Direct answer: VMware Tools (or open-vm-tools on Linux) is the in-guest component that reports guest information, carries out graceful shutdown and restart requests, and quiesces filesystems for snapshots. When it is not running, guest shutdown requests fail, quiesced snapshots can fail, and guest details in vCenter can be missing or stale. "Out of date" is several different statuses, from a routine newer version being available to a build known to be too old or to have a grave bug. Read the running status and the version status separately, find why Tools is not running before upgrading anything, and choose the maintenance route by install type: VMware-packaged Tools against Broadcom's interoperability information, open-vm-tools through the operating system vendor on a guest release certified in the Broadcom Compatibility Guide.
Why it matters
Broadcom lists what open-vm-tools provides: guest clock synchronisation, graceful power operations (shut down) and filesystem quiescing, a heartbeat from guest to the virtualisation infrastructure to support vSphere High Availability (HA), publishing guest information such as resource use and networking, and an authenticated way to run operations inside the guest (Broadcom KB 313456).
The heartbeat supports HA features that watch the guest. It does not mean that restarting VMs after a host failure depends on Tools; the source does not say that, and this article makes no claim about it. A VM whose Tools has stopped can look healthy until a backup, a planned shutdown or a guest-level check depends on it.
How it works: two separate statuses
The vSphere API keeps running status and version status as separate fields (GuestInfo, vSphere Web Services API).
Running status (toolsRunningStatus) (ToolsRunningStatus):
| Value | API description |
|---|---|
guestToolsRunning |
VMware Tools is running |
guestToolsNotRunning |
VMware Tools is not running |
guestToolsExecutingScripts |
VMware Tools is starting |
Version status (toolsVersionStatus2). All values listed in the API reference (ToolsVersionStatus):
| Value | API description |
|---|---|
guestToolsNotInstalled |
Never installed |
guestToolsNeedUpgrade |
Installed, but the version is not current |
guestToolsCurrent |
Installed, version is current |
guestToolsUnmanaged |
Installed, not managed by VMware |
guestToolsTooOld |
Installed, version is too old |
guestToolsSupportedOld |
Installed, supported, a newer version is available |
guestToolsSupportedNew |
Installed, supported, newer than the version available on the host |
guestToolsTooNew |
Installed, version known to be too new to work correctly with this VM |
guestToolsBlacklisted |
Installed version known to have a grave bug and should be upgraded immediately |
The older single toolsStatus field, with values such as toolsOld and toolsNotRunning, is deprecated in favour of these fields (VirtualMachineToolsStatus). Monitoring that still reads the old field can give a mixed picture.
Two cautions when reading version status:
- It compares the installed Tools with what this host offers or knows about. "Current" is not a security assessment, and "supported old" is not a fault on its own.
guestToolsTooOld,guestToolsTooNewandguestToolsBlacklistedare the values that call for planned action.
Guest Managed. When the guest uses operating system packages such as open-vm-tools, the vSphere Client shows the status as Guest Managed (Unmanaged on older versions). Broadcom explains that vCenter is then not keeping Tools up to date; the guest operating system manages it like other software (Broadcom KB 343269). For open-vm-tools supplied by the operating system vendor on a certified release, Broadcom states the configuration is supported (KB 313456).
What depends on running Tools
| Function | Vendor evidence |
|---|---|
| Guest shutdown and guest restart | ShutdownGuest and RebootGuest throw ToolsUnavailable, "Thrown if VMware Tools is not running" (VirtualMachine, vSphere Web Services API) |
| Guest IP address and host name in vCenter | "Most of this information is collected by VMware Tools", and ipAddress and hostName are returned "if known" (GuestInfo). Without running Tools these may be missing or out of date; do not treat a displayed value as current proof. |
| Quiesced snapshots (and backups that use them) | Broadcom shows quiesce failing with "A timeout occurred while communicating with VMware Tools in the virtual machine" while the VM summary shows Tools not running (KB 415702) |
| Guest OS actions in the vSphere Client | When Tools is not installed, Guest OS actions are limited, for example to Open Console and Install VMware Tools (KB 301292) |
How to diagnose it (read-only)
- Read both statuses. On the VM's Summary tab, note the Tools running state and version; Broadcom points to this view for checking the installed version (KB 301292). For many VMs, read
toolsRunningStatusandtoolsVersionStatus2through the API or your inventory tool rather than the deprecated field. - Read
vmware.logfor the VM through your normal host access. Broadcom shows the lines that separate the cases (KB 343269; KB 415702): - Tools installed and current:VMXVmdb_SetToolsVersionStatus: status value set to 'ok', 'current'- No Tools:status value set to 'noTools'andTools heartbeat timeout- open-vm-tools:status value set to 'unmanaged'- Tools stopped responding:Tools heartbeat timeout,Changing running status: 1 => 0andGuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox timed out - Inside the guest, read the Tools service state and its recent log entries with the operating system's own service tools. On Linux the open-vm-tools core program is
vmtoolsd(KB 313456). Look for crashes or start failures and when they began. - Identify the install type and the matching support evidence. - VMware-packaged Tools: record the Tools build and the host version, and check the combination against the Broadcom Product Interoperability Matrix, which KB 415702 cites for supported combinations. - open-vm-tools from the operating system vendor: Broadcom states that no compatibility matrix check is required; following the Broadcom Compatibility Guide for the guest operating system release is sufficient (KB 313456). Record the guest release and confirm it is listed as certified.
