Unable to start snmp service on ESXi 6.0 host

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• You are unable to start snmp service on the ESXi host, either from vSphere Client or from the CLI
• Starting the SNMP Server service from vSphere Client throws the following error:

 

 

• Starting the snmpd service from CLI throws the following error:

• Following KB Cannot start the snmpd service from VMware vCenter Server  did not resolve the issue

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0

Cause

If the snmptraps ramdisk already exist, snmpd will not start
Running vdf -h |grep snmp showed that the snmptraps ramdisk was mounted on /var/spool/snmp

Resolution

1. Remove the snmptraps ramdisk and the mount point

$ localcli system visorfs ramdisk remove -t /var/spool/snmp
$ rm -r /var/spool/snmp

2. Start the snmpd service:

$ /etc/init.d/snmpd start