A specified parameter was not correct: DrmOptions.IsClusterManaged" when editing vSphere Cluster settings

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to disable vSphere DRS or modify Cluster Settings in vCenter, the operation may fail with the following error in the vSphere Client:

"A specified parameter was not correct: DrmOptions.IsClusterManaged Cannot disable DRS. The cluster is currently being managed"

Additionally, the following error stack is observed in the vpxd.log file:

2025-12-16T22:25:54.320Z error vpxd[#####] [Originator@#### sub=Default opID=...] [VpxLRO] -- ERROR task-######## -- ... -- domain-c## -- vim.ComputeResource.reconfigureEx: :vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument
--> Result:
--> (vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument) {
-->    faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null,
-->    faultMessage = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) [
-->       (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) {
-->          key = "com.vmware.cdrs.error.clusterManaged",
-->          arg = <unset>,
-->          message = <unset>
-->       }
-->    ],
-->    invalidProperty = "DrmOptions.IsClusterManaged"
-->    msg = ""
--> }

Environment

vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

The cluster configuration parameter IsClusterManaged is set to 1 (True).

This flag indicates that an external solution is managing the cluster's resource configuration. This lock is by design for the following products:

1. vSphere with Tanzu / Supervisor: The Supervisor locks DRS to protect Namespaces (Resource Pools).

2. VMware Cloud Director (VCD): VCD locks DRS to protect Provider VDC Resource Pools.

If neither product is currently active on the cluster, this error indicates a stale configuration lock remaining from a previous Cloud Director or Workload Management removal that did not get fully cleaned up.

Resolution

Impact / Warning

⚠ CAUTION: Disabling DRS is a Destructive Action If your intent is to disable DRS completely (uncheck the box), be aware that this will permanently delete all Resource Pools in the cluster.

• All Virtual Machines in pools will be moved to the cluster root.

• All resource shares, limits, reservations, and permissions applied to those pools will be lost.

• Recommendation: If you only wish to stop automatic migrations, do not disable DRS. Instead, change the DRS Automation Level to "Manual".

To resolve the issue and unlock the cluster settings, you must reset the IsClusterManaged parameter to 0.

Prerequisites:
1. Ensure there is a valid backup of vCenter Server, and preferably a valid cold snapshot rollback point. 
2. Ensure no active instance of VMware Cloud Director or vSphere Supervisor or any other third party product which may use this setting is currently managing this cluster. Forcing this change on an actively managed environment may cause service disruption.

1. Select the Cluster > Configure.

2. Navigate to Configuration > Advanced Cluster Settings.

3. Click Edit.

4. Find the parameter IsClusterManaged.

5. Change the value from 1 to 0.

6. Click OK.

After applying any of the above methods, retry the cluster editing operation.