In Certain Cases, vSphere-Generated OVF Network Section Displays Port-Group ID Instead of Name

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

• When using the CreateDescriptor() API or VirtualMachine.ExportVm API via the vSphere SDK to export an OVF, the resulting NetworkSection may display the Managed Object ID (MoID) of a Distributed Virtual Port Group (DVPG) instead of name.     
• This behavior is observed when exporting a VM connected to a Distributed Virtual Port Group on a Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS). Specifically, the ovf:name attribute in the OVF file incorrectly reflects the DVPG's MoID.

Example Output:

<NetworkSection>
  <Info>The list of logical networks</Info>
  <Network ovf:name="dvportgroup-00">
    <Description>The dvportgroup-00 network</Description>
  </Network>
</NetworkSection>

In the above, ovf:name="dvportgroup-00" refers to the MoID of the DVPG, not its actual name (e.g., "DVPortGroup")

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0.x

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0

Cause

• This issue occurs due to a bug in the vSphere APIs where the ovf:name attribute is populated with the DVPG’s MoID instead of name.
• The OVF descriptor should reference the display name for clarity and proper mapping during OVF deployment or import operations.

Resolution

This issue is fixed in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1

[Environments running versions below VCF 9.1 use below Workaround]

Manually edit the OVF descriptor file to replace ovf:name="dvportgroup-XX" with the correct DVPG name.