Enabling the Virtual Server Service status and hardware status plug-ins fails

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

A vCenter Server error is seen in the Plug-in Manager window when the vCenter Client fails to process the Virtual Server Service Status plug-in or the Hardware Status plug-in.
You may notice this issue when you log in to the remote client and find that the vCenter Service Status icon in the Home page and the Hardware Status tab in the host view are not available.
If there is no DNS resolution, this error is displayed in the right column of the Plug-in Manager:

the remote name could not be resolved 'SERVER-NAME'

Where the URL is similar to: https://SERVER-NAME:8443/cim-ui/scriptConfig.xml

Environment

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

Resolution

This issue is resolved in vCenter Server 4.0 Update 1.

To work around this issue when you cannot upgrade to vCenter Server 4.0 Update 1:

If the vCenter Service Status icon and the Hardware Status tab are not visible:

Ensure that DNS resolution between the vSphere Client and the vCenter Service is working properly. If your DNS resolution is not configured correctly, it can cause this issue. For more information, see Testing network connectivity with the ping command (1003486).
Ensure that all services required for vCenter Server are running and are configured to use the appropriate credentials. This includes the VMware VirutalCenter Management WebServices service.
For more information, see Troubleshooting the VMware VirtualCenter Server service when it does not start or fails on vCenter Server (1003926).
Ensure TCP port 8443 communication is open from the vSphere Client to vCenter Server.
Enable the Allow scripting of Microsoft web browser control option in Internet Explorer.

To enable this option:
1. In Internet Explorer, navigate to Tools > Internet Options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Select Trusted sites.
4. Click Custom Level. The Security Settings - Trusted Sites Zone dialog appears.
5. Navigate to the Miscellaneous section.
6. Select Enabled for the Allow scripting of Microsoft web browser control option.

If you do not have DNS resolution, the remote name cannot be resolved error appears in the Plug-in Manager, which indicates that additional configuration is required.

Choose one of these two options if you do not have DNS resolution between vCenter Server and the vSphere Client:

If editing the host file on every desktop that runs the vSphere Client is an option for your deployment, add the host name and IP address to the host file of each client at this location:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Note: It may also be necessary to add the IP address instead of the host name to the vCenter.vimWebServicesUrl setting if you see the error:

An Error occurred, please try again in another vSphere session

when you select the vCenter Service Status icon or the Servers Hardware Status tab. The VirtualCenter.vimWebServicesUrl setting is found in Administration > vCenter Server Settings > Advanced Settings.
If you cannot edit the host file on every desktop that runs the vSphere Client:
1. Replace the server name by its IP address in each of these files in vCenter Server 4.0 and restart the vCenter Service:
  
  Note: You do not need to edit these XML files if the host name and IP address have been added to the host file.
  - C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\extensions\cim-ui\extension.xml
  - C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\tomcat\webapps\cim-ui\scriptConfig.xml
  - C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\extensions\health-ui\extension.xml
  - C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\tomcat\webapps\health-ui\scriptConfig.xml
  - C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\extensions\com.vmware.vim.stats.report\extension.xml
  - C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\tomcat\webapps\statsreport\WEB-INF\web.xml
2. Add the IP address instead of the host name to the vCenter.vimWebServicesUrl setting. Otherwise, the error An Error occurred, please try again in another vSphere session occurs when you select the vCenter Service Staus icon or the Servers Hardware Status tab. The VirtualCenter.vimWebServicesUrl setting is found in Administration > vCenter Server Settings > Advanced Settings.

This issue can also be caused by using custom SSL certificates without the default password of testpassword. For more information related to creating custom SSL certificates, see Replacing vCenter Server Certificates.

Additional Information

For translated versions of this article, see: