Adding an ESX host into a Distributed Virtual Switch fails with the error: Unable to Create Proxy DVS

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Adding an ESXi/ESX host into a Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) fails
• You see the error:
  

  Unable to Create Proxy DVS; Status (bad0031) = Not Initialized
  

• Running the command net-dvs from the ESXi/ESX host fails
• You see the error:
  

  failed to get config data: not initialized
  

• In some scenarios, the host might show the vDS "Out of Sync" in the vSphere client

Environment

VMware ESXi 

Cause

This issue occurs because of dvsdata.db corruption, which can be caused by a network outage.

 

If an ESXi/ESX host is disconnected and removed from vCenter Server, it may still keep the vDS information in its cache. When ESXi/ESX is added to a new vDS, old vDS information cannot be removed from the GUI.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must restore the dvsdata.db file.

Note: Before attempting the steps make sure that your ESXi/ESX host is accessible through DCUI/DRAC/iLO/RSA/KVM and/or the management network/service console is configured on a standard vSwitch.

To restore the dvsdata.db file:

1. Connect to the shell of a working ESXi/ESX host. For more information, see Using ESXi Shell in ESXi
2. Copy the /etc/vmware/dvsdata.db file to a shared location.
3. Connect to the shell of a problematic ESXi/ESX host.
4. Create a backup of /etc/vmware/dvsdata.db.
5. Paste the dvsdata.db file you copied in step 2, into the /etc/vmware/ folder of the problematic host.
6. Reboot the problematic host.
7. Log in to the shell of the problematic ESXi/ESX host as root and navigate to /usr/lib/vmware/bin and run the command:
   

   # ./net-dvs

   If the command does not return an error, the ESXi/ESX host can be added to vDS.

Additional Information

Using ESXi Shell in ESXi