VMware Directory Service (VMDird) fails to start

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

When running vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO) 5.5, after rebooting the server, you experience these symptoms:

• Cannot start vCenter Server.
• vCenter Server is unable to communicate with Single Sign-On.
• The VMware Directory Service (VMDIR) is unable to start.
• Attempting to manually launch C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VMware\CIS\vmdird\VMdird.exe from the vCenter Single Sign-On installation path fails.
• You see the error similar to:
  
  Missing file dependency gssapi64.dll

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs if the gssapi64.dll file that is required to start the VMware Directory Service is corrupted.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, repair the vCenter Single Sign-On Kerberos file dependencies.

To repair the Kerberos file dependencies installed:

1. Mount the installation media for vCenter Server and navigate to vCenter_Server_Installation_directory\Single Sign-On\prerequisites.
2. Right-click kfw.msi and click Install.
3. If prompted, select the Repair option.
4. Continue through the installer, selecting the default options.
5. When complete, start the VMware Directory Service service. For more information, see Stopping, starting, or restarting VMware vCenter Server services (1003895).

Additional Information

How to stop, start, or restart vCenter Server services
VMware Directory サービス (VMDird) が起動に失敗する
VMware 目录服务 (VMDird) 无法启动