The virtual machine is visible on the ESXi host UI, but it does not appear in the vCenter UI it is connected to.

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• The VM is visible on host UI and can be managed
• The host is connected to vCenter and shows no alerts on vCenter UI
• The host inventory does not show up on vCenter UI.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

The host inventory is not properly synchronized with vCenter, resulting in a discrepancy where a virtual machine currently residing on the host is not visible within the vCenter interface.

Resolution

Resolution Steps:

1. Restart the management agents on Host
   • Log in to ESXi Shell or SSH as root.
   • Run:
     /etc/init.d/hostd restart
/etc/init.d/vpxa restart
   • For more information: Restarting Management Agents in ESXi
2. Reconnect the Host to vCenter
   • In the vSphere Client, navigate to the affected host.
   • Right-click the host, select Disconnect, and then Connect again to re-establish proper communication between the host and vCenter.
3. Remove and Re-add the Host (if the VM is not connected to a Distributed Virtual Switch)
   • Identify the affected host and ensure it is evacuated of any powered-on or active virtual machines.
   • Right-click the host and select Remove from Inventory.
   • Once removed, re-add the host to the same cluster in vCenter by following steps below:
     • Right-click on the cluster and click Add hosts
     • For more information :Creating a datacenter and adding an ESXi host to the vCenter Server Inventory using vCenter Server appliance.