Exit Standby Mode task times out and the host status is not updated in vCenter Server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When powering on an ESX/ESXi host that is in the Standby mode, the following symptoms are observed:

• The Exit Standby Mode task fails with error:
  
  Operation timed out
   
• The host remains in a Standby state in vCenter Server 8.x
• Establish a direct connection to the ESXi host via the vSphere Client succeeds
• ESX/ESXi host responds to pings
• Attempting to power on the host through vCenter Server fails

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.X

Cause

This occurs when the Exit Standby Mode task in vCenter Server times out. In this case, vCenter Server becomes out of sync with the actual state of the host. The host is in Standby mode in vCenter Server, whereas it is actually powered on.

Resolution

To workaround this issue, update the vCenter Server database to reflect the correct host status.

 

To update the vCenter Server database to reflect the correct host status:

 

Note: Take a backup your vCenter Server database before implementing this workaround.

1. Stop the VMware VirtualCenter Server service.  
2. Run this command from vCenter Server SSH session to login to vPostgres database.
   
   /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -U postgres -d VCDB
    
3. Run this SQL statement to find the ID of the host:
   
   select id from vpx_entity where name like '%name of host%'
    
4. Run this SQL statement to check the power state of the host:
   
   select power_state from vpx_host where id = <output 2 from step> </output>
   
   If the power state is 2, vCenter Server believes that the host is in Standby mode.
    
5. To put the host in a powered on state, run this update statement:
   
   update vpx_host set power_state = 0 where id = <output 2 from step> </output>
    
6. Start the VMware VirtualCenter Server service.
7. Ensure the ESX/ESXi host is powered on.
8. Disconnect and reconnect the ESX/ESXi host in vCenter Server if the host is not responding or disconnected.

Additional Information