Cannot migrate virtual machines: vSphere Distributed Switch down due to stale NSX entries.
Article ID: 439592
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
You are unable to migrate virtual machines between hosts. During the vMotion attempt, the port group connection is blocked. When reviewing the ESXi hosts, you will observe that the vSphere Distributed Switch status is down. This issue typically occurs following the uninstallation of NSX from the environment.
Environment
VMware NSX
Cause
The ESXi hosts are holding stale NSX configuration entries following the removal of the NSX software. These stale entries force the DVS status to go down on the affected hosts, which blocks port group connections and prevents successful vMotion operations.
Resolution
To clear the stale entries and restore DVS functionality, remove and re-add the affected hosts to the DVS.
Important Note: Before proceeding, if your host management network or any other critical VMs are currently on the DVS, you must first migrate them to a vSphere Standard Switch to prevent losing connectivity to the host.
Place the affected ESXi host into Maintenance Mode.
Remove the affected host from the DVS:
In the vSphere Client, navigate to Networking > Distributed Switches.
Right-click the DVS and select Remove Hosts.
Select the host experiencing the issue and complete the removal process.
Re-add the host to the DVS:
Right-click the DVS and select Add and Manage Hosts.
Follow the wizard to re-add the host. Ensure you assign the appropriate physical NICs and port groups.
Verify network connectivity after re-adding the host to ensure there is no impact to production prior to exiting Maintenance Mode.
Additional Information
For additional reference on clearing stale entries, you can review Broadcom KB 415378
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