"Operation timed out." occurs in vim-cmd vimsvc/task_info

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

After stopping the virtual machine, when you perform an OVF export and check the task status with vim-cmd vimsvc/task_info, the message "Operation timed out." occurs.

[root@esxi:~] vim-cmd vimsvc/task_info haTask-146-vim.VirtualMachine.exportVm-498355
(vim.TaskInfo) {
   key = "haTask-146-vim.VirtualMachine.exportVm-498355",
   task = 'vim.Task:haTask-146-vim.VirtualMachine.exportVm-498355',
   description = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) null,
   name = "vim.VirtualMachine.exportVm",
   descriptionId = "VirtualMachine.exportVm",
   entity = 'vim.VirtualMachine:146',
   entityName = "win2022",
   locked = <unset>,
   state = "error",
   cancelled = false,
   cancelable = true,
   error = (vim.fault.Timedout) {
      faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null,
      faultMessage = <unset>
      msg = "Operation timed out."
   },
   result = <unset>,
   progress = 100,
   progressDetails = <unset>,
   reason = (vim.TaskReasonUser) {
      userName = "root"
   },
   queueTime = "xxxx-xx-xxTxx:xx:xx.xxxxxxx",
   startTime = "xx-xx-xxTxx:xx:xx.xxxxxxx",
   completeTime = "xx-xx-xxTxx:xx:xx.xxxxxxx",
   eventChainId = 498355,
   changeTag = <unset>,
   parentTaskKey = <unset>,
   rootTaskKey = <unset>,
   activationId = <unset>
}

Environment

ESXi

Cause

If OVF export fails with a timeout error, when using a browser to export OVF, it often takes time for files such as vmdk to complete downloading, and OVF export can fail due to various factors such as the browser or the network along the route.

Resolution

Use the OVF Tool.

Additional Information

The OVF Tool can be downloaded from the link below.

・Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Tool
https://developer.broadcom.com/tools/open-virtualization-format-ovf-tool/latest

For other information on using the OVF Tool, please refer to the following KB article.

・OVF Tool command syntax for exporting and deploying OVA/OVF packages
https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/319781/vcenter-server-ovftool.html