Network Connectivity Validation to License Server Fails via ICMP

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• When validating connectivity to the license server using standard ICMP ping commands, the server may appear unreachable.
• Network diagnostics can report packet loss or request timeouts, even though the licensing service is functioning correctly and remains accessible through application-layer protocols.

Environment

VCF 9.1.0

VCF Operations 9.1.0

vCenter Server 9.1.0

Cause

This behavior is expected. ICMP traffic to the license server is disabled by design as part of the platform's security architecture. The license server operates within a secured network boundary and is not configured to respond to ICMP echo requests (ping) or communicate directly with the public Internet.

Resolution

ICMP traffic is scheduled to be enabled by design for the next version of the License Server platform.Refer to the release notes for forthcoming product releases for any updates in relation to this.

To verify connectivity and service availability, validate application-layer communication rather than relying on ICMP ping tests:

1. Enable an SSH session to the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA).

2. Execute the following commands from vCenter to verify HTTPS connectivity and the secure SSL handshake directly to the licensing endpoint:

   curl -v -k https://<license-server-IP>
   openssl s_client -connect <license-server-IP>:443
   

3. Log in to the VCF Operations User Interface (UI).

4. Navigate to Manage > Licensing > Licenses & Registration > Manage > License Servers.
   
   

5. Review the specific License Server details pane and confirm that the reported operational status displays as Healthy and Connected.