Unintended SNMP service activation post vCenter Server upgrade

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

After you upgrade the vCenter Server, the system unexpectedly enables and starts the SNMP daemon (snmpd). This behavior occurs even if you explicitly disabled the SNMP service before performing the upgrade.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Cause

During the vCenter Server upgrade sequence, a logical discrepancy within the internal upgrade script incorrectly handles the pre-existing configuration state of the SNMP service.

Resolution

All versions up to and including vCenter Server 8.0 U3j are affected.
An upcoming patch release will resolve this issue.
To disable the SNMP agent immediately and restore your previous configuration, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to the vCenter Server root via SSH.
2. Run this command to disable the SNMP agent:

     /bin/vicfg-snmp --disable

3. Run this command to verify that the SNMP agent is disabled:

     /bin/vicfg-snmp --status