Host Profile Remediation Fails with iSCSI Session Errors

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to remediate an ESXi host using a Host Profile, the process fails with a general system error as below:

"A general system error occurred: Batch host remediation failed. MethodFault.summary. Command iscsi adapter discovery sendtarget remove --address "[IP_ADDRESS]:3260" --adapter [ADAPTER_ID] failed. Errors: Cannot remove discovery address as there are active sessions on the targets discovered by this address."

 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server: 7.x / 8.x
VMware ESXi : 7.x / 8.x

Cause

The Host Profile acts as a configuration blueprint. If the Source Host (where the profile was extracted) has fewer iSCSI targets/LUNs than the Target Host, the remediation process tries to delete the extra storage configurations on the Target Host to match the Source.
This occurs specifically during the iSCSI adapter discovery phase, where the system attempts to remove a target discovery address that is currently in use. Because ESXi cannot safely remove a discovery address while there are active I/O sessions or mounted VMFS datastores associated with it, the command fails and halts the remediation batch.

Resolution

There are two primary methods to resolve this conflict

Method 1: Exclude Storage from the Host Profile
Use this if you prefer to manage iSCSI settings manually or if storage configurations vary significantly across hosts in the cluster.

• Log in to vCenter.
• Navigate to Policies and Profiles > Host Profiles.
• Select the affected Host Profile and click Edit Host Profile.
• Under the configuration tree, locate Storage configuration.
• Uncheck the box to disable storage policy enforcement.
• Save the profile and re-run the Compliance Check.

Method 2: Update the Reference (Source) Host
Use this to maintain a consistent storage host profile across all hosts.

• Identify the Source Host used to create the profile.
• Manually add the missing iSCSI Target IP addresses and map the required LUNs to this host.
• Once the Source Host matches the configuration of the Target Host (e.g., Host01), right-click the Source Host.
• Select Host Profiles > Extract Host Profile (or Copy Settings to Profile).
• Attach the updated profile to the Target Host and perform Remediation.

Note:If you still need help, then kindly open a support case with Broadcom
Refer to the KB https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/142884