Problem: How to stop, start, or restart vCenter Server 6.x services
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
Solution:
In VMware vCenter Server 6.x, VMware recommends to use the vSphere Web Client or Service Control command-line tool to stop, start, or restart vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller services. This process is different from previous versions of vCenter Server with the Microsoft Windows Services snap-in.
Starting vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller services
To start a vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller service if it is has stopped using the vSphere Web Client:
1. Log in to the vSphere Web Client with a vCenter Single Sign-on administrator account.
2. Navigate to Administration> Deployment> System Configuration.
3 Click on Services to view the list of all services within the vCenter Server system.
4.To view a list of services for a specific node, click Nodes, select the node in question and click the Related Objects tab.
5. Right-click on the service you would like to start and select Start.
Notes:
- If you restart Inventory Service in the preceding method, the Inventory Service starts but the services depending on the Inventory Service fail to start.
- This issue will not be fixed as Inventory Service will be removed in the future release of vCenter Server.
- To work around this issue, log in to Windows Machine and restart Inventory Service.
- This issue does not occur in vCenter Server Appliance.
To start a vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller service if it is has stopped using the command-line:
1. Log in as an administrator to the server that is running vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller.
2. Open an administrative command prompt.
3. Run this command to change to the vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller installation directory:
cd C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\bin
Note: This command uses the default installation path. If you have installed vCenter Server and/or Platform Services controller to another location, modify this command to reflect the correct install location.
4. Run this command to list the vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller services:
service-control --list
5. Run this command to start a specific service:
service-control --start servicename
6/ Run this command to start all services:
service-control --start --all
7. To perform a dry run of the command, add the option --dry-run to the command. This displays the actions that command run without executing the actions.
For example:
service-control --start --all --dry-run
Stopping vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller services
To stop a vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller service if it has started using the vSphere Web Client:
1. Log in to the vSphere Web Client with a vCenter Single Sign-on administrator account.
2; Navigate to Administration> Deployment> System Configuration.
3; Click Services to view the list of all services within the vCenter Server system.
4. view the services for a specific node, click Nodes, select the node in question and click the Related Objects tab.
5. Right-click on the service you would like to stop and select Stop.
To stop a vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller service if it is has started using the command-line:
1. Log in as an administrator to the server that is running vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller.
2. Open an administrative command prompt.
3. Run this command to change to vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller installation directory:
cd C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\bin
Note: This command uses the default installation path. If you have installed vCenter Server and/or Platform Services controller to another location, modify this command to reflect the correct install location.
4. Run this command to list the vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller services:
service-control --list
5. Run this command to stop a specific service:
service-control --stop servicename
6. Run this command to stop all services:
service-control --stop --all
7, To perform a dry run of the command, add the option --dry-run to the command. This displays the actions that command run, without executing the actions.
For example:
service-control --stop --all --dry-run
Restarting vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller services
To restart vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller service using the vSphere Web Client:
1. Log in to the vSphere Web Client with a vCenter Single Sign-on administrator account.
2. Navigate to Administration> Deployment> System Configuration.
3. Click on Services to view the list of all services within the vCenter Server system.
4. To view the services for a specific node, click Nodes, select the node in question and click the Related Objects tab.
5. Right-click on the service you would like to restart and select Restart.
To restart vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller service using the command-line:
1. Log in as an administrator to the server that is running vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller.
2. Open an administrative command prompt.
3. Run this command to change to vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller installation directory:
cd C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\bin
Note: This command uses the default installation path. If you have installed vCenter Server and/or Platform Services controller to another location, modify this command to reflect the correct install location.
4. Run this command to list the vCenter Server and/or Platform Services Controller services:
service-control --list
5. Run this command to stop a specific service:
service-control --stop servicename
6. Run this command to stop all services:
service-control --stop --all
7. Run this command to start a specific service:
service-control --start servicename
8. Run this command to start all services:
service-control --start --all
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VMware KB 2109881