In vSphere 5.1 and later, you can use the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) to restore the connection between vCenter Server and a host that accesses the management network through a distributed switch.

If networking rollback is disabled, misconfiguring the port group for the management network on the distributed switch leads to loss of connection between vCenter Server and the hosts that are added to the switch. You have to use the DCUI to connect each host individually.

If the uplinks that you use to restore the management network are also used by VMkernel adapters that handle other types of traffic (vMotion, Fault Tolerance, and so on), the adapters loose network connectivity after the restore.

For more information about accessing and using the DCUI, see the vSphere Security documentation.

Note: Recovery of the management connection on a distributed switch is not supported on stateless ESXi instances.

Prerequisites

Verify that the management network is configured on a port group on the distributed switch.

Procedure

  1. Connect to the DCUI of the host.
  2. From the Network Restore Options menu, select Restore vDS.
  3. Configure the uplinks and optionally the VLAN for the management network.
  4. Apply the configuration.

Results

The DCUI creates a local ephemeral port and applies the values you provided for the VLAN and uplinks. The DCUI moves the VMkernel adapter for the management network to the new local port to restore connectivity to vCenter Server.

What to do next

After the connection of the host to vCenter Server is restored, correct the configuration of the distributed port group and re-add the VMkernel adapter to the group.