ESXi host not connecting/disconnects from vCenter Server after adding a static route for vSphere Replication

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

VMware ESXi hosts disconnect from the VMware vCenter Server after adding a static route intended to facilitate OpenSSL communication or vSphere Replication traffic. 

Cause

This is expected behavior. If a static route is configured on a different VMK (Not Management) and directed to the same subnet as the vCenter Server, host management traffic is misrouted. This breaks the management network communication heartbeat between the ESXi host (vpxa) and the vCenter Server (vpxd), causing the host to enter a disconnected state in the vSphere inventory.

Resolution

1. Identify the incorrect static route that overlaps with the vCenter Server management subnet.

2. Remove the misconfigured static route from the ESXi host.

3. Verify that the ESXi host reconnects to the vCenter Server automatically once traffic resumes over the correct management interface (vmk0).

4. To properly direct vSphere Replication traffic without disrupting management communication, ensure any static routes added are strictly scoped to the replication target networks and do not encompass or overlap with the vCenter Server network subnet.