Unable to Scale-Out Aria Operations for Networking with XL Profile as task fails with Error Code : 'LCMVRNICONFIG90061'

Products

VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

When trying to scale out the number of Platform nodes in Aria Operations for Networking with XL Profile using Lifecycle Manager, an error is reported with code: LCMVRNICONFIG90061.

/var/log/vrlcm/vmware_vrlcm.log reports the following error

2025-06-06T08:49:55.209Z INFO vrlcm[1759] [pool-3-thread-44] [c.v.v.l.p.c.v.t.c.VRNIPlatformClusteringTask]  -- Checking for component status while creating/expanding cluster.

2025-06-06T08:49:55.235Z INFO vrlcm[1759] [pool-3-thread-44] [c.v.v.l.p.c.v.t.c.VRNIPlatformClusteringTask]  -- VMware Aria Operations for Networks Create cluster Rest call status code:200 output message :OK output:{"status":true,"statusCode":{"code":0,"codeStr":"OK"},"message":"Clustering Status","data":{"steps":[{"key":"cluster_extension","progress":"Expansion Partially Failed","message":"Started deploying cluster"},{"key":"existing_cluster_pre_conditions","progress":"Done","message":"Checking pre conditions on existing cluster"},{"key":"cluster_uniquekey","progress":"Done","message":"Copy Unique keys to all nodes"},{"key":"nodes_pre_condition","progress":"Failed","message":"Checking pre conditions"},{"key":"brick_size_platform4","progress":"Done","message":"Brick size compatibility check on platform4[##.##.##.##]"},{"key":"disk_size_platform4","progress":"Failed","message":"Disk size compatibility check on platform4[##.##.##.##]"},{"key":"resolution_platform4","progress":"Failed","message":"Platform(IP [##.##.##.##], Disk size[1024]) is not compatible with existing platform(IP [##.##.##.##], Disk size[2048]). Please deploy new platforms with the same disk size as the existing platform or add an additional disk to match the size and try creating/expanding the cluster again."}],"state":"ExpansionPartiallyFailed","vip":"##.##.##.##"}}

2025-06-06T08:49:55.235Z INFO vrlcm[1759] [pool-3-thread-44] [c.v.v.l.p.c.v.t.c.VRNIPlatformClusteringTask]  -- Cluster creation request state: ExpansionPartiallyFailed
2025-06-06T08:49:55.236Z ERROR vrlcm[1759] [pool-3-thread-44] [c.v.v.l.p.c.v.t.c.VRNIPlatformClusteringTask]  -- Error occurred while checking create cluster completion request with response message:OK
2025-06-06T08:49:55.236Z INFO vrlcm[1759] [pool-3-thread-44] [c.v.v.l.p.a.s.Task]  -- Injecting task failure event. Error Code : 'LCMVRNICONFIG90061', Retry : 'true', Causing Properties : '{ CAUSE :: skipTask ===  }' 
com.vmware.vrealize.lcm.plugin.core.vrni.common.exception.VRNIPlatformClusteringStatusException: Error occurred while checking create cluster completion request.
    at com.vmware.vrealize.lcm.plugin.core.vrni.task.clustering.VRNIPlatformClusteringTask.checkClusterStatus(VRNIPlatformClusteringTask.java:410) [vmlcm-vrniplugin-core-8.18.0-SNAPSHOT.jar!/:?]
    at com.vmware.vrealize.lcm.plugin.core.vrni.task.clustering.VRNIPlatformClusteringTask.execute(VRNIPlatformClusteringTask.java:222) [vmlcm-vrniplugin-core-8.18.0-SNAPSHOT.jar!/:?]
    at com.vmware.vrealize.lcm.automata.core.TaskThread.run(TaskThread.java:62) [vmlcm-engineservice-core-8.18.0-SNAPSHOT.jar!/:?]
    at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(Unknown Source) [?:?]
    at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(Unknown Source) [?:?]
    at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source) [?:?]

Environment

Aria Suite Lifecycle Manager 8.x

Cause

The issue is caused due to a limitation when deploying Aria Operations for Networks (XL profile) via Aria Suite Lifecycle Manager.

Even if the X-Large brick size is selected during deployment, vCenter initially allocates only 1 TB of disk space.

Resolution

Workaround Steps:

To address the issue, please follow the steps below:

Deploy the Aria Operations for Networks (AON) cluster with XL brick size (3 nodes) using Aria Operations Lifecycle. Note: This deployment will provision each node with 1 TB of disk space.
After deployment, the AON UI will display the following error on all three nodes:
"Appliance Disk Not Configured According to Disk Guidance"

To view the issue in the AON interface, go to: Settings > Infrastructure and Updates The reported error will be visible here, as shown in the attached screenshot.

3. This deployment is part of an ongoing initiative to expand the cluster from 3 nodes to 5 nodes, using the XL brick size configuration, so complete the Scale-out task and add desired Cluster Nodes. (Note: The above error will be addressed in below steps)

4. Once the initial deployment is complete, perform a Scale-up task using Aria Suite Lifecycle Manager to add an additional 1 TB disk to each node, bringing the total to 2 TB per node as required.

Note:- Once these steps are completed, the disk configuration warning in the AON UI will be resolved.

For further guidance, refer to below documents, which confirms that an additional 1 TB data disk is required post-deployment:
Aria Operations for Networks - Deployment Guide (TechDocs)

Cluster Expansion for Aria Operations for Networks (XL Profile):

Cluster expansion via Aria Suite Lifecycle Manager (LCM) has current limitations for Aria Operations for Networks (AON) with XL size. This is due to a limitation where any additional node deployed through LCM is provisioned with only 1 TB of disk, which does not meet the 2 TB requirement for XL nodes.

Recommended Action:

Perform the cluster expansion directly through the AON UI.
Once the expansion is complete, run an Inventory Sync in Aria Suite Lifecycle Manager to reflect the updated configuration.

Note:
The issue is observed only when attempting to add additional platform nodes with the XL profile; adding collector nodes works as expected.