Check for enhanced datapath license validity error observed during upgrade of NSX via SDDC Manager.

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

• NSX environment is being upgraded through SDDC Manager. 
• During the upgrade, the following error is observed in SDDC UI:
  Check for enhanced datapath license validity.: [You have 4 transport nodes using Enhanced Datapath without a valid license, please use appropriate license. List of some transport nodes without valid license: ... 
• Same error may be observed while running the upgrade pre-checks. 
• Same error can be observed in NSX Manager's logs:
  /var/log/upgrade-coordinator/upgrade-coordinator.log
2026-01-14T09:55:21.656Z  INFO pool-50-thread-2 UpgradeServiceImpl 2828387 SYSTEM [nsx@6876 comp="nsx-manager" level="INFO" subcomp="upgrade-coordinator"] Executing cleanUp for check Check for enhanced datapath license validity.
2024-10-14T09:55:21.657Z  INFO pool-50-thread-2 UpgradeServiceImpl 2828387 SYSTEM [nsx@6876 comp="nsx-manager" level="INFO" subcomp="upgrade-coordinator"] [PUC] Finish Check for enhanced datapath license validity. on component HOST. Result -- BasicInspectionTaskResult{status=WARNING, taskInfo=InspectionTaskInfo[id=enhancedDatapathLicenseCheck,name=Check for enhanced datapath license validity.,description=This check warns the user to use valid license for host switches with enhanced datapath mode.,componentType=HOST,needsAcknowledgement=true,acknowledgement=false,needsResolution=false,resolution=false,resolutionError=<null>], failureMessages=null, failures=[{"moduleName":"upgrade-coordinator","errorCode":31510,"errorMessage":"You have 4 transport nodes using Enhanced Datapath without a valid license, please use appropriate license. List of some transport nodes without valid license: ...
• Host switch is in ENS_INTERRUPT mode.
  This can be confirmed with API: GET https://<nsx-manager>/policy/api/v1/transport-nodes
  Inspect the value of "host_switch_mode" parameter.
• The distributed switch is not being consumed by Smart NIC cards. 

Note: The preceding excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware NSX 4.x

Cause

The upgrade pre-check routine in affected versions is configured to incorrectly look for older license keys, and incorrectly triggering this error.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in VCF 9.0, available at Broadcom downloads.

If you are having difficulty finding and downloading software, please review the Download Broadcom products and software KB.

 

Workaround:

To workaround this issue, please follow the action plan below:

1. SSH to any NSX Manager as root.
2. Backup the configuration file that will be modified to allow the workaround:
   cp /opt/vmware/upgrade-coordinator-tomcat/webapps/upgrade-coordinator/WEB-INF/classes/config.properties /opt/vmware/upgrade-coordinator-tomcat/webapps/upgrade-coordinator/WEB-INF/classes/config.properties.bak
3. Change the property "upgrade.host.precheck.disableChecks=NA" to "upgrade.host.precheck.disableChecks=enhancedDatapathLicenseCheck":
   sed -i 's/upgrade.host.precheck.disableChecks=NA/upgrade.host.precheck.disableChecks=enhancedDatapathLicenseCheck/g' /opt/vmware/upgrade-coordinator-tomcat/webapps/upgrade-coordinator/WEB-INF/classes/config.properties
4. Confirm the property has been changed:
   grep "upgrade.host.precheck.disableChecks" /opt/vmware/upgrade-coordinator-tomcat/webapps/upgrade-coordinator/WEB-INF/classes/config.properties
5. Restart the upgrade-coordinator service:
   /etc/init.d/upgrade-coordinator restart

Additional Information

NSX-UPG-HOST

PR#:3640700
https://bugzilla-vcf.lvn.broadcom.net/show_bug.cgi?id=3640700