I'm trying to setup a serial port connection to a VM to gain console access to it remotely. But when I try and follow the documentation, I end up getting my telnet connection requests rejected (fast reject).
I've setup my VM (Cisco virtual WLC). I added in a serial port with the following settings.
- Use Network
- Server (VM listens for connection)
- Port URI= telnet://:12345
- Yield CPU on poll is checked
I then went to the Configuration tab on the ESXi 6.0 server hosting the VM, selected Security Profile and then clicked on the Properties of the Firewall. I then checked the "VM serial port connect over network" option and hit OK.
I powered on my VM and then attempt the telnet connection from my Mac, targeting the management IP of the ESXi server and the port called out in the serial port config.
telnet 192.168.1.112 12345
Trying 192.168.1.112...
telnet: connect to address 192.168.1.112: Connection refused
telnet: Unable to connect to remote host
So it rejects with a fast reject (not a time out). That implies the ESXi server is actively rejecting the attempt. I can telnet to the ESXi server on other ports that I know the ESXi server is listening to (like port 8000) and that works. So the server seems to not be opening up the port that I call out in the Serial Port config.
Not sure if it matters, but this ESXi server is being managed by a vCenter Essentials server. For giggles, I tried this on a different VM (different OS) and see the same result. I also tried on another one of my ESXi servers and also saw the same thing there. So it doesn't appear to be isolated to this one particular VM, VM type, or ESXi host of mine.
I'm at a loss for what to do next. Any ideas?