When trying to power on VM we see errors like, “This VM is attached to a network portgroup <portgroup name> that doesn't exist. Edit this VM and attach it to a different network."

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to power on a Virtual Machine (VM) configured with a virtual network adapter attached to a Standard Switch, an error message appears: 'This VM is attached to a network portgroup <portgroup name> that doesn't exist. Edit this VM and attach it to a different network.'
• This error occurs despite a VMkernel adapter (vmk) already being successfully connected to a portgroup with the same name on the host.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

An ESXi host does not support using the same standard switch port group for both VMkernel interfaces and virtual machines.

Resolution

To ensure proper network segmentation and connectivity for virtual machine (VM) traffic on an ESXi host using a standard switch, create a dedicated portgroup exclusively for VM traffic. When configuring this port group, ensure that the correct VLAN ID is assigned.

Additional Information

Port Group Configuration for Virtual Machines