diff --git a/.golangci.yml b/.golangci.yml
index 6c0af3db9..3a061073b 100644
--- a/.golangci.yml
+++ b/.golangci.yml
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ issues:
     - path: _test\.go
       text: "parameter.*seems to be a control flag, avoid control coupling"
 
-    - path: (^agent/|^cmd/|^config/|^filter/|^internal/|^logger/|^metric/|^models/|^selfstat/|^testutil/|^plugins/serializers/)
+    - path: (^agent/|^cmd/|^config/|^filter/|^internal/|^logger/|^metric/|^models/|^selfstat/|^testutil/|^plugins/serializers/|^plugins/inputs/zipkin/cmd)
       text: "imports-blacklist: should not use the following blacklisted import: \"log\""
       linters:
         - revive
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/aliyuncms_test.go b/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/aliyuncms_test.go
index ed1c8d7e6..8b48ef040 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/aliyuncms_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/aliyuncms_test.go
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ func TestGetDiscoveryDataAcrossRegions(t *testing.T) {
 			totalCount:          0,
 			pageSize:            0,
 			pageNumber:          0,
-			expectedErrorString: `Didn't find root key "LoadBalancers" in discovery response`,
+			expectedErrorString: `didn't find root key "LoadBalancers" in discovery response`,
 		},
 		{
 			name:    "1 object discovered",
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/discovery.go b/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/discovery.go
index c287d07a3..2298f82b4 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/discovery.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/aliyuncms/discovery.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ type parsedDResp struct {
 func getRPCReqFromDiscoveryRequest(req discoveryRequest) (*requests.RpcRequest, error) {
 	if reflect.ValueOf(req).Type().Kind() != reflect.Ptr ||
 		reflect.ValueOf(req).IsNil() {
-		return nil, errors.Errorf("Not expected type of the discovery request object: %q, %q", reflect.ValueOf(req).Type(), reflect.ValueOf(req).Kind())
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("unexpected type of the discovery request object: %q, %q", reflect.ValueOf(req).Type(), reflect.ValueOf(req).Kind())
 	}
 
 	ptrV := reflect.Indirect(reflect.ValueOf(req))
@@ -65,19 +65,19 @@ func getRPCReqFromDiscoveryRequest(req discoveryRequest) (*requests.RpcRequest,
 	for i := 0; i < ptrV.NumField(); i++ {
 		if ptrV.Field(i).Type().String() == "*requests.RpcRequest" {
 			if !ptrV.Field(i).CanInterface() {
-				return nil, errors.Errorf("Can't get interface of %v", ptrV.Field(i))
+				return nil, errors.Errorf("can't get interface of %v", ptrV.Field(i))
 			}
 
 			rpcReq, ok := ptrV.Field(i).Interface().(*requests.RpcRequest)
 
 			if !ok {
-				return nil, errors.Errorf("Cant convert interface of %v to '*requests.RpcRequest' type", ptrV.Field(i).Interface())
+				return nil, errors.Errorf("can't convert interface of %v to '*requests.RpcRequest' type", ptrV.Field(i).Interface())
 			}
 
 			return rpcReq, nil
 		}
 	}
-	return nil, errors.Errorf("Didn't find *requests.RpcRequest embedded struct in %q", ptrV.Type())
+	return nil, errors.Errorf("didn't find *requests.RpcRequest embedded struct in %q", ptrV.Type())
 }
 
 //newDiscoveryTool function returns discovery tool object.
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ func newDiscoveryTool(regions []string, project string, lg telegraf.Logger, cred
 		case "acs_cds":
 			return nil, noDiscoverySupportErr
 		default:
-			return nil, errors.Errorf("project %q is not recognized by discovery...", project)
+			return nil, errors.Errorf("project %q is not recognized by discovery", project)
 		}
 
 		cli[region], err = sdk.NewClientWithOptions(region, sdk.NewConfig(), credential)
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ func newDiscoveryTool(regions []string, project string, lg telegraf.Logger, cred
 	}
 
 	if len(dscReq) == 0 || len(cli) == 0 {
-		return nil, errors.Errorf("Can't build discovery request for project: %q,\nregions: %v", project, regions)
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("can't build discovery request for project: %q, regions: %v", project, regions)
 	}
 
 	return &discoveryTool{
@@ -261,11 +261,11 @@ func (dt *discoveryTool) parseDiscoveryResponse(resp *responses.CommonResponse)
 
 	data = resp.GetHttpContentBytes()
 	if data == nil { //No data
-		return nil, errors.Errorf("No data in response to be parsed")
+		return nil, errors.New("no data in response to be parsed")
 	}
 
