Host profile remediation is failing due to a Device Alias configuration error

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Host profile remediation attempts are failing due to device alias mismatches. 
  
  
• "The host is not in compliance with attached profile" - Event can be seen in the host summary page. 
  
  
• The hostd.log file on the ESXi host(s) contains the following entries -
  
  
  • The vmhba device at PCI bus address pci#p0000####:##.## is not present on your host. You must shut down and then insert a card into PCI slot 0#. The type of card should exactly match the one in the reference host.


  • The vmnic device at PCI bus address m0000#### is not present on your host. Your host model may be different from the reference host.

Environment

• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0.x

Cause

• The device alias exception occurs because the ESXi host hardware is incompatible with the host profile.

Resolution

Note - The Device Alias Profile should be used only with homogeneous hosts - i.e., hosts that share the same model number and identical hardware configuration. If the host profile is to be applied to non-homogeneous hosts, the Device Alias Configuration must be disabled to avoid compliance issues.

Steps to Disable the Device Alias Configuration:

• Log in to the vCenter Server using the vSphere HTML5 client.
• From the top-left menu, navigate to Policies and Profiles.
• Select Host Profiles.
• Click on the desired host profile.
• Go to ACTIONS > Edit Host Profile.
• Expand General System Settings > Device Alias Configuration > Deselect the Device Alias Configuration option.
• Click Save.
• Recheck Compliance for the affected host.

Note: Extracting the new host profile from the host also addressed the issue in such scenarios.