vLCM Remediation Fails: "Transport node profile is not applied to cluster but individual transport node(s) exist"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) cluster remediation operations fail during the pre-remediation health check phase on a vCenter Server 8.x ESXi host cluster.

The vSphere Client UI reports the following errors:

• "Health check for [Cluster_Name] failed."
  
  
• "Transport node profile is not applied to cluster but individual transport node(s) exist."

The Lifecycle Manager log (/var/log/vmware/vmware-updatemgr/vum-server/vmware-vum-server.log) contains the following sequence of errors during the RemediateClusterTask operation:

1. Task Failure and Health Check Error Stack:

info vmware-vum-server[...] [RemediateClusterTask] [Task, 524] Task:com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.RemediateClusterTask ID:52e####a-fe##-4##e-b##2-1c8#####816. Task Failed. Error: com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.TaskError.HealthCheckFailed<Health Check for 'Cluster_Name' failed>
info vmware-vum-server[...] [vciTaskBase 1496] SerializeToVimFault fault:
--> (vmodl.fault.SystemError) {
-->    key = "com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.TaskError.HealthCheckFailed",
-->    reason = "vLCM Task failed, see Error Stack for details."

2. NSX-T API Interaction and Compliance Check: vLCM queries the NSX Manager for the "ready-for-apply" status. The failure occurs when the NSX-T perspective returns NOT_OK.

info vmware-vum-server[...] [EHP] Current NSX-T node: https://<NSX_Manager_IP>:443
info vmware-vum-server[...] [EHP] Calling NSX-T API /api/v1/vlcm/esx/health/cluster/perspectives/ready-for-apply/status?action=check
...
info vmware-vum-server[...] [domain-c6###28] [Unknown] [com.vmware.nsxt.Cluster_tnp_or_tn_exists_check] returned status: NOT_OK
info vmware-vum-server[...] [domain-c6###28] health status for perspective [BEFORE_START_APPLY] is: NOT_OK for service(s) [Unknown]

3. Detailed Health Check Definitions: The logs specifically identify the Cluster_tnp_or_tn_exists_check as the blocking factor.

info vmware-vum-server[...] [ApplyHelpers 696] CheckClusterHealth - check - issues size = 1 - status = 3 - check = com.vmware.nsxt.Cluster_tnp_or_tn_exists_check
name = Check for presence of TNP or TN in cluster
description = Checks 1) if NSX is present in vLCM desired state for cluster with transport node profile 2) TN does not exist in the cluster without transport node profile applied

Environment

VMware vCenter Server

VMware NSX

Cause

This failure is triggered by a configuration mismatch between the vLCM cluster's desired state and the NSX Manager fabric inventory.

The vLCM pre-check com.vmware.nsxt.Cluster_tnp_or_tn_exists_check strictly enforces NSX integration rules. If a Transport Node Profile (TNP) is not applied at the cluster level within the vLCM desired state, individual ESXi hosts within that cluster are prohibited from existing as standalone Transport Nodes (TNs) within the NSX Manager.

Essentially, vLCM expects the cluster to be either fully managed by a TNP or to have no NSX configuration on individual hosts.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, determine if the cluster should be prepared for NSX or if residual NSX configurations should be removed.

Method 1: Prepare the Cluster for NSX

If the cluster requires NSX integration, you must apply a Transport Node Profile to the cluster to align it with the vLCM desired state.

For detailed steps, refer to: VMware vLCM cluster image creation fails when no NSX-T Transport Node Profile is attached

Method 2: Remove Residual NSX Configurations

If the cluster should not be prepared for NSX, you must remove the standalone ESXi host configurations from the NSX Manager inventory.

1. Log in to the NSX Manager UI with administrator privileges.
   
   
2. Navigate to System > Fabric > Hosts.
   
   
3. Locate the affected ESXi hosts:
   
   • Expand the target cluster (if visible in NSX inventory).
   • Or, expand Other Nodes / Standalone (if hosts are not bound to an NSX cluster object).
4. Select the checkbox for the individual ESXi host(s) reporting the compliance failure.
   
   
5. Click Remove NSX.
   
   
6. Verify the host state transitions to "Not Available" or the uninstallation completes.
   
   
7. Return to the vSphere Client and retry the vLCM remediation task.