Administration Guide › Managing Virtual Environments › VMware vSphere and vCenter Server › How to Configure the vCenter Server Management Components › Add a New vCenter Server Connection to the Manager › vCenter Server Connection Failed

vCenter Server Connection Failed

Symptom:

After I have added a vCenter Server connection under Administration, Configuration, the validation of the connection to the vCenter Server failed.

Solution:

The following procedures address the most common issues which can cause a connection failure:

• Verify, if the used vCenter Server connection data (server name, user, password, protocol, port) is still valid. If necessary, update the connection data.
• Verify, if the vCenter Server system is running and accessible.
• Verify, if the VMware Management Service on the vCenter Server system is running properly.

To update the vCenter Server connection data:

1. Click (Add) or (Edit) that is associated with the failed connection.

   The New or Edit vCenter Server dialog appears.

2. Add the valid server name, user, password, protocol, and port. Enable Managed Status and click OK.

   The connection data is updated.

3. Click (Validate) in the upper-right corner to validate the new settings.

   If the connection to the vCenter Server cannot be established, continue with the next procedure.

To verify if the vCenter Server system is running and accessible:

1. Open a command prompt on the CA Server Automation manager system and run the following commands:

   nslookup <vCenter Server Name>
   ping <IP Address of vCenter Server>
   

2. Verify the output of the commands to find out whether the vCenter Server has a valid DNS entry and IP address.

   If the vCenter Server is not in the DNS, add the vCenter Server to the Windows hosts file on the CA Server Automation manager system. Continue with Step 3.

   If the vCenter Server is in the DNS, continue with Step 4.

3. Open the hosts file in the %windir%\system32\drivers\etc directory with an ASCII editor and add the following line:

   ipaddress <vCenter Server Name>
   

   Enter the correct IP address and vCenter Server name. For example:

   192.168.50.50 myvCenter
   

4. Click (Validate) in the upper-right corner.

   If the vCenter Server credentials and connection data are correct and you can ping the vCenter Server, the connection can still fail. In this case, it is possible that the vCenter Server causes the problem. If the connection to the vCenter Server cannot be established, continue with the next procedure.

To verify, if the VMware Management Service on the vCenter Server system is running properly

1. Contact the vSphere Administrator to access the vCenter Server system.
2. Log in to the vCenter Server system and open Administrative Tools, Services from the Start menu.

   The Services window opens.

3. Select the service VMware VirtualCenter Server. Start or restart the service.
4. Change to the CA Server Automation user interface, vCenter Server pane on the manager system and click (Validate) in the upper-right corner.

   CA Server Automation validates the vCenter Server connection.

   If the connection to the vCenter Server fails, verify whether the data you gathered according to the requirements for this scenario is still valid.

   Work with the vSphere administrator or VMware support to fix the vCenter Server connection problem.