Newly deployed vCenter Server 5.0U3 appliance will not allow any actions to be performed.

[ggathagan]

I just created a new vCenter 5.0U3 server, set up its IP address, used the web access via the 5480 port to set up its embedded database and the other various details.

Any attempt to access the web client on FireFox results in the browser locking up and requiring me to for FireFox to shut down. That's a side issue, though.

Access appears to work with IE10, the plug-in is installed and I can log into the server without issue.

That, however, is all I can do.

Right-clicking on the vCenter server icon results in a "No Actions available" message

When I navigate through the other areas of the interface, it appears to work properly.

I can select the Event console and see all of the various status messages listed.

I can select the plug-in adminstration and see the license client listed, but I cannot do anything else.

This is the 1st time I've used the 5.0 appliance, and the set up process differs slightly from the 5.5 appliance.

After selecting the "embedded" database type and clicking on "Save Settings", I was able to start vCenter, so I assumed it was ready to go.

I'm trying to use some of my older hardware to run small vm's at remote sites.

One server in particular is old enough that I have to use ESX 3.5U5.

vCenter Server 5.0U3 is the last version of the appliance that allows you to manage ESX 3.5 hosts, so I'm kinda' stuck.

I used the OVF and the two vmdk files to deploy the appliance on my host, and had no issues with the deployment or the initial setup steps.

I note that the  build number for the VMware vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3 Appliance (1302764) differs from the build number for the VMware vCenter Server 5.0 Update 3 and modules (1343691), although both are dated the same.

I can't imagine that to be an issue.

Any suggestions are welcome.

[Scisco]

Hi ggathagan,

I feel it may be permissions related or you don't have the integration plugin (bottom left of the browser screen at logon) installed correctly / fully?

[Scisco]

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=200409...

Also, can you check the log files please

[ggathagan]

Thanks for the response, Scisco

I'm logging in as root, so permissions shouldn't be an issue.

The appliance has quite a few logs:

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-client/server/serviceability/eventlogs/eventlog.log

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-client/server/serviceability/logs/help-0.0.0/log.log

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-client/server/serviceability/logs/access/localhost_access_log.2014-04-03.txt

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-client/server/serviceability/logs/com.vmware.vsphere.client.containerapp-1.0.0/log.log

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-client/server/serviceability/logs/com.vmware.vsphere.client.endpointsapp-1.0.0/log.log

/usr/lib/vmware-vsphere-client/server/serviceability/logs/dm-server/log.log

Which of the above would be applicable?

[Scisco]

Apologies Try these links - I must admit I have never had to troubleshoot web client logs in an appliance before, however I would suggest gather the log bundle and then open it up to see what logs it has to offer as a starting point.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=203288...

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=101164...

More Log information: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=102180...

I hope this is helpful, let me know what logs (using the first link I gave you) you can find with those names - similar or specifically logs\vsphere_client_virgo.log

[ggathagan]

Thanks again for your help,

The 1st link is related to vServer 5.1, not 5.0.

The interface is different in 5.0, or at least it does not display what that article describes.

The only logs that are available from the web client interface is through the "event Console", and that shows nothing that appears to relate to my issue.

The second link was more applicable to my circumstances.

Using the appliance interface that runs on port 5480, I was able to download the log bundle.

That bundle contains  more than 450 files, so I'm not sure where to begin.

I searched that bundle's contents, but could not find any log with "virgo" in the name.

Given the low priority of this project, I think I'll simply try  destroying this installation and starting from scratch, either trying again with the virtual appliance or with the Windows-based version of vSphere server 5.0.