ESXi Host Not Reachable After Upgrade from 7.0 U3 to 8.0 U3

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

1. After upgrading to ESXi 8.0 U3, the host becomes disconnected from vCenter and is not reachable through ping or SSH on the management network.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Self-ping is failing from the ESXi shell when accessed via the DCUI console.
   
   

Environment

8.0 U3

Cause

During the upgrade, the management network configuration, specifically the default gateway, does not get retained properly. Because of this, the host loses connectivity on the management interface and fails to communicate with vCenter or respond to network requests.

Resolution

Restart the management network from the DCUI console to reload the correct network settings and restore connectivity. This step refreshes the network stack and applies the proper configurations, including the default gateway. Once done, the host becomes reachable again and successfully reconnects to vCenter.

 

Note: If the host is part of a vDS, you might need to remove and then re-add the host to the vDS for the uplinks to function correctly.

 

Additional Information

Restart the Management Network