Since the server responds to ping (ICMP) and the OS is running normally when viewed locally, the network connectivity is functional. The specific failure of application-layer protocols (SSH/RDP) while basic connectivity works strongly points to a host-based firewall rule blocking those specific ports. This is a common real-world scenario where ping is allowed but management ports are restricted.

The proper procedure is to first place hosts into maintenance mode (which migrates VMs off if you have vMotion, or ensures no new VMs are powered on). Then, gracefully shut down all guest operating systems within the VMs. Finally, power down the hypervisor hosts themselves. Shutting down vCenter first would remove central management while VMs and hosts are still running, which is not ideal.

While the other options are potential longer-term security hardening steps, the immediate priority during an active attack is containment. Isolating the server (e.g., via a firewall rule or disconnecting its network cable) prevents the attacker from potentially compromising the system while you investigate the scope, source, and any potential success of the attacks. Disabling a critical account or implementing policies can be done after containment.

When a disk volume is very near full capacity, the file system has very little free space to work with. Writing new data, especially large log files, becomes slow because the OS must spend excessive time searching for and allocating small, non-contiguous blocks of free space. This is a more direct and common cause than fragmentation in this scenario. Freeing up space is the primary solution.

While all are important tasks in a deployment lifecycle, security hardening is the critical next step after initial software installation and *before* connecting the server to a production network. The principle of ‘secure by design’ means reducing the attack surface (disabling unneeded services, closing unused ports) is a foundational security activity that should precede patching (which is also crucial) and final deployment.

This is a classic troubleshooting step of isolating the problem. General connectivity and core services are working (file access). Therefore, the issue is specific to the SNMP subsystem. The first logical check is to see if the SNMP service/daemon itself is running and if its configuration (like the community string the monitoring system is using) is correct. This is more targeted than checking general network or hardware.

Last Known Good Configuration (LKGC) is specifically designed for this scenario. It rolls back the registry and driver settings to the state they were in at the last successful user logon. Since the problem was caused by a recent change (the update) and the server was working before the reboot, LKGC is the fastest way to undo the change without restoring data or using external media. If LKGC fails, then startup repair or a restore would be the next steps.

Snapshot technology (often at the storage array or hypervisor level) is ideal for this scenario. It can capture the state of the database almost instantly with very minimal performance overhead, allowing for very frequent recovery points. While traditional incremental backups also capture changes since the last backup, they often involve more server processing and longer backup windows compared to near-instantaneous snapshots.

The performance data clearly identifies a CPU bottleneck (high CPU, low memory/disk). The most direct solution to a resource constraint is to reduce the demand on that resource. Live migrating (vMotion/ Live Migration) one or more VMs to another host with spare CPU cycles immediately alleviates the contention on the overloaded host. Adding RAM or changing disk provisioning wouldn’t address a CPU issue.

Since the server responds to ping (ICMP) and the OS is running normally when viewed locally, the network connectivity is functional. The specific failure of application-layer protocols (SSH/RDP) while basic connectivity works strongly points to a host-based firewall rule blocking those specific ports. This is a common real-world scenario where ping is allowed but management ports are restricted.0