You can modify a device alias on ESXi hosts by editing the device alias section of the host profile attached to the hosts.

A device alias change can occur, for example, when you apply a BIOS or device firmware update. For more information about changes in the device alias configuration, see Device Alias Configuration.

I/O adapters that are based on PCI hardware usually have a logical and a PCI alias entry. Both aliases must have the same value. Some I/O adapters usually have a logical alias entry only. PCI hardware devices without I/O adapters usually have a PCI alias entry only. Modify a PCI alias entry only when you need the alias for another device.

Note: Two different I/O adapters must not have the same alias, except I/O adapters that are based on PCI hardware and have a logical and a PCI alias entry.

Procedure

For information about exporting, extracting, and editing a host profile, see the vSphere Host Profiles documentation.

  1. Export the current host profile attached to the ESXi host.
  2. Extract a new host profile from the ESXi host, but do not apply the host profile.
  3. Remove all entries from the device alias section of the current host profile.
  4. Transfer all entries from the device alias section of the new host profile to the same section of the current host profile.

    You can modify the aliases in the entries before adding them to the current host profile.

  5. Reapply the current host profile to the ESXi host.