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 Server appliance.
  
  
• The ESXi host currently running the vCenter Server appliance reports as 'Not Responding' in the cluster.
  
  
• In the vCenter Server Appliance, we check following /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:

           

Environment

VMware vCenter Server

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

One of the common cause is VLAN ID mismatch. It is always recommended to validate VLAN ID of the management network for troubleshooting such issues.

A management network VLAN ID mismatch on the ESXi host isolates it from the network. If this ID does not align with the VLAN configured for vCenter Server and the other cluster hosts, all management traffic to the host will fail.

Resolution

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

Similarly, check the VLAN-ID on ESXI host management network.

For more details on configuring VLAN-ID, please refer to KB- VLAN configuration on virtual switches, physical switches, and virtual machines

Additional Information

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