vSwitch Uplink Appears Not Connected to Management Network Although NIC Is Operational
Article ID: 421495
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
An ESXi host shows two physical uplinks on a vSwitch, but one uplink appears as “not connected to Management Network” in the vSphere Client.
Despite this, the NIC:
is link-up,
is operational,
and may still carry traffic for other port groups (VM networks, vMotion, etc.).
This may appear as a misconfiguration, but it is usually expected behavior based on NIC Teaming settings.
Environment
VMware vSphere ESXi
Cause
This behavior occurs when the Management Network port group uses a Failover Order where:
Only one uplink is configured as Active, and
The second uplink is configured as Standby or Unused, or
The port group applies a teaming override different from the vSwitch default, or
The second NIC is connected to a physical switch port not carrying the Management VLAN.
When a NIC is in Standby/Unused for a port group, the UI shows it as not connected, although it is fully operational for other networks.
This is expected behavior when NIC teaming policies differ for uplinks.
Resolution
Verify vSwitch NIC teaming configuration
Host → Configure → Networking → Virtual switches
Confirm both uplinks are attached to vSwitch0.
Check Management Network failover policy
Host → Configure → Networking → Port Groups → Management Network → Edit → Teaming and Failover
Verify whether “Override failover order” is enabled.
If redundancy is needed, move the second uplink from Standby/Unused to Active.
Validate VLAN configuration on physical switch ports
Ensure both uplink switch ports carry the correct Management VLAN.
Confirm no unintended port-group overrides
If overrides are intentional, no action is required.
No fix needed if configuration is by design
If one NIC is intended to be Active and the other Standby, the behavior is normal and can be safely ignored.
Optional: Identify which vmnic a VM is using Broadcom KB: How to find which vmnic a VM is using on ESXi
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