Support
Let’s get your lab running.
Most problems have a known fix. Start with the common issues below, then reach out if you are still stuck.
Installing the OVA
- ESXi says “A required disk image was missing”
- The browser upload of the large OVA was incomplete. Copy the single .ova to the datastore with SCP, or deploy with ovftool, then redeploy.
- Only one hard disk after import
- The import is incomplete. Delete the VM and deploy again from the full .ova. You should see Disk 1, Disk 2, and the cidata CD.
- Console shows vex-nx-bake login
- The cidata CD did not apply. Power off, set the CD/DVD to the OVA’s cidata ISO with Connected on, and power on again.
- No management IP
- Check the Management adapter is mapped to the right network and DHCP is available, or choose Static at the first-boot menu.
Installing from USB
- The USB stick will not boot
- Use the UEFI boot entry, try with Secure Boot off, and re-write the ISO with Rufus in DD Image mode or balenaEtcher.
- Black screen with a blinking cursor in VMware
- VMware Easy Install took over. Recreate the VM with “I will install the operating system later”, UEFI firmware, and the ISO attached.
- Keyboard or mouse not working in the installer
- Raise the VM’s video memory to 16 MB or more and enable the USB tablet device.
Running labs
- QEMU nodes will not start
- Hardware virtualization is not reaching VEX-NX. Enable VT-x/AMD-V, expose it to the VM, and on Windows hosts turn Hyper-V off. Check with ls -l /dev/kvm.
- FRR or Alpine image missing
- The offline seed is still loading or DNS is wrong. Fix DNS under Infrastructure → Management network, then run sudo vexnx-seed-docker.
- A vendor node will not boot
- Import a disk image you are licensed to use under Images → Import and bind it to the node. VEX-NX does not include vendor images.
Still stuck?
Send us your VEX-NX version and edition, OVA or ISO, your hypervisor and its version, vCPU and RAM, and the exact error text. Never send passwords or licence keys.
Before you ask
What are the default sign-in details?
Web UI admin / vexnx and SSH vexnx / vexnx. You are asked to change the password at first sign-in.
How big should the VM be?
The OVA ships at 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM, the absolute minimum. For real labs, plan on 8–16 vCPU and 16–32 GB RAM.
How do I update VEX-NX?
Follow the in-place update guide in the docs; your labs stay on the appliance.