During The Import of a Brownfield Workload Domain a Host Fails to Import.
Article ID: 433918
Updated On:
Products
VMware vSphere ESX 8.x
VCF Operations
Issue/Introduction
- An existing vCenter and cluster of hosts is imported into a VCF 9 environment as Workload Domain.
- One or several hosts fail and must be removed from the cluster to allow the import to progress and complete successfully.
- The import is now complete and the failed host/s must be added.
- The option to commision the host/s are greyed out.
- Checking the licensing of the host/s it is found to be an evaluation license.
Environment
VCF 9
Cause
- VCF 9 performs a precheck of the licensing.
- If any license is not usable or expired it will fail the precheck.
- The import will stop at this point.
- Evaluation licenses cannot but used during upgrades.
- Licensing Uniformity Mandate:
- VCF automation strictly requires uniform licensing across all ESXi hosts within a target workload domain cluster.
- A mixed licensing state (evaluation vs. permanent) causes the VCF Operations / SDDC Manager validation pre-checks to fail.
- Feature Set Mismatch:
- Evaluation mode temporarily unlocks all features.
- If the permanent licenses applied to the other hosts belong to a specific tier (e.g., vSphere Foundation), vCenter will reject the demonstration host joining the cluster due to an asymmetric feature configuration.
- Database Lock on Stale Entries:
- If the host was part of a previously failed or aborted workload domain deployment, a stale evaluation license entry may remain locked in the vCenter Single Sign-On database. This prevents the VCF automation from overwriting the demonstration license with a valid key during the import workflow.
Resolution
- Remove the evaluation license.
- Apply a new appropriate license.
- Add the ESX Host to an SDDC Cluster in a VCF Domain
Additional Information
Feedback
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