ESX/ESXi host takes a long time to reconnect to vCenter Server after a reboot

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• ESX/ESXi host takes a long time to reconnect to vCenter Server after a reboot.
  
  
• /var/log/messages on the ESX(i) 4.x host contain entries similar to:
  
  nssquery: Group lookup failed for '<AD Domain Name>\ESX Admins'
  netlogond[5265]: [LWNetDnsQueryWithBuffer() /build/mts/release/bora-427493/likewise/esxi-esxi/src/linux/netlogon/utils/lwnet-dns.c:1185] DNS lookup for '_ldap._tcp.<name> failed with errno 0, h_errno = 1

Environment

VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

This issue is caused by incorrect or missing DNS settings on the ESX(i) host.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, set the DNS settings on the host to point to the correct DNS server:

• To change the DNS settings from the vSphere Client session:
  
  
  1. Select the host and navigate to the Configuration tab.
  2. Select DNS and Routing.
  3. Click Properties, enter the correct DNS settings and click OK.
     
     
• To change the DNS settings from the command line session, see:
  
  
  • Changing the IP address, default gateway, and hostname of the Service Console in ESX (4309499)
  • Configuring the ESXi Management Network from the direct console (1006710)
  • Configuring or restoring networking from the ESX service console using console-setup (1022078)

Additional Information

Configuring VMware ESXi Management Network from the direct console
Configuring or restoring networking from the ESX service console using console-setup
Changing the IP address, default gateway, and hostname of the Service Console in ESX