Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) on Microsoft Windows virtual machines on ESXi
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Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) on Microsoft Windows virtual machines on ESXi

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Article ID: 344094

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
  • You see an APIPA address (169.254.X.X) IP listed when you run the command:
ipconfig /all
 
You may see both a false duplicate and a preferred IP in the output. You may also notice any of the following:
  • Assigning an IP address, you see a duplicate IP address conflict.
  • The VM is assigned a 169.254.x.x Iaddress.
  • When you set up the same virtual machine on a vSwitch with no uplink port on the vSwitch, the IP address is assigned successfully.
  • When you assign the same IP address to another virtual machine on the same vSwitch, the IP address is assigned successfully.


Environment

VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.0
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable

Cause

This issue occurs when the physical switch has gratuitous ARPs enabled or the ArpProxySvc replied to all ARP requests incorrectly. This is an issue between Windows and the physical switch. The solution below is performed at the Windows level or on the physical switch.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, use one of these solutions:
Turn off gratuitous ARPs on the physical switch
Turn off gratuitous ARP in the guest operating system

Turn off gratuitous ARPs on the physical switch

This is the quickest was to resolve this for multiple VM's. The commands to disable this are specific to the manufacturer, refer to the manufacture documentation.
 

Turn off gratuitous ARP in the guest operating system

If the issue only happens on a few VMs, disabling it may be easiest to turn off gratuitous ARPs in the guest operating system of each VM affected. 

Caution: This procedure modifies the Windows registry. Before making any registry modifications, ensure that you have a current and valid backup of the registry and the virtual machine. For more information on backing up and restoring the registry, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 136393.
 
To turn off gratuitous ARP in the guest operating system:
  1. Shut down the guest operating system and power off the virtual machine.
  2. Change the virtual machine to a network vSwitch with no uplink. You can create one for this procedure.
  3. Power on the virtual machine and log in.
  4. Click Start, type regedit, and click OK.
  5. Locate this registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
  1. Click Edit > New, and click DWORD Value.
  2. Type ArpRetryCount.
  3. Right-click the ArpRetryCount registry entry and click Modify.
  4. In the Value box, type 0 and click OK.
  5. Exit the Registry Editor.
  6. Shut down the guest operating system and power off the virtual machine.
  7. Change the virtual machine back to a network vSwitch with the uplink.
  8. Power on the virtual machine.
For more information, see the Microsoft TechNet Article ArpRetryCount .
 
Note: The preceding links were correct as of February 22, 2021. If you find a link is broken, provide the feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.


Additional Information

As of TAC document release 116529, duplicate addressing is identified to cause this issue in some scenarios this is caused by IP device tracking. Duplicate IP Address 0.0.0.0 error message is received by clients that run Microsoft (MS) Windows Vista and later versions.
 
The primary method used to work around the issue is to delay the probe from the switch, so that Windows has time to finish duplicate IP detection. This is not a VMware issue. Ensure to refer the preceding TAC document for more information before proceeding.
 
From a SSH or Telnet session to the switch, enter this command to delay the probe:

IP device tracking probe delay 10
 
Note: This issue can also occur because of gratuitous ARP on an ASA firewall. Run this command to disable gratuitous ARP on an ASA firewall:

sysopt noproxyarp inside

 

環境で Cisco デバイスを使用していると、ESX/ESXi 上の Microsoft Windows Vista 以降の仮想マシンで重複した IP アドレスが誤って検出される
在环境中使用 Cisco 设备时，在 ESX/ESXi 上的 Microsoft Windows Vista 及更高版本虚拟机上检测到假重复 IP 地址

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