Restoring control-plane connectivity with a network management entity

1. A method for a first host to restore control-plane connectivity with a network manager in a virtualized computing environment that includes the first host, one or more second hosts, and the network manager, the method comprising:

detecting a loss of control-plane connectivity between the first host and the network manager;

determining connectivity status information associated with the one or more second hosts;

based on the connectivity status information, selecting, from the one or more second hosts, a proxy host having data-plane connectivity with the first host and control-plane connectivity with the network manager; and

restoring control-plane connectivity between the first host with the network manager via the proxy host such that the first host is able to send control information to, or receive control information from, the network manager via the proxy host, wherein restoring the control-plane connectivity comprises:

generating, by a local control plane (LCP) agent at the first host, a first request to initiate establishment of a data-plane channel between the first host and the proxy host, wherein the first request includes a destination port number reserved for a proxy host service at the proxy host; and

establishing the data-plane channel between the first host and the proxy host to trigger the proxy host to establish a control-plane channel with the network manager, wherein the first host sends or receives the control information via the data-plane channel and control-plane channel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein restoring the control-plane connectivity comprises:

sending, by the LCP agent at the first host, the first request to trigger the proxy host to spawn a proxy LCP agent to generate and send a second request to establish the control-plane channel with the network manager.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the connectivity status information comprises:

generating and sending, to the one or more second hosts, a first fault detection message to report that the first host has lost control-plane connectivity with the network manager.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the connectivity status information comprises:

in response to receiving a second fault detection message from a particular second host, determining that the particular second host has data-plane connectivity with the first host, and based on the second fault detection message, determining whether the particular second host has control-plane connectivity with the network manager; and

otherwise, in absence of the second fault detection message from the particular second host, determining that the particular second host does not have data-plane connectivity with the first host.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the proxy host comprises:

selecting the proxy host from multiple second hosts that have data-plane connectivity with the first host and control-plane connectivity with the network manager based on one or more of: location, resource utilization, and whether the proxy host is currently acting as a proxy host for another host.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that includes a set of instructions which, in response to execution by a processor of a first host, cause the processor to perform a method to restore control-plane connectivity with a network manager in a virtualized computing environment that includes the first host, one or more second hosts, and the network manager, wherein the method comprises:

detecting a loss of control-plane connectivity between the first host and the network manager;

determining connectivity status information associated with the one or more second hosts;

based on the connectivity status information, selecting, from the one or more second hosts, a proxy host having data-plane connectivity with the first host and control-plane connectivity with the network manager; and

restoring control-plane connectivity between the first host with the network manager via the proxy host such that the first host is able to send control information to, or receive control information from, the network manager via the proxy host, wherein restoring the control-plane connectivity comprises:

generating, by a local control plane (LCP) agent at the first host, a first request to initiate establishment of a data-plane channel between the first host and the proxy host, wherein the first request includes a destination port number reserved for a proxy host service at the proxy host; and

establishing the data-plane channel between the first host and the proxy host to trigger the proxy host to establish a control-plane channel with the network manager, wherein the first host sends or receives the control information via the data-plane channel and control-plane channel.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein restoring the control-plane connectivity comprises:

sending, by the LCP agent at the first host, the first request to trigger the proxy host to spawn a proxy LCP agent to generate and send a second request to establish the control-plane channel with the network manager.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein determining the connectivity status information comprises:

generating and sending, to the one or more second hosts, a first fault detection message to report that the first host has lost control-plane connectivity with the network manager.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein determining the connectivity status information comprises:

in response to receiving a second fault detection message from a particular second host, determining that the particular second host has data-plane connectivity with the first host, and based on the second fault detection message, determining whether the particular second host has control-plane connectivity with the network manager; and

otherwise, in absence of the second fault detection message from the particular second host, determining that the particular second host does not have data-plane connectivity with the first host.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein selecting the proxy host comprises:

selecting the proxy host from multiple second hosts that have data-plane connectivity with the first host and control-plane connectivity with the network manager based on one or more of: location, resource utilization, and whether the proxy host is currently acting as a proxy host for another host.

11. A first host configured to restore control-plane connectivity with a network manager in a virtualized computing environment that includes the first host, one or more second hosts, and the network manager, the first host comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to:

detect a loss of control-plane connectivity between the first host and the network manager;

determine connectivity status information associated with the one or more second hosts;

based on the connectivity status information, select, from the one or more second hosts, a proxy host having data-plane connectivity with the first host and control-plane connectivity with the network manager; and

restore control-plane connectivity between the first host with the network manager via the proxy host such that the first host is able to send control information to, or receive control information from, the network manager via the proxy host,

wherein the instructions to cause the processor to restore the control-plane connectivity cause the processor to:

generate, by a local control plane (LCP) agent at the first host, a first request to initiate establishment of a data-plane channel between the first host and the proxy host, wherein the first request includes a destination port number reserved for a proxy host service at the proxy host; and

establish the data-plane channel between the first host and the proxy host to trigger the proxy host to establish a control-plane channel with the network manager, wherein the first host sends or receives the control information via the data-plane channel and control-plane channel.

12. The first host of claim 11 , wherein the instructions to cause the processor to restore the control-plane connectivity cause the processor to:

send, by the LCP agent at the first host, the first request to trigger the proxy host to spawn a proxy LCP agent to generate and send a second request to establish the control-plane channel with the network manager.

13. The first host of claim 11 , wherein the instructions to cause the processor to determine the connectivity status information cause the processor to:

generate and send, to the one or more second hosts, a first fault detection message to report that the first host has lost control-plane connectivity with the network manager.

14. The first host of claim 13 , wherein the instructions to cause the processor to determine the connectivity status information cause the processor to:

in response to receiving a second fault detection message from a particular second host, determine that the particular second host has data-plane connectivity with the first host, and based on the second fault detection message, determine whether the particular second host has control-plane connectivity with the network manager; and

otherwise, in absence of the second fault detection message from the particular second host, determine that the particular second host does not have data-plane connectivity with the first host.

15. The first host of claim 11 , wherein the instructions to cause the processor to select the proxy host cause the processor to:

select the proxy host from multiple second hosts that have data-plane connectivity with the first host and control-plane connectivity with the network manager based on one or more of: location, resource utilization, and whether the proxy host is currently acting as a proxy host for another host.