Duplicate internal vswitch naming for ESXi could cause issues for applications using the internal network

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Multiple instances of the standard port group appear in the vCenter Server inventory. This duplication causes connectivity issues for applications that utilize the internal network, particularly when virtual machines (VMs) are distributed across different port group objects that share the same display name.

• Inventory Duplication: The vCenter Server inventory shows two or more port groups within the same Datacenter or Cluster view.
• Connectivity Failures: VMs on the same cluster are associated with different instances of these port groups, leading to communication failures.
• Internal Network Impact: Applications like Veeam backup, which rely on the internal Nutanix network, may fail to migrate or communicate across hosts due to these naming inconsistencies.

 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8

Cause

When administrators manually rename new portgroup to existant in vCenter to maintain consistency with older hosts, vCenter may create a new object ID for the renamed group while retaining references to the old one. This results in multiple "logical" port groups with the same "display" name in the vCenter database.

Resolution

To resolve the duplication and consolidate the inventory, follow these steps for each affected host:

1. Detach Port Group: Disconnect the duplicate port group from all VMs running on the target host. Ensure these VMs are temporarily connected to an alternative port group to avoid disrupting ongoing operations.
2. Maintenance Mode: Place the host into maintenance mode.
3. Rename Port Group (Temporary): Verify that no VMs are using the duplicate port group, then rename it to portgorup-temp.
4. Final Rename: Rename the port group from portgorup-temp back to desire portgroup. This action forces vCenter to refresh its object associations.
5. Verification: Confirm in vCenter Server that the host is now associated with the correct, single port group object.
6. Exit Maintenance Mode: Take the host out of maintenance mode and verify vm operations. 

Additional Information

Nutanix KB 11895: New Nutanix internal vswitch naming for ESXi could cause issues