ESXi Installation Fails at 5% with "Input/output error" or "TimeoutError"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to install an ESXi host, the installation may fail at 5% with one of the error messages: "Input/output error" or "TimeoutError".

Environment

ESXi hosts booting from SAN.

Cause

The installation being stuck at 5% points to problems due to faulty hardware.

When booting from SAN, this could mean issues with the connectivity between the ESXi host and the SAN, such as but not exclusive to bad cables, switch-related problems, compatibility issues in the Fabric/Network layer.

 

Resolution

As this is evidence of issues with the connectivity between the ESXi host and the SAN, the recommendation is to get the hardware and Fabric/Network configurations checked, engaging the respective vendors when necessary.