Enabling vSphere HA on a cluster causes the "VMware vCenter Server" service to stop

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• The vpxd service crashes after vSphere HA is enabled on a cluster.
• ESXi hosts are updated to 8.0 U3 before updating the vCenter to 8.0 U3.
• A vpxd core dump is also generated in /var/core directory of the vCenter.

Environment

vCenter Server 8.0.x

Cause

vCenter Server versions 8.0 Update 2 and earlier initiate the deployment of external vSphere Cluster Services (vCLS) virtual machines, while ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts concurrently attempt to establish embedded vCLS pods.

Resolution

Keep the HA in disabled state for the cluster where 8.0 U3 hosts are connected and update the vCenter to 8.0U3.

Refer the below KB article for steps to update the vCenter server.

Patching/Updating VMware vCenter Server through Appliance Management Interface VAMI

Additional Information

The issue would also occur when the vCenter server is reverted to a previous version from 8.0 U3 (reverted to a snapshot or backup). Refer the below KB for resolution in this scenario:
vCenter Server vpxd Service Repeatedly Stops After Reverting from 8.0 U3 to 8.0 U2