[apps::vmware::connector::plugin]: Issue with ESX-Uptime-Global plugin when ESXi host is in a different timezone

[JBElect]

Hello,

I’m facing an issue with the ESX-Uptime-Global mode in the VMware vCenter connector.
One of my ESXi hosts is located in Japan (UTC+9), while my Centreon central server is in France (UTC+1/UTC+2 depending on DST).

When this ESXi host reboots, the plugin reports a negative uptime value, which seems to be caused by the timezone difference between the host and the Centreon poller.

Expected behavior:
The plugin should calculate the uptime correctly regardless of the timezone, ideally by relying only on absolute values (e.g. UTC) rather than local time.

Current behavior:

ESXi in Japan (UTC+9)

Centreon Central in France (UTC+1/UTC+2)

After a reboot, the uptime check returns a negative value.

Question:
Is there an existing option to handle timezone offsets in the plugin, or would it be possible to add such a feature?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[omercier]

Hi, can you add these two lines

            use Data::Dumper;
            print STDERR Dumper($response->{data}->{$host_id});

at this place in the code of /usr/lib/centreon/plugins/centreon_vmware_connector_client.pl:

    foreach my $host_id (keys %{$response->{data}}) {
        my $host_name = $response->{data}->{$host_id}->{name};

        my $offset;
        if (defined($response->{data}->{$host_id}->{boot_time})) {
            use Data::Dumper;
            print STDERR Dumper($response->{data}->{$host_id});
            my $timestamp = Date::Parse::str2time($response->{data}->{$host_id}->{boot_time});
            $offset = time() - $timestamp;
        }

        $self->{host}->{$host_name} = {
            display => $host_name,
            state => $response->{data}->{$host_id}->{state},
            offset => $offset,
            date => $response->{data}->{$host_id}->{boot_time}
        };
    }

And then run the plugin again to get the exact string returned by the vCenter.

[JBElect]

Hi,

I’ve added the two debug lines as requested in /usr/lib/centreon/plugins/centreon_vmware_connector_client.pl and ran the plugin again.
Here is the output of the Dumper for the ESXi host in Japan:

$VAR1 = {
          'state' => 'connected',
          'name' => 'JAPESX01',
          'boot_time' => '2025-09-09T21:30:34.508821Z'
        };
OK: Host 'JAPESX01' : status connected, Uptime: 23 day(s) | 'uptime'=2024414.49s;;1800:;;

Please let me know if you need me to run additional tests or provide more details.

Thanks!

[omercier]

Hi @JBElect,
The value given by VMware indicates that the server rebooted at '2025-09-09T21:30:34.508821Z' (Z means UTC). Can you check if this value is right or wrong?