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    VM doesn't auto-start with ESXi5

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Virtualization
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    • H
      HeJumps
      last edited by

      I'm still learning pfSense, so I apologize for the newbish question.

      I installed pfSense 2.0.1 i386 on a VM last night and configured it pretty successfully.  It's working very well, and I'm really liking it so far.  My only hiccup is that even after installing open-vm-tools, I cannot get my pfSense VM to start automatically in ESXi as I start the host machine from a cold boot.  The result is that the host and my client both pull a 169 IP address; I then connect to the host with that 169 address and start pfSense.  It works, but it adds a good 4-5 minutes to each boot, and it's kind of annoying.  :-\

      Here's the dirty details:

      • ESXI 5.0.0 update 1 (build 62868)

      • pfSense 2.0.1-RELEASE (i386)

      • Open-VM-Tools (8.7.0.3046 (build-313025) ) and Open-VM-Tools-8.8.1 (528969) from package manager are both installed

      • vSphere client reports VMware Tools as Running (3rd-party / Independent) but correctly identifies the IP address

      • Both of the VM's NICs are set up as E1000's

      • pfSense is currently the only VM on the host, and is set to automatic startup

      The diagnostic command prompts (from the help page - http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Open_VM_Tools_package) return this:

      ps ax|grep vmware

      $ ps ax|grep vmware
      22360  ??  S      0:10.37 /usr/local/bin/vmtoolsd -c /usr/local/share/vmware-to
      45135  ??  S      0:00.00 sh -c ps ax|grep vmware
      45232  ??  S      0:00.00 grep vmware
      

      kldstat

      $ kldstat
      Id Refs Address    Size     Name
       1   10 0xc0400000 1178ad8  kernel
       2    1 0xc1579000 6e00     vmblock.ko
       4    1 0xc158d000 5718     vmxnet.ko
       5    1 0xc342b000 4000     vmmemctl.ko
       6    1 0xc3696000 b000     vmhgfs.ko
      

      Hope that's enough information.  I was thinking about trying the 64-bit version of pfSense instead, but the help pages mentioned that the 32-bit seems to be more stable.  I've done some searching already, but no one else seems to have this specific problem.

      Thanks in advance for the help!  :)

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      • johnpozJ
        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
        last edited by

        The issue has nothing to do with tools - esxi 5 u1 has autostart broken.

        Easy enough to correct with as script though.

        Here
        http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/03/free-esxi-hypervisor-auto-start-breaks-with-50-update-1.html

        In the comments you will find instructions for creating a script that autostarts the vms you want.

        • First off, connect to your VMware ESXi hypervisor with VMware vSphere Client.
        • Go to the Configuration-tab on the host
        • Select Security Profile
        • Preferences on services.
        • Find SSH in the list and click Options
        • Enable SSH
        • Use a SSH-client like PuTTy to connect to your host.
        • Once logged into the host, run the command "vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms" to find all VMs on your host and theire IDs (first column). Note the IDs for the VMs you would like to autostart. Or if you would like to start everyone, theres no need to remember the ID.
        • Now edit /etc/rc.local with the editor "vi" using this command "vi /etc/rc.local"
        • To enter insert-mode in "vi" press "i"-key.
        • Somewhere in that file (I put mine above the if-statement) write this if you want every VM to autostart:
          • for i in $(vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms|cut -f1 -d" "|grep -v Vmid); do vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on $i; sleep 10; done
        • And if you only would like to start a few of the VMs on the host, this will be enough:
          • vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on ID_OF_VM
          • sleep NUMBER_OF_SECONDS (10 in my case)
          • vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on ID_OF_VM2
          • etc…
        • When you are done editing, press ESC-key to exit "insert"-mode and then write ":wq" to write and quit.
        • Reboot your host and the VMs should autostart once again.

