Changing the IP address of an ESXi host disconnects the host from vCenter Server or the change is rolled back

Products

• VMware

Issue/Introduction

If you add an ESXi 6.0 host to vCenter Server by using the host management IP address, the host certificate is generated by using the IP address as a Common Name (CN). As a result, if the host IP address changes, it stops matching the IP address used as CN in the host certificate. The method is which the host IP address has been changed leads to different events:

• If you change the host IP address directly on the host, the host disconnects from vCenter Server.
• If a DHCP server changes the host IP address, the host disconnects from vCenter Server.
• If you attempt to change the host IP address through the vSphere Web Client, the operation is rolled back with the following error message:

An error occurred while communicating with the remote host. Network configuration change disconnected the host from vCenter Server and has been rolled back.

Resolution

• If the host is disconnected from vCenter Server, add the host back so that a certificate with the new host IP address is generated.
• If you attempted to change the host IP address through the vSphere Web Client and the operation rolls back, remove the host from the inventory, change its IP address, and add the host back to vCenter Server.