vEthernet Hyper-V Virtual Adapter (Default switch) bounces endlessly?

Docker Desktop
1

Greetings!

On Windows 10 Pro 1809 build 17763.805 my network connectivity bounces every 2 seconds from online to offline. I have previously experienced this problem, but with the latest update 2.1.0.4 (39773) stable, it has reappeared.

The system tray icon for my (wired, and only) ethernet adapter indicates that my connection is lost, when in fact it’s not.

Checking Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections I see two network interfaces:

  • “Ethernet” whose status swaps between my Windows Domain and “Enabled”
  • “vEthernet (DockerNAT)” Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapter #2

And then a third that appears and disappears every few seconds:

  • “vEthernet (Default Switch)” Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapter

When the Default Switch disappears, my Ethernet adapter reports a Windows Domain connection. 2 seconds later when the Default Switch reappears, my Ethernet adapter’s status reverts to “Enabled” and I lose a Domain connection.

This bug doesn’t seem to be related as I’m not yet on 1903. Regardless, I’ve tried docker network prune as suggested to no effect.

I have also tried Windows’ “Reset Network” to no effect.

The problem persists even after quitting Docker Desktop (and checking that the DockerDesktopVM is Off in Hyper-V Manager).

New details:

The Windows Event Log shows this cycle

NIC B99A4A01-143A-4DD6-AE3C-5D6AAA8ABF41 successfully disconnected from port .

The operation ‘Delete’ succeeded on nic B99A4A01-143A-4DD6-AE3C-5D6AAA8ABF41 (Friendly Name: Default Switch).

NIC C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444 successfully disconnected from port C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444.

The operation ‘Delete’ succeeded on nic C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444 (Friendly Name: Default Switch).

The operation ‘Create’ succeeded on nic C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444 (Friendly Name: Default Switch).

NIC C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444 (Friendly Name: Default Switch) successfully connected to port C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444 (Friendly Name: Default Switch) on switch C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444(Friendly Name: Default Switch).

Switch C08CB7B8-9B3C-408E-8E30-5E16A3AEB444 (Friendly Name: Default Switch) successfully initialized.

and then repeat every few seconds, initiated by user “SYSTEM”, source “Hyper-V-VmSwitch”, which seems to be the actual source of my problem. What could be causing that?

I understand this isn’t an official support channel, but perhaps someone else has had this experience and can guide me to a solution.

2

Same problem after updating to Docker Desktop stable 2.1.0.5 (40693).

I made some progress by:

  1. Quitting Docker Desktop for Windows

  2. Opening Hyper-V Manager

  3. Opening the Virtual Switch Manager

  4. Changing DockerNAT from Internal network to External (bound to my Ethernet card)

  5. Apply

  6. Changing it back to Internal network

  7. Apply

  8. Ok

  9. Quit Hyper-V Manager

Now, while the vEthernet Default Switch still appears and disappears, my existing internet connection (to my domain network) doesn’t drop with every cycle.

(Edit: Er, ordered lists are rendered with numbers? That seems silly.)

3

The solution was to update Windows 10 to 1909 (specifically, I’m on build 18363.476).