Does vCenter Server automatically invalidate its inventory cache after an ESXi host network partition?

Goal: Determine whether vCenter Server automatically purges stale inventory cache entries when an ESXi host loses network connectivity, or whether it relies solely on the cache expiration timeout to remove outdated data.

Constraints: The behavior may vary between vCenter Server Appliance and Windows‑based installations, across different vSphere releases (e.g., 7.0 Update 3 vs. 8.0 with the fast cache), and in Linked Mode configurations where cache propagation adds latency.

Uncertainty: VMware documentation does not explicitly guarantee immediate cache invalidation for network partitions, leaving the mechanism as an implementation detail that administrators have observed to require a manual refresh or service restart to correct stale VM power‑state displays.

Does vCenter Server immediately invalidate cache entries upon detecting a host network loss? Is the cache expiration timeout the only mechanism for removing stale data after a partition? Does Linked Mode affect the timing of cache invalidation across linked vCenter instances?