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &fullOutput); err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Errorf("Can't parse JSON from discovery response: %v", err)
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("can't parse JSON from discovery response: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	for key, val := range fullOutput {
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ func (dt *discoveryTool) parseDiscoveryResponse(resp *responses.CommonResponse)
 			foundRootKey = true
 			rootKeyVal, ok := val.(map[string]interface{})
 			if !ok {
-				return nil, errors.Errorf("Content of root key %q, is not an object: %v", key, val)
+				return nil, errors.Errorf("content of root key %q, is not an object: %v", key, val)
 			}
 
 			//It should contain the array with discovered data
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ func (dt *discoveryTool) parseDiscoveryResponse(resp *responses.CommonResponse)
 				}
 			}
 			if !foundDataItem {
-				return nil, errors.Errorf("Didn't find array item in root key %q", key)
+				return nil, errors.Errorf("didn't find array item in root key %q", key)
 			}
 		case "TotalCount", "TotalRecordCount":
 			pdResp.totalCount = int(val.(float64))
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ func (dt *discoveryTool) parseDiscoveryResponse(resp *responses.CommonResponse)
 		}
 	}
 	if !foundRootKey {
-		return nil, errors.Errorf("Didn't find root key %q in discovery response", dt.respRootKey)
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("didn't find root key %q in discovery response", dt.respRootKey)
 	}
 
 	return pdResp, nil
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ func (dt *discoveryTool) getDiscoveryData(cli aliyunSdkClient, req *requests.Com
 			for _, raw := range discoveryData {
 				elem, ok := raw.(map[string]interface{})
 				if !ok {
-					return nil, errors.Errorf("can't parse input data element, not a map[string]interface{} type")
+					return nil, errors.New("can't parse input data element, not a map[string]interface{} type")
 				}
 				if objectID, ok := elem[dt.respObjectIDKey].(string); ok {
 					preparedData[objectID] = elem
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@ func (dt *discoveryTool) getDiscoveryDataAcrossRegions(lmtr chan bool) (map[stri
 		//which aliyun object type (project) is used
 		dscReq, ok := dt.req[region]
 		if !ok {
-			return nil, errors.Errorf("Error building common discovery request: not valid region %q", region)
+			return nil, errors.Errorf("error building common discovery request: not valid region %q", region)
 		}
 
 		rpcReq, err := getRPCReqFromDiscoveryRequest(dscReq)
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/docker/dev/telegraf.conf b/plugins/inputs/docker/dev/telegraf.conf
deleted file mode 100644
index 06bbb46ae..000000000
--- a/plugins/inputs/docker/dev/telegraf.conf
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-[agent]
-  interval="1s"
-  flush_interval="1s"
-
-[[inputs.docker]]
-  endpoint = "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"
-  timeout = "5s"
-  perdevice = true
-  total = false
-  container_names = []
-
-[[outputs.file]]
-  files = ["stdout"]
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/docker/docker_test.go b/plugins/inputs/docker/docker_test.go
index 2241758ac..bd2f0b056 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/docker/docker_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/docker/docker_test.go
@@ -108,10 +108,6 @@ var baseClient = MockClient{
 	},
 }
 
