vLCM Compliance Check Fails: "Downgrades of Components Host Based Replication Agent for ESX... are not supported"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to upgrade an ESXi cluster (or VxRail cluster) using vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM), the pre-remediation compliance check fails.

The following error messages are observed in the vSphere Client UI and the vmware-vum-server.log:

• com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.HostScan.SolutionComponentDowngrade

• "Downgrades of Components Host Based Replication Agent for ESX(HBR component for ESX - version <version_number> build <build_number>) in Solution VMware-HBR-Agent are not supported."

• "Check the Solution's compatibility matrix to enable higher version Component(s), or disable the Solution."

Attempts to manually remove the VMware-HBR-Agent via API or CLI result in the VIB automatically reinstalling on the hosts shortly after removal.

Environment

• VMware vSphere 8.x / 9.x

• VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM)

• VMware vSphere Replication 8.x / 9.x

Cause

By default, the vSphere Replication appliance is globally configured to automatically install the vmware-hbr-agent VIB on all ESXi hosts managed by the registered vCenter Server.

If the vLCM desired state image specifies an older version of this component, or if the component is manually removed from a cluster that does not utilize replication, the vSphere Replication appliance will automatically push its packaged version back onto the hosts. This causes a continuous version conflict and triggers a downgrade violation during the vLCM compliance check, preventing the upgrade from proceeding.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must disable the global auto-install behavior on the vSphere Replication appliance and manually remove the agent from the affected hosts.

1. Connect to the vSphere Replication appliance via SSH and log in as root.

2. Open the HMS configuration file in a text editor (e.g., vi): /opt/vmware/hms/conf/hms-configuration.xml

3. Locate the hms-auto-install-hbragent-vib parameter.

4. Change the value from true to false: <hms-auto-install-hbragent-vib>false</hms-auto-install-hbragent-vib>

5. Save the file and exit the editor.

6. Restart the HMS service to apply the configuration change: systemctl restart hms

7. Manually remove the VMware-HBR-Agent solution from the affected ESXi hosts or cluster.

8. Re-run the vLCM Compliance Check on the cluster. It should now show as non-compliant (missing the VIB or ready for the image) rather than incompatible, allowing you to successfully Remediate the cluster.

Additional Information

 

• Important Note: Disabling the hms-auto-install-hbragent-vib setting applies globally to the vCenter. After this change, all new ESXi hosts added to the environment will require the vmware-hbr-agent VIB to be manually installed if they need to participate in enhanced vSphere Replication.

• For more information on managing the vSphere Replication solution components, reference Broadcom KB: How to manage vSphere Replication solution components