ESXi host shows Not Responding in vCenter due to missing management network route

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• An ESXi host appears in a Not Responding state within the vCenter Server inventory.
• Explicit vmkping from Host to vCenter is successful: vmkping -I vmk0 -d -s 1472 <vCenter_IP>
• Standard ping from host to vCenter fails: ping <vCenter_IP> returns host is down.

Environment

VMware ESXi

VMware vCenter Server

Cause

The ESXi host is unable to determine the correct egress path for traffic destined for the vCenter Server IP address. This typically occurs in environments with multiple VMkernel adapters on different subnets where a specific static route is required to bypass an incorrect default gateway selection or a lack of routing information for the management network.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must add a static IPv4 route to the ESXi host to explicitly define the gateway for vCenter Server traffic.

• Log in to the ESXi host via SSH or the ESXi Shell.
• Run the following command to add a static route for the vCenter Server IP : esxcli network ip route ipv4 add --gateway xx.xx.xx.xx --network ##.##.##.##/24
  • Note : You can add vCenter IP explicitly instead of a network. Ex : esxcli network ip route ipv4 add --gateway xx.xx.xx.xx --network <vCenter_IP>/32
• Verify the route has been added by running: esxcli network ip route ipv4 list OR esxcfg-route -l
• Attempt a standard ping to the vCenter Server to confirm connectivity: ping <vCenter_IP>

Additional Information

Configuring staticroutes for vmkernel ports on an ESXi host