-func newClient(_ string, _ *tls.Config) (Client, error) {
-	return &baseClient, nil
-}
-
 func TestDockerGatherContainerStats(t *testing.T) {
 	var acc testutil.Accumulator
 	stats := testStats()
@@ -925,7 +921,7 @@ func TestDockerGatherInfo(t *testing.T) {
 	var acc testutil.Accumulator
 	d := Docker{
 		Log:       testutil.Logger{},
-		newClient: newClient,
+		newClient: func(string, *tls.Config) (Client, error) { return &baseClient, nil },
 		TagEnvironment: []string{"ENVVAR1", "ENVVAR2", "ENVVAR3", "ENVVAR5",
 			"ENVVAR6", "ENVVAR7", "ENVVAR8", "ENVVAR9"},
 		PerDeviceInclude: []string{"cpu", "network", "blkio"},
@@ -1078,7 +1074,7 @@ func TestDockerGatherSwarmInfo(t *testing.T) {
 	var acc testutil.Accumulator
 	d := Docker{
 		Log:       testutil.Logger{},
-		newClient: newClient,
+		newClient: func(string, *tls.Config) (Client, error) { return &baseClient, nil },
 	}
 
 	err := acc.GatherError(d.Gather)
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/gnmi/gnmi.go b/plugins/inputs/gnmi/gnmi.go
index 936235fd2..272678134 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/gnmi/gnmi.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/gnmi/gnmi.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	gnmiLib "github.com/openconfig/gnmi/proto/gnmi"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials/insecure"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/metadata"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
@@ -269,12 +270,13 @@ func (c *GNMI) newSubscribeRequest() (*gnmiLib.SubscribeRequest, error) {
 
 // SubscribeGNMI and extract telemetry data
 func (c *GNMI) subscribeGNMI(ctx context.Context, worker *Worker, tlscfg *tls.Config, request *gnmiLib.SubscribeRequest) error {
-	var opt grpc.DialOption
+	var creds credentials.TransportCredentials
 	if tlscfg != nil {
-		opt = grpc.WithTransportCredentials(credentials.NewTLS(tlscfg))
+		creds = credentials.NewTLS(tlscfg)
 	} else {
-		opt = grpc.WithInsecure()
+		creds = insecure.NewCredentials()
 	}
+	opt := grpc.WithTransportCredentials(creds)
 
 	client, err := grpc.DialContext(ctx, worker.address, opt)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/hddtemp/hddtemp.go b/plugins/inputs/hddtemp/hddtemp.go
index 4904e6ea2..c7f8b5947 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/hddtemp/hddtemp.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/hddtemp/hddtemp.go
@@ -26,18 +26,6 @@ type Fetcher interface {
 	Fetch(address string) ([]gohddtemp.Disk, error)
 }
 
-var hddtempSampleConfig = `
-  ## By default, telegraf gathers temps data from all disks detected by the
-  ## hddtemp.
-  ##
-  ## Only collect temps from the selected disks.
-  ##
-  ## A * as the device name will return the temperature values of all disks.
-  ##
-  # address = "127.0.0.1:7634"
-  # devices = ["sda", "*"]
-`
-
 func (*HDDTemp) SampleConfig() string {
 	return sampleConfig
 }
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/internet_speed/internet_speed.go b/plugins/inputs/internet_speed/internet_speed.go
index b236df699..600d72d4a 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/internet_speed/internet_speed.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/internet_speed/internet_speed.go
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ func (*InternetSpeed) SampleConfig() string {
 }
 
 func (is *InternetSpeed) Gather(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
-
 	// Get closest server
 	s := is.serverCache
 	if s == nil {
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/ipmi_sensor/ipmi_sensor_test.go b/plugins/inputs/ipmi_sensor/ipmi_sensor_test.go
index a65dc5a15..559783fb6 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/ipmi_sensor/ipmi_sensor_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/ipmi_sensor/ipmi_sensor_test.go
@@ -819,7 +819,7 @@ func TestSanitizeIPMICmd(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			var sanitizedArgs []string = sanitizeIPMICmd(tt.args)
+			sanitizedArgs := sanitizeIPMICmd(tt.args)
 			require.Equal(t, tt.expected, sanitizedArgs)
 		})
 	}
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/jti_openconfig_telemetry/jti_openconfig_telemetry.go b/plugins/inputs/jti_openconfig_telemetry/jti_openconfig_telemetry.go
index 64bd9880e..e907e04a9 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/jti_openconfig_telemetry/jti_openconfig_telemetry.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/jti_openconfig_telemetry/jti_openconfig_telemetry.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials/insecure"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
@@ -301,16 +302,17 @@ func (m *OpenConfigTelemetry) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	}
 
