Rebooting an ESXi or ESX host
search cancel

Rebooting an ESXi or ESX host

book

Article ID: 394496

calendar_today

Updated On:

Products

VMware vSAN VMware vSphere ESXi VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

For troubleshooting or maintenance purposes it may be necessary to restart (reboot) an ESX Server host. This article provides the steps to restart an ESX host.

Environment

  • ESXi 7.x
  • ESXi 8.x
  • ESX 9.x

Resolution

Table of Contents

  • Restarting an ESXi 7.x, ESXi 8.x, and ESX 9.x via the vCenter web client

    1. Right-click the ESX Server in the Inventory and click Enter Maintenance Mode.
      1. If hosts are part of vSAN or NSX 
    2. This migrates all powered-on virtual machines to another host in the cluster.
    3. When complete, right-click on the ESX Server host in the Inventory and select Reboot.
    4. Enter a reason in the reboot server window.
    5. Click OK.
    6. Wait for the ESX Server host to restart.

      Note: If performing the task within vCenter, the host enters a Not Responding state until it has completely rebooted and its agents have started. This is expected behavior.

    7. Right-click the ESXi Server host in the Inventory and click Exit Maintenance Mode. This brings the host back into production.

  • Restarting an ESXi 7.x, 8.x, and ESX 9.x hosts from the DCUI.

    1. Ensure that all virtual machines are powered off or migrated to another host.
      1. If hosts are part of vSAN or NSX 
    2. Access the host console directly, or connect via the System Management Interface.
    3. Press F12. 
    4. Enter the root user name and password when prompted.
    5. Press F11 to restart the system.

  • Restarting an ESXi 7.x, 8.x, and ESX 9.x hosts from the SSH.

    1. Connect to the server using an SSH client with the command
      ssh root@<host_ip_fqdn>      .
    2. Ensure the host is ready for a restart and prevent new VMs from starting by enabling maintenance mode with the command
      vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter.
      1. If hosts are part of vSAN or NSX 
    3. Trigger the system reboot using the graceful shutdown command
      esxcli system shutdown reboot -d 10 -r "Maintenance", or just run reboot for a standard restart.
    4. Once the server is back online, log in again and disable maintenance mode to resume normal operations using the command
      vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit.

  • Restarting an ESXi 7.x, 8.x, and ESX 9.x hosts from PowerCLI.

    1. Install the VCF PowerCLI module 
    2. Set the execution policy to allow scripts to run if necessary, with
      set-executionpolicy remotesigned      .
    3. Initiate a connection to the ESXi host or the vCenter server using
      connect-viserver -server <vCenter_FQDN_IP_Address>.
    4. Provide administrative credentials when prompted by the login window.
    5. Place the ESXi host into maintenance mode to safely evacuate or power off running virtual machines using
      set-vmhost -vmhost <ESXI_Fqdn> -state maintenance.
      1. If hosts are part of vSAN or NSX 
    6. Execute the reboot command by running
      restart-vmhost -vmhost <ESXI_Fqdn> -confirm:$false      .
    7. Monitor host status using get-vmhost until it shows status as powered on and is reachable again.
    8. Exit maintenance mode once the server is back online to resume normal operations with
      set-vmhost -vmhost <ESXI_Fqdn> -state connected.

  • Restarting ESXi 7.x or 8.x or ESX 9.x hosts from the host webclient.

    1. Log in to the ESXi Host Client web interface
    2. Right-click Host in the left navigation pane and select Enter maintenance mode.
      1. If hosts are part of vSAN or NSX 
    3. Once in maintenance mode, right-click Host in the navigation pane again.
    4. Select Reboot from the dropdown menu.
    5. Click Reboot in the confirmation pop-up window to execute the restart.
    6. The browser session will disconnect immediately; wait for the hardware to cycle and the services to come back online.

For hosts running ESXi 7.x, ESXi 8.x, or ESX 9.x, reboots are possible from an SSH session to the host by typing the command reboot from the command line.

  • VSAN: Enter Maintenance Mode

The most common procedure is to initiate maintenance mode through the vSphere Client. This triggers the evacuation of virtual machines and handles vSAN data based on your selection.

    1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to Inventory > Hosts and Clusters.
    2. Right-click the target ESXi host and select Maintenance Mode > Enter Maintenance Mode.
    3. Crucial Step: Select vSAN Data Migration Mode. You will be prompted to choose one of the following:
      1. Ensure Accessibility (Default): vSAN ensures that all virtual machines on this host remain accessible, but it does not move all data. If another host fails while this host is in maintenance, data loss could occur.
      2. Full Data Evacuation: All data is moved from the host to other hosts in the cluster. This is the safest option but takes the longest. Use this if you expect the host to be offline for an extended period or if you are decommissioning it.
      3. No Data Evacuation: No data is moved. VMs that have objects only on this host will become unavailable.

  • NSX: Maintenance Mode

For hosts functioning as NSX Transport Nodes, it is often a best practice (or mandatory for certain upgrades/tasks) to also place the node in NSX Maintenance Mode via the NSX Manager.

    1. Log in to the NSX Manager UI.
    2. Navigate to System > Fabric > Nodes > Host Transport Nodes.
    3. Select the ESXi host, click Actions, and select Enter NSX Maintenance Mode.
Powered by Wolken Software