NSX Manager 4.2.x to 9.0.2 upgrade failure while trying to import to VCF 9.0.2

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

When upgrading a VMware NSX cluster to version 9.0.2, the upgrade process may fail early (e.g., at 5% completion). This results in a mixed-version state where some Manager nodes are upgraded to 9.0.2 and stuck in maintenance mode, while others remain on version 4.2.X.

• The upgraded node cannot exit maintenance mode or rejoin the cluster.
• The Upgrade Coordinator (UC) prevents a rollback with the following error: Cannot start rollback - Upgrade has not started.
• The file /image/.can_rollback_node is missing from the NSX Manager node.

Environment

VMware NSX

Cause

The rollback fails because the /image/.can_rollback_node flag file is missing. During the upgrade lifecycle, specific actions such as uploading a new PUB file or an internal Upgrade Coordinator update can erroneously delete this flag file. Without this file, the system lacks the metadata required to authorize a node-level rollback.

Resolution

If you encounter a similar issue in the future, please feel free to open a case with Broadcom Support for further assistance- Creating and managing Broadcom cases