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Network connectivity might be lost during ESXi 3.5 boot

Symptoms

The ESXi 3.5 server occasionally loses network connectivity after rebooting.

The following errors are shown in the /var/log/messages file:

Aug 27 20:43:48 vmkernel: 0:00:01:09.767 cpu4:1270)Tcpip: 1405: SetGateway (1267e0a) failed with 0x33
Aug 27 20:43:48 vmkernel: 0:00:01:09.767 cpu4:1270)Tcpip: 1411: SetGateway 10.126.38.1: network unreachable
Aug 27 20:43:48 vmkernel: 0:00:01:09.767 cpu4:1270)WARNING: Tcpip: 2307: Failed to set gateway

This is the result of the following sequence of events:

  1. The ESXi host was not configured with a static IP address during initial configuration.
  2. There is no DHCP server available on the network. This results in a failure to assign an IP address to the network interface.
  3. The VMFS2 module fails to load due to the lack of an IP address assigned to the network interface. This results in marking the network interface as being down.
  4. After changing the network configuration to assign a static IP address and a default gateway, the interface is still marked down.
  5. Rebooting the server results in the gateway setting not taking effect, because the interface was still marked down.
 
Note: This problem does not commonly occur.

Resolution

Because the server might not be reachable over the network, the following steps require that you log into the server locally using Tech Support Mode. For instructions, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003677.
 
While in Tech Support Mode:
  1. Run the following command:

    esxcfg-vmknic -l

  2. If any of the interfaces show as false under the enabled column, run the next commands:

    esxcfg-vmknic -e [portgroup name for that interface]

    esxcfg-route [gateway ip address]

    /sbin/backup.sh 1

  3. Reboot the server:

    reboot
Note: The recommended method to reboot the server is to run reboot without any additional parameters.
  • Do not use reboot -f  because this command does not execute the backup script.
  • Do not use reboot -n because this command does not sync the file system.
This has been fixed in Patch ESXe350-200811401-I-SG firmware and later update releases. See KB 1007507 for details.
 

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1007249
  • Updated: Aug 14, 2009
  • Products:
    VMware ESXi
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
    VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable