"No Upgrade Available" message when attempting to upgrade VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle to version 8.18 in SDDC Manager 5.2.2

Products

• VMware Cloud Foundation
• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to upgrade VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle within a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.2.2 environment, users encounter the following symptoms:

• The VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.18.0 upgrade bundle is missing from the SDDC Manager UI. Only version 8.16 is displayed, or no upgrade options are available, even after applying the latest Product Support Packs (PSP).

• Out-of-band upgrade attempts (mounting the 8.18.0 ISO via Settings > System Upgrade > CDROM) fail with an alert stating the ISO is not attached.

• The /var/log/vrlcm/vmware_vrlcm.log file on the Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance reports the following exceptions:

ERROR [http-nio-8080-exec-8] c.v.v.l.l.c.LcmManagementController -- Exception occurred while checking upgrade : com.vmware.vrealize.lcm.lcops.common.exception.InvalidInputException: No upgrade available.

Error while getting VCF product version: com.vmware.vrealize.lcm.lcops.common.exception.ContentNotFoundException: No content found corresponding to SDDC Manager version 5.2.2 This could be due to version incompatibility between VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle and SDDC Manager.

Environment

• VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2.2

• VMware Aria Automation 8.16

Cause

This issue stems from an interoperability conflict and architectural changes introduced in VCF 5.2.x:

1. Change in Upgrade Orchestration: In VCF 5.2, SDDC Manager handles initial deployment but delegates subsequent upgrade management to the Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance itself. SDDC Manager no longer directly orchestrates these upgrades.

2. Version Incompatibility: Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.16 is not fully compatible with SDDC Manager 5.2.2. Consequently, validation checks against the SDDC Manager platform fail, triggering a ContentNotFoundException.

3. Strict Integration Checks: Active VCF integration enforces strict compatibility checks, which blocks standalone ISO upgrades from proceeding.

Resolution

To resolve this state inconsistency and proceed with a valid deployment of VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.18, follow the steps below to disassociate the existing instance and perform a fresh deployment.

Prerequisites

• Backup: Ensure you have valid backups of your Aria Suite Lifecycle configuration if migration of data is required later.

• Snapshot: Take a non-memory snapshot of the SDDC Manager VM.

• Bundle Availability: Verify you have downloaded the correct Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.18 install bundle in SDDC Manager.

Step 1: Disassociate Aria Suite Lifecycle

You must first remove the reference to the existing Aria Suite Lifecycle instance from the SDDC Manager database.

1. Log in to the SDDC Manager appliance via SSH.

2. Run the official disassociation script to remove the link between SDDC Manager and the current Aria Suite Lifecycle instance.

   • For detailed steps on this procedure, please refer to Broadcom KB 313436: Disassociate Aria Products from SDDC Manager

Step 2: Cleanup Stale Bundles

To prevent version conflicts during the redeployment, remove the old 8.16 installation bundle from the SDDC Manager repository.

1. Use the Bundle Cleanup Utility to identify and delete the VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.16 bundle.

   • For detailed steps on this procedure, please refer to Broadcom KB 312173: How to use the Bundle Cleanup Utility

Step 3: Fresh Deployment of Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.18

Once the old instance is disassociated and the repository is clean, deploy the new version directly via the SDDC Manager UI.

1. Log in to the SDDC Manager UI.

2. Download the install bundle for VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.18.

3. Navigate to Administration > vRealize Suite (labeled as Aria Suite in newer UIs).

4. Click Deploy to initiate a new deployment.

5. Select VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.18 from the dropdown menu.

6. Complete the deployment wizard to provision the new appliance.

Additional Information

• Product Documentation: Upgrade VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle and VMware Aria Suite Products for VMware Cloud Foundation

• Interoperability: Broadcom Product Interoperability Matrix