 	// Parse TLS config
-	var opts []grpc.DialOption
+	var creds credentials.TransportCredentials
 	if m.EnableTLS {
 		tlscfg, err := m.ClientConfig.TLSConfig()
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		opts = append(opts, grpc.WithTransportCredentials(credentials.NewTLS(tlscfg)))
+		creds = credentials.NewTLS(tlscfg)
 	} else {
-		opts = append(opts, grpc.WithInsecure())
+		creds = insecure.NewCredentials()
 	}
+	opt := grpc.WithTransportCredentials(creds)
 
 	// Connect to given list of servers and start collecting data
 	var grpcClientConn *grpc.ClientConn
@@ -325,7 +327,7 @@ func (m *OpenConfigTelemetry) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		grpcClientConn, err = grpc.Dial(server, opts...)
+		grpcClientConn, err = grpc.Dial(server, opt)
 		if err != nil {
 			m.Log.Errorf("Failed to connect to %s: %s", server, err.Error())
 		} else {
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/kafka_consumer/kafka_consumer_test.go b/plugins/inputs/kafka_consumer/kafka_consumer_test.go
index cfc9e8b85..922b2d5b6 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/kafka_consumer/kafka_consumer_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/kafka_consumer/kafka_consumer_test.go
@@ -296,8 +296,7 @@ func TestConsumerGroupHandler_Lifecycle(t *testing.T) {
 	// err = cg.ConsumeClaim(session, &claim)
 	//require.NoError(t, err)
 	// So stick with the line below for now.
-	//nolint:errcheck
-	cg.ConsumeClaim(session, &claim)
+	_ = cg.ConsumeClaim(session, &claim)
 
 	err = cg.Cleanup(session)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/kube_inventory/daemonset_test.go b/plugins/inputs/kube_inventory/daemonset_test.go
index 5c67f3943..f8b0f1cae 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/kube_inventory/daemonset_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/kube_inventory/daemonset_test.go
@@ -128,8 +128,6 @@ func TestDaemonSet(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestDaemonSetSelectorFilter(t *testing.T) {
 	cli := &client{}
-	now := time.Now()
-	now = time.Date(now.Year(), now.Month(), now.Day(), now.Hour(), 1, 36, 0, now.Location())
 
 	responseMap := map[string]interface{}{
 		"/daemonsets/": &v1.DaemonSetList{
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/linux_sysctl_fs/linux_sysctl_fs.go b/plugins/inputs/linux_sysctl_fs/linux_sysctl_fs.go
index 936843935..6050dae8b 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/linux_sysctl_fs/linux_sysctl_fs.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/linux_sysctl_fs/linux_sysctl_fs.go
@@ -22,9 +22,6 @@ type SysctlFS struct {
 	path string
 }
 
-var sysctlFSDescription = `Provides Linux sysctl fs metrics`
-var sysctlFSSampleConfig = ``
-
 func (sfs *SysctlFS) gatherList(file string, fields map[string]interface{}, fieldNames ...string) error {
 	bs, err := os.ReadFile(sfs.path + "/" + file)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/lustre2/lustre2.go b/plugins/inputs/lustre2/lustre2.go
index 8444649b9..7f7645c13 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/lustre2/lustre2.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/lustre2/lustre2.go
@@ -360,7 +360,6 @@ func (l *Lustre2) GetLustreProcStats(fileglob string, wantedFields []*mapping) e
 	fieldSplitter := regexp.MustCompile(`[ :]+`)
 
 	for _, file := range files {
-
 		/* From /proc/fs/lustre/obdfilter/<ost_name>/stats and similar
 		 * extract the object store target name,
 		 * and for per-client files under
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/lvm/lvm_test.go b/plugins/inputs/lvm/lvm_test.go
index c48eff5c0..c16e85b89 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/lvm/lvm_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/lvm/lvm_test.go
@@ -11,9 +11,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestGather(t *testing.T) {
-	var lvm LVM = LVM{UseSudo: false}
 	var acc testutil.Accumulator
 
