Error: ESXi host transport node disconnected with loss of heartbeat in NSX

Products

• VMware NSX
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Host transport nodes show a status of Host Disconnected or Powered off in the NSX Manager UI. This state prevents management-level operations and can impact overlay traffic if TEP tunnels fail to establish.

• Host transport nodes show a status of Host Disconnected or Powered off in the NSX Manager UI.

  
• Error: `Heartbeating between NSX management node and host #### is down`.
  
• NSX configuration attempts may fail with timeouts: "Failed to install software on host. Failed to install software on host.
Time out waiting for host to join NSX Manager."
  

Environment

VMware NSX 3.X / 4.X

VMware ESXi 7.X / 8.X

Cause

The NSX Manager sends heartbeats every minute to host transport nodes. If heartbeats are not received, the manager marks the host as disconnected. This is typically caused by:

• NTP Drift: Time synchronization discrepancies between the NSX Manager and ESXi hosts.
• Expired Certificates: Mismatched or expired APH/Host certificates.
• Service Failure: Unresponsive nsx-proxy services on the ESXi host.

Resolution

There are multiple reasons for a host to show as disconnected in the NSX UI, ranging from certificate issues to network reachability problems.

1. Validate NTP synchronization: Ensure the NSX Manager and all ESXi hosts reference the same reliable time source.
2. Verify network reachability between the NSX Manager and the ESXi host management interface.
3. Navigate to System > Fabric > Nodes > Host Transport Nodes.
4. Expand the affected cluster and identify hosts with Host Disconnected status.
5. Click Host Disconnected and select Resolve to resync thumbprints and certificates.
6. If the issue persists, log in to the ESXi host via SSH and check the proxy status: 

   /etc/init.d/nsx-proxy status.

7. Restart the service if it is unresponsive:

    /etc/init.d/nsx-proxy restart.

8. For confirmed expired certificates, use the Certificate Analyzer, Results and Recovery (CARR) script (Reference: KB 369034).

Additional Information

These are some of the issues that may result in a host showing as disconnected in the NSX UI.

• "Waiting for MPA" error after ESX 7.x Host upgrade from NSX 4.2.1.0 to a version less than 4.2.3 gets stuck at 45%
• Host or Edge Transport Nodes disconnected from NSX UI after NSX managers were restored from backup
• ESXi Hosts's NSX Configuration status shows Host Disconnected in NSX UI
• NSX Certificate Expired Alarm

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