Deploying a template or clone using customization fails at 93% with the error: Clone virtual machine Templatexxxx : Cannot connect to host

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to resolve the issue when the Clone virtual machine Templatexxxx : Cannot connect to host error occurs while attempting to deploy a template or clone using customization.

Symptoms:

• Deploying a template or clone using customization fails at 93% .
• You see the error:
  
  Clone virtual machine Templatexxxx : Cannot connect to host
  
  
• Cloning or deploying without customization works as expected.
• The C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\Logs\vpxd.log file, contain entries similar to when set to trivia:
  
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 02960 trivia 'App'] [Vdb::Connection::Record] Recording (4022118:1) INSERT INTO VPX_EVENT_ARG (EVENT_ID, ARG_ID, ARG_TYPE, ARG_DATA, OBJ_TYPE, OBJ_NAME, VM_ID, HOST_ID, COMPUTERESOURCE_ID, DATASTORE_ID, NETWORK_ID, NETWORK_TYPE, DVS_ID, DATACENTER_ID, RESOURCEPOOL_ID, FOLDER_ID, ALARM_ID, SCHEDULEDTASK_ID) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 02960 verbose 'PropertyProvider'] RecordOp ASSIGN: info.state, task-43499
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 02960 verbose 'PropertyProvider'] RecordOp ASSIGN: info.cancelable, task-43499
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 02960 verbose 'PropertyProvider'] RecordOp ASSIGN: info.error, task-43499
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 02960 info 'App'] [VpxLRO] -- FINISH task-43499 -- vm-34631 -- vim.VirtualMachine.clone -- ########-####-####-####-########A9BE(########-####-####-####-########078C)
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 02960 info 'App'] [VpxLRO] -- ERROR task-43499 -- vm-34631 -- vim.VirtualMachine.clone: vim.fault.HostConnectFault:
  (vim.fault.HostConnectFault) {
  dynamicType = <unset>,
  faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null,
  msg = "",
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 02960 verbose 'PropertyProvider'] RecordOp ASSIGN: info.completeTime, task-43499
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 03208 verbose 'App'] [VpxdResMgr] Resv Req.: (host-36980,1)
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 03208 error 'App'] [VpxdVmprov] Clone failed: vim.fault.HostConnectFault
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 03208 trivia 'App'] [VpxdMoVm::GetCfgFileInt] config file is sanfs://vmfs_uuid:########-####-########23e4/Template_Name/Template_VM_Name.vmtx
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 03208 trivia 'App'] [VpxdMoVm] Returning datastore datastore-34 from vm config file
  [<YYYY-DD-MM><time> 03208 verbose 'App'] [VpxdMoEventManager] Event 524992(524983); type [vim.event.VmDeployFailedEvent], user [DOMAIN\USERNAME], vmId [34631=Template_VM_Name], hostId [36980=esx.domain.com], computeResourceId [162=Cluster], datacenterId [21=Datacenter]
  </time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time>
  
  For more information on setting logging to trivia, see Enabling trivia logging in VMware vCenter Server 4.x and 5.x (1001584).

Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment. 　

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when you try to deploy from a template or clone from a template and use the customization wizard or any custom scripts, it can fail if the Windows temp folder is:

• Being re-directed.
• Holding a lock on temp files.

Resolution

To resolve this issue:

1. Ensure that the C:/Windows/TEMP folder is not re-directed to another folder. If it is re-directed, point it back to C:/Windows/TEMP.
2. Delete any files in the temp folder and reboot the vCenter Server machine to release any locks on temp files.

Additional Information

Enabling trivia logging in VMware vCenter Server