Removing a linked vCenter Server from vSphere Client fails with the error: vCenter server not connected

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Removing a linked vCenter Server from vSphere Client fails.
• You see the error:
  
  vCenter server not connected

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x

Cause

This issue occurs when a linked vCenter Server is removed from vSphere client, but it is not successfully removed from the ADAM database.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, remove the linked vCenter Server entry from the ADAM database.

To remove the linked vCenter Server entry from the ADAM database:

1. Start ADSI Edit.
   
   1. Click Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > ADSI Edit.
   2. Right-click ADSI Edit and click Connect to.
      
      
2. Under Connection Point, select Select or type a Distinguished Name or Naming context and type:
   
   dc=virtualcenter,dc=vmware,dc=int
   
   
3. Under Computer, select Select or type a domain or server, enter the primary vCenter Servers NetBIOS name and click OK.
4. Expand the tree items in the left pane and find the OU=Instances entry .
5. Select the CN entry under OU=Instances .
6. Right-click each CN (for example, CN=VIMWEBSVC ) and click Properties.
7. Click vmw-vc-URL.
8. Select Filter and click Show only attributes that have values to find the linked mode vCenter Server NetBIOS name to removed.
9. Delete instances of old linked mode vCenter Servers.
10. Restart vSphere Client.

Note: For more information on ADSI Edit, see the Microsoft TechNet article Use ADSI Edit to Manage an AD LDS Instance.

Note: The preceding links was correct as of September 3, 2014. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.