Converting a Linux machine fails with the error: Unable to SSH to the source machine. Please check if a firewall is blocking access to the SSH daemon on the source machine

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
When you attempt to convert a Linux machine using VMware Converter, you experience these symptoms:

• You are connecting to the source machine with the user root.
• All required ports for the conversion are open. For more information, see Required VMware vCenter Converter ports 
• The conversion fails with the error:
  
  Unable to SSH to the source machine. Please check if a firewall is blocking access to the SSH daemon on the source machine.
  
  
• The converter-worker.log file contains the errors:
  
  Note: For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware Converter
  
  ...
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PID error 'App'] Took too long to read from ssh client.
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PID error 'App'] [Converter Agent SysinfoQuery] while trying to execute "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\pscp.exe -noprompt -stdin -nokeycheck -P 22 C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\vmware-sysinfo-lin64.tar.gz root@IP_Address:/tmp/.vmware-sysinfo-mswjhbivliseacmo/vmware-sysinfo-lin64.tar.gz" received error code (247) with result:
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PID error 'App'] [Converter Agent SysinfoQuery] Query(): Caught exception, cleaning up before bailing out ([Converter Agent SysinfoQuery] ssh connection timed out)
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PIDerror 'App'] [Converter Agent SysinfoQuery] while trying to execute "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vCenter Converter Standalone\plink.exe -noprompt -stdin -nokeycheck -P 22 root@IP_Address cat /tmp/.vmware-sysinfo-mswjhbivliseacmo/vmware-sysinfo.log" received error code (1) with result:
  cat: /tmp/.vmware-sysinfo-mswjhbivliseacmo/vmware-sysinfo.log: No such file or directory
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PID error 'App'] [Converter Agent SysinfoQuery] received an error code (1) from the ssh client that will be handled later
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PID error 'App'] Converter Agent SysinfoQuery failed to grab log file; return code: 1; result:
  ...
  Missing updates: 0
  cat: /tmp/.vmware-sysinfo-mswjhbivliseacmo/vmware-sysinfo.log: No such file or directory
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PID error 'App'] Sysinfo Query failed with error [Converter Agent SysinfoQuery] ssh connection timed out
  [<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> PID info 'App'] Scheduled timer canceled, StopKeepAlive succeeds
  ...</time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time>

Cause

This issue occurs when a notice entry is present in the /root/.bashrc file and prevents Converter from copying the require files to the source machine using SSH.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, comment out the notice section in the /root/.bashrc file.

To comment out the notice section of the /root/.bashrc file:

1. Log in to the source machine as root.
2. Run this command to view the contents of the /root/.bashrc file:
   
   cat /root/.bashrc
   
   
3. Verify that this line exists:
   
   if [[ -e ~/.notice ]]; then cat ~/.notice; fi
   
   
4. Run this command to save a copy of the original .bashrc file:
   
   cp /root/.bashrc /root/.bashrc.orig
   
   
5. Using a text editor add a hash (#) before if [[ -e ~/.notice ]]; then cat ~/.notice; fi in the /root/.bashrc file to comment out the notice section.
   
   Note: The example below is a sample of a /root/.bashrc file. Depending on your environment, the /root/.bashrc file may not reflect this example and may contain additional entries. Only modify the line referenced in this step.
   
   Original
   
   # .bashrc
   # User specific aliases and functions
   alias rm='rm -i'
   alias cp='cp -i'
   alias mv='mv -i'
   # Source global definitions
   if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
   . /etc/bashrc
   fi
   if [[ -e ~/.notice ]]; then cat ~/.notice; fi
   
   Modified
   
   # .bashrc
   # User specific aliases and functions
   alias rm='rm -i'
   alias cp='cp -i'
   alias mv='mv -i'
   # Source global definitions
   if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
   . /etc/bashrc
   fi
   
   # if [[ -e ~/.notice ]]; then cat ~/.notice; fi
   
   
6. Save the changes to the file.
7. Restart the conversion.

Additional Information

Required VMware vCenter Converter ports/
Collecting diagnostic information for VMware Converter