ESXi host in "not responding"/"disconnected" state on which the vCenter VM is hosted

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• ESXi host in "not responding"/"disconnected" state
  
  
• Unable to ping ESXi host management IP address from vCenter
  
  
• The host on which the vCenter VM is hosted that ESXi goes into "not responding" state
  
  
• In the vCenter /var/log/vmware/vpxd/vpxd.log file:

  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> info 'vpxdvpxdMoHost' opID=########-########-##] [HostMo] host connection state changed to [DISCONNECTED] for host-ID
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> error 'vpxdvpxdInvtHostCnx' opID=HB-host-ID@####-########] [VpxdInvtHostSyncHostLRO] FixNotRespondingHost failed for host host-ID, marking host as notResponding
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> error 'vpxdvpxdInvtHostCnx' opID=HB-host-ID@####-########] [VpxdInvtHostSyncHostLRO] FixNotRespondingHost failed for host host-ID, marking host as notResponding
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> warning vpxd[08956] [Originator@6876 sub=MoHost opID=HostSync-host-######-1e3cfba5] host [vim.HostSystem:host-#######,<hostname>.<domain.com>] connection state changed to NO_RESPONSE

• Unable to ping the default gateway of the ESXi host from DCUI when the ESXi host is in disconnected state as shown below:

           

Cause

The issue occurs when the incorrect VLAN ID is configured for the Management Network on the ESXi host.

If the VLAN ID does not match the VLAN used by vCenter Server and other ESXi hosts management interfaces, traffic cannot reach the ESXi host management IP.

Resolution

Check the port group the vCenter VM is using and validate if the Vlan is tagged on the physical switch 

Additional Information

For similar or related issues for ESXi hosts not responding in vCenter Troubleshooting an ESXi host in a "not responding"/"disconnected" state