What does HRESULT 0xC03B0013 (HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS) mean?

 
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HNS_POLICY_ALREADY_EXISTS HNS_ENDPOINT_ALREADY_ATTACHED

HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS

HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS is an HRESULT used by Windows Host Networking Service (HNS). It indicates that HNS attempted to create a port that is already associated with the target switch.

What to check for HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS

  • Verify whether the endpoint is already attached to the expected virtual switch.
  • Check for a previous incomplete create operation before creating another port.
  • Use the existing port only after confirming that it belongs to the intended endpoint.

For HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS, Microsoft documentation on Windows container networking and HNS

Diagnostic interpretation of HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS

HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS has the HRESULT value 0xC03B0013. AllStat records the condition as “The specified port already exists.”. For HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS, in practice, interpret that wording at the boundary owned by the Windows component or COM interface that returned the HRESULT, rather than treating the value as a generic Windows message.

Evidence to capture for HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS

  • Record the exact COM method or Windows API, its input object, the calling thread, and the full 0xC03B0013 value before a wrapper converts it to an exception or Boolean result.
  • Capture any IErrorInfo text, activity identifier, event-log entry, and subsystem trace that mentions HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS or the hns / port / already / exists operation.
  • Preserve the first failure in the call chain; a later HRESULT can describe cleanup rather than the original hns / port / already / exists condition.

Retry and recovery for HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS

Retry HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS only when the owning API documents a transient state or after the condition described as “The specified port already exists.” has changed. For HNS_PORT_ALREADY_EXISTS, configuration, policy, format, and authorization failures normally require correction first; an immediate loop can hide the original call site and add secondary errors.

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