VMControl error -3: Invalid arguments: Login Failed - When using VMWARE-CMD

[IT538332]

Hi,

I had a Vm that wouldn't power on - I received the error "The system returned on error. Communication with the virtual machine may have been interrupted". I had a look around the Communities and found lots of useful suggestions, the majority related to using the VMWARE-CMD.

Now I have 8 ESX 3.0.2 servers in a cluster and when I ssh to the console on the other 7 I have no problem running a VMWARE-CMD, but on this particular host which contains the dodgy VM I get the error VMControl error -3: Invalid arguments: Login Failed - I get this if I try a getstate/start/stop/reset you name it! I even get it if I just try VMWARE-CMD -l.

Has anybody had a similar issue? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[RParker · Accepted solution]

I think the vmware agent is somehow not connecting.

Try this.

right click on host in VI and disconnect

login directly to host via VI and remove the vmware users

login to the host via ssh.

go to /etc/vmware/ssl remove those certificates, there should be only 2.

run : service mgmt-vmware restart

They wait about 2 minutes, and reconnect the host. You won't lose any VM's or configuration, but that may help with the vmware-cmd problem.

[IT538332]

Thank You very much for your response - You're a star!!!

The only other thing I had to do was restart vmware-vpxa service, as I couldn't reconnect he host.

Thanks again.