"An operation on a socket could not be performed because the system lacked sufficient buffer space or because a queue was full" error in vCenter Server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• When ESXi hosts disconnect and reconnect in vCenter Server, you see the error:
   
• An operation on a socket could not be performed because the system lacked sufficient buffer space or because a queue was full
   
• In the C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\Logs\vpxd.log file, you see entries similar to:
   
  <YYYY-DD-MM>T<time>[248860 error 'HttpConnectionPool-004135'] [ConnectComplete] Connect failed to <cs p:000000000acf8bb0, TCP:vc51u1invsvc.vcloud.local:10443>; cnx: (null), error: class Vmacore::SystemException(An operation on a socket could not be performed because the system lacked sufficient buffer space or because a queue was full. )</time>
  <YYYY-DD-MM>T<time>[248176 error 'httphttpUtil' opID=c305f0b4] [HttpUtil::ExecuteRequest] Error in sending request - An operation on a socket could not be performed because the system lacked sufficient buffer space or because a queue was full.</time>

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the number of dynamic ports within the vCenter Server operating system have been exhausted.

Resolution

This issue is resolved with the Microsoft hotfix. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2577795.

 

If the number of ports is set to a low number, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 929851.

Process to determine the number of available dynamic TCP ports:

To determine the number of available dynamic TCP ports within Microsoft Windows follow the steps below:

1. Log in as an administrative user.
2. Click Start>Run, type cmd, and click OK. The command prompt opens.
3. Run these commands in the command prompt:
   
   netsh int ipv4 show dynamicport tcp
    
4. You see output similar to:
    
   Protocol tcp Dynamic Port Range
   ---------------------------------
   Start Port : 49152
   Number of Ports : 16384

Note: The preceding link was correct as of May 5, 2019. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.