Virtual Machine Intermittently Inaccessible in vCenter and Invalid on ESXi Host Client

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Virtual machines (VMs) intermittently toggle between "Inaccessible" and "Normal" states in the vCenter Server inventory.
• This issue often occurs following a vSphere High Availability (HA) event or storage controller reset, where conflicting inventory registrations exist across multiple ESXi hosts.

Environment

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

• This issue occurs due to a "Ghost Host" scenario resulting from conflicting VM registrations
• During a vSphere HA failover event, multiple ESXi hosts attempt to register and claim the VM in their respective local inventories simultaneously, though only one host successfully powers it on.
• These competing registrations cause inventory synchronization and database inconsistencies within vCenter Server.

Resolution

Follow these steps to clear the stale inventory registrations and re-register the virtual machine:

 

1. Identify the Datastore Location:
   1. In the vCenter Server UI, navigate to the affected VM.
   2. Click the Datastores tab and note the exact datastore and folder path where the VM's configuration (.vmx) file resides.
2. Unregister the VM from the ESXi Host Client:
   1. Log in directly to the ESXi Host Client for the host displaying the VM as Invalid.
   2. Right-click the invalid VM and select Unregister.
3. Remove the Stale Entry from vCenter:
   1. Return to the vCenter Server UI.
   2. Right-click the affected VM and select Remove from Inventory.
4. Re-register the VM in vCenter:
   1. In vCenter Server, navigate to Storage and select the datastore noted in Step 1.
   2. Click Files, locate the VM folder, and find the .vmx file
   3. Select the .vmx file and click Register VM to add it cleanly back into the inventory.

Additional Information

If you require further assistance, contact Broadcom Support.