Configuring vSphere HA fails with error "License not available to perform the operation"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Configuring vSphere HA fails with below error message:

License not available to perform the operation.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.x
VMware vCenter Server 7.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

This issue can occur if the vmdir of vCenter Server is in READ_ONLY state.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform the below steps to change the vmdir to NORMAL state:

Note: Ensure to take a backup of vCenter Server before proceeding.

1. Log in to the vCenter Server with SSH access.
2. Type shell and press Enter
                 Command> shell
3. Execute command: 

/usr/lib/vmware-vmdir/bin/vdcadmintool

4. Press 6 to check the status of vmdir if READ_ONLY. If yes, go to the next step. Otherwise, stop here and issue does not match this Knowledge Base article.

1. Press 5 and enter NORMAL to set vmdir to NORMAL state
   • 
2. Press 0 to exit the tool.
3. Perform vSphere HA configuration again.

If the above fails to resolve the issue, and the vCenter is in linked mode, please refer to:

vCenter Server Preupgrade check result error: "VMDir Replication between partners is not working"

Additional Information

If the issue reoccurs after following the above steps, refer to:

VMDIR in Read-Only state due to conflict between VCSA FBBR and VM Snapshot level backups