Virtual machine fails to power on with error "No host is compatible with the virtual machine" when deploying from OVF or Content Library template

Products

• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

• When deploying a virtual machine from an exported OVF or template stored in the Content Library, the virtual machine fails to power on with the following error:
  
  No host is compatible with the virtual machine
  
  
• The following error is recorded in the vpxd.log of the vCenter Server:
  
  hhhh-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.###Z error vpxd[####] [Originator@6876 sub=Default opID=########] [VpxLRO] -- ERROR task-#### -- ########-####-####-####-############(########-####-####-####-############) -- vm-#### -- vim.VirtualMachine.powerOn: :vim.fault.NoCompatibleHost
--> Result:
--> (vim.fault.NoCompatibleHost) {
-->    faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null, 
-->    faultMessage = <unset>, 
-->    host = (vim.HostSystem) [
-->       'vim.HostSystem:########-####-####-####-############:host-###'
-->    ], 
-->    error = (vmodl.MethodFault) [
-->       (vim.fault.UnsupportedGuest) {
-->          faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null, 
-->          faultMessage = <unset>, 
-->          property = <unset>, 
-->          unsupportedGuestOS = "<Actual Guest OS ID>"
  
  
  Example: If the actual guest OS ID is "windows2019srv_64Guest"
  
  unsupportedGuestOS = "windows2019srv_64Guest"

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Cause

This is a known issue in vCenter Server where the actual guest OS information collected by VMware Tools takes precedence over the backward-compatible guest OS version explicitly configured in the virtual machine settings. This occurs during an OVF export or when cloning a virtual machine to a template in the Content Library.

If the hardware version of the destination ESXi host or the virtual machine is old and does not support the actual guest OS ID reported by VMware Tools, it is determined to be incompatible during power-on, causing the power-on process to fail.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in vCenter Server 8.0 U3h.

Workaround 1: Upgrade the Hardware Version

Upgrade the virtual machine hardware version to a version that is selectable by the guest operating system.

Note: The destination ESXi host must support the upgraded hardware version.

Workaround 2: Reset the Guest OS Information collected by VMware Tools

If need to maintain the current hardware version, clear the VMware Tools collection information:

1. 1. Ensure the base virtual machine is powered off before OVF export (or before registering it to the Content Library).
      
      
   2. Launch PowerCLI and connect to the vCenter Server.
      
      
   3. Run the following command to check the guest OS information collected by VMware Tools:
      
      (Get-VM <Virtual_Machine_Name>).Guest.RuntimeGuestId
      
      Example:
      
      > (Get-VM vmname).Guest.RuntimeGuestId
      windows2019srv_64Guest
      
      
   4. Run the following command to reset the guest OS information collected by VMware Tools:
      
      (Get-VM <Virtual_Machine_Name>).ExtensionData.ResetGuestInformation()
      
      
   5. Run the command again to confirm that the guest OS information collected by VMware Tools has been reset (the output should be empty):
      
      (Get-VM <Virtual_Machine_Name>).Guest.RuntimeGuestId
      
      Example:
      
      > (Get-VM vmname).Guest.RuntimeGuestId
      > 
      
      
   6. Proceed with the OVF export (or template creation in the Content Library) immediately without powering on the virtual machine.

Additional Information

OVF または コンテンツライブラリのテンプレートから仮想マシンを展開すると「No host is compatible with the virtual machine」エラーでパワーオンに失敗する (432722)