Unable to upgrade VCF WLD from 5.2.3 to 9.0.2 due to back-in-time restriction
Article ID: 438461
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Workload Domain (WLD) upgrades from version 5.2.3 to 9.0.2.0 fail.
The following error is observed during the upgrade process: "Cannot upgrade to VCF version 9.0.2.0 for domain <REDACTED_SECRETS> in a compatible way: not upgradable: ESX_HOST 8.0.3-25205845 -> ESX_HOST 9.0.2.0.25148076, VCENTER 8.0.3.00800-25197330 -> VCENTER 9.0.2.0.25148086, NSX_T_MANAGER 4.2.3.3.0.25171318 -> NSX_T_MANAGER 9.0.2.0.25150386; not interoperable: ESX_HOST 9.0.2.0.25148076 -> VCENTER 8.0.3.00800-25197330. If you have Standalone Host(s), please follow Out of Band Upgrades for Standalone Hosts added to SDDC Manager through Brownfield Import for VCF 9.0 to upgrade/patch them out of band through vCenter Server."
Environment
VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.2.3
VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0.2.0
vCenter Server 8.0 U3i
Cause
The upgrade fails due to a back-in-time upgrade restriction. Upgrading the current 5.2.3 components (e.g., vCenter 8.0.3U3i) to the specific 9.0.2.0 target builds results in a downgrade of certain code bases. SDDC Manager prevents this interoperability mismatch to avoid catastrophic upgrade failures.
Resolution
Upgrading a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Workload Domain from version 5.2.3 to 9.0.2.0 fails due to a "back-in-time restriction" because the underlying 8.0.3 components are not interoperable with 9.0.2.0. Since your current component version (e.g., 8.0.3U3i) was released chronologically after 9.0.2, the system blocks the upgrade path.
To resolve this, please check the Broadcom interoperability matrix Product Interoperability Matrix and wait to upgrade until a newer VCF version is released that officially supersedes your current version.
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