Openstack instance might start generating status error due to various reasons that include network issues or security issues and so on.

Here at Bobcares, we have seen several such Openstack related errors as part of our Server Management Services for web hosts and online service providers.

Today we will take a look at the causes for this error and see how to fix it.

More about Openstack instance generating a status error

Before we get into the solution part, let’s discuss this error.

This error mainly occurs while creating an instance from the command line and dashboard.

It may occur due to various reasons that include network issues or security issues, etc.

How we resolve Openstack instance generating status error problem

1. Recently, one of our customers approached us with the same error message while creating an instance using the command line and dashboard. Now let’s see how our Support Engineers resolve this error for our customers.

Here we checked the log /var/log/nova/nova-compute.log. The issue was with the code which had a typo mistake in vncserver_proxyclient_address. The error was resolved after correcting it.

2. In a few cases, the instance shows as pending or you won’t be able to SSH to it. It might also remain in the intermediate state. Sometimes, the problem is the image itself.

a. In order to fix such errors, use an image that doesn’t support this method, such as Ubuntu, which obtains an IP address correctly with FlatManager network settings.

Also, to troubleshoot other problems with instance such as an instance staying in a spawning state, check the directory for that particular instance under /var/lib/nova/instances on the nova-compute host and make sure that the following files are present:

• libvirt.xml
• disk
• disk-raw
• kernel
• ramdisk
• console.log, after the instance, starts.

In case, if any of the above files are missing, empty, or very small, the nova-compute service does not successfully download the images from the Image service.

Also, check the nova-compute.log for exceptions. Because sometimes they do not appear in the console output.

Then check the log file for the instance in the /var/log/libvirt/qemu directory. Here you can see if any useful error messages are present.

Finally, from the /var/lib/nova/instances directory, run the below command and see if it returns an error.

# virsh create libvirt.xml

b. You can also make use of the ‘nova reset-state’ command to manually reset the state of an instance to an error state. After that, you can delete the instance. Here is the command for it.

$ nova reset-state c6bbbf26-b40a-47e7-8d5c-eb17bf65c466
$ openstack server delete c6bbbf26-b40a-47e7-8d5c-eb17bf65c466

Then you can use the –active parameter to force the instance back to an active state instead of an error state. Here is the command for it.

$ nova reset-state –active c6bbbf26-b40a-47e7-8d5c-eb17bf65c466

[Need any further assistance in fixing Openstack errors? – We are here to help you]

Conclusion

In short, this error might occur due to various reasons that include network issues or security issues, etc. Today, we saw the solution provided by our Support Engineers to this error.