Importing a vCenter as a new WLD into VCF Operations fails with error "vCenter with version 8.0.3.00500-24674346 is not compatible with NSX with version 9.1.0.0.25318225"

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to import an existing 8.0U3e vCenter with an existing NSX 9.1 instance it fails in the precheck stage with error "vCenter with version 8.0.3.00500-24674346 is not compatible with NSX with version 9.1.0.0.25318225"
• Checking the compatibility matrix shows that the version is not supported for new greenfield deployments:

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x 

Cause

This issue occurs due to a compatibility restriction between specific vCenter and NSX versions during greenfield or brownfield import operations. In VCF Operations, importing a vCenter as a WLD typically triggers the deployment of a new NSX instance to ensure compatibility. If an NSX instance is pre-existing and does not meet the compatibility requirements for the specific vCenter version being imported, the pre-check fails.

Resolution

1.  Deploy a separate NSX Manager:

Deploy a dedicated NSX Manager version 4.2 for the Workload Domain (Note: Singleton configurations are not supported). Install NSX Manager and Available Appliances.

2.  Upgrade the Workload Domain vCenter:

Upgrade the vCenter Server you are trying to import to version 9.1. Upgrading the vCenter Appliance.

3. Upgrade Management NSX:

Upgrade the Management Domain NSX instance to version 9.1.0.0100 before attempting to import the Workload Domain. Upgrading vCenter and NSX Manager.

If the required bundle is missing from the depot, the NSX deployment version may need to be overridden. See Overriding version of NSX Manager while deploying a Workload Domain.