P2V conversion of a Linux virtual machine fails with the error: mkdir: cannot create directory
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P2V conversion of a Linux virtual machine fails with the error: mkdir: cannot create directory
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Article ID: 310140
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Updated On: 08-20-2024
Products
VMware vSphere ESXi
Issue/Introduction
Symptoms:
Cannot perform a P2V conversion of a Linux virtual machine using vCenter Converter Standalone
P2V conversion of a Linux virtual machine using vCenter Converter Standalone fails
When you click Next in the Specify Source page of the Converter wizard, you see the error:
Unable to query the live Linux source machine
In the Converter logs, you see messages similar to:
error 'App'] [Converter Agent SysinfoQuery] while trying to execute "C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\plink.exe -noprompt -stdin -nokeycheck -P 22root@host.example.comcat /tmp/.vmware-sysinfo-ozamrziudxivlzpu/vmware-sysinfo.log" received error code (1) with result: cat: /tmp/.vmware-sysinfo-ozamrziudxivlzpu/vmware-sysinfo.log: No such file or directory error 'App'] Sysinfo Query failed with error Converter Agent SysinfoQuery failed to make temp directory; return code: 1; result: mkdir: cannot create directory `/tmp/.vmware-sysinfo-ozamrziudxivlzpu/': Too many links
This issue may occur if you are using an ext3 filesystem and the number of subdirectories within the tmp directory has exceeded 31988. The ext3 filesystem limits the number of subdirectories within a directory to 31998.
Note: For more information on the ext3 filesystem and its limitation on the number of subdirectories, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ext3.
To resolve this issue:
Log in to the source physical machine via SSH using the root username and password.
Run the ls command and check if the tmp folder has 31998 directories.
Alternatively, try creating a subdirectory within the tmp directory by using the mkdir command and see if you get the error:
Failed to mkdir - Too many links
If the number of subdirectories within the tmp directory has exceeded the limit, move the subdirectories in the tmp directory to another directory and then delete its contents. To do this, run these commands:
#mkdir backup #cd tmp #mv * /backup
You should now be able to perform the P2V conversion.