+	lvm := LVM{UseSudo: false}
+
 	// overwriting exec commands with mock commands
 	execCommand = fakeExecCommand
 	err := lvm.Gather(&acc)
@@ -129,9 +130,10 @@ func TestHelperProcess(_ *testing.T) {
 
 // test when no lvm devices exist
 func TestGatherNoLVM(t *testing.T) {
-	var noLVM LVM = LVM{UseSudo: false}
 	var acc testutil.Accumulator
 
+	noLVM := LVM{UseSudo: false}
+
 	// overwriting exec commands with mock commands
 	execCommand = fakeExecCommandNoLVM
 	err := noLVM.Gather(&acc)
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/phpfpm/child.go b/plugins/inputs/phpfpm/child.go
index b6a6f956d..7a7c4bb25 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/phpfpm/child.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/phpfpm/child.go
@@ -111,16 +111,16 @@ func (r *response) WriteHeader(code int) {
 		r.header.Set("Date", time.Now().UTC().Format(http.TimeFormat))
 	}
 
-	fmt.Fprintf(r.w, "Status: %d %s\r\n", code, http.StatusText(code))
-	r.header.Write(r.w)
-	r.w.WriteString("\r\n")
+	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(r.w, "Status: %d %s\r\n", code, http.StatusText(code))
+	_ = r.header.Write(r.w)
+	_, _ = r.w.WriteString("\r\n")
 }
 
 func (r *response) Flush() {
 	if !r.wroteHeader {
 		r.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
 	}
-	r.w.Flush()
+	_ = r.w.Flush()
 }
 
 func (r *response) Close() error {
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/postgresql/postgresql.go b/plugins/inputs/postgresql/postgresql.go
index d99ee2db8..e9a2fd815 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/postgresql/postgresql.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/postgresql/postgresql.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 
+	// Blank import required to register driver
 	_ "github.com/jackc/pgx/v4/stdlib"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/prometheus/kubernetes.go b/plugins/inputs/prometheus/kubernetes.go
index f7a78dd8c..1f058ec4c 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/prometheus/kubernetes.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/prometheus/kubernetes.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ type podResponse struct {
 	Kind       string        `json:"kind"`
 	APIVersion string        `json:"apiVersion"`
 	Metadata   podMetadata   `json:"metadata"`
-	Items      []*corev1.Pod `json:"items,string,omitempty"`
+	Items      []*corev1.Pod `json:"items,omitempty"`
 }
 
 const cAdvisorPodListDefaultInterval = 60
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/snmp_legacy/snmp_legacy.go b/plugins/inputs/snmp_legacy/snmp_legacy.go
index 0c0bbbf40..fc2f5af3a 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/snmp_legacy/snmp_legacy.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/snmp_legacy/snmp_legacy.go
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ package snmp_legacy
 
 import (
 	_ "embed"
-	"log"
+	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ type Snmp struct {
 	Subtable          []Subtable
 	SnmptranslateFile string
 
-	Log telegraf.Logger
+	Log telegraf.Logger `toml:"-"`
 
 	nameToOid   map[string]string
 	initNode    Node
@@ -701,7 +701,7 @@ func (h *Host) HandleResponse(
 					acc.AddFields(fieldName, fields, tags)
 				case gosnmp.NoSuchObject, gosnmp.NoSuchInstance:
 					// Oid not found
-					log.Printf("E! [inputs.snmp_legacy] oid %q not found", oidKey)
+					acc.AddError(fmt.Errorf("oid %q not found", oidKey))
 				default:
 					// delete other data
 				}
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/sql/drivers_sqlite.go b/plugins/inputs/sql/drivers_sqlite.go
index 355b870d5..575b0faf6 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/sql/drivers_sqlite.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/sql/drivers_sqlite.go
@@ -10,5 +10,6 @@
 package sql
 
