Archive for February 2013

Utilise Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) and ESXi Shell to troubleshoot, configure and monitor and envirnoment

February 14, 2013 Objective 6 Advanced Troubleshooting No comments

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The DCUI

The Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) allows you to interact with the host locally using text-based menus. You can use the Direct Console User Interface to enable local and remote access to the ESXi Shell.

Access

  • SSH via Putty into your host
  • Type DCUI at the command line
  • You should see the screen below
  • Press F2
  • Login using your account

dcui0

The ESXi Shell includes a fully supported command list. To access the ESXi Shell from the DCUI, you must perform the following tasks: (Note that this may be enabled from the vSphere Client Configuration –> Security Profile tab)

  1. From the physical console of your ESXi host, press the F2 button and authenticate
  2. Select Troubleshooting Options and press Enter
  3. Select Disable ESXi Shell and press Enter to Enable ESXi Shell
  4. You may optionally adjust the timeout
  5. Press Esc to return to the main window
  6. At the main console screen, press Alt + F1 to open the ESXi Shell
  7. From within the shell, you may run esxcli commands, esxtop, and access the local filesystem.
  8. (Note: To return to the DCUI, press Alt + F2)

What can you do?

  • Configure Root password
  • Configure Lockdown mode
  • Configure Management network
  • Restart Management Network
  • Test or disable Management
  • Configure Keyboard
  • View Support Information
  • View System Logs
  • Restart Management Network
  • Reset System Configuration
  • Remove Custom Extensions
  • Shutdown or Restart /Reboot the ESXi Server

DCUI2

Determine the root cause of a vSphere management or connectivity issue

February 14, 2013 Objective 6 Advanced Troubleshooting No comments

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Points to think about

  • Check Network Connectivity
  • Check Storage Connectivity
  • Check vCenter Connectivity
  • Check Host Connectivity
  • Check VM Connectivity
  • Check Host Logs
  • Check vCenter Logs
  • Check Monitoring Systems
  • Check Physical Switches
  • Check Cables
  • Check Virtual Switches
  • Check FC Switches
  • Check SAN Storage
  • Check vCenter DB Connectivity
  • Check Router Connectivity
  • Check Power Issues
  • Check KB Articles for Error IDs

Troubleshoot ESXi host management and connectivity issues

February 14, 2013 Objective 6 Advanced Troubleshooting No comments

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Troubleshooting

  • Verify that the network adapter and server hardware are supported. For more information, see Verifying ESX/ESXi host hardware (System, Storage, and I/O devices) are supported (1003916).
  • Verify that the network link is up. For more information, see Verifying a network link (1003724).
  • Verify that proper VLAN IDs exist on the portgroup. For more information, see Configuring a VLAN on a portgroup (1003825).
  • If you are using NIC teaming on the virtual switch, verify that the physical switch ports are configured consistently for each teamed network adapter and that the proper load balancing policy is configured on the virtual switch. VMware recommends you to use the default Route based on the originating virtual port ID load balancing policy. If link aggregation on the physical switch is configured, use the Route based on ip hash load balancing policy. For more information, see NIC teaming in ESX/ESXi (1004088) and ESX/ESXi host requirements for link aggregation (1001938).
  • Verify that the speed and duplex of the network links are consistent. For more information, see Configuring the speed and duplex of an ESX/ESXi Server network adapter (1004089).
  • Verify the ESX host networking configuration. For more information, see Verifying ESX Server host networking configuration on the service console (1003796).
  • Verify that port security is not configured on the physical switch ports. For more information, see Loss of network connectivity when port security is configured on the physical switch (1002811).
  • Verify that portfast (or equivalent) is enabled on all of the ESX host’s physical switch ports. For more information, see STP may cause temporary loss of network connectivity when a failover or failback event occurs (1003804).
  • Verify the integrity of the physical network adapter. For more information, see Verifying the integrity of the physical network adapter (1003686).
  • Verify that no duplicate IP addresses exist on the network. For more information, see Warning for Duplicate IP Address for VMware VMotion Port Group (10165) or Duplicate IP address detected (1020647).
  • Verify that all the NICs participating as uplinks on the vSS and VDS are observing all the network information. For more information, see Observed IP range does not show network in ESX or ESXi (1006744). Until the time the issue of observed IP range is not resolved on external physical network, you can set the problematic NIC in unused mode and then verify the networking functionality again.

Useful Link

vSphere_Troubleshooting