VM experiencing connectivity issue, unable to assign NIC

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

A single VM powers on successfully but lacks network functionality.

Inside the guest OS, no NICs are visible, and adding a new virtual NIC does not restore connectivity.

The VM is unable to reach its default gateway, and migrating the VM to another ESXi host does not resolve the issue.

 

 

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0

Windows Server 2016 Guest OS

 

Cause

Local antivirus software on the virtual machine interfering with NIC operation and blocking network connectivity.

Resolution

 

Disable the antivirus on the Windows Server 2016 VM to validate if the security software is preventing NIC functionality.

Once antivirus is disabled, verify network connectivity by powering on the VM and checking network cards.