vSphere HA VMCP Settings (PDL Level & APD level) in VM Overrides may adjust to disabled after VC restart

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

VM Component Protection (VMCP) may not failover specific virtual machines if a VM Override is configured. If an override is customized outside of the cluster configuration for DRS automation, vSphere HA restart, Isolation Response, vCenter may override the following settings as well:

• PDL protection - Disabled
• APD Protection - Disabled

If a failover has occurred, you may see log messages similar to below on the Primary  HA host:

2020-04-01T02:22:41.185Z info fdm[4623477] [Originator@6226 sub=Policy opID=SWI-7akjdsu8] PDL reaction is disabled for VM /vmfs/volumes/<Datastore>/VM_Failover_Me/VM_Failover_Me.vmx. Ignore the failure.

Found in log file: /var/run/log/fdm.log

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x

Cause

This is a known issue within vCenter Server, and the PDL/APD protection can revert to Dsabled if one of the following actions is performed:

1. Add a Virtual Machine in VM Overrides, however perform no customization and saving any properties.
2. Add a Virtual Machine in VM Overrides and editing only one property, leaving other properties unset.
3. Deploy NSX Edge Appliance in vSphere HA cluster. (NSX Manager configures VM Overrides Setting automatically when NSX Edge appliance is deployed in vSphere HA cluster)

The APD/PDL protection settings will reset to Disabled after vCenter Server is restarted.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in VMware vCenter Server 6.7 Update 3g

Note: It is advised after updating vCenter Server to review existing override settings. The fix will not retro-actively cleanup any VM Override settings that already changed to disabled.

Workaround:
To workaround this issue , in case if VC will restart, edit and save all properties in VM Overrides settings of VM once before the restart.

In the vSphere Web Client, browse to the vSphere HA cluster.
1. Click the Configure tab.
2. Click VM Overrides and Select a VM.
3. Click Edit, and go to vSphere HA VM Overrides settings.

If the VM Restart Priority is high , make sure to check the VM Overrides box in vSphere HA - PDL protection level Settings and/or vSphere HA - APD protection level Settings too

4. Click Finish.

Additional Information

Customize an Individual Virtual Machine
VM Component Protection

Impact/Risks:
This can impact vSphere HA's response in the event of an All Paths Down (APD) or Permanent Device Loss (PDL) event occurs. This can reduce the number of virtual machines to failover.