vDefend does not show up under licenses

Products

VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

Reviewing the Operations licensing shows the correct number of cores, but no add-on licensing, ie vDefend does not appear to be licensed.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid License Key" Error: Ensure you are entering a valid 25-character key specific to vDefend, and that no trailing spaces were copied. Confirm that the required base VCF SKU is already successfully applied to the NSX Manager.
Key Not Appearing in VCF Business Services Console: This is working as designed. Add-on legacy keys will not appear in the VCF Business Services Console (vcf.broadcom.com) and must be managed entirely from the Broadcom Support Portal.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 and later
VMware NSX 4.2.x and later
VMware vDefend Firewall 9.0

Cause

In VCF 9.x environments, core subscription licenses (Compute, vSAN) are synchronized automatically to the local environment via the VCF Business Services Console (vcf.broadcom.com). However, add-on services such as VMware vDefend Firewall utilize legacy 25-character license keys provisioned exclusively in the Broadcom Support Portal (support.broadcom.com). The automated synchronization process does not pull 25-character add-on keys into the NSX Manager, resulting in the firewall features remaining locked despite displaying as active entitlements in the Support portal.

Resolution

To resolve this issue and activate the firewall features, you must manually apply the 25-character vDefend add-on license key directly within the NSX Manager UI.

Step 1: Retrieve the License Key

Log in to the Broadcom Support Portal (https://support.broadcom.com).
Navigate to your Entitlements.
Locate the specific "VMware vDefend Firewall" SKU and copy the 25-character license key.

Step 2: Apply the Key to NSX Manager

From your web browser, log in to the NSX Manager UI (https://<nsx-manager-ip-address>) with Enterprise Admin privileges.
Navigate to System > Licenses.
Click Add License.
Paste the 25-character vDefend license key into the prompt and apply it.

Additional Information

Add vDefend License

NOTE: The vDefend add-on license strictly requires a base VCF or vSphere subscription SKU to be present on the NSX Manager prior to applying the add-on key. If you attempt to enter an add-on license without the required base SKU already applied, you will receive an error message.
NOTE: To remove a license, select the license from the grid and click Delete. You will receive an error message if you attempt to remove a base SKU while an add-on license that depends on it is still active.