VMware Tools install or upgrade failed - error code = 21001

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to install or upgrade VMWare Tools on Linux VMs, the following error is encountered:

The required VMware Tools ISO image does not exist or is inaccessible. vix error code = 21001 The VMware Tools image is inaccessible Unable to install VMware Tools. An error occurred while trying to access image file "/usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/linux.iso" needed to install VMware Tools: 2 (No such file or directory). Please refer the product documentation or KB article 2129825 for details about how to get VMware Tools package for this guest operating system.

• In the ESXi, log located at /vmfs/volumes/xxxxxxxx-datastore-uuid-xxxxxxxxxxx/<vm>/vmware.log gives error similar as below:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05) vmx - ToolsISO: Selected Tools ISO 'linux.iso' for 'rhel7-64' guest.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05) vmx - TOOLS INSTALL '/usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/linux.iso' not present or not readable
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05) vmx - ToolsISO: Refreshing imageName for 'rhel7-64' (refreshCount=1, lastCount=1).
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05) vmx - ToolsISO: Updated cached value for imageName to 'linux.iso'.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05) vmx - ToolsISO: Selected Tools ISO 'linux.iso' for 'rhel7-64' guest.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05) vmx - TOOLS INSTALL Initialization failed.

Environment

• ESXi 7.x
• ESXi 8.x
• ESX 9.x

Cause

VMware Tools for Linux (linux.iso) has been discontinued in favor of 'open-vm-tools' and is no longer available beyond version 10.3.x.

Resolution

For Linux Guest OS, it is recommended to use Open VM Tools 'open-vm-tools'. The package for open-vm-tools is provided by the operating system vendor, and can be managed as part of OS updates. Refer: VMware support for open-vm-tools.

Before installing or upgrading VMWare Tools, verify the Guest OS compatibility on Broadcom Compatibility Guide. 

Additional Information

VMWare Tools compatibility with Guest OS, refer: VMware Tools compatibility with guest operating systems