You can, however, clear system event log through a remote management console or interface.
  • Mandatory property MaxReadable, NominalReading, NormalMax, NormalMin and PollingInterval in class CIM_NumericSensor shows incorrect values
    The instances of CIM_NumericSensor have this set of properties: MaxReadable, NominalReading, NormalMax, NormalMin. When the actual sensor does not support values of these properties, they are displayed in CIM responses as 0, instead of unspecified.
  • Some CIM Classes Do Not Work Properly on IBM Multinode Systems
    For the following classes, the EnumerateInstance operation returns one instance less than the Enumerate InstanceNames operation:
    • CIM_AssociatedSensor
    • CIM_MemberOfCollection

For the following classes, the GetInstance operation fails for some instances. However, the EnumerateInstances operation succeeds.

    • CIM_HostedService
    • CIM_Sensor
    • CIM_SystemDevice
    • CIM_Slot
    • CIM_ElementConformsToProfile

For the following classes, the EnumerateInstances and EnumerateInstanceNames operations fail to return any results:

    • CIM_OwningCollectionElement
    • CIM_RedundancySet
  • Changes to the Sensor Threshold are Not Reflected Immediately
    If you change the sensor threshold through CIM, enumeration of the sensor might not return the new property values immediately. The changes take effect about a minute later.
  • Operation RequestStateChange(RestoreDefaultThresholds) Results in Error
    In the ESX Server 3.5 release, the operation RequestStateChange(RestoreDefaultThresholds) results in the following error message for some sensors:
    CIM_ERR_FAILED: index out of bounds

    In spite of the error message, the CIMOM does restore the thresholds.
  • InvokeMethod(RequestStateChange) for either Sensor and SEL fails when you use the WS-Man protocol.
  • InvokeMethod(RequestPowerStateChange) fails when you use the WS-Man protocol.
  • Firewall on ESX Server 3.5 Interferes with CIM Indication Support
    Outgoing HTTP connections are blocked by the firewall on ESX Server 3.5. This prevents indications from reaching the indication consumer.
    Resolution: In the service console, open an outgoing port for connections to the indication consumer by using the following command:
    esxcfg-firewall -o <port-number>,tcp,out,http
    To close a port for HTTP in the firewall:
    esxcfg-firewall -c <port-number>,tcp,out,http
  • On HP 380 G5 machines running ESX Server 3.5 Update 2, the IPMI board's IP address is not returned in response to CIM_IPProtocolEndpoint queries.
  • In the ESX Server 3.5 release, invoking the Reset() operation on numeric power supply sensors results in the following error message:
    CIM_ERR_FAILED: index out of bounds
    As a workaround, you can use the RequestStateChange(Reset) operation.
  • On ESX Server 3.5 Update 2, instances of VMware_Account (a subclass of CIM_Account) show a SystemName property with a value of 0. The SystemName property should contain the BIOS UUID of the server.
  • On some servers, incorrect PECI temperature sensor readings might be reported. Incorrect values are shown in the VI Client and in the NominalReading property of CIM_Sensor instances for CPU PECI tic for processor sensors.
  • On servers with ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 installed, SLP reports that service:wbem is available on HTTP port 5888. However, the default firewall settings prevent access to port 5888. To access the port, unblock the port in the firewall configuration.
  • Indications do not work on ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 when you use the WS-Man protocol.
  • On IBM athena hardware, some OMC_DiscreteSensor instances are found to have incorrect device IDs (with -1 as the last segment of the device ID).
  • The ModifyInstance() call to change sensor threshold fails when you use the WS-Man protocol.
  • Chassis intrusion indication is not available for IBM Athena servers.
  • An ESX Server 3.5 host that is upgraded to ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 does not report CIM_AssociatedSensor instances correctly. The EnumerateInstance() and Association() queries for CIM_AssociatedSensor do not return any instances. As a workaround, perform a clean installation of ESX Server 3.5 Update 2, or a clean installation of ESX Server 3.5 U1 and then upgrade to ESX Server 3.5 Update 2.
  • On some Dell MLK hardware, the NumberOfBlocks property for the OMC_Memory instance has a value of 0.

