A Quick Guide to Installing and Using lsdoctor for vCenter Troubleshooting

The lsdoctor tool is designed to help diagnose and resolve common issues related to the VMware vCenter Lookup Service. Here’s a quick overview of how to install, launch, and utilize its various functions effectively.

🛠️ Installation

To get started with lsdoctor, download the ZIP file provided and transfer it to the target node using a file transfer tool like WinSCP. If you encounter issues connecting to a vCenter Appliance using WinSCP, refer to VMware’s documentation for troubleshooting.

Steps:

  1. Transfer the ZIP file to your vCenter node.
  2. Extract the ZIP file:
    • VCSA (vCenter Server Appliance):
bash
unzip lsdoctor.zip

Key Functions of lsdoctor

The lsdoctor tool comes with various options for checking and fixing issues in the vCenter Lookup Service:

  1. --lscheck (-l): Checks for common issues without making changes.
    • Usage: python lsdoctor.py -l
    • Follow-up: Review the JSON report for findings.
  2. --pscHaUnconfigure (-p): Removes a PSC High Availability configuration.
    • Usage: python lsdoctor.py -p
    • Follow-up: Restart services and repoint your vCenter servers.
  3. --stalefix (-s): Cleans up stale configurations from older upgrades.
    • Usage: python lsdoctor.py -s
    • Follow-up: Restart services and re-register external solutions.
  4. --trustfix (-t): Resolves SSL trust issues in the Lookup Service.
    • Usage: python lsdoctor.py -t
    • Follow-up: Restart services on all nodes.
  5. --solutionusers (-u): Recreates solution users for the node.
    • Usage: python lsdoctor.py -u
    • Follow-up: Restart services on the node.
  6. --rebuild (-r): Rebuilds service registrations for the node.
    • Usage: python lsdoctor.py -r
    • Follow-up: Restart services and re-register external solutions.

More info in KB

Author: Daniel Micanek

Senior Service Architect, SAP Platform Services Team at Tietoevry | SUSE SCA | vExpert ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | vExpert NSX | VCIX-DCV/NV | VCAP-DCV/NV Design+Deploy | VCP-DCV/NV/CMA/TKO/DTM | NCIE-DP | OCP | Azure Solutions Architect | Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)