VPXD crashes when any action performed on VMs

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• The vCenter enters into a hung state whenever any action is performed on the VMs (such as creating a new VM, powering on/off, or modifying VM settings).
• vpxd crashes and creates a crash dump under /var/core/core.vpxd-worker.######
• However, performing the same actions directly from the ESXi host UI client works without any issues.
• Below is the error page you will see when the vCenter vpxd crashes.
  
• The vCenter - /var/log/vmware/vpxd/vpxd.log file shown below indicates a communication issue between the host and the vCenter Server
  

  2025-10-04T10:12:10.192+08:00 error vpxd[38615] [Originator@6876 sub=MoHost opID=6d34ea3c] Null response from host [vim.HostSystem:host-18####,esx##.local]; no error
  2025-10-04T10:12:10.192+08:00 error vpxd[38615] [Originator@6876 sub=MoDVSwitch opID=6d34ea3c] RPC for host [vim.HostSystem:host-18####,esx##.local] got status code 3

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0.3

Cause

If a host is not properly removed from the old vCenter before being added to the new vCenter, the stale Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) configuration remains on the ESXi host, preventing proper communication with the new vCenter.

Resolution

1. Create a standard switch on the host and configure the required port groups.
2. Migrate all VMs and VMkernel adapters from the affected Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) to the standard switch.
3. Remove the host from the affected DVS.
4. Verify that the host has been successfully removed from the DVS. Run this command on the ESXi host:
   esxcfg-vswitch -l
5. Once confirmed, re-add the host to the DVS and migrate all VMs and VMkernel adapters from the standard switch back to their original distributed port groups.

Additional Information

If the above steps in this KB do not resolve the issue, raise a support ticket with Broadcom support, selecting vCenter as the product.
Handling Log Bundles for offline review with Broadcom support.

• Uploading files to cases on the Broadcom Support Portal
• Creating and managing Broadcom support cases