Unable to remove HCX Network Extension appliance after disabling HA, fails with "Network type not found for the requested appliance"

Products

• VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to edit an HCX service mesh to modify the number of Network Extension (NE) appliances (e.g., after disabling High Availability), the operation fails.
• The task shows a generic error in the UI, such as indicating that an appliance still has network extensions associated with it.
• Reviewing the HCX logs /common/logs/admin/app.log reveals a more specific error message: "Network type not found for the requested appliance" as per the screenshot shown below.

Environment

HCX
NSX

Cause

• This issue occurs when a network extension remains logically associated with an NE appliance that is targeted for deletion.
• The system cannot remove the appliance because it is still considered "in use," even after HA has been disabled, leading to a stuck state.

Resolution

The resolution involves temporarily removing the Network Extension service from the mesh to force the deletion of all associated appliances, and then re-adding the service with the correct configuration.

1. 1. In the HCX UI, navigate to Network Extension.
   2. Identify and un-extend all networks associated with the service mesh you are trying to modify.
   3. Navigate to Service Mesh and edit the problematic mesh.
   4. Proceed to the "Select Services to Activate" screen and uncheck the box for Network Extension.
   5. Complete the wizard to apply the changes. This will remove all NE appliances from the mesh.
   6. Once the task is complete, edit the same service mesh again.
   7. Proceed to the "Select Services to Activate" screen and re-check the box for Network Extension.
   8. Set the desired number of appliances (e.g., 1).
   9. Complete the wizard to deploy the new NE appliance(s).
   10. Once the new appliance is deployed, navigate back to Network Extension and re-extend the necessary networks. If the network segment already exists on the target site, you may need to select the option to "Allow overlapping IP subnet" to re-attach to it.