Guest Operating Systems

Internationalization

All fields in the VI Client and the VI WebAccess support non-ASCII character input, except for the following limitations:

Non-ASCII Character Entry Limitations

  • Specifying a non-ASCII value as an input string is not supported by the remote command line interface (RCLI).
  • The name of the computer on which VMware Infrastructure 3 or any of its components are installed must not contain non-ASCII characters.
  • The name of the computer or virtual machine where VirtualCenter Server is being installed must not have a non-ASCII computer name, or the installation of VirtualCenter Server will fail.
  • Use the default installation path names specified in the installer for all the components. Do not change the install path, because the installer does not support installation path names containing non-ASCII characters and extended-ASCII characters.
  • Datastore names, virtual network names, and image file names (CD, DVD, and floppy drive) are restricted to ASCII characters only.
  • Message of the Day must use only ASCII characters.
  • Logging in to the VirtualCenter Server is supported for user names with ASCII characters only (login account name on Windows).
  • Image customization might fail if non-ASCII characters are used.
  • Custom attribute names and values must use only ASCII characters.
  • To conform to the general Internet practice and protocols, the following cannot contain non-ASCII characters: host names, workgroup names, domain names, URLs, email addresses, SMTP server names, and SNMP community string.
  • Guest operating system customizations using ASCII encoding are supported, but customizations using UTF-8 encoded native characters of Japanese, Chinese, or German have limited support. For customizations with non-ASCII owner, organization, username, or password, VirtualCenter and the sysprep tool must be hosted in the same locale as that of the guest OS. This includes the scenario to use UTF-8 encoded answer file.

Non-ASCII Character Display Limitations

  • When managing a VirtualCenter Server with the VI Client running on different languages of Windows, you might see some characters displayed incorrectly because of the difference in language-specific support on Windows.
  • If an error message includes log locations or user names containing non-ASCII characters, it will not appear correctly in the localized environment.
  • When you use the Import Wizard of VMware Converter, the date and time format is sometimes inconsistent with the current locale.
  • Unicode characters are displayed as '???' under the Status column and the Task Details of the Task View tab in the Japanese locale.
  • The Commands section on the Summary tab is not displayed properly.

Guided Consolidation Limitations

The Guided Consolidation tab is available only in the en_US locale.

Translation Issues

The following are known issues with translation in this release:

  • The Upgrade wizard is not translated.
  • Some messages originating from the ESX Server host are not translated.
  • Some interface layouts are not yet completely localized.

Other Internationalization Issues

The following additional issues have been identified:

  • Values used in the Run a Script action for an alarm might not be displayed properly after restarting the VirtualCenter Server if the VMware Infrastructure Client host OS language and VirtualCenter Server/Database host OS languages are different.
  • In the Simplified Chinese version of VI Web Access, the Cancel button does not have the correct text and the text on the button is displayed incorrectly.
  • The VI Client Might Override the Language Preference Setting
    The VI Client Might override the language preference setting and display some messages in a language other than its primary language. It might display messages that are dynamically generated by the server (the VirtualCenter Server and ESX Server) in the primary language set on the server. This issue does not occur if all the software is running in the language that corresponds to the locale of the operating system.
  • Wrong Text Appears on the Reinstall Wizard of the German VI Client
    The Reinstall wizard displays wrong text in the German VI Client.
    The Reinstall wizard shows the following text
    Der Installations-Assistent ermöglicht Ihnen, Virtual Infrastructure Client 2.5 zu reparieren oder zu entfernen., instead of The installation wizard will allow you to remove Virtual Infrastructure Client 2.5.
  • Links Containing Machine-Generated Virtual Machine Names Do Not Work
    When you use WebAccess to browse the datastore by clicking a link containing machine-generated virtual machine name (typically starting with a plus sign and ending with slash, for example +5paw55qE5qih5p2,/), the Web browser displays a blank page or returns a page not found error. You can, however, access such virtual machines by using the VI Client.
  • Text truncates on the Network Access Page of the Add Network Wizard While Using Japanese VI Client
    Details of Networks (IP address) displayed on the Network Access page are truncated while accessing VirtualCenter using the Japanese VI Client.
    The Network Access window appears in the Add Network wizard when you select Add Networking from the Networking option under the Configuration tab.
    Workaround: You can view the Network information (IP address) in the Network Adapters page. Select Configuration>Networking>Properties>Network Adapters to display the Networks.

