ESXi images missing from selection list during Image-based VI Workload Domain deployment in SDDC Manager 5.2.x

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to deploy a VI Workload Domain or add a vSAN ESA cluster using the SDDC Manager UI, the Image Selection dropdown menu is empty or does not list the expected ESXi version.
• The deployment wizard halts at the "Image Selection" step.
• No compatible images are displayed, despite valid licenses and downloaded bundles.
• The SDDC Manager domainmanager.log or UI may indicate a version mismatch between the requested Bill of Materials (BOM) and available inventory.

Environment

• VMware SDDC Manager 5.2.x

Cause

• This issue occurs due to a discrepancy between the VCF Bill of Materials (BOM) requirements and the local Image Inventory.
• In this specific scenario, the Workload Domain deployment workflow enforces a strict check for ESXi 8.0 U3h (or the specific patch level required by the applied VCF release/async patch). However, the SDDC Manager Image Inventory only contains the base ESXi 8.0 U3g images. Because the exact required image (Base + Vendor Add-ons + Components) is not present in the SDDC Manager inventory, the wizard filters out all other options, resulting in an empty selection list.

Resolution

• Log in to the management domain vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
• Create a temporary vSphere Lifecycle Manager cluster (for example, Temp_Image_Extract).
  Note: Do not add hosts or deploy workloads to this temporary cluster.
• Select the new cluster and navigate to Updates > Image.
• Click Setup Image and configure the image to match the exact target requirement (for example, ESXi 8.0 U3h).
• Save the image specification.
  Note: The image only needs to be defined on the cluster object. It does not need to be remediated against hosts.
• Log in to the SDDC Manager UI.
• Navigate to Lifecycle Management > Image Management.
• Click Import Image and select the management domain from the drop-down menu.
• Select the temporary cluster and follow the prompts to import the image specification into the SDDC Manager inventory.
• Restart the VI Workload Domain or Cluster Creation wizard to retry the deployment.
• After the deployment or cluster creation completes successfully, delete the temporary cluster from the vCenter Server inventory to clean up the environment.
  
  The imported image is now visible and selectable in the drop-down menu.

Additional Information

• Upgrade ESXi with vSphere Lifecycle Manager Images for VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2
• Unable to deploy Image based VI Workload Domain