NSX networks missing in Aria Automation Network Profiles
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NSX networks missing in Aria Automation Network Profiles

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Article ID: 442135

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Updated On:

Products

VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

When adding networks under Network Profiles in VMware Aria Automation, only a subset of the expected NSX-managed networks appear for a vCenter. The vCenter data collection completes successfully and the affected NSX-backed networks are visible and usable in the vCenter UI, but some of them never appear in the Aria Automation Add Network list.

A separate Aria Automation environment connected to the same vCenter may show the complete set of networks because it collected those networks at an earlier point in time and is reading them from persisted records rather than the current data collection cycle.

The Aria Automation provisioning service logs a NullPointerException during vCenter port group enumeration on each data collection cycle. The failure occurs while resolving the parent distributed virtual switch for an NSX-backed distributed virtual port group:

ERROR provisioning [...] DatacenterEnumerationService.lambda$processPortgroups - [<vCenter-FQDN>]:[<Datacenter>]:[/resources/endpoints/<endpoint-id>]: Failed collecting portgroups: java.util.concurrent.CompletionException: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.vmware.vim25.ManagedObjectReference.getType()" because "mor1" is null

In vCenter, the NSX-backed distributed virtual port groups exist and function normally, but the affected port groups have no NSX Segment ID associated with them, while the NSX networks that enumerate correctly in Aria Automation do have a Segment ID.

Environment

  • VMware Aria Automation 8.18.x
  • VMware NSX 4.x
  • VMware vCenter Server

Cause

The affected NSX networks were created through the NSX Manager (Management Plane) API instead of the NSX Policy API. A Segment ID is a Policy construct, so NSX logical switches that are created through the Manager API are not assigned a Segment ID.

VMware Aria Automation requires a Segment ID to fully enumerate an NSX-backed distributed virtual port group during vCenter data collection. When Aria Automation collects port groups and reaches an NSX-backed port group that has no Segment association, it cannot resolve the managed object reference for the parent distributed virtual switch, and the port group enumeration step throws a NullPointerException. Because a single port group in this state fails the enumeration cycle, the affected NSX networks do not appear under Network Profiles even though they remain visible and usable in the vCenter UI.

  • NSX networks created through the Policy API or Policy UI — a Segment ID is assigned, and the network enumerates and appears as expected in Network Profiles.
  • NSX networks created through the Manager (Management Plane) API — no Segment ID is assigned, enumeration fails with a NullPointerException, and the network is missing from Network Profiles.

Note on a similar symptom with a different cause: If the NSX networks were previously visible in Aria Automation and stopped appearing after a vCenter or ESXi host power event, rather than being newly created through the Manager API, the more likely cause is a transient vCenter and NSX inventory drift. That scenario is resolved by restarting the vCenter vpxd service and is documented separately under KB article 423389.

Resolution

Promote the affected Manager-created NSX objects to Policy objects so that they are assigned Segment IDs and become consistent with the rest of the NSX networks. Promotion moves the configuration from NSX Manager to NSX Policy without data path disruption and without deleting or recreating the objects.

  1. Take an NSX backup before starting. A backup allows the system to be reverted to its original state if a promotion fails.
  2. Identify the NSX-backed port groups in vCenter that have no Segment ID. These are the networks missing from Network Profiles in Aria Automation.
  3. Start the migration-coordinator service on one node of the NSX Manager cluster through the CLI. The promotion runs only on the node where the service is started.
  4. In the NSX UI, navigate to System > General Settings > Manager Objects Promotion. An alert also appears at the top of the page when objects are available for promotion. Start the promotion, review the summary of Manager objects, and continue. The system displays the promotion progress and reports any object that fails to promote.
  5. Follow the full procedure in the VMware NSX documentation: Promote Manager Objects to Policy Objects.
  6. After promotion completes, allow a vCenter data collection cycle to run in Aria Automation, or trigger data collection for the vCenter. The previously missing NSX distributed virtual port groups then appear under Network Profiles.

If an object cannot be promoted, or promotion is not desired, delete the affected segments and recreate them through the NSX Policy UI or the Policy API. Recreating through Policy assigns the required Segment ID.

If the issue persists after following these steps, contact Broadcom Support for further assistance. Provide the following information when opening a support request for this issue:

  • The Aria Automation log bundle captured after a data collection attempt
  • The vCenter Server support bundle
  • The NSX Manager support bundle

Additional Information

NSX Manager (Management Plane) mode is deprecated and is being transitioned to Policy. Promoting Manager objects to Policy is the forward-compatible path and aligns the affected networks with the same construct used by all functioning NSX networks.

Reference: Promote Manager Objects to Policy Objects (NSX Administration Guide).

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