Error: Storage device connectivity lost after applying Host Profile in vSphere 9.x or 8.x

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

An ESXi host loses access to all storage devices and VMkernel networking immediately following Host Profile remediation. Observed symptoms include iSCSI login failures to Nimble or Alletra arrays, "Network Unreachable" errors, and the following log patterns:

• VMkernel: ScsiDeviceIO: 4697: Cmd(0x################) 0x##, CmdSN 0x## from world ###### to dev "mpx.vmhba##:C#:T#:L#" failed H:0x0 D:0x2 P:0x0 Valid sense data: 0x5 0x0 0x0

• System: jumpstart: Host Profile apply failed with error 0x26a

• Storage: scsiDiscover:port initialization not complete

This typically occurs in mixed environments (vCenter 9.0.x with ESXi 8.0.x) where the profile enforces incorrect iSCSI port bindings or MTU settings.

Environment

 

• VMware vCenter Server 9.0.x

• VMware ESXi 8.0.x

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 4.x / 5.x / 9.x

• Software iSCSI (vmhba64)

 

Cause

The Host Profile contains an invalid iSCSI Network Policy that binds the initiator to non-storage VMkernel interfaces (such as vmk0 for Management). This prevents the initiator from establishing a TCP connection to the storage target, leading the Pluggable Storage Architecture (PSA) to unclaim the storage devices.

Resolution

Recover Storage Connectivity

1. Log in to the ESXi host via SSH or the local console.

2. Identify the invalid VMkernel ports currently bound to the iSCSI adapter: esxcli iscsi networkpolicy list -A vmhba64

3. Remove all VMkernel interfaces that do not have Layer 2 connectivity to the storage network (e.g., vmk0, vmk2): esxcli iscsi networkpolicy remove -v vmk# -A vmhba64

4. Force the storage stack to rediscover the lost devices: esxcli storage core adapter rescan --all

5. Search for and mount the VMFS datastores: vmkfstools -V

Sanitize the Host Profile

1. Navigate to Policies and Profiles > Host Profiles in the vSphere Client.

2. Select the affected profile and click Edit.

3. Expand Storage Configuration > iSCSI Initiator Configuration > iSCSI Alias/Binding.

4. Deselect the checkboxes for any VMkernel ports used for Management, vMotion, or vSAN traffic.

5. Expand Networking Configuration and deselect the Physical NIC configuration if the profile is incorrectly forcing a standard MTU (1500) on a Jumbo Frame (9000) network.

6. Click Save.

7. Right-click the affected host and select Host Profiles > Reset Host Customizations.

8. Run a new Check Compliance task to verify the host remains compliant without dropping storage.

Additional Information

• Configuring iSCSI and iSER Adapters and Storage with ESXi
• Considerations for using software iSCSI port binding in ESXi
• Recommended Upgrade Workflows for vSphere Host Profiles 8.0
• Recommended Upgrade Workflows for vSphere Host Profiles 9.0

The vSphere Host Profiles capability is deprecated in vSphere 9.0 and will be removed in a future release. Instead of Host Profiles, you can use vSphere Configuration Profiles to manage configurations at cluster level. For more details, see this blog.