VMware ESXi 5.x Guest vNIC has 169.254.x.x IP address after reboot

Last Updated: 6/1/15

Problem:
Your Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or later (Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, etc...) guest operating system running inside a VM on VMware vSphere (ESXi) 4.x or 5.x (and probably 6.x) will perform a planned reboot and then start without proper network connectivity. You look at the network adapter config and find the correct IP address information. Running ipconfig and the command prompt does not show the correct IP address but instead shows 169.254.x.x. You have a Cisco switching/routing infrastructure with a layer 3 Cisco device where device tracking is enabled.

Solution(s):
- Reconfigure the timing on the cisco switch with regards to device tracking. (see cisco link below)
- Disable gratuitous arp packets at the OS level inside your VM. I do NOT recommend this solution. (see cisco link below)

Duplicate IP Address 0.0.0.0 Error Message Troubleshoot - Cisco
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ios-nx-os-software/8021x/116529-problemsolution-product-00.html

Here is another place where I have asked and answered regarding this problem.

networking - vSphere ESXi 5.5 Windows Guest Network card not active after reboot - Server Fault
http://serverfault.com/questions/694611/vsphere-esxi-5-5-windows-guest-network-card-not-active-after-reboot

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