Cannot enable managment network...

[centre21]

I'm new to VMWare and VSphere and I was trying to log into a server with VSphere ESXi 4 but I kept getting hung up at the "Download Tools to Manage This Host From..." screen. I disabled the Management Network, hoping that it would allow me to bypass the login and get into the server, but it hung up at the "Download Tools..." screen again, only this time with a 0.0.0.0 IP. I tried to enable the Management Network again, but now I receive the error, "Management Network Interface Cannot Be Found". I'm not sure what that means and I'm having a heck of a time finding out.

[danm66]

Just to make sure I'm understanding what you've done...

Installed ESXi

browsed to the ESXi's management IP address with IE or Firefox from a windows system

Clicked on "download vsphere client"

And...you browser hangs at downloading client???

(see http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esxi_e_get_start.pdf for startup guide)

Disabling the management network will only make it impossible to connect to the host from the windows system and the client (when it's installed) useless.

Maybe try a different windows system to access the host from to download the client???

[centre21]

I'm sorry, I should have been more clear, that's on me.

A colleague of mine had actually built this system in which he has virtualized 2 instances of Server 2003 and one instance of Windows XP on one Dell server. The whole kit and kaboodle (server, server rack, UPS, KVM and switch) were then shipped to my location. So I'm trying to simply power up the VSphere software so I can access the virtualized systems within. Now, when I power on the server, I receive the message that it's looking for a location from which to download the management tools. Unforunatetly, that particular network is out of state, so I tried to disable the management network as a work-around, but I still received the message. Now when I try to re-enable the management network, I receive the error, "Management Network Interface Cannot Be Found".

So, to recap:

Received previously built system from another office out-of-state.

When powered up server, received message concerning location for management tools

Disabled Management Network, still received error

Tried to re-enable Management Network to point to local IP, received error, "Management Network Interface Cannot Be Found".

[danm66]

Ok, sounds like it's not finding the network adapter when it's getting powered on??? You might try reseating the nic if it's on a card. If it's an onboard, then shipping may have broken it. Verify in the system bios that the onboard nic is enabled, too.

Also, from the console, there should be an option to configure the management network. What do you see when you go into that screen?

[james887 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The screen you are seeing (Yellow screen with "download tools to .....) is the ESXi server screen. to manage the ESXi server and the VMs installed on it you need to connect a windows box, browse to the IP address (using a web browser) stated on the yellow screen and then download the VSphere client tool, obviously ensuring your network is working correctly. The VSphere client tool will then allow you to connect to the ESXi and manage it accordingl.

Hope this helps

James

[centre21]

James and Dan, both your answers are exactly what I'm running into. I was unaware that there wasn't an actual managment interface built into the VSphere installed on the server and that you have to actually connect remotely with another device to configure and access VMs. Thanks for all your help, I'll probably be back here really soon.

[pverbert]

Hi

I just ran into the same issue.

- ESXi 4 update 1 server running smoothly

- disabled the management interface on the server console (to avoid temporary IP conflict)

- so later on I tried to re-enable the mgmt network and I also got the error "Management Network Interface Cannot Be Found"

Obviously I cannot assign an interface for mgmt traffic untill the mgmt network has been enbaled, but the mgmt network refuses to start because it has no interfaces ...

Is this a bug or a feature?

I'm affraid my only option is to reset the system config to default 😕

Regards

Pieter

[f-seal]

I know this topic is kinda old, but I just ran into the same issue as pverbert above. ESXi 4, conflicting IPs, disabled managment network for 20 minutes to track down offender, now the management network will not start. I get the following error:

Management network interface cannot be found.

I'll keep digging and post what I find, but if some has already been down this path and knows the solution please feel free to throw it this way.

Thanks

[f-seal]

For future reference, I just figured out how to restart mine.

From the server console of the problem host, log into "tech support" mode. I used esxcfg-vmknic -l (lowercase L) to view my vmkernel port groups. This will display the whether the group is enabled or not and also the name of the group used for management. In my case it was labeled Management Network and the Enabled stat was listed as "false".

Next, I used the esxcfg-vmknic -e "Management Network" command to enable the port group. The system will display a line saying it will notify the DCUI of this change. Using the previous command with the -l switch should now show "true" in the Enabled stat. From there hit Alt+F2 for the gui. It will probably show the ip address of the managment network now. Log in and all should be back to normal. I tested OK.