ESXi 6.7U1 (& maybe 6.7) and CentOS 7 Guest OS Problem

[al3xm]

Hi,

Last night I upgraded my server from 6.5U2 to 6.7U1 but I have a minor problem. 

It was fine on 6.5U2, but on 6.7U1 it says:

The configured guest OS (CentOS 7 (64-bit)) for this virtual machine does not match the guest that is currently running (CentOS 6 (64-bit)). You should specify the correct guest OS to allow for guest-specific optimizations.

It’s definitely running CentOS 7 and it says CentOS 7 in the .vmx file.

Any ideas?

Alex

[vmrale]

Hi,

what I see You didn't upgrade virtual hardware from version 13 to 14. It requires to power off the VM. When it's powered off, check what OS is chosen in Edit Settings > VM Options.

[al3xm]

Hi,

I tried updating to version 14 and I get the same error. The OS under 'Edit Settings > VM Options' is 'CentOS 7 (64-bit)'. I tried unregistering/registering and changing the the OS to 'CentOS 6 (64bit)', saved it, then changed it back to 'CentOS 7 (64bit)' and it still gave me that error!

Alex

[al3xm]

...while it was changed to CentOS 6 I checked whether the error went went away and it did. It's definitely running CentOS 7 and it was perfectly happy running under 6.5U2

[vmrale]

Does this machine have a snapshot made in 6.5? Try to delete the snapshots and upgrade virtual hardware.

[al3xm]

No, it has no snapshots. I have upgraded the virtual hardware to 14 on one server (there are 3x CentOS 7 servers, all with identical problem) to see whether it helps but it still says its running CentOS 6.

I have had a search and this similar one came up (for an earlier version)?...

Centos 7.3 x64 Not correctly recognised · Issue #182 · vmware/open-vm-tools · GitHub

[sk84]

With vSphere 6.7U1, we are using the OS spec "CentOS 4/5 or later (64bit)" for CentOS 7.3 / 7.4 VMs.

In addition we have set the vmx version to 14 and installed the open-vm-tools version 10.2.5 (open-vm-tools-10.2.5-3.el7.x86_64).

That combination runs without any problems in our infrastructure.

[al3xm]

Thanks sk84, I know its only a minor problem... I would like to know if its ESXi or open-vm-tools at fault though! :smileylaugh: (On 6.5U2 it was OK, the error only popped up after I upgraded it to 6.7U1)

Just to test, I created a new VM (CentOS 7.6.1810) with latest compatibility (6.7U1, version 14).... and the error was the same.

[sk84]

There has been a similar problem in the past with RHEL / CentOS 7. At that time the vmtools were to blame:

0013602: ESXi 6.5 shows a centos 7 guest as centos 4/5 - CentOS Bug Tracker

Centos 7.4 x64 not correctly recognised on ESXi 5.5U3 · Issue #197 · vmware/open-vm-tools · GitHub

As already mentioned I would try the operating system specification "CentOS 4/5 or later (64bit)".

[McMissile]

I have the same problems

I have ESXi-6.7.0U2 build 13981272
and vCenter Server Appliance 6.7.0.32000
vSphere Web Client  Version 6.7.0.30000 Build 14070642

1) Example

I am created first test VM with properties:

Compatibility:  ESXi 6.7 Update 2 and later (VM version 15)

Guest OS:  CentOS 7 (64-bit)
BootOptions Firmware:  BIOS
Then I am install fresh CentOS-7.6.1810 and update kernel to 3.10.0-957.21.3.el7.x86_64   Result:

In vSphere Web Client (HTML5)  I see correct Guest OS - CentOS 7 (64-bit)
In vSphere Web Client (FLEX)     I see correct Guest OS - CentOS 7 (64-bit)

Then I install open-vm-tools (version:10309 Guest Managed) Result:

In vSphere Web Client (HTML5)  I see NOT correct Guest OS - CentOS 6 (64-bit)
In vSphere Web Client (FLEX)     I see correct Guest OS - CentOS 7 (64-bit)

But when I try use Update Manager i have an error: VMware Tools is not installed or is not managed by the VMware vSphere platform.

Then I remove open-vm-tools and install VMware Tools (version: 10341 Current) Result:

In vSphere Web Client (HTML5)  I see NOT correct Guest OS - CentOS 6 (64-bit)
In vSphere Web Client (FLEX)     I see correct Guest OS - CentOS 7 (64-bit)

And now when I try use Update Manager i have no errors

2) Example

I am created second VM and change BootOptions Firmware to:  EFI
But all errors repeated. 😞

Is there a solution to this problem or still not?

[hwidjaja]

CentOS' open-vm-tools has a bug identifying CentOS 7

Workarounds:
- Replace CentOS' open-vm-tools with latest one from  GitHub - vmware/open-vm-tools: Official repository of VMware open-vm-tools project

- Remove CentOS' open-vm-tools and Install VMware Tools (Guest OS -> Install VMware Tools)

[Mareg]

This helped me.

I choosed "Action -> Upgrade VM Compatibily", select the lastest version (6.7 U2) from the list.

After this I got option in "Edit settings -> VM Options -> Guest OS Version" for CentOS 7 (64-bit)

--

Mareg