ESXi Configuration Profiles report duplicate storage claim rules and remain out of compliance

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Clusters managed with ESXi Configuration Profiles (Desired State Configuration) show as out of compliance after remediation.
• Compliance checks report duplicate NMP claim rules.
• Running remediation tasks completes without error, but the cluster remains non-compliant.

Environment

VMware ESXi 8.0.3

VMware vCenter 8.0.3

Resolution

Note: The following steps involve removing the existing nmp_claim_rules and then re-introducing them to the cluster.

1. Identify Duplicate Claim Rules

   • Use the following command on the affected hosts to verify the existing rules:

     configstorecli config default get -c esx -g storage -k nmp_claim_rules
     configstorecli config current get -c esx -g storage -k nmp_claim_rules
     esxcli storage nmp satp rule list
     esxcli storage core claimrule list

2. Remove the non-compliant rules from the cluster

   • If the duplicate rule exists directly on the host, remove it by remediating against a modified cluster profile JSON with the claim rule section removed.

   • Example process:

     • Edit the cluster configuration JSON → remove the entire storage section (including nmp_claim_rules), as this section only appears when custom storage configurations have been applied.
       
       Example:

       "storage": {
                       "nmp_claim_rules": [
                           {
                               "criteria": {
                                   "type": "VENDOR",
                                   "vendor": {
                                       "model": "",
                                       "vendor": "Nimble",
                                       "claim_options": ""
                                   }
                               },
                               "settings": {
                                   "psp": {
                                       "type": "VMW_PSP_RR",
                                       "round_robin": {
                                           "iops": 1,
                                           "policy": "IOPS"
                                       }
                                   },
                                   "satp": {
                                       "type": "VMW_SATP_ALUA"
                                   },
                                   "force": true
                               }
                           }
                       ],
                       "satp_default_psps": [
                           {
                               "satp": "VMW_SATP_ALUA",
                               "default_psp": "VMW_PSP_RR"
                           }
                       ]
                   },

     • Remediate the cluster with this modified profile.

     • This action removes all nmp_claim_rules from the hosts in the cluster.

3. Reintroduce Claim Rules Correctly

   • Once the hosts are compliant with the cluster, configure one of the hosts in the cluster with the nmp_claim_rule, extract its host profile, and add it as a draft to the cluster.

   • Then, remediate the cluster against the draft profile.

4. Validate Compliance

   • After remediation, re-run the compliance check.

   • The hosts should now only have the expected claim rule from the cluster profile (no duplicates).

5. Alternative Approach (If Multiple Clusters Exist)

   • If a known compliant cluster profile already exists (e.g., from another cluster created without duplicate rules), export its JSON profile.

   • Apply this profile to the affected cluster to enforce a consistent configuration without duplicates.