The UID for the lldpVim-user may change after ESXi host reboot.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

The UID of lldpVim-user is not static and may be re-assigned after a host reboot. As the command output below confirms, the UID assigned to lldpVim-user in /etc/passwd is subject to change following a host restart:

# Pre Reboot
[root@ESX_HOSTNAME:~] grep lldpVim-user /etc/passwd
lldpVim-user:x:1003:1003:ESXi User:/:/bin/sh

# Post reboot
[root@ESX_HOSTNAME:~] grep lldpVim-user /etc/passwd
lldpVim-user:x:1000:1000:ESXi User:/:/bin/sh
               ^^^^

Note: lldpVim-user is created on the host where NSX is enabled. Please refer to NSX-T user accounts created on an ESXi host when NSX-T VIBs are installed for more details.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

lldpVim-user is a system user used internally by NSX. It is created and deleted each time the nsx-opsagent (one of the NSX services) starts and stops. Consequently, the UID of lldpVim-user may change due to operations that involve restarting the NSX service, such as a host reboot, upgrade, or NSX re-installation.

Resolution

This is the expected behavior and does not cause any impact on ESXi.