VMs are inaccessible, and the iSCSI software adapter is offline.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• The ESXi host cannot display the iSCSI configured storage, and the software iSCSI adapter is offline. The iSCSI configured network cards (NICs) are unavailable on the ESXi server, and the esxcfg-vswitch -l command reports the error "NIC vmnicX does not exist."

• NIC cards are unavailable on the ESXi host.

Environment

ESXi 7.x

ESXi 8.x

ESX 9.x

Cause

• The ESXi host is not displaying NIC cards configured with ISCSI vmkernel

Resolution

• Validate and Update ESXi Network/Storage Firmware and Driver Versions
• It is crucial to ensure that the Network and Storage firmware and driver versions in ESXi are current. Install the latest available drivers and firmware.
• If issues persist after updating the drivers and firmware, please contact your hardware vendor's support for further troubleshooting