Port group creation fails with "Operation failed" due to invalid NIC order in ESX
Article ID: 446727
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
Administrators are unable to create a port group on an ESXi host via the VMware vCenter Server or ESXi Host Client UI, encountering an "Operation failed" error. Conversely, port group creation completes successfully when executed via the Command Line Interface (CLI).
When observing this issue, the following symptoms are present:
The vCenter Server UI does not display the USB NIC (
vusb0) as an uplink in the vSwitch (e.g.,vSwitchBMC) configuration.Within the "Manage Physical Adapters" menu for the affected vSwitch, the
vusb0adapter incorrectly appears in both the "Standby" and "Unused" adapter lists simultaneously.The
hostd.logrecords errors indicating an invalid Network Interface Card (NIC) teaming order.
2026-06-19T05:51:32.853Z In(166) Hostd[2145377]: [Originator@6876 sub=Hostsvc opID=#####goj-####8-auto-1###-h5:70######-d#-8-d### sid=52###### user=vpxuser:A######1.LOCAL\Administrator] Invalid NIC order: one of more PNIC specified are not uplinked to vswitch.
2026-06-19T05:51:32.853Z In(166) Hostd[2145377]: [Originator@6876 sub=Hostsvc opID=#####goj-####8-auto-1###-h5:70######-d#-8-d### sid=52###### user=vpxuser:A######1.LOCAL\Administrator] Invalid NIC teaming policy: invalid NIC order specified.
2026-06-19T05:51:32.853Z In(166) Hostd[2145377]: [Originator@6876 sub=Hostsvc opID=#####goj-####8-auto-1###-h5:70######-d#-8-d### sid=52###### user=vpxuser:A######1.LOCAL\Administrator] Invalid network policy: invalid NIC teaming policy.
2026-06-19T05:51:32.853Z In(166) Hostd[2145377]: [Originator@6876 sub=Hostsvc.NetworkVmkSimulator opID=#####goj-####8-auto-1###-h5:70######-d#-8-d### sid=52###### user=vpxuser:A######1.LOCAL\Administrator] Cannot set policy for vswitch [vSwitchBMC], network policy is invalid: (vim.host.NetworkPolicy)
Environment
VMware ESX 8.x
Cause
This issue occurs because the ESXi host management service (hostd) contains a stale or corrupted in-memory state regarding the virtual switch's NIC teaming configuration. Specifically, it incorrectly registers the USB NIC (vusb0) in an invalid teaming order, causing it to appear in multiple adapter lists simultaneously.
When the vCenter Server or ESXi Host Client UI attempts to create a port group, it queries this invalid state and fails the internal validation checks. Restarting the management agents forces hostd and vpxa to clear their memory and reload the correct networking configuration from the host.
Resolution
Log in to the affected ESXi host via SSH or the local ESXi Shell as the root user.
Restart the hostd and vpxa management services to clear the invalid NIC order state by executing the following commands:
/etc/init.d/hostd restart /etc/init.d/vpxa restart
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