vNICs are disconnected after NSX is uninstalled from ESXi

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
After NSX 6.4 is uninstalled from an ESXi host, you see the following symptoms.

• vNICs are disconnected on the host.
• vNICs cannot be manually connected.
• NSX VIBs have been successfully uninstalled from the host.
• In vmkernel.log, you see entries similar to:

2019-08-26T12:59:05.858Z cpu0:497596)Net: 2524: connected Win2012R2-2.eth0 eth0 to vDS, portID 0x7000014
2019-08-26T12:59:05.858Z cpu0:497596)Net: 3215: associated dvPort 0 with portID 0x7000014
2019-08-26T12:59:05.858Z cpu0:497596)DVFilter: 3595: Could not find filter 'vmware-sfw'
2019-08-26T12:59:05.858Z cpu0:497596)DVFilter: 5605: Failed to add filter vmware-sfw on vNic 0 slot 2: Not found
2019-08-26T12:59:05.858Z cpu0:497596)WARNING: Net: 3261: DVFilterActivateCommon failed for port 0x7000014: Failure
2019-08-26T12:59:05.858Z cpu0:497596)Net: 3734: dissociate dvPort 0 from port 0x7000014
2019-08-26T12:59:05.858Z cpu0:497596)Net: 3740: disconnected client from port 0x7000014

Environment

VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere 6.4.x
VMware NSX for vSphere 6.4.x

Cause

The symptom occurs because dvfiltertable entries are not removed from a host which NSX VIBs are uninstalled from.

Resolution

Currently, there is no resolution.

Workaround:
Before moving the ESXi out of NSX clusters, run the following command on the ESXi host.

vsipioctl clearallfilters -Override -a vmware-sfw

Note:
The command disables DFW. Do not run the command while VMs with DFW attached is running.
The command must be run before uninstalling NSX because the command is only available when NSX is installed.

If you have moved the ESXi out of NSX cluster without running the command, reboot the ESXi host to recover from the symptom.

Additional Information

Impact/Risks:
VMs lose network connectivity.