ESXi host unexpectedly creates vmkernel ports from portgroups on the vSwitch

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Post an unexpected outage or an environment down scenario, once the ESXi Host boots back up, you can see unwanted vmkernel interfaces created.
  
  The vmkernel interfaces will have the names of the some of the Portgroups in the vSwitch/DVS.
  
  
• The VLAN tag might also be missing from the standard switch settings
  
  
• The /var/run/log/vmkernel.log contains the following error snippets
  
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(182) vmkernel: cpu6:1048827)Activating Jumpstart plugin restore-networking.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(182) vmkernel: cpu0:1048832)Applying start on plugin restore-networking
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z Al(177) vmkalert: cpu6:1048827)ALERT: Jumpstart plugin restore-networking activation failed.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(182) vmkernel: cpu7:1049430)Net: 2241: connected vmk4  to 801_PROD_#######_##.##.##.##, portID 0x40000xx
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(182) vmkernel: cpu7:1049430)Tcpip_Vmk: 123: vmk4:

• The /var/run/log/localcli.log contains the following error snippets
  
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(14) localcli[1049430]: Log for VMware ESXi version=8.0.2 build=build-23###546 option=Release
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(14) localcli[1049430]: VmkNic: Enable: netstack:'defaultTcpipStack', interface:'vmk4', portStr:'801_PROD_#######_##.##.##.##m24

• The /var/run/log/syslog.log contains the following error snippets

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(30) configBmcNic.sh[1049271]: BMCNIC: Configure network setting for BMC NIC vusb0
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(30) configBmcNic.sh[1049299]: BMCNIC: Find existing BMC network PortGroup:801_PROD_#######_##.##.##.##m24
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(30) configBmcNic.sh[1049300]: BMCNIC: Find existing BMC network vSwitch:vSwitch0
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(30) configBmcNic.sh[1049440]: BMCNIC: VMkernel Nic is vmk0 Name: Name: Name:
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.Z In(30) configBmcNic.sh[1049446]: BMCNIC: Setup BMC Network configuration Retry 1! 

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

 

This issue is caused by the misconfiguration of vSwitch/vSwitchBMC/vusb0.

Resolution

Follow one of the options below to resolve the issue.

Option 1: Disable the vUSB Device

If the vusb0 device is not in use, you can disable it entirely. ESXi will skip the vSwitchBMC configuration if no vusb0 device is detected.

Option 2: Disable BMC Network via Advanced Settings

You can disable the BMCNetworkEnable parameter and reboot the host to apply the changes.

1. Log in to the ESXi host via SSH.

2. Execute the following command to disable the setting
   
   esxcfg-advcfg -s 0 /Net/BMCNetworkEnable

3. Reboot the ESXi host for the changes to take effect.

NOTE:- Before proceeding with either option, it is recommended to unlink vusb0 from vSwitch0 and remove vSwitchBMC.

Additional Information

Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 9 (iDRAC9) Version 3.00.00.00 User's Guide