vCenter Server cannot connect to a newly installed ESXi host

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Newly installed ESXi host cannot be connected from the vCenter Server.
• Newly installed ESXi host is not responding to ping from vCenter Server.
• vCenter Server and the existing ESXi hosts reside in different subnets.
• Newly installed host shares the same subnet and gateway configuration with the existing functional hosts.
• Running the command vmkping -I vmk0 <gateway-IP> from the ESXi Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) tech support mode returns:
  
  100% packet loss

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Cause

The management VMkernel interface (vmk0) on the newly installed ESXi host cannot reach its default gateway, indicating an underlying physical network infrastructure layer issue.

Resolution

The issue needs to be investigated from physical infrastructure layer:

1. Engage the physical switch vendor to investigate the network configuration on the upstream physical switch ports.
2. Temporarily connect the newly installed ESXi host to known-working physical switch ports to determine if the issue is port-specific.