Disconnected Network Adapter on VMware - only power cycle solve this

Question

I have a weird issue:

On a VMware 5.1.0 installed on a Dell R620, the network adapter gets disconnected. enter image description here

enter image description here

Hitting the 'D' button for additional info, shows the following. enter image description here

I tried to reset the iDrac - with no results.
the iDrac shows the network cable connected
Testing the management network fails
I tried the reset Management network - (ofc, not with hopes but I had to try)

But the adapter is still disconnected.

it is connected to an HP switch - resetting the switch didn't change
Yes, I did replace the cable :-/
Dell has already replaced one network interface (this is the new one = previous had the same behavior)
The only thing that works is a full shutdown/power up cycle - of the host - which is ofc not the solution.
I am not sure what to look for in the system logs.
Is there a VM patch I need to look for?

-- UPDATE: I have moved my VM's to another vswitch, leaving only the management network on NIC1 (this was after a restart) and everything worked - after some time (can't say exactly) the same thing happned: vmnic0 has become disconnected (with only the management network on it)

And you don't have multiple NICs for your management network? — ewwhite, Feb 05 '13 at 22:25
I'd love to hear why, but I don't have HA, no cluster, no isolated ip, so no, I don't have another one setup. — Saariko, Feb 05 '13 at 22:36
Does hitting D to get details on the network adapter give you any additional information? And are the link lights on the adapter? — Shane Madden, Feb 06 '13 at 06:34
@ShaneMadden added info - when it says disconnected - the lights are dead on the adapter on the poweredge — Saariko, Feb 06 '13 at 07:14

score 4 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:13

A few quick items to resolve this:

Update the firmware on your Dell PowerEdge R620 hardware and NICs. Firmware updates are super-important on server hardware like this. See this post on the Dell forums: "DELL R720 & ESXi 5.0 Network Connectivity Loss on Intel I350 NIC"
Upgrade to the current release of ESXi. The current build is 914609. It's a good thing to do in general. The process is quick and easy.
Also make sure you install the Dell CIM agents for ESXi. It's an offline .VIB bundle. This gives you hardware-specific monitoring.
And please use multiple NICs for your management/VM network... even if this is a standalone host.

enter image description here

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 17 '14 at 17:18

The issue can be maybe because you changed the speed and duplex of vmnic, try to reset it, login in support mode and list your vmnic and see if is 0mbps this mean that you've changed the settings.

first see details with: esxcfg-nics -l So reset in this way: esxcfg-nics -a vmnic1 or esxcfg-nics -s 100 -d full vmnic1

More details here: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1004089

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 14 '14 at 19:11

0

Apparently the issue was with a broken/malfunctioning adapter.

Manufacturer replaced it, and it works.

answered Nov 14 '14 at 19:11

Saariko

1,801

Disconnected Network Adapter on VMware - only power cycle solve this

3 Answers3