Virtual machine migration fails with inaccessible DVSwitch network error after host cluster migration

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Attempts to migrate a virtual machine (VM) to an ESXi host that was recently moved between clusters fail during the compatibility check. The vSphere Client displays errors indicating that the network backing used by the VM network adapters is not accessible on the target host.

The following compatibility warnings appear in the vMotion or Migration wizard:

• Network interface 'Network adapter 1' uses network 'DVSwitch: ####', which is not accessible.
• Network interface 'Network adapter 2' uses network 'DVSwitch: ####', which is not accessible.

Environment

• VMware ESXi 8.x
• VMware vCenter Server 8.x
• vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS)

Cause

The target ESXi host is not added to the vSphere Distributed Switch that backs the virtual machine's network adapters. Although the host is a member of the new cluster, it has not been logically associated with the distributed switch, making the required port groups unavailable on that specific host.

Resolution

Add the affected ESXi host to the vSphere Distributed Switch to restore network access for migrating VMs.

1. Log in to the vSphere Client.
2. Navigate to Inventory > Networking.
3. Select the vSphere Distributed Switch referenced in the error.
4. Click the Configure tab and select Hosts.
5. Verify if the target host is listed. If missing, right-click the Distributed Switch and select Add and Manage Hosts.
6. Select Add hosts and click Next.
7. Select the host that was recently migrated to the cluster and click Next.
8. Assign physical adapters (vmnics) to the appropriate uplinks on the distributed switch.
9. Complete the wizard to finalize the host association.
10. Retry the virtual machine migration.

For additional details, see Add Hosts to a vSphere Distributed Switch

Additional Information

What Are the vSphere vMotion Networking Requirements