vSAN Health Service - Cluster - Software version compatibility

Products

• VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

This article explains the Cluster - Software version compatibility check in the vSAN Health Service and provides details about why it might report an error.

Environment

VMware vSAN 6.2.x
VMware vSAN 7.0.x
VMware vSAN 6.7.x
VMware vSAN 8.0.x
VMware vSAN 6.6.x
VMware vSAN 6.x

Resolution

Q: What does the Cluster Health - Software version compatibility test do?

This test verifies that the ESXi software version and the vSAN on-disk format version is compatible across all ESXi hosts and disks in the cluster.

Q: What does it mean when it is in an error state?

Software version incompatibility is a critical issue, and the only solution is to upgrade ESXi software. If the test returns a warning or error, it means that one or more hosts in this cluster cannot support any in-use vSAN disks. Incompatible software can be due to one of the following scenarios :

• v2.0 and higher disk format cannot be used in a cluster with hosts running 5.5x software.
• v2.5 and v3.0 disk format cannot be used in a cluster with hosts running 6.0 Update 1 or lower software.
• Disk format version of an in-use disk cannot be supported by its owner host; as shown in the compatibility table below.

The following KB correlates the vSAN disk format versions with their compatible ESXi software versions.
ESXi host version requirements in a vSAN cluster

For more information about this issue, refer to the following article: ESXi host version requirements in a vSAN cluster (2148493).

Q: How does one troubleshoot and fix the error state?

To troubleshoot this critical issue, check the software version of each ESXi host, and upgrade the hosts with outdated software versions. This issue must be fixed immediately.