Sync Inventory under VCF Operations 9.x for a Brownfield Deployment Fails with Internal Error

Products

• VCF Operations
• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

• When performing a Sync Inventory or a Brownfield import in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Operations 9.x, the process fails during the guardrail validation phase.
  
  

• In the VCF Operations user interface, the following error is displayed: Import operation for sync with id ########-####-####-####-############ failed internally.

• Under the SDDC Manager's /var/log/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/domainmanager.log, The following snippets are observed, indicating a guardrail failure:
  
  INFO [vcf_dm, ..., ...] [c.v.v.v.s.b.r.BrownfieldRunnerService, dm-exec-##] raise DomainSyncException(ErrorMessages. GUARDRAILS_SYNC_FAILURE_CRITICAL_FOR_DOMAIN. format(domain_id))
INFO [vcf_dm, ..., ...] [c.v.v.v.s.b.r.BrownfieldRunnerService, dm-exec-##] common. common_exceptions. DomainSyncException: Could not proceed with sync operation since domain with Id: ########-####-####-####-############ has failed guard rails.

• Further details in the guardrails report located at /var/log/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/brownfield/######-####-####-####-######/output/guardrails_report_<vcenter.fqdn>_all.csv show discrepancies in the ESXi upgrade policy:
  
  "cluster","mgmt-cluster","ESXi Upgrade","WARNING","VALIDATION_FAILED","ESXi upgrade policy validation across vCenter and SDDC Manager","Checks if upgrade policy configured for cluster mgmt-cluster on vCenter match default SDDC Manager ESXi upgrade policy"

Environment

• VCF Operations 9.x
• VCF 9.x

Cause

The inventory sync fails because an Image Profile (vSphere Lifecycle Manager image) has not been created or configured for the cluster in vCenter. This creates a mismatch between the vCenter cluster configuration and the expected SDDC Manager guardrail state, specifically regarding ESXi upgrade policies and remediation settings.

Resolution

Create and configure an Image Profile for the affected cluster in vCenter before retrying the sync operation.

 

1. Log in to the vSphere Client.

2. Navigate to the affected cluster or a standalone host managed with an image.

3. On the Updates tab, select Hosts > Image.

4. In the Image card, click the horizontal ellipsis icon (three dots) and select View recommended images.
   
   Note: If this option is dimmed, no recommended images are available in the depot for this cluster.

5. In the Recommended Images dialog box, select a recommended image by clicking the respective radio button and click Continue.
   
   The recommended image is typically based on the latest ESXi version within your current release series (e.g., 8.0 Update 3) or the latest major version (e.g., 9.0) available in the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

6. The selected image is imported to the cluster as a draft. The Image card will appear.

7. Edit the image as needed and click Validate to check the new image setup.

8. Click Save.
   
   Important: If you do not click Save, the image remains as a draft and will not be applied to the cluster state.

9. Return to the VCF Operations UI and retry the Inventory Sync or Brownfield import operation.