The Host Based Replication Agent for ESX can't be installed on 'domain-###'. The vLCM image has deltas that need to be applied.

Products

VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

An issue is observed where the Host-Based Replication (HBR) agent cannot be installed on a cluster via VMware Live Recovery (VLR) or vSphere Replication (VR). The vSphere Client displays an error indicating that the vLCM image has deltas that need to be applied, and the automated installation fails.

Symptoms:

The following error message is displayed on the VMware Live Recovery (VLR) or vSphere Replication (VR) summary page:

The Host Based Replication Agent for ESX can't be installed on 'domain-###'. The vLCM image has deltas that need to be applied.

Manual verification of the ESXi hosts via esxcli software vib list | grep hbr reveals that a higher version of the agent is already installed (e.g., version 9.0.2-0.25093017).

[root@ESXi_host~] esxcli software vib list | grep hbr
vmware-hbr-agent 9.0.2-0.25093017 VMware VMwareCertified 2026-03-04 host
vmware-hbrsrv 9.0.1-0.24957456 VMware VMwareCertified 2026-02-09 host

The VLR 9.0.4 appliance contains a lower supported VIB version (e.g., 9.0.1-0.24883379) in /opt/vmware/share/hbr/vib.

admin@VLR [ /opt/vmware/share/hbr/vib ]$ ls -ltrh
total 84M
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 28M Jul 30 2025 vmware-hbr-agent-9.0.1-0.24883379.i386.vib
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 28M Jul 30 2025 VMware-ESXi-9.0.1-24883379-hbragent.zip
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 28M Jul 30 2025 VMware-HBR-Agent-9.0.1-0.24883379-depot.zip
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 68 Sep 17 2025 vmware-hbr-agent.vib -> /opt/vmware/share/hbr/vib/vmware-hbr-agent-9.0.1-0.24883379.i386.vib

Environment

VMware Live Recovery (VLR) 9.0.4

vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM)

VMware ESXi 9.0.1.0

Cause

This condition is caused by the presence of a higher-version HBR agent (version 9.0.2) on the ESXi hosts, typically remaining from a previous VLR 9.0.5 deployment. vLCM security and integrity policies prevent the VLR 9.0.4 appliance from performing an automated downgrade to its bundled version (9.0.1), as component downgrades within a vLCM-managed solution are explicitly restricted.

The /var/log/vmware/hms/hms.log [VLR 9.0.4] contains the following signature:

hardwareSupport = {},
components = {},
solutions = {VMware-HBR-Agent=SolutionCompliance (com.vmware.esx.settings.solution_compliance) => {
status = INCOMPATIBLE,
stageStatus = <null>,
current = SolutionInfo (com.vmware.esx.settings.solution_info) => {
details = SolutionDetails (com.vmware.esx.settings.solution_details) => {
displayName = HBR solution component for ESX - version 9.0.2 build 25093017, -> HBR agent version which is installed on the ESXi host
displayVersion = 9.0.2,
components = [SolutionComponentDetails (com.vmware.esx.settings.solution_component_details) => {
component = VMware-HBR-Agent,
displayName = Host Based Replication Agent for ESX,
displayVersion = HBR component for ESX - version 9.0.2 build 25093017,
vendor = VMware
},
target = SolutionInfo (com.vmware.esx.settings.solution_info) => {
details = SolutionDetails (com.vmware.esx.settings.solution_details) => {
displayName = HBR solution component for ESX - version 9.0.1 build 24883379, -> HBR agent version which will be pushed to the target ESXi host
displayVersion = 9.0.1,
components = [SolutionComponentDetails (com.vmware.esx.settings.solution_component_details) => {
component = VMware-HBR-Agent,
displayName = Host Based Replication Agent for ESX,
displayVersion = HBR component for ESX - version 9.0.1 build 24883379,
vendor = VMware
},
type = ERROR,
id = com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.HostScan.SolutionComponentDowngrade,
time = MM/DD/YY Hr:mm:ss +0000,
message = LocalizableMessage (com.vmware.vapi.std.localizable_message) => {
id = com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.HostScan.SolutionComponentDowngrade,
defaultMessage = Downgrades of Components Host Based Replication Agent for ESX(HBR component for ESX - version 9.0.2 build 25093017) in Solution VMware-HBR-Agent are not supported.,
args = [Host Based Replication Agent for ESX(HBR component for ESX - version 9.0.2 build 25093017), VMware-HBR-Agent],
params = <null>,
localized = Downgrades of Components Host Based Replication Agent for ESX(HBR component for ESX - version 9.0.2 build 25093017) in Solution VMware-HBR-Agent are not supported.-> As there is a higher version of the HBR agent on the target ESXi, the vLCM prevents the downgrade.
},
resolution = LocalizableMessage (com.vmware.vapi.std.localizable_message) => {
id = com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.HostScan.SolutionComponentDowngrade.Resolution,
defaultMessage = Check the Solution's compatibility matrix to enable higher version Component(s), or disable the Solution.,

Resolution

To resolve this issue, the newer VIB must be manually removed before vLCM can install the compliant version:

Enable SSH on the affected ESXi host.
Log in as root and identify the installed HBR VIBs:
esxcli software vib list | grep hbr
The incompatible vmware-hbr-agent version 9.0.2 is manually removed from the host:
esxcli software vib remove -n vmware-hbr-agent
In the vSphere Client, navigate to the Cluster > Updates tab.
Click Check Compliance to refresh the vLCM state.
Click Remediate to allow vLCM to install the correct vmware-hbr-agent version 9.0.1.
Repeat these steps for all hosts within the cluster that are reporting the incompatibility.

Additional Information

Broadcom TechDocs: vSphere Lifecycle Manager Solution Compliance