Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) connections may not work on ESXi 5.5

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• After upgrading to ESXi 5.5, the virtual machine providing Virtual Private Network (VPN)/Router/Firewall services is unable to connect to via Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol.
• The virtual machine providing VPN/Router/Firewall is configured to use an E1000 vNIC adapter.
• The IP route between PPTP endpoint vitual machines providing VPN/Router/Firewall uses a hop which is a router or firewall or bridge virtual machine with an e1000 or e1000e vNIC adapter.
• Clients are unable to establish a PPTP connection to the virtual machine.
• When you attempt to connect to the virtual machine you see the message:
  
  Error 628

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5

Resolution

This is a known issue affecting VMware ESXi 5.5.

This issue is resolved in a patch release for ESXi 5.5, available at VMware Downloads. For more information, see VMware ESXi 5.5, Patch ESXi550-201312401-BG: Updates esx-base (2063788).

To work around this issue when you do not want to apply the patch, change the current network adapter type on the VPN/Router/Firewall virtual machine to vmxnet3.

To change the adapter type via the VMware vSphere Web Client (requires vCenter Server):

1. Connect to the vCenter Server via the vSphere Web Client. The default URL is:
   
   https://FQDN_vCenter_Server:9443/vsphere-client
   
   
2. Click on vCenter in the left pane, under Home.
3. Click VMs and Templates.
4. Locate the virtual machine.
5. Right-click the virtual machine.
6. Click Edit Settings to open the Edit Settings window.
7. On the Virtual Hardware tab, locate the Network Adaptor and click the (x) icon next to it to remove it.
   
   Note: This removes all network connectivity to the virtual machine. Only console access to the virtual machine using the vSphere Client will be available.
   
   
8. At the bottom of the window, click the dropdown menu next to New Device.
9. Select Network.
10. Click Add.
11. Expand the Net Network object by clicking the (>} icon.
12. From the dropdown menu next to Net Network, select the vSwitch or vDS where the virtual machine needs to reside.
13. From the drop-down menu next to Adapter Type, select VMXNET3.
14. Select the Connect at power on checkbox.
15. Click OK.
16. Click the Summary tab of the virtual machine.
17. Click Launch Console beneath the micro-console.
18. Log into the virtual machine and reconfigure its Ethernet adapter accordingly.

To change the adapter type via the vSphere Client:

1. Connect directly to the ESXi 5.5 host where the virtual machine resides using the vSphere Client.
2. Locate the virtual machine.
3. Right-click the virtual machine.
4. Click Edit Settings to open the Virtual Machine Properties window.
5. On the Hardware tab, select the Network Adaptor and click Remove.
   
   Note: This removes all network connectivity to the virtual machine. Only console access to the virtual machine using the vSphere client will be available.
   
   
6. Click Add.
7. From the Device Type middle panel, select Ethernet Adapter.
8. Click Next.
9. From the Adapter Type dropdown menu, select VMXNET3.
10. Under the Network Connection dropdown menu, select the vSwitch or vDS where the virtual machine needs to reside.
11. Select the Connect at power on checkbox.
12. Click Next.
13. Click Finish.
14. Click OK to accept the changes to the virtual machine and close the window.
15. Click the Console tab of the virtual machine.
16. Using the vSphere Client Console, log into the virtual machine and reconfigure its Ethernet adapter accordingly.

Additional Information

VMware ESXi 5.5, Patch ESXi550-201312401-BG: Updates esx-base
点对点隧道协议 (PPTP) 连接在 ESXi 5.5 上可能无效
ポイントツーポイント トンネリング プロトコル (PPTP) 接続が ESXi 5.5 で動作しない場合がある