Validate that each troubleshooting step is true for your environment. Each step provides instructions to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Do not skip a step.

Problem

  • Installing VMware NSX Manager fails.
  • Upgrading VMware NSX Manager fails.
  • Logging in to VMware NSX Manager fails.
  • Accessing VMware NSX Manager fails.

Solution

  1. Check the NSX Release Notes for current releases to see if the problem is resolved in a bug fix.
  2. Ensure that the minimum system requirements are met when installing VMware NSX Manager.
    See the NSX Installation Guide.
  3. Verify that all required ports are open in NSX Manager.
    See the NSX Installation Guide.
  4. Installation issues:
    • If configuring the lookup service or vCenter Server fails, verify that the NSX Manager and lookup service appliances are in time sync. Use the same NTP server configurations on both NSX Manager and the lookup service. Also ensure that DNS is properly configured.
    • Verify that the OVA file is getting installed correctly. If an NSX OVA file cannot be installed, an error window in the vSphere client notes where the failure occurred. Also, verify and validate the MD5 checksum of the downloaded OVA/OVF file.
    • Verify that the time on the ESXi hosts is in sync with NSX Manager.
    • VMware recommends that you schedule a backup of the NSX Manager data immediately after installing NSX Manager.
  5. Upgrade issues:

    • Before upgrading, see the latest interoperability information in the Product Interoperability Matrixes page.

    • VMware recommends that you back up your current configuration and download technical support logs before upgrading.
    • A force-resync with the vCenter Server may be required after the NSX Manager upgrade. To do this, log in to the NSX Manager Web Interface GUI. Then go to Manage vCenter Registration > NSX Management Service > Edit and re-enter the password for the administrative user.
  6. Performance issues:
    • Ensure that the minimum vCPU requirements are met.
    • Verify that the root (/) partition has adequate space. You can verify this by logging in to the ESXi host and typing this command df -h.

      For example: 

      [root@esx-01a:~] df -h
Filesystem   Size   Used Available Use% Mounted on
NFS        111.4G  80.8G     30.5G  73% /vmfs/volumes/ds-site-a-nfs01
vfat       249.7M 172.2M     77.5M  69% /vmfs/volumes/68cb5875-d887b9c6-a805-65901f83f3d4
vfat       249.7M 167.7M     82.0M  67% /vmfs/volumes/fe84b77a-b2a8860f-38cf-168d5dfe66a5
vfat       285.8M 206.3M     79.6M  72% /vmfs/volumes/54de790f-05f8a633-2ad8-00505603302a
    • Use the esxtop command to check which processes are using large amounts of CPU and memory.
    • If the NSX Manager encounters any out-of-memory errors in the logs, verify that the /common/dumps/java.hprof file exists. If this file exists, create a copy of the file and include this with the NSX technical support log bundle.
    • Verify that there are no storage latency issues in the environment.
    • Attempt to migrate the NSX Manager to another ESXi host.
  7. Connectivity issues:

    • If NSX Manager is having connectivity issues either with vCenter Server or the ESXi host, log in to the NSX Manager CLI console, run the command: debug connection IP_of_ESXi_or_VC, and examine the output.

    • Verify that the Virtual Center Web management services is started and the browser is not in an error state.
    • If the NSX Manager Web User Interface (UI) is not updating, you can attempt to resolve the issue by disabling and then re-enabling the Web services. See https://kb.vmware.com/kb/2126701.
    • Verify which port group and uplink NIC is used by the NSX Manager using the esxtop command on the ESXi host. For more information, see https://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003893.
    • Attempt to migrate the NSX Manager to another ESXi host.
    • Check the NSX Manager virtual machine appliance. In the vSphere Web Client, navigate to Networking & Security > System > Events. Make sure that you are in the Monitor tab, and then view the system events and tasks.

    • If the NSX Manager is having connectivity issues with vCenter Server, attempt to migrate the NSX Manager to the same ESXi host where the vCenter Server virtual machine is running to eliminate possible underlying physical network issues.

      Note that this only works if both virtual machines are on the same VLAN/port group.

    • If you change the credentials of the vCenter Server user account with the Administrator role, you must update the credentials in the NSX Manager virtual appliance. Update the vCenter Server with the new credentials in the NSX Manager virtual appliance.