vSphere HA Agent Error: "Cannot Reach Management Network Addresses"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• ESXi host alert: vSphere HA agent on host cannot reach some management network addresses of other hosts:
• Unable to check the Service Endpoint (SE) health
• VIPs are unavailable
• vSphere HA Agent reporting Error: Cannot Reach Management Network Addresses

Environment

7.x, 8.x

Cause

This issue occurs when a host experiencing a vSphere HA event is unable to ping or reach the Management Network IP address of other hosts in the cluster. The cause could be firewall rules, an incorrect Management Network IP, use of IPv6, or other network connectivity issues.

These alerts are triggered when a host goes down due to various reasons, including changes in the Master Host. If this impacts vSphere HA, it will automatically be reconfigured at the host level for the affected host to restore functionality.

Resolution

Resolve vSphere HA Agent Connectivity Issues

Disable and Re-enable vSphere HA

1. Log in to vCenter Server.
2. Right-click the cluster and select Settings.
3. Under Services, click on vSphere Availability.
4. In vSphere Availability, click Edit for vSphere HA
5. Toggle to disable vSphere HA, and click OK.
6. Re-enable vSphere HA by clicking on Edit for vSphere HA, toggle to enable, and click OK.
   Note: Wait for all hosts in the cluster to be reconfigured with vSphere HA.

Restart the vSphere HA agent on the ESXi:

1. Select the impacted ESXi Host.
2. Go to the Configure tab.
3. Under Services and System, select vSphere High Availability Agent
4. Click on Restart at the top and then click OK.
   Note: Wait for the service to restart and complete. This can be confirmed in the Recent Tasks panel.

Restart the hostd and vpx ESXi services:

• Log into ESXi Shell or SSH into ESXi as root.
• Run the following commands:
  
  • /etc/init.d/hostd restart
  • /etc/init.d/vpxa restart