ESXi hosts configured with Virtual Distributed Switches (vDS) are inaccessible

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When an ESXi host is configured with a Virtual Distributed Switch, you experience this symptom:

• You cannot access the management network of the ESXi host
• You cannot ping or connect to the ESXi host after reboot
• You do not want to recreate the network of ESXi host using Reset Customized Settings from DCUI

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x

VMware vSphere ESXI 8.x

Resolution

To troubleshoot this issue and to restore access to the ESXi management network:

 

1. Run this command to check the current status of the vSwitch or distributed switch:
   
   #esxcfg-vswitch –l
   
   This command displays a list of vSwitch/dvSwitch and their status.
    
2. Run this command to verify the existing vmkernel and management network:
   
   #esxcfg-vmknic –l
   
   In the output:
   • Check if the IP address and subnets for the management interface are listed correctly.
     
     To modify the IP address, run this command:
     
     esxcfg-vmknic --ip <X.X.X.X> --netmask <X.X.X.X> -p pgName
      
   • Check if enabled is set to true. If not, run this command:
     
     # esxcfg-vmknic -e -p pgName
     or
     # esxcli network ip interface set -i vmk[#] -e true
      
   • Run this command to check the virtual NIC status and to verify if the vmnic attached to the management interface is up and running:
     
     #esxcfg-nics –l

Additional Information

Configuring vSwitch or vNetwork Distributed Switch from the command line in ESXi/ESX

Using ESXi Shell in ESXi