- On Linux, check for leftovers of VMware-packaged Tools. Broadcom documents a case where
/usr/lib/vmware-tools/remained after moving to open-vm-tools; open-vm-tools neither creates nor uses that directory (KB 414768).
Candidate causes
These are leads to test against your evidence, not conclusions.
| Evidence | Possible cause | Who owns the next step |
|---|---|---|
| Not running after a host upgrade; very old packaged Tools build | Tools build incompatible with the host. Broadcom documents VMware Tools 10.1.5 as incompatible with vSphere 8.0 and later, causing failed power-off, clone and quiesce (KB 415702) | VM administrator |
| Not running; guest service stopped or crashing | Service failure inside the guest | Guest administrator |
| Guest Managed shown; concern about "out of date" | open-vm-tools managed by the operating system | Guest administrator, through operating system updates |
Scanner flags old libraries under /usr/lib/vmware-tools/ |
Legacy Tools not removed before open-vm-tools (KB 414768) | Guest administrator |
| Not installed | Tools never installed | VM administrator |
| Guest shutdown task fails with "Invalid fault" | A Tools shutdown script runs longer than 30 seconds (KB 401120) | VM administrator |
Decision guidance
This article covers diagnosis and choosing the maintenance route. It does not give installation or upgrade steps; follow Broadcom's installation documentation for your Tools version, or your operating system vendor's package documentation.
- Record both statuses, install type, versions and the relevant
vmware.loglines. - If Tools is not running, find out why before upgrading. A stopped service, a crash in the guest log and an incompatible build need different fixes.
- Choose the route by install type. - Packaged Tools: plan an upgrade to a build the interoperability matrix supports for your host (KB 415702). - open-vm-tools: update through the operating system vendor's packages. Broadcom recommends open-vm-tools from operating system vendors and does not recommend removing it (KB 313456). Where open-vm-tools is unavailable for the operating system, the same article says to install VMware Tools distributed by VMware.
- Treat any Tools upgrade, reinstall or legacy removal as a change: a window, a verified backup, and the vendor's notes on whether a reboot is needed. Broadcom's legacy removal method on Linux uses the legacy uninstall script and removes only the legacy Tools (KB 414768).
- Upgrade one VM per operating system build first and check it before wider roll-out.
What not to do
- Do not treat "out of date" as an emergency by default. Read
toolsVersionStatus2first. - Do not install VMware-packaged Tools over vendor open-vm-tools on Linux to clear a Guest Managed label.
- Do not use Power Off as a routine substitute for a guest shutdown that fails because Tools is down. Power Off is not a clean guest shutdown.
- Do not send a guest shutdown just to test Tools. It shuts the guest down; arrange it in a planned window with the service owner.
Limitations
- Status values come from the vSphere API reference; the on-screen wording in a given vSphere Client version can differ.
- Windows service names and installer behaviour are not covered; no version-scoped Broadcom installation page was retrieved for this article.
- The interoperability matrix and Compatibility Guide are interactive tools and were not captured; their results depend on the versions you enter.
- No upgrade, command or shutdown in this article was lab tested.
Acceptance checklist
- [ ] Running status and version status recorded (not only the deprecated combined field)
- [ ]
vmware.loglines captured for the time the problem started - [ ] Install type known: VMware-packaged Tools or vendor open-vm-tools
- [ ] Packaged Tools: build and host checked in the interoperability matrix. open-vm-tools: guest release confirmed certified in the Compatibility Guide
- [ ] Any change made in a planned window with a verified backup, by the route matching the install type
- [ ] Running status reads running and guest details refresh in vCenter
- [ ] A planned, owner-approved guest shutdown request accepted, and the next scheduled quiesced backup succeeded
Sources
Accessed 30 October 2026. Broadcom Developer and Knowledge pages displayed no date in the retrieved copies.
- Broadcom Developer, GuestInfo (vSphere Web Services API)
- Broadcom Developer, VirtualMachineToolsRunningStatus and VirtualMachineToolsVersionStatus
- Broadcom Developer, VirtualMachineToolsStatus (Virtual Infrastructure JSON API)
- Broadcom Developer, VirtualMachine (vSphere Web Services API)
- Broadcom Knowledge, VMware support for open-vm-tools (313456)
- Broadcom Knowledge, vSphere Client reports the status of VMware Tools as Unmanaged or Guest Managed (343269)
- Broadcom Knowledge, After upgrading vSphere to 8.x or higher, VMs cannot be powered off or cloned due to unsupported VMware Tools (415702)
- Broadcom Knowledge, Guest operation system actions are greyed out on the VM within the vSphere Web Client (301292)
- Broadcom Knowledge, Old VMware Tools components remain after installing open-vm-tools on Linux OS (414768)
- Broadcom Knowledge, 'Initiate guest OS shutdown task' fails with 'A general system error occurred: Invalid fault' (401120)
Related articles
- VSS writer failed: diagnose Windows shadow copy errors before the next backup
- Consistent backups of Linux VMs: filesystem freeze and VMware Tools freeze/thaw scripts
- Static IP lost after a VM restore or NIC change: hidden adapters and interface renames
Learning notes
- Running status and version status are separate fields; read both.
- Without running Tools, guest shutdown and quiescing fail, and guest details can be missing or stale.
- Version status is relative to the host; too old, too new and blacklisted call for planned action, but a current status can still need action for a security advisory or maintenance.
- open-vm-tools needs a certified guest release, not a matrix check; packaged Tools needs the matrix.
- A guest shutdown is a real shutdown; prove Tools in a planned window and with the next quiesced backup.