Adding a host to vCenter - Datacenter.QueryConnectionInfo Error

Symptom: When adding a host to your vCenter Datacenter, you receive the following error:

Permission to perform this operation was denied. You do not hold privilege "System > View" on folder""

Error Stack
Call "Datacenter.QueryConnectionInfo" for object "DATACENTERNAME" on vCenter Server "myhost.mydomain" failed.
VMware - Error Datacenter.QueryConnectionInfo

Resolution: Make sure you have not enabled Lockdown mode on the host. To change the setting, use the direct console user interface (DCUI), and press F2. Login with your credentials and arrow down to Configure Lockdown Mode and hit enter. Make sure this option is disabled (unchecked) when the prompt opens. With Lockdown Mode disabled, try adding the host to vCenter.

Additionally, make sure that you can fully resolve the DNS name to the actual ESXi host.  If the DNS entry does not exist or points to an invalid ESXi host, the warning will be prompted as well.

If you still have issues, you can try restarting the Management Agents using the troubleshooting menu. Use the DCUI, press F2, login with your credentials, and arrow down to Troubleshooting Options and press Enter. Arrow down to Restart Management Agents and hit enter. This will restart some of the ESXi services on the host and should allow it to connect to vCenter.

7 thoughts on “Adding a host to vCenter - Datacenter.QueryConnectionInfo Error

  1. OB

    I faced the issue after recent updates from vCenter. I spent a lot of time reading but for no avail. Finally, I decided to remove updates or downgrade if possible. It worked fine for me. Esxi 5.5.0, but I guess the same will work with 5.x and 6.x.
    There are things you need to know to do the same:
    1. You have to install VMware vSphere CLI somewhere. I have done it on vCenter host, but it does not really matter.
    2. List all the installed packages:
    C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin>esxcli --server=esxi-host-name software vib list
    Here you can choose what exactly you want to downgrade.
    3. Now it is an example how to downgrade the particular vib. Your vCenter server listens to download requests on port 9084. You can browse the repository here: C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Update Manager\Data\hostupdate\vmw\vib20\misc-drivers
    Host must be in maintenance mode before issuing the downgrade command, though I don’t see any reason why.
    Actual command looks like this:
    c:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin>esxcli --server=esxi-host-name software vib install -v http://vcenter-host-name:9084/vum/repository/hostupdate/vmw/vib20/misc-drivers/VMware_bootbank_misc-drivers_5.5.0-3.68.3029944.vib
    You can check the whole URL putting it in browser. It should start receiving data. You cannot use web browser for walking through directory structure, so use file browser instead.

    Reply
  2. Corey LeBLanc

    Not sure if this helps anyone, or if anyone will ever see this. I had 5.5 U1 installed, I was experiencing this same error after trying to remove and re-add a host due to it not communicating properly with the vcenter anymore. (Was doing some vmware updates, vcenter wouldn't see the host properly (Host read as still in maintenance mode on vcen, where at the host level it wasn't, it was powered with all guests running).) After trying to remove and re-add the host following guides I read about this error, I decided to upgrade vCenter to 5.5U3 which didn't solve the problem(and I had to do some SSL stuff because of poodle) but it gave me a more specific error instead of this exact error that was datastore related. Essentially it was complaining that the datastore already existed on the vcenter. It was a local DS and therefore should have been removed when the host was removed. I looked at the datastores inventory and sure enough it was there! Then it hit me. I had restored a backup of a VM from that removed host for some dev purposes which had the CD drive ISO mapped to a datastore on that removed host. I unmounted the ISO from the vm (set to client device), and then the datastore disappeared from vcenter inventory and I was able to re add the host.

    This error is super generic and not very helpful. It wasn't until I went to 5.5u3 that the error was human interpretable.

    Reply
  3. israel

    Thanks for the info Jack, Carey, OB... and everyone :), is very usefull

    Just to put my grain of sand to understand this error that seems to be originited by multiple reasons, recentlty, upgrading one host from my farm (vSphere 5.5U2) using Update Manager, vCenter is unable to add the host again. After checking every point described in communities and forums (DNS, IPs, restart agents, check SSL versions, handshake time, etc...) problem still being the same: cannot connect ESX to vCenter and only have this ambigous error.

    Finally, checking on ssh session with "vmware -l" command, i figured out that host is now on vSphere5.5 U3 version (vCenter is 5.5 U2). Logically, the host cannot be on a greater version than vCenter, so this points the issue, and the fix can be upgrading vCenter, reinstalling host or rolling back patches installed on host (using OB procedure) I did not realize that patches to install in the baseline group for the host did included an upgrading... but insisting on what you said before, is so difficult for vmware to give some extra info about real cause of the problem? nowhere place (logs, errors on vcenter or host) gives any hint about if your problem is on network, security, versions, services or storage, it has no sense!!

    Reply

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