VM Network or vmkernel connectivity lost after ESXi 7.0 U2 reboot

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0

Issue/Introduction

This article describes the troubleshooting of network connectivity loss after rebooting ESXi 7.0 U2.

Symptoms:

After rebooting esxi 7.0 Update2,  with prior portgroup renaming, VM or vmkernel might lose network  connectivity.

Initial configuration 


rename portgroup




After reboot


Here after reboot, 2 portgroups exist, the initial one and the renamed one but without VLAN ID which cause the connectivity loss.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.2

Cause

This situation was introduced in 7.0 U2 due to an incorrect update in config store.
It only impacts standard virtual switches.

When renaming a portgroup, another one is created instead of overwriting the original portgroup.

Resolution

Currently there is no resolution.

This behavior only impacts renamed portgroups on vSphere 7.0 u2 and is not present in 7.0 U3

Workaround:

Add vlan tag to VM or vmkernel renamed  portgroup by command line (or vSphere web client if available)
#esxcfg-vswtich -p "PORTGROUP_NAME" -v VLAN_ID VSWITCH_NAME

Example :
esxcfg-vswtich -p "AFTER_RENAMED" -v 29 vSwitch3

Additional Information

Impact/Risks:
Renaming port group with VLAN ID stetted in 7.0 u2 can lead to network connectivity loss after rebooting ESXi.