NFS datastore inaccessible on ESXi host after network transition or migration

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

ESXi hosts lose connectivity to an NFS datastore during network transitions or cross-vCenter migrations. This results in the datastore being flagged as Inaccessible and impacts virtual machine availability.

Symptoms

• The vSphere Client reports the NFS datastore as Inaccessible.
• esxcli storage nfs list shows the volume accessibility as False.
• vmkping to the storage target IP reports 100% packet loss.

[root@ESXi:/vmfs/volumes] vmkping ####
PING #### (####) : 56 data bytes

- #### ping statistics
3 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss

• The /var/run/log/vmkernel.log contains error: 

2026-07-11721:38:32.885Z Wa (180) vakwarning: cpu2:2098129) WARNING: NFS: 331: Lost connection to the server nfs-server mount point /share, mounted as #### ("nfs-share")

 

Impact

• The NFS volume (and virtual machines residing in the affected volume) are unavailable to the ESXi host.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

The NFS target server IP becomes routing-inaccessible immediately following a network transition between datacenters, while alternative storage paths remain operational.

Resolution

Resolution

Engage the NFS storage or network vendor to inspect and restore the connectivity issue. Once connectivity to the NFS server is restored, the volume automatically reconnects.

Workaround 

If the original storage path remains permanently inaccessible after a network transition, remap the datastore to a functional and reachable storage IP:

1. Power off and unregister all virtual machines residing on the impacted datastore.
2. Unmount the inaccessible datastore from the ESXi host.
3. Mount the datastore using a reachable and functional Server IP.
4. Verify the datastore status returns to Operational.
5. Re-register and power on the virtual machines.

 

Additional Information

For further troubleshooting steps, see Troubleshooting connectivity issues to an NFS datastore (1003967).