VCP-DCV vSphere Architecture, Products and Solutions Practice Question
A company has a vSphere cluster with vSphere HA enabled. During a host failure, virtual machines on the failed host do not restart. The administrator checks the HA agent log and sees the error message: 'HA agent on host <hostname> has no master detected'. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The management network is isolated and HA isolation response is not configured
The error 'HA agent on host <hostname> has no master detected' indicates that the host cannot communicate with the HA master. This is typically caused by management network isolation. If the isolation response is not configured, the host may not take corrective action (e.g., attempt to contact master via datastore heartbeats). Option A is incorrect because datastore heartbeats are a secondary mechanism for detecting isolation, not the primary cause of the error. Option C is incorrect because vCenter Server being stopped does not prevent HA agents from electing a master among themselves. Option D is incorrect because VDS uplink failure detection policy is related to network teaming and failover, not directly to HA agent communication.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Datastore heartbeats are failing on the failed host
Why it's wrong here
Datastore heartbeats are used for node failure detection, not master election.
- ✓
The management network is isolated and HA isolation response is not configured
Why this is correct
HA agents rely on management network for master election; isolation prevents master detection.
- ✗
vCenter Server service is stopped
Why it's wrong here
vCenter Server is not required for HA master detection after initial configuration.
- ✗
The VDS uplink failure detection policy is set to 'Link Status only'
Why it's wrong here
This affects network failover, not HA master detection.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VCP-DCV practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VCP-DCV exam.