VMs in Orphaned or Inaccessible state after vCenter Server loses network connectivity during vMotion

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• vCenter Server was in the process of migrating to a new host.
• The host vCenter Server was running on was entering Maintenance Mode.
• Other VMs were also in the process of migrating when vCenter Server lost connectivity.
• During the vMotion, vCenter Server lost network connectivity and has to be recovered.
• After recovering vCenter Server connectivity, several virtual machines are in an Orphaned or Inaccessible state.

Environment

• VMware vSphere
• VMware vCenter Server 

Cause

Since vCenter Server lost connectivity while it and other virtual machines were in motion, when the vCenter Server returned to an online and connected state the VMs were no longer where vCenter expected them to be. This causes vCenter to mark the VMs as inaccessible or orphaned.

Resolution

Via vCenter Server interface:

1. Right click on the first ESX in the cluster.  Select Disconnect.
2. Wait for the host to drop out of vCenter and report it is disconnected.
3. Right click on the ESX host again and select Connect.
4. Repeat for all hosts in the cluster.
5. After all hosts have been disconnected/reconnected, orphaned VMs should be recognized as part of the cluster and no longer orphaned.

Disconnecting/Reconnecting hosts from vCenter forces the vCenter Server to perform an inventory synchronization with the host in question. Doing this for all hosts in the cluster ensures VC knows where all VMs are properly registered on which host.

Additional Information

For an exhaustive list of other potential causes and resolutions to this symptom, see Virtual machines appear as invalid or orphaned or inaccessible.