vCenter Server host synchronization fails with the error: Too many events in the vpxd.log

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Tasks that are pushed to ESXi/ESX hosts, such as powering on or off a virtual machine, fail.
• The hosts are marked as dirty in vCenter Server logs
• Too many events are generated by the ESXi/ESX host with Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS).
• In the vpxd logs, you see errors similar to:
  
  error 'Default' opID=HB-host-257@1126378-dd838e98] [VpxdMoEventManagerImpl::EventBatchAppender::AppendEvents] Too many events (max: 1000): 2018
  error 'Default' opID=HB-host-257@1126378-dd838e98] [ProcessEventChanges] Unexpected exception: vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs if vCenter Server has reached the numEventsPerDBTransaction value specified in the vCenter Server Advanced Settings.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3. For more information, see VMware vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3 Release Notes. You can download the latest release from the VMware Download Center.

To work around the issue when you are unable to upgrade, increase the maximum number of events supported by vCenter Server.

To increase the maximum number of events supported by vCenter Server:

1. In the vSphere Client, click Administration > vCenter Server Settings > Advanced Settings.
2. Add this Key:
   
   config.vpxd.event.batchAppend.numEventsPerDBTransaction
   
   
3. Add this Value:
   
   5000
   
   
4. Click Add, then click OK.
5. Restart the VMware VirtualCenter Server service. For more information, see Stopping, starting, or restarting vCenter services (1003895).

Additional Information

How to stop, start, or restart vCenter Server services