Configuring vSphere HA fails with error "Setting desired image spec for cluster"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Unable to configure vSphere HA on a cluster.
  
  
• Logs on vCenter Server /var/log/vmware/vmware-updatemgr/vum-server/vmware-vum-server.log will show entries similar to:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.537Z error vmware-vum-server[13106] [Originator@6876 sub=Hsl::Util::HsmExtensionManager] [HsmExtensionManager 112] Failed to find Hsm extension for key com.dell.plugin.OpenManager_HWSupportManager
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.537Z error vmware-vum-server[13106] [Originator@6876 sub=DraftsManager] [DraftsManager 1275]  validate hw spec failed
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.537Z info vmware-vum-server[13106] [Originator@6876 sub=com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.SetSolutionTask] [Task 627] Set com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.SetSolutionTask (xxxxxxxx-cf74-d6f8-xxxx-d2bc72b714ac) progress to 60
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.540Z info vmware-vum-server[13106] [Originator@6876 sub=DraftsManager] [DraftsManager 1530] New progress 60 for Task: com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.SetSolutionTask ID: xxxxxxxx-cf74-d6f8-xxxx-d2bc72b714ac
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.541Z info vmware-vum-server[13106] [Originator@6876 sub=DraftsManager] [DraftsManager 1586] Draft validation results: {
-->     "errors": [
-->         {
-->             "id": "com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.drafts.HwSupport.Invalid",
-->             "message": {
-->                 "args": [],
-->                 "default_message": "Invalid hardware support spec specified in the draft.",
-->                 "id": "com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.drafts.HwSupport.Invalid",
-->                 "localized": null,
-->                 "params": null
-->             },

Environment

vSphere ESXi 8.x
vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

An incompatible Firmware and Drivers Add-On package was associated with the cluster image.

Resolution

• Navigate to the Updates tab of the affected cluster.
• Check whether a package is listed under Firmware and Drivers Addon.
• If a package is present and not currently in use, click the Delete (trash) icon to remove it.
  
  • Ensure the Firmware and Drivers Addon package is not actively associated with any host or operation.
• Click Validate to verify the updated image configuration.
• Click Save to apply and store the image configuration for the cluster.
• After saving the configuration, reconfigure vSphere HA on the cluster.