Host profile Remedition might fail with an error "Expected integer value for Parameter" Got 4194304?

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Host profile remediation fails with an error "Expected integer value for Parameter"

Cause

The full error message may look like "Expected integer value for Parameter netSockSndBufSize in Kernel Module scini. Got 4194304?" 

In this particular example, the module "netSockSndBufSize" is expected to get an integer value of numbers, however, the host profile extracted had an additional string character '?' due to which the host profile remediation fails.

Resolution

Option 1: Verify and Correct the Source Host

To determine if the host profile contains an incorrect parameter:

• Check the ESXi host from which the host profile was extracted. Specifically, verify whether the netSockSndBufSize parameter is set incorrectly.

• Configuration details, particularly those related to kernel or driver modules, can typically be found in the esx.conf file.

• If an incorrect value is found, update the host with the correct value, then extract a new host profile and remediate accordingly.

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Option 2: Source Host Not Available

If the original ESXi host used to extract the profile is unavailable or unknown:

• Navigate to Profiles and Policies in vSphere.

• Select the host profile, click Actions > Edit.

• Locate and modify the module containing the incorrect parameter, then save the changes.

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Option 3: Edit the Host Profile Manually

If the incorrect module parameter cannot be located through the host profile editor:

• Download the host profile and open it in a text editor.

• Search for all occurrences of the incorrect parameter and update them with the correct value.

• Save the file and re-import

Example of incorrect parameter: 

Before:

                                <policy>
                                    <id>kernelModule.moduleProfile.ModuleParamPolicy</id>
                                    <policyOption>
                                        <id>kernelModule.moduleProfile.ModuleParamPolicyOption</id>
                                        <parameter>
                                            <key>parameterName</key>
                                            <value xsi:type="xsd:string">netSockSndBufSize</value>
                                        </parameter>
                                        <parameter>
                                            <key>parameterValue</key>
                                            <value xsi:type="xsd:string">4194304?</value>
                                        </parameter>
                                    </policyOption>
                                </policy>

After: 

 

                           <policy>
                                    <id>kernelModule.moduleProfile.ModuleParamPolicy</id>
                                    <policyOption>
                                        <id>kernelModule.moduleProfile.ModuleParamPolicyOption</id>
                                        <parameter>
                                            <key>parameterName</key>
                                            <value xsi:type="xsd:string">netSockSndBufSize</value>
                                        </parameter>
                                        <parameter>
                                            <key>parameterValue</key>
                                            <value xsi:type="xsd:string">4194304</value>
                                        </parameter>
                                    </policyOption>
                                </policy>

 

Save the edited host profile with a new name and upload it to vCenter. Then, attempt to remediate the host using the updated profile. If the remediation is successful, you can safely discard the original profile