License assignment from VCF Operations fails on vCenter Server after upgrading to version 9.1

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• After upgrading vCenter Server from version 8.0 to 9.1, it cannot be licensed on VCF Operations. The vCenter Server does not appear under the vCenter Systems under Manage > License & Registrations tab and the following warning appears "One or more assets have been removed but still use license capacity for this license server. You must reclaim used capacity manually":
  
• The vCenter Server was previously licensed for version 9.0, rolled back to version 8.0, and then upgraded to version 9.1.
• Entity of vCenter Server from version 9.0 still appears under the License Server Details and is using the capacity:
  
• The/storage/log/vcops/log/collector.logon VCF Operations reports the following error:
  defaultMessage = Failed to get Entitlements [#######-####-####-####-##########] from License Server [#######-####-####-####-##########] with URL [<License_Server_FQDN>] with response [License Server returned unexpected status code: 526 and response Invalid SSL Certificate]

  
• /var/log/vmware/cis-license/license.log on vCenter Server also contains the following error:
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS ERROR CISLicense 44 [vc@4413 threadName="http-nio-0.0.0.0-12080-exec-4" logger="managment.server.vapi.impl.LicenseServerEntitlementsDelegate"] Caught exception:
com.vmware.cis.license.entitlement.management.exception.LicenseServerManagementException: Failed to get Entitlements [#######-####-####-####-##########] from License Server [#######-####-####-####-##########] with URL [<License_Server_FQDN>] with response [LicenseServer returned unexpected status code: 526 and response Invalid SSL Certificate]

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 9.1
VCF Operations 9.1

Cause

This issue occurs when a vCenter Server that was previously licensed (e.g., on version 9.0) is rolled back to an earlier version (8.0) and then upgraded again to 9.1. The existing vCenter account in VCF Operations under Administration > Integrations fails to accurately determine the state of the vCenter Server after these version changes, leading to SSL certificate mismatches and licensing synchronization failures.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, the capacity on the license server must be reclaimed and management of the affected vCenter Server must be reactivated.

Step 1: Reclaim Used Capacity:

1. Log in to the VCF Operations UI.
2. Navigate to Manage > Licensing > Licenses & Registrations > Manage > License Servers.
   
3. Click on the relevant License Server.
4. Scroll down to Licensed Assets, select the affected vCenter Server, and click Reclaim Used Capacity.

Step 2: Reactivate vCenter Management:

1. On the VCF Operations, click on Operate > Administration > Integrations > vCenter Server account.
2. Click the three dots (ellipsis) and select Edit for the affected vCenter Server.
3. Scroll to the bottom, click Manage integrations, and disable the "Activate license and vSphere Client plug-in management" option.
4. Wait approximately 15 minutes to allow the data to purge.
5. In the same Integrations page, select the affected vCenter Server and click the ACTIVATE MANAGEMENT button at the top of the grid.
6. Verify the vCenter Server is now visible under vCenter Systems on the License & Registrations page.
7. Manually Assign the primary license to the vCenter Server.

Additional Information

Workload vCenter missing from Licensing Management in VCF Operations 9.x after certificate rotation
vCenter missing from License Management in VCF Operations