"The specified solution cannot be found in depots" error during vLCM compliance check on ESXi host or the cluster

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Running a Check Compliance or Remediate task on an ESXi host or cluster  from vSphere Lifecycle Manager(vLCM) fails with following error:
  
  Remediation of cluster failed
  The specified solution cannot be found in depots.
  ESX-Hostname - Skipped remediation for this host.
  

  Host ESX-Hostname was not processed, the reason: 'The specified solution cannot be found in depots.'

  
  
  
  
• In /var/log/vmware/vmware-updatemgr/vum-server/vmware-vum-server.log on vCenter, you see entries similar to: 
  
  

  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error vmware-vum-server[50213] [Originator@6876 sub=VumVapi::Utils opID=#####-####-####-####-#######] [DepotContentManager 1712] Failed to get component (hpe-zertoreplication) details. No record - VCIDB ERROR: Row with name (hpe-zertoreplication) not found in table PM_DEPOT_COMPONENTS
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error vmware-vum-server[50213] [Originator@6876 sub=DepotManager::SoftwareSpecUtil opID=#####-####-####-####-#######] [SoftwareSpecUtil 635] Failed to fetch component details for (hpe-zertoreplication) from depot : Error:
-->    com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.not_found
--> Messages:
-->    com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.depotContent.components.DetailError<Failed to retrieve details of Component 'hpe-zertoreplication'>

  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS info vmware-vum-server[58929] [Originator@6876 sub=EntityImageManager opID=#####-####-####-####-#######] [EntityImageManager 457] [Calculate] Calculate effective data for the image {
-->     "add_on": {
-->         "name": "DEL-ESXi",
-->         "version": "803.25067014-A09"
-->     },
-->     "alternative_images": null,
-->     "base_image": {
-->         "version": "8.0.3-0.100.25429389"
-->     },
-->     "components": {
-->         "VMware-VM-Tools": "13.0.5-0.24916190"
-->     },
-->     "hardware_support": null,
-->     "removed_components": null,
-->     "solutions": {
-->         "hpe-zertoreplication": {
-->             "components": [
-->                 {
-->                     "component": "hpe-zertoreplication"
-->                 }
-->             ],
-->             "version": "10-80.20.9865"
-->         }
-->     }
--> }
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS info vmware-vum-server[58929] [Originator@6876 sub=EntityImageManager opID=#####-####-####-####-#######] [EntityImageManager 474] [Calculate] Compute effective image
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS info vmware-vum-server[58929] [Originator@6876 sub=ServiceProvider opID=#####-####-####-####-#######] [ImageService 372] Run command: --taskid #####-####-####-####-####### --threadid 58929 software --geteffectiveimage
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error vmware-vum-server[58929] [Originator@6876 sub=EntityImageManager opID=#####-####-####-####-#######] [EntityImageManager 103] [TranslateError] start
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error vmware-vum-server[58929] [Originator@6876 sub=EntityImageManager opID=#####-####-####-####-#######] [EntityImageManager 113] [TranslateError] Error: Error:
-->    com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.error
--> Messages:
-->    com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.softwarespec.SolutionNotFound<The specified solution is cannot be found in depots.>

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.x
VMware ESXi 8.x

Cause

This issue occurs because a specific software component or solution (In this scenario -  hpe-zertoreplication) defined in the cluster's desired state image is missing from the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot. Even if the VIB is manually installed on the ESXi host, vLCM requires the corresponding metadata and payload to be present in its internal depot to validate and remediate the image.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must manually upload the missing offline bundle to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

1. Identify the missing component from vmware-vum-server.log or the error stack in the vSphere Client. In this scenario - 'hpe-zertoreplication'.
2. Obtain the Offline Bundle software vendor(e.g., HPE or Zerto).
3. Upload the bundle to vLCM
   
   1. Log in to the vSphere Client. Navigate to Lifecycle Manager > Image Depot.
   2. Select the Actions menu or the Import Updates link.
   3. Browse to and select the downloaded offline bundle .zip file.
      
      
4. Navigate back to the affected Cluster or Host. Go to the Updates tab and Click Check Compliance. 
5. The task should now succeed without the "SolutionNotFound" error. Proceed with the Remediate task as planned.

Additional Information

Import Updates to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager Depot