Controlled Shutdown and Power Options for vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) VM

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Administrators may need to perform a controlled shutdown of the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) for maintenance during hardware upgrades or site power-down events

Environment

• ESXi 8.x
• ESX 9.x
• VMware vCenter Server

Resolution

Note: Ensure that you have noted on which ESXi host the vCenter VM is running before beginning of the shutdown process.
If vCenter is shut down, you must connect directly to the ESXi host to power it back on.

There are two primary methods to "Shut Down Guest OS" vs "Power Off/Power On" vCenter server VM  during a Datacenter Maintenance Activity

Option 1: Using the vCenter Server Management Interface (VAMI)

This is the preferred method for a graceful shutdown of the appliance services and operating system via a web browser.

1. Open a web browser and navigate to the VAMI URL using port 5480.
   Format: https://<vCenter-FQDN-or-IP>:5480
2. Log in using the root credentials.
3. On the top-right corner of the summary page, click the Actions button.
4. Select Reboot or Shut Down from the drop-down menu.
5. Confirm the action when prompted.

Option 2: Using the VMware Host Client

If the vCenter Server is inaccessible or if the VAMI is not responding, you can manage the power state directly from the VMware host client where the vCenter VM is residing.

1. Log in to the VMware Host Client using a web browser.
2. In the Virtual Machines inventory, locate the vCenter Server VM.
3. Click on the vCenter VM to open its summary page.
4. Click the Actions button located in the center-top of the interface.
5. Navigate to Power and choose one of the following:
6. Shut Down Guest OS: (Recommended) Performs a graceful shutdown of the operating system before powering off the VM.
7. Power Off: (Hard Shutdown) Immediately cuts power to the VM. This should only be used if the Guest OS is unresponsive, as it may result in data corruption.

Additional Information

Shutdown or Restart of a Guest operating System using VMware host client