Changing a host's management IP address causes the ESXi host to disconnect from the vCenter Server.

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• The ESXi host is disconnected from the vCenter Server after the management IP address is changed.
• Manual host reconnection attempts are terminated immediately or shortly after they are initiated.
• A heartbeat communication mismatch is caused by the stale management IP address retained in the vpxa agent configuration.

Environment

VMware vSphere 7.x

VMware vSphere 8.x

Cause

The issue is caused by the failure to update the new IP address in the vpxa configuration. For ESXi versions up to 7.0 Update 2, this configuration is stored in /etc/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg. In ESXi 7.0 Update 3 and later, the configuration is maintained within the ESXi Configuration Store.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, the vpxa agent configuration must be synchronized. The procedure depends on the ESXi version.

ESXi 7.0 Update 2 and Earlier

1. Create a backup of the /etc/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg file:

   # cp /etc/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg /etc/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg_old

2. Edit the file using the vi editor and replace the host IP value with the new management IP address.

3. Restart both the hostd and vpxa services to apply the change:

   # /etc/init.d/hostd restart
   # /etc/init.d/vpxa restart
   

4. Reconnect the host to vCenter using the vSphere Client.

ESXi 7.0 Update 3 and Later

1. Export the current vpxa solution user configuration from the Config Store:

   # configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k vpxa_solution_user_config -outfile vpxa.json
   

2. Create a backup of the exported file:

   # rm -f vpxa.json.bak; cp vpxa.json vpxa.json.bak -f
   

3. Edit the exported file and replace the value of the "host_ip" field with the new host management IP address.

4. Verify that the "server_ip" field contains the correct IP address of the vCenter Server.

5. Save the file and re-import the updated configuration into the ESXi Config Store:

   # configstorecli config current set -c esx -g services -k vpxa_solution_user_config -infile vpxa.json
   

6. Verify that the IP address was updated successfully:

   # configstorecli config current get -c esx -g services -k vpxa_solution_user_config
   

7. Restart both the hostd and vpxa services to apply the change:

   # /etc/init.d/hostd restart
   # /etc/init.d/vpxa restart
   

8. Reconnect the host to vCenter using the vSphere Client.

9. After the host has been reconnected to vCenter, refresh the ESXi host certificate from the vSphere Client.

   • Select the ESXi host.

   • Navigate to Configure > System > Certificate.

   • Click Refresh CA Certificates to push the current trusted certificates to the host, or click Renew to renew the ESXi host certificate.