Rebooting an ESXi Server host
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Rebooting an ESXi Server host

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Article ID: 394496

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

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

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.X
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.X

Resolution

Restarting ESXi 7.x or ESXi 8.X via the webclient (Recommended), perform the following steps.

 

  1. Right-click on the ESX Server host from the Inventory and click Enter Maintenance Mode.
  2. This will migrate 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 will enter a Not Responding state until it has completely rebooted and its agents have started. This is expected behavior.

Right-click on the ESXi Server host from the Inventory and click Exit Maintenance Mode. This will bring the host back into production.

 

Restarting ESXi 7.X and 8.X hosts from the DCUI, perform the following steps.

 
  1. Ensure that all virtual machines are powered off or migrated to another host.
  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.

 

For hosts running ESXi 7.x and ESXi 8.x, resboots are possible from an SSH session to the host by typing the command reboot from the command line.

Additional Information

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