RDP and Console access fail for virtual machines with GuestRpcSendTimedOut errors

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections fail or time out.
• The "Send Ctrl+Alt+Del" command from the vSphere Client console does not respond.
• VM management operations in the vCenter UI may appear greyed out.
• VMware Tools status may fluctuate or show as "Not Running."
• In the vmware.log (/vmfs/volumes/<datastore_name>/<vm_name>/vmware.log):
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.XXXZ In(05) vmx - GuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox timed out.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.XXXZ In(05) vmx - Tools: [AppStatus] Last heartbeat value 3352988 (last received 9s ago)
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.XXXZ In(05) vmx - TOOLS: appName=toolbox, oldStatus=1, status=2, guestInitiated=0.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.XXXZ In(05) vmx - GuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox timed out.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.XXXZ In(05) vmx - GuestRpc: app toolbox's second ping timeout; assuming app is down
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.XXXZ In(05) vmx - Tools: [AppStatus] Last heartbeat value 3352988 (last received 29s ago)
  
  

Cause

The GuestRpcSendTimedOut error occurs when the Guest OS is unable to schedule or execute the VMware Tools process, typically due to extreme resource starvation (CPU/Memory contention) or an internal process hang within the Guest OS.

Resolution

1. Check Physical Resource Utilization:
   1. Verify the CPU and Memory utilization of the ESXi host to rule out physical resource contention.
2. Validate Storage Resources:
   1. Check for storage latency or contention issues that may be impacting the VM's ability to communicate.
3. Analyze VMware Logs:
   1. Locate the vmware.log file for the virtual machine: /vmfs/volumes/<datastore_name>/<vm_name>/vmware.log
   2. Look for the specific GuestRpcSendTimedOut error messages.
4. Perform ESXTOP Analysis: ESXTOP overview for Performance Troubleshooting
   1. Run esxtop on the ESXi host.
   2. Monitor the following columns for CPU, MEM, and Storage to identify bottlenecks:
      1. CPU: %RDY, %CSTP
      2. MEM: MCTLSZ, SWCUR
      3. Storage: DAVG/cmd, KAVG/cmd
5. Engage OS Vendor:
   1. If resources appear normal, engage the Guest OS vendor to perform a memory dump analysis to identify the internal process causing the hang.

Additional Information

Troubleshooting ESX/ESXi virtual machine performance issues

Troubleshooting a virtual machine that has stopped responding (VM hang/freeze)

Converting virtual machine snapshots to memory dumps in VMware vSphere