Host Profile shows as non-compliant on ESXi hosts

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Post Remediating the ESXi host with a particular host profile, certain ESXi hosts are flagged as non-compliant by a Host Profile due to few advanced system settings mismatch.
• One such example for the advanced settings is shown below.
  • Host value for a specific setting "VMkernel.Boot.hyperthreadingMitigationIntraVM" is shown as False, while for the Host profile it is displayed as True.
    
     
    
    
• If we try to search for that specific settings within the host profile, it is not displayed.
  
  
  • Login to the vCenter UI --> Policies and Profile --> Host Profiles --> Click on the specific Host Profile --> Configure --> Under Filter --> Search for the specific advanced setting. It is not be displayed.
    
    
    
    

Environment

VMware vCenter Server

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

• This is caused by a configuration mismatch in the values related to the advanced settings present on the ESXi host and the values defined within the attached Host Profile.

• Due to this, the specific reference ESXi host on which the host profile is applied, it is flagged as non-compliant.

Resolution

To fix this issue, the values of the advanced setting configuration should be same on both ESXi host and the Host profile.

• Log in to the vSphere Client and navigate to Policies and Profiles > Host Profiles.
• Select the target Host Profile and click Edit Host Profile.
• Expand Advanced configuration settings > Advanced options > Advanced configuration option.
• Click the + (Add) button next to the Advanced configuration option header.
• In the new entry, locate the Option Name field and enter the exact string of the hidden setting (e.g., VMkernel.Boot.hyperthreadingMitigationIntraVM).
• Change the configuration behavior drop-down to Configure a fixed option.
• In the Value field, enter the desired value to match the target host's state or the intended baseline.
  • An example below.
  • 
• Click Save.
• Remediate the target hosts against the updated Host Profile to apply the configuration and clear the compliance status.

Additional Information

vSphere Host Profiles Documentation