Workload domain creation with shared NSX fails due to ESXi image compatibility validation error.

Products

• VCF Operations
• VMware SDDC Manager

Issue/Introduction

Creating a new workload domain with a shared NSX Manager fails during the validation phase with an image compatibility error in SDDC Manager.

Although the NSX Manager appears as shareable in the UI, the workload domain creation is blocked during validation. The error indicates a mismatch between the ESXi version in the source workload domain and the compatible ESXi version defined in the Lifecycle Manager (LCM) Bill of Materials (BoM).

An error similar to the following is displayed:

ESXi version 9.0.1.0.24897405 is different from the compatible LCM ESXi BOM versions [9.0.0.0.24755229]

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0

Cause

This issue occurs when the NSX Manager is reused from a workload domain running a split BoM, where:

• NSX Manager and vCenter Server are at version 9.0.1, and ESXi hosts in that domain remain at version 9.0.0
• When SDDC Manager performs compatibility validation for the new workload domain, it detects that the ESXi version in the domain providing the shared NSX does not match the LCM-supported ESXi BoM version. As a result, the validation fails even though the UI initially allows selection of the shared NSX Manager.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, ensure ESXi version compatibility between the domain providing the shared NSX Manager and the LCM BoM.

Use one of the following workarounds:

Upgrade the ESXi hosts in the workload domain that provides the shared NSX Manager to the corresponding LCM supported ESXi version, or Use a different NSX Manager from a workload domain where the ESXi hosts are already running a compatible ESXi version.

After ensuring version alignment, retry the workload domain creation