Error: "vCenter auto-configuration failed – Failed to configure ESXi host [hostname]" alert triggered daily

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• VMware Aria Operations for Logs sends daily email alert notifications reporting an auto-configuration failure.

• The alert details show:

  vCenter auto-configuration failed – Failed to configure ESXi host <ESXi_FQDN or IP>
  
  

• Out of multiple ESXi hosts managed by the vCenter Server, the failure specifically impacts one or a subset of ESXi hosts, while all other hosts complete auto-configuration successfully.

• The error occurs following an upgrade of vCenter Server / ESXi hosts or certificate/configuration changes.

Environment

• VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8.x
• VMware vCenter Server 9.x
• VMware ESXi 9.x

Cause

ESXi 9.x populates the syslog parameter and appends the syslog address with: udp://##.##.##.##:514?formatter=RFC-1364

Aria Operations for Logs 8.x does not process the appended parameter ?formatter=RFC-1364, causing auto-configuration alerts to trigger.

Resolution

Follow these steps to resolve the issue:

Disable automatic ESXi host configuration in Aria Operations for Logs:

1. Go to Integrations > vSphere.
2. Click the kebab menu (three vertical dots) and select Edit next to a 9.x instance.
3. Select Manage ESXi hosts configuration.
4. Select VIEW DETAILS.
5. Deselect the option to Automatically configure all ESXi hosts. 
6. Click SAVE in the upper-right of the UI.

Update Syslog configuration in vSphere Client:

1. In the vSphere Client, expand the cluster housing the ESXi 9.x hosts.
2. Select an impacted ESXi 9.x host.
3. Navigate to Configure > Advanced System Settings, click EDIT in the upper-right of the UI.
4. Locate the configuration setting Syslog.global.logHost (around page 33 of the configurations).
5. Remove the appended ?formatter=RFC-1364 parameter from the destination address.
   

   Example Configuration:
   
   Before:

   udp://##.##.##.##:514?formatter=RFC-1364
tcp://##.##.##.##:514?formatter=RFC-1364
   
   After:
   
   udp://##.##.##.##:514
tcp://##.##.##.##:514

6. Click OK to save the Configuration.