R640 ESXi Management port not working after reboot.

[Tanquen123]

Dell R640

6.7.0 Update 3 (Build 14320388)

I worked with the system for months and now that it is on site the iDRAC port works, the VMWare VM network port works (I can ping the running VMs) but the ESXi Management port is not responding.

There is now some question as to the correct port. To test we just connected all 4 of the R640 Ethernet ports to a switch with a laptop and pinged all the IP addresses but the management port never replied.

They even checked the ESXi console and there are no errors and it displays the same IP address I’ve been using.

Is it something odd where you must have the correct port connected at boot or it will not work?

[a_p_]

Since iDRAC is available, you may logon to the host's console (DCUI) to verify the Management Port settings, and run "Test Management Network" from the main manu, to see whether the host can ping other systems.

André

[Tanquen123]

Is that the Virtual Console? Unfortunately they did not license the iDRAC for that.

LIC501: A required license is missing or expired. Obtain an appropriate license then try again. If the problem persists, contact technical support. Refer to your product documentation to choose the contact method that is convenient for you.

[a_p_]

In this case someone may need to access the physical console.

You said that you can ping the VMs? Are the VMs running in the same subnet and/or on the same vSwitch? Maybe there's a chance to access the Management from one of the VMs!?

André

[Tanquen123]

I plan on having them check everything network in the ESXi console. It just doesn’t make any sense to me that everything was fine until it was shipped and restarted. I know I restarted them a few times while setting them up but I'm not sure of the ports I was using. Did not think something like this would happen. I thought port 0 or the first one was the management port and the port 3 or the last one was for the VM network and it is as the VM network works so it should be the first one or one of the other 3. The iDRAC webpage shows me that they have the cables connected. I wish it showed the IP addresses. :smileyhappy:

The VMs are on the same subnet but not sure about the vSwitch.

I now have to wait until Monday and they left me with access to the iDRAC and port 0 through a VPN. Maybe it was setup on port 1 or 2 and not 0 but why would it not respond when all 4 were on a physical Netgear switch with just a laptop. Like the management port takes a really long time to get going or is disabled if the ports were not connected at boot?

A reboot with port 0 connected did not work. So the setup changed or it's not port 0. Though that is 10 Gigabit port and maybe the old Netgear test switch don't like it.

So on Monday I'll have them use one cable direct to the laptop and test each port and have them look at the console.

[a_p_]

Seems that you don't like documentation ;-)

What you may look at is RVTools, which gives you a complete overview over hosts, and/or vCenter Server environments. I often use this for system checks, and also for documentation purposes.

André

[Tanquen123]

I’ve got tons of documentation for the various software and apps installed for the SCADA system and no doubt I should have at least taken a pic before I shipped like I did during setup for reference. After they install we do the rack elevations and network connections but I did not document what power cord is in what power supply either. :smileysilly: Finding the port should be as easy as connecting to each and pinging.

[Tanquen123]

I found a demo license for the iDRAC and can see the ESXi console and all looks ok to me. Man I wish I had known about them before.

It says the management port is on NIC zero which I believe is the first port on the left and it says it's connected along with NIC three and that should be the VM's network. ???

VLAN tagging is not enabled and the management network test can ping its self but nothing else. The VM network and management are on two different vSwitches.

[a_p_]

What you may try - unless used otherwise - is to select vmnic2 (the third port) as for the Management Network in the DCUI to find out if the issue is somehow related to the 10gbps network ports (vmnic0, and vmnic1).

Do you remember whether you've reconfigured any speed, or duplex settings for that port?

André

[Tanquen123]

That is what I found yesterday but I thought it was only the first port that was 10GB. I had to move it to the third port (vmnic2) for it to work. Whatever port I used it would show connected in the ESXi console network test and listed the correct speed in the iDRAC link status. Kinda lame that a 10GB Ethernet port in 2020 can break an older 1GB switch. In the office I had them all connected little throughway $20 Netgear 1GB switches. So you can use a 10GB port with a 1GB switch only if it’s a newer 1GB switch. I thought the 10GB port would just connect at the slower speed and it shows it did. Anyway…

It lets you set more than one port as a management port. Can you have more than one active and one another network? Maybe if the two networks are using the same subnet? I thought this way I can have one on the office network with VPN access and the other on the isolated test switch.

The next issue was that I could not log into the ESXi web page. It said my credentials were bad even though they worked in the same servers ESXi console. I found a thread were folks had the same issue and some just did a reboot to fix it but I’m thinking it’s because our current setup has the management port accessible through the VPN and the VMs network port is on their local isolated switch and that means the vCenter appliance can’t see it. Are you locked out of an ESXi web interface if it can see its linked vCenter server? It’s still working this morning so not sure why the web interface would not take the credentials until a reboot. Again I say, anyway…

[a_p_]

... one mmore question.

Are VLAN settings involved, i.e. are you tagging network traffic. If yes, please explain how exactly the physical switch ports, and the virtual port groups are setup.

André

[Tanquen123]

As far as I know there is no VLAN tagging just a simple VM network on one of the 4 ports.