ESXi NSX 4.2.1 vDS no longer able to attach VMKs after patching from ESXi 7.0.3 P09 to ESXi 7.0 Update 3s

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

After patching ESXi 7.0.3 P09 to ESXi 7.0 Update 3s previously working and installed vmk's will experience the following

• vmkping attempts will result in Unknown Interface 'vmk#'
• /var/run/log/vmkernel.log will show

  <DATE AND TIME> cpu##:#)WARNING: Tcpip_Vmk: ####: Unable to attach vmk# to <vDS port number>[error = 0xbad0003]

Cause

NSX vDS properties are lost during the patch

Resolution

This is a known issue with NSX and will be resolved in future release.

Workaround:

Connect to host via direct connection or SSH if it's still available and run the following in command line

1. Unset the forwardingMode property:
net-dvs -u "com.vmware.nsxData.vdl2.forwardingMode" -p hostPropList <DVS NAME>

2. Check if the property is unset successfully:
net-dvs -l | grep forwardingMode

3. Persist it to configstore:
net-dvs --persist

4. Reboot host. Do not use a force reboot.