ESXi VIB installation failed with a ‘Resource temporality unavailable’ error

Products

• VMware vSphere ESX 7.x
• VMware vSphere ESX 8.x
• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

• ESXi host vib fails with the following error in the host log file /var/log/esxupdate.log:

  2025-05-02T08:44:33Z Er(11) esxupdate[12124143]: Error locking file /var/run/esximg.pid: [Errno 11] Resource temporarily unavailable, the file is currently locked by process with PID #####
  2025-05-02T08:44:33Z Wa(12) esxupdate[12124143]: Failed to acquire lock: ('/var/run/esximg.pid', 'Error locking file /var/run/esximg.pid: [Errno 11] Resource temporarily unavailable, the file is currently locked by process with PID #####')

• NSX Transport Node Preparation fails on the ESXi host

Cause

^{The VIBs installation fails due to the file /var/run/esximg.pid is being locked by a process.}

Resolution

This is a condition that may occur in a vSphere/NSX environment. In case you believe you face this issue, please follow the steps:

1. Place the affected ESXi host on maintenance mode.
2. Get the PID listed in the log mentioned log and run the following command

   kill -9 PID

3. Attempt the VIB installation again.

 

Note: The ESXi host can also be restarted to clear any stale processes