Error: 'vCenter was deleted' is reported in Aria Operations for vSphere license

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• vSphere 8 for VCF license on Aria Operations (Administration -> Legacy License) does not show "entitled", and the error "vCenter was deleted." is reported.
• The license has been applied on the vCenter Server as per this KB. 
• The vCenter where the VCF license is applied is part of Aria Operations (Administration -> Integrations) and is collecting.
• The user ID used for the vCenter integration on Aria Operations is part of the LicenseService and Administrators group in vCenter.
• Aria Operations UI may display "You are in an evaluation mode or in a grace period. Add a VMware Cloud Foundation or VMware vSphere Foundation license... or use the legacy license model." alert. 
  
  

Environment

Aria Operations 8.18.x

Cause

This issue occurs if the vCenter with VCF license was removed from Aria Operations at some point.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, follow the steps below after taking snapshots of all Analytics nodes in the Aria Operations cluster as per this KB. 

1. 1. Login to Aria Operations UI.
   2. Navigate to Administration -> Integrations.
   3. Find the vCenter where the VCF license is applied, select the three vertical ellipses, and click on 'Delete'.
   4. Ensure to keep the 'Delete related objects' unchecked to preserve historical data.
      
      
   5. After deleting the account, re-add the vCenter credentials to Aria Operations
   6. Wait for about 1-2 collection cycles and check the Legacy License page.
   7. The VCF license should show 'ENTITLED' now.