Migration with VMotion

Miscellaneous

Networking

Server Configuration

Storage

Upgrade and Installation

Other Upgrade and Installation Issues

VirtualCenter Upgrade and Installation

Virtual Machine Management

  • Cloned Virtual Machines do not Contain DNS Suffix (KB 1004299)
  • Cloned Virtual Machines See the .vmdk File of the Source Virtual Machine (KB 1004176)
  • Deploying Virtual Machine From a Template Fails With No Permission Error (KB 1004295)
  • User with 'Create' Privileges Cannot Create Virtual Machines(KB 1004417)
  • I/O Might Stall on Virtual Machines During Firmware Upgrade
    When virtual machines are running on a shared LUN that has heavy I/O workload, and if the firmware is upgraded using the storage management utility or if the storage controller is restarted, I/O might stall on any of the virtual machines.
    Messages similar to the following might appear in the vmkernel.log file:
    1:01:05:07.275 cpu2:1039)WARNING: FS3: 4785: Reservation error: Not supported
    SCSI: 4506: Cannot find a path to device vmhba1:0:125 in a good state. Trying path vmhba1:0:125.
    1:01:05:10.262 cpu3:1039)ALERT: SCSI: 4506: Cannot find a path to device vmhba1:0:125 in a good state. Trying path vmhba1:0:125.
    1:01:05:40.748 cpu1:1083)<6>mptbase: ioc0: LogInfo(0x30030108): Originator={IOP}, Code={Invalid Page}, SubCode(0x0108)
    1:01:05:40.930 cpu0:1024)Log: 472: Setting loglevel (via VSI) for module 'SCSI' to 5
  • Virtual Machines Might Not Power on After a Failover When the Host Is Isolated
    Virtual machines might not start after a failover when a host is isolated and the isolation response is set to Guest Shutdown, which is the default configuration for a cluster. This might occur on clusters with fewer than five nodes, and on virtual machines that take more time to complete the guest shutdown.
    Workaround: Set the Isolation Response to either Leave powered on or Power off for clusters which have fewer than five nodes.
    To set the Isolation Response for a virtual machine, select the cluster, click the Edit Settings link, and select Virtual Machine Options under VMware HA. From the Isolation Response pop-up menu, select either Leave powered on or Power off options for the specific virtual machine.
  • VMware Tools Custom Script Not Executed for Suspend or Shut Down Events (KB 1004390)
  • VirtualCenter Server Fails to Initialize Immediately If the Latest Version of VMware Capacity Planner Service is Not Used
    If the VMware Capacity Planner Service for the VirtualCenter Server 2.5 Update 2 release is not installed, the VirtualCenter Server takes a long time to initialize, and during this time, the VI Client cannot connect to the VirtualCenter Server.
    In addition, the consolidation feature is not available in the VI Client.
    To use the consolidation feature, uninstall any earlier version of the VMware Capacity Planner Service, install the VMware Capacity Planner Service for the Virtual Center 2.5 Update 2 release, and restart the VirtualCenter Server.
  • Commands Specified in the Run Once Page Might Fail to Run
    If a command that ends with a quotation mark is specified in the Run Once page of the Virtual Infrastructure Client Guest Customization Wizard, the command might fail to run when a user logs on to the customized guest operation system.
    Workaround: Avoid putting quotation marks at the end of the command specified in the Run Once page.
  • Cloning Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 Virtual Machines Might Fail if License Key Is Not Provided While Customizing the Guest Operating Systems
    When cloning a windows 2000 or Windows 2003 virtual machine, if the Customize using the Customization Wizard option is selected in the Select Guest Customization option page and if the Include Server License Information checkbox is unchecked in the Windows License page of the VMware Infrastructure Client Windows Guest Customization Wizard, the clone operation might fail with a message similar to the following:
    Customization Failed.

VirtualCenter, VI Client, and Web Access Issues

VMware High Availability (HA)

  • VMware HA Health Monitoring Does Not Show Rebooting in the Console After a Host Failover
    After a host failure, the virtual machine console displays an empty window when health monitoring is enabled for an HA cluster. The console does not display the virtual machines rebooting.
    Workaround: You must open a new console window to see the virtual machines restarting after the failover.
  • VI Client Might Show the Host as Not Responding During HA-DRS Cluster Operations
    During HA-DRS cluster operations like adding or removing a host from a DRS cluster or applying DRS recommendations, the VI Client might show the host as Not responding, even when the host IP can be reached.
    Workaround: Disconnect the host from the HA-DRS cluster and reconnect it. This refreshes the system and VI Client reflects the configuration changes that you have made. If the VI Client again shows the host as Not Responding, disconnect the host from the HA-DRS cluster, remove the host, and add the host back to the same cluster.
  • Reconfiguration of HA Agent on an ESX Server Host Might Fail After VirtualCenter Server Is Upgraded
    When a VirtualCenter Server that contains an HA-enabled cluster is upgraded, and ESX Server hosts are reconnected to the VirtualCenter, reconfiguring the HA agent of one of the ESX Server hosts might fail with an HA agent error message similar to the following:
    HA agent on <Host_Name> in cluster <Cluster_Name> in <Datacetner_Name> has an error:
    cmd addnode failed for primary node: /opt/vmware/aam/bin/ft_startup failed
    Workaround: After upgrading the VirtualCenter Server, disable and re-enable HA on the cluster.
  • HA network compliance check
    During the configuration of HA in VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2, the Task & Events tabs might display the following error message and recommendation:
    HA agent on <esxhostname> in cluster <clustername> in <datacenter> has an error Incompatible HA Network:
    Consider using the Advanced Cluster Settings das.allowNetwork to control network usage.
    Starting with Virtual Center 2.5 Update 2, HA has an enhanced network compliance check to increase cluster reliability. This enhanced network compliance check helps to ensure correct cluster-wide heartbeat network paths. See KB 1006606 for details.

 

 

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