Troubleshooting ESXi 5.0 Scripted Install errors
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Troubleshooting ESXi 5.0 Scripted Install errors

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Article ID: 304841

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When configuring and using ESXi 5.0 Scripted Install there are several factors that can cause an installation to fail. Reviewing the log files and any on-screen prompts can often indicate the root cause of the issue. This article is to help you troubleshoot these issues.
Note: This is not a comprehensive guide on Scripted Install. For more information, see the ESXi Installable and vCenter Server Setup Guide. The guide contains definitive information. If there is a discrepancy between the guide and this article, assume that the guide is correct.


Symptoms:
  • An ESXi 5.0 Scripted Install fails
  • You see one or more of these errors:
    • error:nfs://192.168.0.1/FileShare/ks.cfg:line12: install --firstdisk specified, but no suitable disk found
    • NFS mount failure for URL nfs://192.168.0.101:/NFS/ks1.cfg
    • Did not get an IP Address from DHCP server warning:nfs://192.168.0.101/NFS/ks.cfg:line 5: bootproto was set to static but "--hostname=" was not set. Hostname will be set automatically.


Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0

Cause

Resolution

Logs

When an ESXi 5.0 Scripted Install is first launched, the installer parses the kickstart file before running any of commands. If there are syntax errors or incorrect command entries, these are displayed by the installer during the parsing phase. If the scripted install breaks at any point during the deployment, the reason can often be found in the /var/log/weasel.log file located on the host.
Reviewing this log file is essential to troubleshooting these issues. If you encounter an error during your Scripted Install, do not reboot the host after the install fails or this file is lost.
To review the log file:
  1. Log in to the ESXi host by pressing ALT+F1 at the install screen.
  2. Log in as root with no password.
  3. Navigate to the /var/log folder by running cd /var/log.
  4. Review the contents of weasel.log by running cat weasel.log.

Common Errors

This table outlines common errors and how to troubleshoot them:
ErrorSolution
error:nfs://192.168.0.1/FileShare
/ks.cfg:line12: install --firstdisk
specified, but no suitable disk found
This error can occur if there is insufficient disk space on the host to install ESXi. The minimum requirement for the size of the boot disk is 900 MB. Ensure that your disk meets this requirement.
NFS mount failure for URL nfs://192.168.0.101:/NFS/ks1.cfg
Log onto the host and examine /var/log/weasel.log. This reveals a more informative message. According to the logs, you see the error:
Could not open file over NFS nfs://192.168.0.101:/NFS/ks1.cfg
Exception: Error (see log for more info):
Error copy / download file
This means the ks1.cfg file was not found. Either the file was not created or the mount point is incorrect. Ensure that the file exists and that the share has been created.
Did not get an IP Address from DHCP server
This error indicates that the host cannot contact a DHCP server. The host requires an IP address to be able to mount the NFS share containing the ks.cfg file.
If you do not specify IP information at the boot command. If no network choices were specified at the command line, the installer defaults to DHCP. If there is no DHCP server on the network, then the installer has no way of retrieving files over the network. Ensure your DHCP server is working correctly.
In environment where there is no DHCP server available, static network configuration entries need to be added to the boot command. A network configuration must be specified to allow access to the ks.cfg file if no DHCP server is available on the network. This can be achieved by specifying these parameters at the boot prompt:
ip=, netmask=, gateway=
warning:nfs://192.168.0.101/
NFS/ks.cfg:line 5: bootproto was
set to static but "--hostname="
was not set. Hostname will be set automatically.
This is not an error, but a warning that temporarily halts installation. When setting a static IP, specify a hostname to avoid this warning.

Advanced Troubleshooting

You can interrupt a scripted installation that has already started if you require to troubleshoot something that does not produce any errors on the screen, such as if the installation finishes, but the ESXi host does not boot.
To interrupt a scripted installation:
  1. Press ALT+F1 during the install process.
  2. Log in as root with no password.
  3. When inside the ESXi Shell, type ps to list all processes. You see a print out similar to:

    4951 4951 busybox inetd
    4972 4972 sh /bin/sh
    4977 4977 sh /bin/sh
    4979 4979 busybox crond
    4988 4988 net-cdp /usr/sbin/net-cdp
    4999 4999 ash /bin/ash
    5034 5034 python /bin/python
    5035 5035 ash /bin/ash
    5039 5039 ash -ash
    5045 5045 ps ps
  4. Note the process ID that contains the python entry. This is the installation method used by ESXi 5.0 Scripted Install. To halt the installation, kill the process ID by running:

    kill 5034

    This stops the progress of scripted install at the exact point where the python script is killed.

    You can now review logs in /var/log/weasel.log for more information.


Additional Information

Deploying ESXi 5.x using the Scripted Install feature

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