Heartbeat Datastores

[elihuj]

If a VM cannot access datastores used for heartbeating, is it possible that it would exhibit an alarm like "HA virtual machine monitoring error" with a reason of "VMware Tool heartbeat failure"?

[zXi_Gamer · Accepted solution]

Wow.. multiple topics in one question

The heartbeat of the datastores is used by Storage DRS cluster and checks if a Datastore is offline, then it would try to migrate or a DS near to full. The VMware Tool heartbeat failure which you are receiving is a part of HA options for monitoring VM [tools only].

HA virtual machine monitoring error  is a result of the HA detecting that it is not getting any heartbeats from the vmware tools of the guest which could be offlined due to the datastore is missing or detached by someone :smileymischief:

[elihuj]

Thank you for the reply zXi_Gamer. I completely forgot that the heartbeat of the datastores is used for Storage DRS to check if datastores are offline. That makes much more sense now.

Your second response also is fitting to my issue. The VM was showing VMware Tools as not connected. Restarting the VM Tools service did not resolve the problem. After a reboot though, the HA alarm did not return. Out of curiosity, is there another way to fix a problem with VM Tools short of a reboot?

Thanks again!

[zXi_Gamer]

The VM was showing VMware Tools as not connected. Restarting the VM Tools service did not resolve the problem.

Well, if restarting the tools did not resolve the problem, then the issue is in the vmware tools inside the guest. I have seen cases where the tools go to Unknown or not running state, if there is too much of stress inside the guest.

However, in your case, we need to corner why the tools is not starting properly inside the guest. Look for vmware.log file in the virtual machine directory any information on why the tools is not starting [Wild guess, an upgrade might be required]

[elihuj]

The running state was either Unkown or not running.. I can't remember exactly. Prior to rebooting the VM, I did verify that VM tools was up to date. I also don't believe the VM was being taxed either. It's a small print server, and all stats looked nominal.

I'm combing through the vmware.log files now.. but don't really see anything standing out. Is there anything specific I should be looking for?

[zXi_Gamer]

The running state was either Unkown or not running.

Could mean that the tools service has stopped working or the automatic start is disabled. In services.msc, look for vmwaretools and start it manually, if you find any errors popped out, post here.

Also, upload the vmware.log, I can also check for any interesting pointers about vmware tools

[UmeshAhuja]

Hi,

Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > double-click the VMware Tools icon, There you will see VMware Tools Service running or not.

And if not will recommend to uninstall the service and re-install to resolve the issue.

[elihuj]

That was the strange thing. When I logged into the server, the VM Tools service was running. I restarted it and verified that it did restart successfully, and there were no associated errors. A reboot of the server last night did resolve the issue.

[zXi_Gamer]

I am confused here. So your issue is resolved here after rebooting the server ??

[elihuj]

Yes sorry! I should have been clearer in my original post! All is well.. I was just wondering if there is another way to clear this error other than a reboot.

[zXi_Gamer]

If you have a HA configured, then you can disable the VM monitoring based on tools. BUT, ONLY if you dont want the HA to monitor the VM failover. Else, you can modify the intervals which HA takes to make the VM as failed to receive hearbeat.