Summary
vCenter may show many virtual machines while only some appear as monitored in Auvik. This usually happens when Auvik can reach vCenter but can’t identify or access every guest VM.
Symptoms
- vCenter shows more VMs than Auvik.
- Only a few VMs appear as monitored.
- Some VMs appear in inventory but remain unmonitored.
Possible causes
- Missing or insufficient VMware credentials
- Collector connectivity issues
- VMware Tools not installed or running
- Missing guest IP addresses
- Guest operating systems not reachable
- Missing WMI, SNMP, or SSH credentials
- VMware permission or licensing restrictions
- VM subnets excluded from discovery
Resolution
1. Check VMware credentials
In Auvik, go to Discovery > Manage Credentials > VMware Credentials.
Confirm that:
- The vCenter credentials are assigned to the correct site.
- The account can read VM inventory and performance data.
- Auvik doesn’t report a VMware authentication error.
Retry the credentials after making changes.
2. Check collector connectivity
Confirm that the Auvik collector can:
- Resolve the vCenter hostname
- Reach vCenter over TCP port 443
- Communicate through any firewall, VPN, or access control rules
3. Check VMware Tools and guest IPs
For affected VMs, confirm that:
- The VM is powered on.
- VMware Tools or Open VM Tools is installed and running.
- vCenter displays a guest IP address.
- The reported IP address is reachable from the collector.
Without a guest IP, Auvik may not be able to associate the VM with a discovered device.
4. Check discovery scope
Verify that the VM subnet:
- Is included in Auvik discovery
- Isn’t excluded
- Has an assigned collector
- Is reachable from the collector
5. Check guest monitoring access
For Windows VMs, confirm that WMI or WinRM is reachable and valid credentials are stored in Auvik.
For Linux VMs, confirm that SNMP or SSH is reachable and valid credentials are stored.
Also confirm that guest firewalls allow the required management traffic.
6. Check vCenter permissions
Make sure the VMware account can see all expected VMs.
Review:
- Role assignments
- Permission inheritance
- Folder or cluster restrictions
- Access to inventory and performance data
As a test, sign in to vCenter with the Auvik monitoring account. If it can see only the same VMs shown in Auvik, update the account permissions.
7. Rescan and allow polling to complete
After making changes:
- Retry the VMware credentials.
- Confirm that guest IPs appear in vCenter.
- Allow Auvik discovery and polling cycles to complete.
- Search for the affected VMs again.
If only a few VMs appear
The monitored VMs may be the only ones with:
- A known guest IP address
- Network connectivity to the collector
- Valid monitoring credentials
- VMware Tools running
Start by checking VMware Tools and guest IP reporting, then confirm discovery scope and guest access.
Contact Auvik Support
If the issue continues, provide:
- The affected site
- The number of VMs in vCenter and Auvik
- Examples of working and affected VMs
- Whether VMware Tools is running
- Whether guest IPs appear in vCenter
- Any credential or discovery errors