Network Drops on PowerEdge R650 with ESXi 8.0 During Inactivity

Hello Dell Community,

I'm dealing with a perplexing issue on my Dell PowerEdge R650 server running the standard VMware ESXi 8.0 ISO. Despite an active trunk link, the network becomes unreachable after periods of inactivity, with no server errors reported. This significantly impacts remote management and accessibility.

Setup Details:

• Model: Dell PowerEdge R650
• OS: VMware ESXi Version 8.0 (standard ISO)
• Current BIOS Version: 1.8.2 (aiming to update to 1.13.2)
• Symptoms: Loss of network connectivity after inactivity, resolved upon network activity.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

• Set ESXi power management to High Performance.
• Wake-on-LAN is disabled in BIOS and on the network adapter.
• Energy efficiency setting disabled in BIOS.
• Adjusted system profile for maximum CPU performance.
• Planning to update firmware for network adapters and BIOS from version 1.8.2 to 1.13.2.

Temporary Workaround:

• A constant ping to the server's IP address keeps the network connection active.
• Physically toggling the mouse and keyboard attached to the server also restores network connectivity.

I know that Dell offers a custom ESXi ISO that could potentially address this issue, as opposed to the vanilla ESXi 8.0 ISO I currently use.

Has anyone faced a similar problem or had suggestions on preventing the network from going dormant? Would the Dell custom ESXi ISO help in this situation? I’m looking for advice, particularly on specific logs to examine or additional steps to consider to resolve this issue permanently.

Thank you for your help and insights!