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Our VMWare ESXi host is sending VMWare Server requests (port 902) every five or so seconds to a private IP address that is not in the subnet.

For reference, the ESXi server is on a Class B address and it's trying to connect to a Class C address. I only discovered this after reviewing firewall traffic logs for another issue.

Where do I go to find out why this is occurring?

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  • The VCenter agent installed in the past ? – yagmoth555♦ Jun 7 '16 at 18:07
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    Do an nslookup against the IP address, see what it is - oh and I'm going to upvote you for using 'class-B/C', not heard those terms for over a decade, bless... :) – Chopper3 Jun 7 '16 at 18:08
  • I forgot to mention the address it tries to hit is private - so it's not routable. The firewall just drops it. @yagmoth555 To my knowledge there's never been a VCenter server or agent installed – IAmTheSquidward Jun 7 '16 at 18:15
  • Is that IP a VM? If so this is normal behavior, there is a post on VMware site about this. If I can find the link I will post it here. – htm11h Jun 7 '16 at 19:43
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An old config from a vcenter agent must still be there in the esxi, as please see the fact there : Required ports for VMware vCenter Server 5.5 (2051575)

902

TCP/UDP

This is the default port used by the vCenter Server system to send data to managed hosts. Managed hosts also send a regular heartbeat over UDP port 902 to the vCenter Server system. This port must not be blocked by firewalls between the server and the hosts or between hosts.

Please follow that KB to remove any trace from Vcenter : Uninstalling vpxa in ESXi (1005482)

To uninstall the vpxa agent:

1.From the main yellow and gray screen on the ESXi host, press Alt-F1.

2.At the next screen, type:

unsupported

3.When prompted, enter the root password.

4.Execute the following command:

/opt/vmware/uninstallers/VMware-vpxa-uninstall.sh

Note: The vpxa agent automatically re-installs once the ESXi host is connected to vCenter Server.

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  • I don't have that script in my system. Running 'ls /opt/vmware' returns only the folder 'vpxa', which is empty. – IAmTheSquidward Jun 8 '16 at 12:37
  • @IAmTheSquidward Confirm me your version of ESX, I will check in my lab if I can find the config file related to vpxa – yagmoth555♦ Jun 8 '16 at 12:42
  • ESXi 5.5.0, 1331820 – IAmTheSquidward Jun 8 '16 at 13:17
  • @IAmTheSquidward On my 5.5's host, the file was there; /etc/vmware/vpxa/, vpxa.cfg and the ip is in a <serverIp> header. – yagmoth555♦ Jun 8 '16 at 13:25
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    So, looks like it was a cached entry. It's been three years of uptime, which is before I took over administration, so I didn't know about it! Restarting the vpxa service fixed it altogether. – IAmTheSquidward Jun 8 '16 at 19:42

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