 import (
+	// Blank imports to register the sqlite driver
 	_ "modernc.org/sqlite"
 )
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/sql/drivers_sqlite_other.go b/plugins/inputs/sql/drivers_sqlite_other.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 7f927a644..000000000
--- a/plugins/inputs/sql/drivers_sqlite_other.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-//go:build arm || mips || mipsle || mips64 || mips64le || ppc64 || (freebsd && arm64)
-// +build arm mips mipsle mips64 mips64le ppc64 freebsd,arm64
-
-package sql
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/vsphere/client.go b/plugins/inputs/vsphere/client.go
index 2795c94ae..b4da65fc1 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/vsphere/client.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/vsphere/client.go
@@ -72,32 +72,41 @@ func (cf *ClientFactory) GetClient(ctx context.Context) (*Client, error) {
 			}
 		}
 
-		// Execute a dummy call against the server to make sure the client is
-		// still functional. If not, try to log back in. If that doesn't work,
-		// we give up.
-		ctx1, cancel1 := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Duration(cf.parent.Timeout))
-		defer cancel1()
-		if _, err := methods.GetCurrentTime(ctx1, cf.client.Client); err != nil {
-			cf.parent.Log.Info("Client session seems to have time out. Reauthenticating!")
-			ctx2, cancel2 := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Duration(cf.parent.Timeout))
-			defer cancel2()
-			if err := cf.client.Client.SessionManager.Login(ctx2, url.UserPassword(cf.parent.Username, cf.parent.Password)); err != nil {
-				if !retrying {
-					// The client went stale. Probably because someone rebooted vCenter. Clear it to
-					// force us to create a fresh one. We only get one chance at this. If we fail a second time
-					// we will simply skip this collection round and hope things have stabilized for the next one.
-					retrying = true
-					cf.client = nil
-					continue
-				}
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("renewing authentication failed: %s", err.Error())
+		err := cf.testClient(ctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			if !retrying {
+				// The client went stale. Probably because someone rebooted vCenter. Clear it to
+				// force us to create a fresh one. We only get one chance at this. If we fail a second time
+				// we will simply skip this collection round and hope things have stabilized for the next one.
+				retrying = true
+				cf.client = nil
+				continue
 			}
+			return nil, err
 		}
 
 		return cf.client, nil
 	}
 }
 
+func (cf *ClientFactory) testClient(ctx context.Context) error {
+	// Execute a dummy call against the server to make sure the client is
+	// still functional. If not, try to log back in. If that doesn't work,
+	// we give up.
+	ctx1, cancel1 := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Duration(cf.parent.Timeout))
+	defer cancel1()
+	if _, err := methods.GetCurrentTime(ctx1, cf.client.Client); err != nil {
+		cf.parent.Log.Info("Client session seems to have time out. Reauthenticating!")
+		ctx2, cancel2 := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Duration(cf.parent.Timeout))
+		defer cancel2()
+		if err := cf.client.Client.SessionManager.Login(ctx2, url.UserPassword(cf.parent.Username, cf.parent.Password)); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("renewing authentication failed: %s", err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // NewClient creates a new vSphere client based on the url and setting passed as parameters.
 func NewClient(ctx context.Context, vSphereURL *url.URL, vs *VSphere) (*Client, error) {
 	sw := NewStopwatch("connect", vSphereURL.Host)
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/vsphere/vsphere_test.go b/plugins/inputs/vsphere/vsphere_test.go
index 2bdbf53ad..c9fe384ea 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/vsphere/vsphere_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/vsphere/vsphere_test.go
@@ -21,23 +21,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
 )
 
-var configHeader = `
-[agent]
-  interval = "10s"
-  round_interval = true
-  metric_batch_size = 1000
-  metric_buffer_limit = 10000
-  collection_jitter = "0s"
-  flush_interval = "10s"
-  flush_jitter = "0s"
-  precision = ""
-  debug = false
-  quiet = false
-  logfile = ""
-  hostname = ""
-  omit_hostname = false
-`
-
 func defaultVSphere() *VSphere {
 	return &VSphere{
 		Log: testutil.Logger{},