Unable to Ping other ESXi Hosts Through Management Network Due to Load Balancing Mismatch

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

An ESXi host is unable to ping other ESXi hosts through the management network, while communication between the remaining hosts is working as expected.
This issue occurs due to inconsistent NIC teaming and load balancing configuration on the management network across ESXi hosts.

Environment

VMware ESXi
VMware Vcenter

Cause

The issue is caused by a mismatch in the NIC teaming load balancing policy on the management network.

Resolution

Update the NIC teaming load balancing policy on the affected ESXi host to match the working hosts.

Steps to change the load balancing policy on an ESXi host:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client
2. Select the affected ESXi host
3. Go to Configure > Networking > Virtual switches
4. Identify the vSwitch used by the Management Network
5. Edit the Management Network port group
6.Expand NIC Teaming and Failover
7. Change Load Balancing to Route based on originating virtual port
8. Click OK to save the changes

After applying the change, the ESXi host is able to successfully ping other ESXi hosts through the management network.