The nfcd Service Not Auto-Starting After ESXi Host Reboot

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

An issue may occur where:

• The ESXi host fails to be added back to the vCenter Server because the NFCD service didn’t start automatically after a reboot. After manually starting the NFCD service, the host is successfully added back to the vCenter Server.

 

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x with vSphereProvisioning Network Stack 
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x 

Cause

For services to restart automatically after a host reboot, they must be set to "on" in the chkconfig.db file. In this case, the nfcd service was set to "off," which prevented it from restarting automatically.

Resolution

To address the issue where the nfcd service fails to start automatically after an ESXi host reboot, follow these steps:

1. Verify Ports Required for nfcd Service: Ensure the nfcd service ports are listening by running the following command:

• • • esxcli network ip connection list

[root@esxi:~] esxcli network ip connection list | grep nfcd
tcp         0       0  [::]:902             [::]:0              LISTEN         961525  newreno  nfcd
tcp         0       0  0.0.0.0:902          0.0.0.0:0           LISTEN         961525  newreno  nfcd
[root@esxi:~]


 

2. If the ports are not listening, check if the firewall is enabled, which may block the ports. Disable the ESXi firewall
3. Validate the Service in the Start-Up Configuration: Verify that the nfcd service is listed under the service start-up configuration policy:

• • • /sbin/chkconfig -o | sed -n -e '1!G' -e 'h' -e '$p'
    • /sbin/chkconfig -io

[root@esxi:~] /sbin/chkconfig -o | sed -n -e '1!G' -e 'h' -e '$p' | grep nfcd
[root@esxi:~] /sbin/chkconfig -io | grep nfcd

• • • If the service is not listed, continue to the next steps. 

4. Check chkconfig.db File for Service Status:

• • • Check the /etc/chkconfig.db file to verify if the service's power-on policy has been set to "off."

    [root@esxi:/etc] less chkconfig.db | grep nfcd
    /etc/init.d/nfcd        off

• • • Take a backup of the chkconfig.db file:
      
      • cp /etc/chkconfig.db /etc/chkconfig.db.bak


    • Modify the chkconfig.db File to Set the Service to "On":
       
      • Press i to enter Insert mode.
      • Change the nfcd service status from "off" to "on."
      • Press ESC, then type :wq! to save and exit the editor.

[root@esxi:/etc] less chkconfig.db | grep nfcd
/etc/init.d/nfcd        on

5. Restart the nfcd Service: Apply the changes by restarting the nfcd service:

• • •  /etc/init.d/nfcd restart

6. Verify the Service Status: Ensure the nfcd service is now correctly listed under the start-up configuration by running the following commands again:

• • • /sbin/chkconfig -o | sed -n -e '1!G' -e 'h' -e '$p'
    • /sbin/chkconfig -io

[root@esxi:/etc] /sbin/chkconfig -io | grep nfcd
/etc/init.d/nfcd
[root@esxi:/etc] /sbin/chkconfig -o | sed -n -e '1!G' -e 'h' -e '$p' | grep nfcd
/etc/init.d/nfcd

7. Reboot the Host: Finally, reboot the host to ensure that the nfcd service starts automatically on boot:

• • • [root@esxi:~] reboot

Additional Information

NFCD behavior in ESXi 7.x and ESXi 8.x