        So for example - here is my script

        
        The ESXi Shell can be disabled by an administrative user. See the
        vSphere Security documentation for more information.
        ~ # cat /etc/rc.local
        #!/bin/sh
        
        export PATH=/sbin:/bin
        
        log() {
           echo "${1}"
           /bin/busybox logger init "${1}"
        }
        
        # execute all service retgistered in ${rcdir} ($1 or /etc/rc.local.d)
        vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on 5
        sleep 60
        vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on 3
        sleep 60
        vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on 8
        
        if [ -d "${1:-/etc/rc.local.d}" ] ; then
           for filename in $(find "${1:-/etc/rc.local.d}" | /bin/busybox sort) ; do
              if [ -f "${filename}" ] && [ -x "${filename}" ]; then
                 log "running ${filename}"
                 "${filename}"
              fi
           done
        fi
        
        ~ #
        
        

        That first one in the list is my pfsense vm, which yes runs my dhcp for my local network and my other vms that are not static.  So it needs to start first.  Then I start my linux box (got to have my shell) and then my storage/nas vm.  Other vms are just play things and don't have to be started upon a loss of power/restart or restart of my host, etc.

        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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        • S
          Sailorsknot
          last edited by

          Are you sure the machine is configured to start automatically with the system?

          vSphere Client - Select Server - Configuration Tab - Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown - Properties - check "Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system" - Verify the Startup Order.

          Hope this helps!

          startup.jpg
          startup.jpg_thumb

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • johnpozJ
            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
            last edited by

            Its broke in U1, which he is running.

            You have 2 options that I am aware of to get around it, roll back to pre U1 or use a script as I posted.

            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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            • S
              Supermule Banned
              last edited by

              Vsphere 5 is a major setback from VmWare…..

              Glad I am still on 4.1 :)

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • H
                HeJumps
                last edited by

                johnpoz, that was the problem.  I added those lines to /etc/rc.local and it starts immediately now.  Thank you very much!  :)

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • johnpozJ
                  johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                  last edited by

                  Glad I could be of help - I was a bit confused as well when I noticed my autostart wasn't working upon my update to U1.  But since it worked before U1, I had a easier time tracking down the problem vs thinking it was something with the tools.

                  I keep an eye out for the next update what will fix it, but for now this works just as well - just not a gui to adjust it, etc.

                  An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                  If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                  Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                  SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • A
                    AshleyRBlack
                    last edited by

                    @Supermule:

                    Vsphere 5 is a major setback from VmWare…..

                    Glad I am still on 4.1 :)

                    In some respects.. yes.
                    But I love that fact i can now assign USB devices to VM's in 5.

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                    • S
                      Supermule Banned
                      last edited by

                      You can do that in 4.1 as well :)

                      The only problem is that if you run HA/DRS then the USB doesnt follow the VM. So if it moves of the server, then the USB is lost….

                      I dont know if they fixed that issue in V.5

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M
                        matguy
                        last edited by

                        @Supermule:

                        You can do that in 4.1 as well :)

                        The only problem is that if you run HA/DRS then the USB doesnt follow the VM. So if it moves of the server, then the USB is lost….

                        I dont know if they fixed that issue in V.5

                        First, HA and DRS are -very- different, not sure they should be lumped together like this.

                        As far as HA goes, I don't think you -should- expect any software to carry a hardware connection to a device through a hardware failure like that.  In an HA event the Host itself died (or rebooted) so the hardware host to your USB device is no longer functioning.

                        In 4.1 USB connectivity can be retained through a vMotion as long as the original host maintains connectivity and power and the VM Guests themselves remain powered on and not suspended.

                        A DRS event shouldn't break the connection, similar to a vMotion.  I have not directly tested this, if you're seeing otherwise, that may be a good reason to call VMWare support to possibly troubleshoot something that could be a bigger problem.  Otherwise, your DRS events should be triggered by performance issues, which I would presume other VMs should/would be moved first.  If you have a bunch of USB connected VMs on one host that seem to be heavy, manually vMotion them to balance the load, if needed.

                        Unless you're using Distributed Power Management and it shuts off a host that your USB devices are connected to, then obviously, that'll break it.

                        Basically, I don't think the loss of USB connection through an HA event complaint is all that valid.  You should not be -depending- on a directly attached USB device like that.  HA is all about recovering from hardware failures, and if you're depending on certain hardware, you're breaking that hardware ambiguity.  I know there's certain software that can require a USB "dongle" or key, but there are other USB over IP solutions that might work better in that situation.  (For the most part, that's pretty much what ESXi is emulating, anyway.)

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