ESXi host shows disconnected in vCenter and management network is unpingable after upgrade

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading an ESXi host, the host displays a "Disconnected" state in the vCenter Server UI. The management network is unpingable. If you remove the host from vCenter, you are unable to add it back to the inventory.

When troubleshooting via the host's Out-of-Band management console (such as iDRAC or iLO), you observe that the vNICs are still attached to the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS), but IP connectivity is down.

Environment

VMware ESXi 8.0

VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Cause

The exact cause of the management network failure following the upgrade is currently unknown. The host loses management network IP connectivity while its vNICs remain associated with the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS).

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must temporarily rebuild a standard vSwitch (vSwitch0) from the ESXi command line to restore IP connectivity, reconnect the host to vCenter, and then migrate the networking back to the vDS.

Follow these steps from the ESXi console:

1. Access the ESXi command line via the host's console.

2. Create a standard port group named "Management Network" on vSwitch0:

   esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup add --portgroup-name="Management Network" --vswitch-name=vSwitch0
   

3. Disable the network coredump configuration to allow the removal of the uplink from the stale dvSwitch:

   esxcli system coredump network set --enable false
   

4. Remove the existing vmk0 interface:

   esxcli network ip interface remove --interface-name=vmk0
   

5. Remove the uplink (e.g., vmnic0) from the vSphere Distributed Switch. Ensure you replace <vDS_PORT_ID> and <vDS_NAME> with your specific environment details:

   esxcfg-vswitch -Q vmnic0 -V <vDS_PORT_ID> <vDS_NAME>
   
   To obtain the values for vDS_PORT_ID and vDS_NAME run the following command:

   esxcli network ip interface list

   

6. Tag the standard vSwitch port group with your correct management VLAN ID:

   esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup set --portgroup-name="Management Network" --vlan-id=<VLAN_ID>
   

7. Recreate the vmk0 interface and assign your static IPv4 configuration:

   esxcli network ip interface add --interface-name=vmk0 --portgroup-name="Management Network"
   

   esxcli network ip interface ipv4 set --interface-name=vmk0 --ipv4=<ESXi_IP_ADDRESS> --netmask=<SUBNET_MASK> --type=static --gateway=<GATEWAY_IP>
   

8. Add the uplink to the standard vSwitch:

   esxcli network vswitch standard uplink add --vswitch-name=vSwitch0 --uplink-name=vmnic0
   

9. Verify the host is now pingable over the management network.

10. From the vCenter Server UI, add the host back to the inventory.

11. Migrate the management network and uplink back to the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS).

Additional Information

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