Unable to add hosts to upgrade groups in vLCM-enabled clusters

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

• While attempting to logically segment hosts into smaller upgrade groups in the NSX Upgrade Coordinator (UC), the operation fails with the error: "vLCM configuration cannot be updated for group '<Custom group name>'".
• The NSX Manager UI explicitly blocks adding hosts to a custom group.
• Standard remediation steps, such as using "reset to default" in the hosts tab, resetting the upgrade plan via API (POST /api/v1/upgrade/plan?action=reset), or restarting the install-upgrade service, do not resolve the issue.
• Log Evidence
  The following errors are observed in the /var/log/upgrade-coordinator/upgrade-coordinator.log file:
  

  <Time> INFO http-nio-XXXXXX-exec-9 FacadeInterceptorHelperImpl ... [nsx@XXXXcomp="nsx-manager" level="INFO" subcomp="upgrade-coordinator"] Caught error in facade interceptor com.vmware.nsx.management.upgrade.exceptions.InvalidPlanException: null
  
  <Time> INFO http-nio-XXXXXX-exec-6 NsxBaseRestController ... [nsx@XXXXXXaudit="true" comp="nsx-manager" level="INFO" subcomp="upgrade-coordinator"] UserName:'admin' ModuleName:'upgrade-coordinator' Operation:'POST@/api/v1/upgrade/upgrade-unit-groups/XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX' Operation status: 'failure' Error: vLCM configuration cannot be updated for group '<Custom group name>'.

Environment

3.x,4.x

Cause

• This is a product limitation by design when vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) is enabled at the cluster level.

• Architectural Constraint: Unlike legacy vSphere Update Manager (VUM) based clusters, vLCM-enabled clusters do not support group splitting within the NSX UI.

• Intentional Block: vLCM manages host preparation and upgrades at the cluster level; therefore, the Upgrade Coordinator automatically generates default groups that map 1:1 to vCenter clusters.

• Management Delegation: The NSX Manager does not control the individual host upgrade sequence for vLCM clusters; this responsibility is delegated to vCenter and DRS.

Resolution

As this is a functional limitation, administrators must use one of the following two alternate workflows to perform granular upgrades:

Option 1:  Physical Re-clustering (If migration is feasible)

1. Create a new vLCM-enabled cluster in vCenter.
2. Apply the corresponding Transport Node Profile (TNP) to the new cluster.
3. Move the specific hosts intended for the maintenance window into this new cluster.
4. Proceed with the upgrade of the new cluster via the NSX Upgrade Coordinator UI.

Option 2: vCenter Manual Remediation (Recommended for maintenance windows)

1. In the NSX Upgrade Coordinator UI, edit the vLCM cluster upgrade group.
2. Set the Upgrade Type to "Stage in vSphere Lifecycle Manager".
3. Click the Stage button to push the NSX components (VIBs) to the hosts.
4. Once staging is complete, navigate to the vCenter UI.
5. Manually select and remediate only the specific hosts required for the current maintenance window.