VMware ESXi Alert

Dear ESX 3.5 customer,

Our records indicate you recently downloaded VMware® ESX Version 3.5 U3 from our product download site. This email is to alert you that an issue with that product version could adversely effect your environment. This email provides steps you can take to correct any issues that you may currently have or prevent you from encountering the issue.

Title:
A Virtual Machine may unexpectedly reboot when using VMware HA with Virtual Machine Monitoring on ESX 3.5 Update 3

Symptoms:
Virtual Machines may unexpectedly reboot after a VMotion migration to an ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host OR after a Power On operation on an ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host, when the VMware HA feature with Virtual Machine Monitoring is active.

Problem Statement:
A virtual machine may reboot itself when the following conditions exist:

• Virtual Machine is running on ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host, either by virtue of VMotion or a Power On operation, and
• Host has VMware HA enabled with the "Virtual Machine Monitoring" option active.

Virtual Machine monitoring is dependent on VMware tools heartbeats to determine the state of the Virtual Machines. With ESX Server 3.5 Update 3, after a VMotion or Power On operation, the host agent running on the ESX server may delay sending the heartbeat state of the Virtual Machine to the Host. VMware HA detects this as a failure of the Virtual Machine and attempts to restart the Virtual Machine.

Resolution:
Note: Before you begin please refer to for important information on restarting the mgmt-vmware service.

To work around this problem:

Option 1: Disable Virtual Machine Monitoring

1. Select the VMware HA cluster and choose Edit Settings from the right-click menu (note that this feature can also be enabled for a new cluster on the VMware HA page of the New Cluster wizard).
2. In the Cluster Settings dialog box, select VMware HA in the left column.
3. Un-Check the Enable virtual machine monitoring check box.
4. Click OK.

Option 2:

1. Disconnect the host form VC (Right click on host in VI Client and select "Disconnect" )
2. Login as root to the ESX Server with SSH.
3. Using a text editor such as nano or vi, edit the file /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml
4. Set the "heartbeatDelayInSecs" tag under "vmsvc" to 0 seconds as shown here:
   
   0
   true
   
5. Restart the management agents for this change to take effect. See .
6. Reconnect the host in VC ( Right click on host in VI Client and select "Connect" )

Please for further details on managing packages already registered.

Please consult your local support center if you require further information or assistance. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this issue may cause you. Your satisfaction is our number one goal.