Do host queries failed, while running the Dell VxVerify script

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Recently I was tasked to upgrade a Dell VxRail cluster with version 7.0.411.

One of the prerequisites is running the Dell VxVerify (Python) script on the Dell VxRail Manager to verify if your Dell VxRail cluster is ready for the upgrade. The Dell VxRail cluster I performed this upgrade on has an external vCenter.  Download the latest version of the Dell VxVerify script here (login required).

By default, the user “mystic” doesn’t have the appropriate permissions to run all the tests from the VxVerify script. After copying the “vxverify_x-xx-xxx.pyc” to the /tmp/vxv directory (i.e. WinSCP) open a PuTTY session to the Dell VxRail Manager and connect with the “mystic” user.

Run the following commands to execute the script:

su
chmod 777 /tmp/vxv/vxverify_x-xx-xxx.pyc
python /tmp/vxv/vxverify_x-xx-xxx.pyc -r root

Enter the root password of your vCenter Server Appliance.

In my situation, I took some time after that and then I got the following error message:

Do host queries failed. See vxv.log for details.
Rerun vxv as root or use sudo method as described in KB 21627

Consulting the vxv.log (cat /tmp/vxv/vxv.log) showed me the log from the screenshot, it looks like it cannot connect to the VxRail Nodes (ESXi Hosts), it times out:

This means I don’t know if my VxRail Cluster is ready for the upgrade or if I could face issues during the upgrade…

Solution

If you face this exact same error or a similar issue like this. Please try the following to solve or avoid this issue: Cold Boot the iDRAC from all VxRail Nodes (ESXi Hosts) within the VxRail Cluster!!!

A cold boot of the iDRAC can be performed in three ways:

  1. IPMI Tool from the VxRail Node (ESXi Host)
  2. iDRAC Web UI
  3. RACADM Tool

1. IPMI Tool from VxRail Node (ESXi Host)

Enable SSH on the VxRail Node

Connect with PuTTY to the VxRail Node.

Execute this command to cold boot the iDRAC (doesn’t impact the VxRail node): /opt/vxrail/tools/ipmitool mc reset cold

Wait for 5 to 10 minutes till the iDRAC responds again.

Run this command to test this, it should give a passed: /opt/vxrail/tools/ipmitool mc selftest

2. iDRAC Web UI

  1. Connect to the iDRAC Web interface.
  2. Log in to the interface by entering the username and password.
  3. Click the Maintenance tab.
  4. Select Diagnostics.
  5. Click Reboot iDRAC to perform a cold boot.

To perform a cold boot with the iDRAC9 Web interface

3. RACADM Tool

Download the iDRAC RACADM Command Line tool from the Dell website.
Run the following command: racadm -r <iDRAC IP> -u <username> -p <password> racreset cold
Repeat the steps for all VxRail Nodes.

Rerun the VxVerify script

After cold booting, all iDRACs from the VxRail nodes try to run the VxVerify script again.
Probably you’ll see the below result after all tests are complete.
The warnings can be skipped, because we use an external vCenter Server and also using NSX(-T) on this VxRail Cluster.

Hope this blog helps you in the journey of upgrading Dell VxRail clusters.