vSphere Client Inventory Empty with High CPU Usage on vmware-vpxd
search cancel

vSphere Client Inventory Empty with High CPU Usage on vmware-vpxd

book

Article ID: 424780

calendar_today

Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Users report that while they can successfully log in to the vSphere Client via the HTML5 UI, the inventory pane fails to display any objects such as hosts, VMs or clusters. The interface appears blank or stuck loading.

Preliminary diagnostics indicate:

  • All vCenter services are reported as "Running" in the VAMI or CLI.
  • Disk usage on the vCenter Appliance is within healthy limits.
  • The vmware-vpxd service is consuming an abnormally high percentage of CPU resources as seen in top.
  • Associated ESXi hosts may exhibit configuration drift, missing patches, or ceased logging subsystems - for example, vmkernel.log has stopped updating.

Environment

  • 6.7
  • 7.x
  • 8.x

 

 

Cause

The vmware-vpxd service has entered a hung state and is consuming excessive CPU resources, preventing the vSphere Client from rendering inventory data. This state is frequently observed in environments with prolonged uptime exceeding 1 year, where regular maintenance windows, service restarts, or critical patches have not been applied.

Contributing factors identified in this scenario include:

  1. Resource Exhaustion: Long-running processes failing to release CPU locks.
  2. Host Instability: ESXi hosts with stopped logging daemons and significant patch debt such as missing BIOS/ESXi updates are contributing to communication instability with vCenter.

Resolution

To restore immediate access to the inventory, the vCenter service must be restarted. A subsequent maintenance window is required to address the root stability issues on the hosts.

  1. Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance via SSH as root.
  2. Verify the high CPU usage: top (Press Shift + P to sort by CPU).
  3. Restart the affected service:

service-control --stop vmware-vpxd
service-control --start vmware-vpx

Log out and log back in to the vSphere Client to verify the inventory is visible.

 

Additional Information

Ensure routine maintenance windows are scheduled to apply security patches and reboot components to prevent resource exhaustion associated with extreme uptime.

Powered by Wolken Software