"Feature cannot be enabled on this cluster" message occurs when "Enable Trust" is disabled in NSX Manager

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Unable to convert a cluster to vLCM Single Image managed because vSphere Client displays the following errors.

• You can see the following log.

 /var/log/vmware/vmware-updatemgr/vum-server/vum-server-####.log:

YYYY-MM-DDT13:24:32.126 error vmware-vum-server[####] [Originator@6876 sub=com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.CheckFeatureApplicabilityTask] [Task, ###] Task:com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.CheckFeatureApplicabilityTask ID:####-####-####. Task Failed. Error: Error:
-->    com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.error
--> Messages:
-->    com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.enablement.NsxtCheck.Forbidden<Cannot determine whether NSX-T Data Center is enabled on this cluster. Go to NSX-T Data Center system and enable bidirectional trust.>
-->
... 
YYYY-MM-DDT13:24:32.163 error vmware-vum-server[####] [Originator@6876 sub=com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.GetInstalledImagesTask] [Task, ###] Task:com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.GetInstalledImagesTask ID:###-###-###. Task Failed. Error: Error:
-->    com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.error
--> Messages:
-->    com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.enablement.EligibilityCheck.Failure<Feature cannot be enabled on this cluster.>
--> 

 

 

Environment

vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

This issue occurs when communication between vCenter Server and NSX Manager fails, resulting in a 403 error. This failure prevents vCenter Server from correctly accessing NSX information.

The root cause is that the Enable Trust (bidirectional trust) setting is not enabled for the vCenter Server, which is registered as a Compute Manager within NSX Manager.

This behavior is expected if the trust relationship is not established. When performing actions such as an eligibility check in vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) from the Host > Image screen, you may encounter an error message similar to the following:

"Cannot determine whether NSX-T Data Center is enabled on this cluster. Go to NSX-T Data Center system and enable bidirectional trust."

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must enable the Enable Trust setting within NSX Manager for the associated vCenter Server.

Steps to Enable Trust

1. Log in to the NSX Manager user interface.

2. Navigate to System > Fabric > Compute Managers.

3. Locate the target vCenter Server in the list and click EDIT.

4. Click the toggle switch to activate the Enable Trust setting.

5. Click SAVE to apply the changes.

6. After saving the configuration, return to the vSphere Client.

7. Navigate to the Host > Image screen (or the vLCM screen where the check failed).

8. Click Check again to re-validate the status. The error should now be resolved.

Additional Information

“Cannot determine whether NSX-T Data Center is enabled on this cluster. Go to NSX-T Data Center system and enable bidirectional trust.“ Error when trying to upgrade ESXi host on vclm enabled cluster.