Solution components of disabled Solutions <solution_name> for VMware ESX <solution_version> will be removed from the hosts in the cluster during remediation.

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article speaks about about the alert "Solution components of disabled Solutions <solution_name> for VMware ESX <solution_version> will be removed from the hosts in the cluster during remediation." that might be encountered in a image based cluster after patching ESXi hosts(s) residing in it directly via cli or iso rather than using the vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) 

• On Cluster > Updates > Image tab below alerts are seen even though the build numbers on the cluster image and the patched host(s) are matching:

The cluster needs remediation to finish enabling these Solutions: <solution_name> for VMware ESX <solution_version_v2>
Solution components of disabled Solutions <solution_name> for VMware ESX <solution_version_v1> will be removed from the hosts in the cluster during remediation.

• Comparing the component versions on the ESXi host(s) and the cluster, the cluster is verified to have the updated version of the same component:

To review the version of the solution component on the ESXi host(s) use the below command :
esxcli software vib list | grep <name_of_solution_vib>

To review the version of the solution component on the cluster level, visit Cluster > Updates > Image > Components > Show All Components and then filter using the component name as shown below:

• For solutions such as VKS Supervisor, the spherelet vib may be the same version, however metadata associated with a previous VKS Supervisor deployment will also trigger the alert:
  

 

Environment

vSphere 8.0

Cause

This is expected behavior in vSphere 8.0 and later when using vLCM Image-based management. vLCM tracks compliance against a Desired State that includes the base ESXi image, vendor add-ons, firmware and driver addons and Solution Components (e.g., VMware FDM, NSX agents, or 3rd-party plugins).

When a host is patched manually via CLI or ISO (outside of vLCM), even though the base build may match to that set at the cluster image, the underlying solution components provided by vCenter or third-party managers may not be updated. Because the version of the solution component on the manually patched host is lower than the version defined in the cluster's Desired State, vLCM flags the host as "out of compliance with the image" along with generating the aforementioned alert.

 

 

 

Resolution

Remediate the concerned ESXi host(s) via vLCM to update the solution component make them compliant:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client.

2. Navigate to Host and Clusters and select the affected Cluster.

3. Go to the Updates tab > Image.

4. Click Check Compliance to ensure the current state is captured.

5. Select the non-compliant host(s).

6. Click Actions > Remediate.

   • Note: This may put the host into Maintenance Mode and require a reboot depending on the specific solution component being updated.

7. Once remediation completes, the alert will get cleared.

 

To prevent this issue, avoid patching ESXi hosts manually (via ISO or CLI) when they are part of a vLCM Image-managed cluster. Always use the vLCM remediation workflow to apply updates and patches.