NSX host install fails at 15% vLCM remediation initiated

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

• vCenter Life Cycle Manager (vLCM) is a centralized tool within vSphere that manages the lifecycle of ESXi hosts, clusters, and virtual machines. 
  It is applied at the cluster level. 
• VLCM will ensure that all hosts of the cluster have the same ESX and NSX versions applied to all hosts of the cluster.
• This requires that vLCM have 2 images.  One for NSX and the other for ESX. 
  The ESXi image can be obtained from the image directory located within VMware vCenter.
• The NSX image is automatically uploaded to VMware vCenter when the NSX cluster preparation commences.  
  VLCM obtains the NSX image only when a cluster is prepared for NSX networking.
• If during VLCM's validation either image is not the same as the VLCM image it will stop, and message that the host is not in compliance will be thrown.
  
  This article addresses a situation where a host added to the VLCM enabled cluster will not complete the install.  In the NSX UI it may show an NSX Configuration status of Uninstall Skipped or stall at 15%(vLCM remediation initiated) of installing NSX on the host.
  
  

 

Environment

VMware NSX

Cause

The cause of this issue is some mismatch detected by VLCM, when comparing what image the host has currently with what vLCM has for a compliant host image.
This sometimes can be resolved by pulling the host out of the cluster.  Then ensuring that NSX VIBs are not installed.  Finally, re-add the host to the cluster.
If it still fails to complete the install of NSX at 15% ( vLCM host validation) this is not an issue with NSX.
There is a discrepancy between vCenter vLCM and the ESXi host that vLCM needs to have investigated. 

Resolution

1. Create a new Cluster not enabled with VLCM.
2. Place a host into maintenance mode in vCenter.
3. Remove a host from the VLCM cluster making it a stand alone host.
4. Ensure that the host does not have NSX installed.Add the host to the newly created non-VLMC cluster.
5. Install NSX
   
   If NSX is successfully installed, then perform the same process on the remaining hosts.
   This is the workaround when a VLCM cluster will not validate a host and stalls at 15%, or NSX Configuration state is reported as Uninstall Skipped.