vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) contains dvPort IDs with prefix 'c-'

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

The Ports tab of a vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) displays one or more Port IDs with the prefix 'c-', such as 'c-101'.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x
VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.0.x

Cause

This is an expected behavior.

 

Any port with the prefix c- is a conflict port and is invalid. vCenter Server creates a conflict port if multiple virtual machine's point to the same port. It does not automatically reconfigure the virtual machine to connect to a regular port if the conflict remains and the virtual machine stays connected to the conflict port.

Resolution

To resolve/ remove the conflict port, migrate the virtual network adapter of the virtual machine to a different portgroup or dvPortgroup, then move it back to the original portgroup or dvPortgroup.