vSphere Distributed Switch Shows Out of Sync Alarm Due to Ports Mapped to a Template

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

A vSphere environment triggers the alarm: "The vSphere Distributed Switch configuration on some hosts differed from that of the vCenter Server." Despite following standard rectification steps—such as clicking Rectify vNetwork Distributed Switch Host—the alarm persists for specific ports (e.g., 1128, 22074, 14456). This typically occurs when the affected ports are associated with a Virtual Machine that has been converted into a Template, preventing the host and vCenter from synchronizing the port metadata.

Cause

The out-of-sync status is caused by a state mismatch between the vCenter Server database and the host proxy switch regarding specific Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) ports. When a port is assigned to a Template, the management plane may fail to push configuration updates or reconcile port identities because the Template is a static object and does not "heartbeat" or update its network state in the same manner as a registered Virtual Machine.

Resolution

To resolve the synchronization error, the object associated with the mismatched ports must be temporarily returned to a Virtual Machine state to allow the vCenter and the host to reconcile.

• Identify the ports listed in the vCenter logs or alarm details.
• Locate the Template that is mapped to the affected ports.
• Right-click the Template and select Convert to Virtual Machine.
• Select a host and cluster to run the VM.
• Once the conversion is complete, the vSphere Distributed Switch should automatically sync, and the "Out of Sync" alarm will clear.
• Note: If it does not clear immediately, right-click the host and select Rectify vNetwork Distributed Switch Host now that the object is a VM.
• Once the status shows In Sync, right-click the Virtual Machine and select Convert to Template.

Additional Information

Should the synchronization error persist after these steps, please refer to the following knowledge base article for further troubleshooting: "The vSphere Distributed Switch configuration on some hosts differed from that of the vCenter Server" seen in the vCenter Networking icon view, Summary tab of a vDS