Need to resize disks on management VM - 5.5

[Melissa3055]

We are on 5.5 Update 3 and have Essentials.  I have been resizing disks and moving virtual machines from one host to another.  I am down to the virtual machine which is my management server for Vcenter.  In order to change disk size the machine has to be powered off.  If it is powered off, I can't manage it.  What is the best way to do this?  Can I clone the machine while it is running, then remote into  that machine, power off the initial machine, resize the disk and restart.  Then delete the clone.  Will all the management tools work, Vsphere Web Client, Standalone converter, etc. that are currently installed and working on the management server.

Hope this makes sense.  Thanks for any help.

[daphnissov]

I'm not clear, when you say

which is my management server for Vcenter

do you mean this is vCenter Server itself? If that's so, you can still power it off and resize it, you'll just have to use the vSphere client to do so when logging into the host where it's registered.

[rcporto]

Any reason why you need to power down the virtual machine to be able to increase the disk size?

[cyberpaul]

Hi,

definitely use your vSphere client to connect directly to the ESXi host on which your vCenter VM resides. Then you can safely power it off, edit and power back on.

If you only use the web client on your vCenter for management, I suggest to temporarily download and install the good old C# client for this occasion 🙂 You can download it from any of your hosts at https://<host_IP>

Cheers, Pavel

[Melissa3055]

I am not well versed on VMware so I will try to explain as best I can.  I have 2 hosts. I have a Windows VM on one of the hosts where I have the VCenter Client and Standalone converter loaded.  In the VSphere client, both hosts and all the VMs are visible, including the one I am using to view the inventory.  If I shut down this VM then I need to connect to something from my workstation in order to resize the disks for the Virtual Machine.

In a browser from my desktop, I can connect to the IP of each of the hosts.  I get the VMware ESXi Welcome screen with some links to download the client, documentation, etc.

I can also connect to the IP address of the Virtual Machine on port 9443 and it loads the Vsphere Web client.  But if that VM is shut down, I won't be able to connect to it.

The only way I can think of to resize the disks for the VM I usually run VSphere client on is to clone the VM, shut down the original, resize the disks on the original, then restart the original and delete the one I cloned.  I am not even sure that it would work.  The only way I have managed any of the VMs in the past is through the Virtual Machine I loaded the client and converter on, which is the one I am trying to modify the disks on.

I don't know if this helps.

[Melissa3055]

I had the original client downloaded (not sure if it is the C# client), but in 5.5 I can't edit the settings through that client, I can only edit settings through the VSphere web client.  (At least from what I can tell).

[pwolf]

Then you use the wrong credentials on your Full C# Client. Note, that you must use the credentials for the ESXi host, they are, if not specifically so created, different from the credentials for the Vcenter. (Best bet is "root", with the correct password).

[cyberpaul]

I see. You are probably using hardware version 10 for your vCenter VM, which is the reason why you cannot edit its settings using the C# client.

Well, you should be able to expand virtual disks without powering off the VM. This is the simplest and preferred solution.

If that does not work (for whatever reason), you might try the embedded host client: ESXi Embedded Host Client​. You would install it directly to the ESXi that hosts your vCenter VM and then use your browser to edit the vCenter VM settings at: https://<esxi ip or hostname>/ui

Let us know how that works for you 🙂

[Melissa3055]

Yes, I am using hardware version 10 so I can only use Vsphere Web Client.  I can expand the disks without powering off, but the only way to shrink disks is to use the Standalone Converter, which has to be with the VM off.   Which is why I was thinking the cloning route to shrink.

[cyberpaul]

Hi Mellisa, ok, shrinking disks is a different beast altogether. I think your "cloning" procedure should work, however I suggest to keep the original vCenter VM on all the time and perform all operations on the clone. So the procedure would be as follows:

1. create a clone of your vCenter VM
2. use the Standalone Converter to shrink disks on the clone
3. try if the shrinked VM boots without a network connection, check if everything looks fine
4. power down the original vCenter VM and start the shrinked one (with network)

You might need to use the C# client for number 4. If anything goes wrong, you still have the original vCenter intact.

[batuhandemirdal]

Hi,

I think that if you have a backup or a test environment before you do these operations, or if you have a testing environment, I would recommend that you first apply these operations here.