Converging existing vSphere infra to VCf 9 fails at evaluating existing components with error Please apply VCF or Evaluation License to vCenter Server to allow convert to SDDC

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer

Issue/Introduction

• Converging vSphere infra to VCF 9 fails while evaluating existing components with error: 'vCenter does not have valid license to allow convert to SDDC. Remediation: Please apply VCF or Evaluation License to vCenter Server to allow convert to SDDC'
• This issue was observed during the new vCf deployment without VCF operations or licensing server and SDDC manager.
• vCenter already has active evaluation license assigned
• /var/log/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/domainmanager.log reports below errors
• /var/log/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/operationsmanager.log  reports below errors

INFO VcLicenseInfoUpdater Found VC licenses with display names esx02_fqdn, esx01_qdn, vCenter_fqdn

INFO VcLicenseInfoUpdater Found VC license info: ← BLANK

DEBUG VcLicenseInfoUpdater Supported License EditionKeys: [vcEval, vc.vcf]

DEBUG VcLicenseInfoUpdater Supported licenses for vcenter der-vcentersa.msds.it: {} ← EMPTY MAP

Environment

VCf 9.1 

Cause

This issue occurs due to case sensitivity when comparing the license assignment display name and actual vCenter FQDN

Resolution

To fix this we can apply below one of below options:

NOTE: Please take a snapshot of vCenter prior to making below changes. 

Option1: Configure Temporary PNID (exampleTemp.example.com):

1. Update the VCSA Hosts File:

             i. Backup the original configuration: 
                   # cp /etc/dnsmasq.conf /etc/dnsmasq.conf.original

             ii.Edit dnsmasq.conf to include the hosts file:
                   # vi /etc/dnsmasq.conf
                   Add the line: addn-hosts=/etc/dnsmasq.hosts
             iii. Add the temporary PNID to /etc/dnsmasq.hosts:
                   # vi /etc/dnsmasq.hosts
                  Add the line: <vCenter_IP_Address> exampleTemp.example.com exampleTemp
             iv. Restart the dnsmasq service:
                 # systemctl restart dnsmasq.service
              v. Test the name resolution:
                 # nslookup exampleTemp.example.com 
                 # nslookup <vCenter_IP>

2. Change the PNID to Temporary PNID in VAMI:

              i.Access the vCenter Appliance Management Interface: https://<vCenter_IP>:5480.
             ii.Under Networking -> Edit, update the hostname to exampleTemp.example.com
             Note: It is recommended to add exampleTemp.example.com to the local hosts file of the web browser's PC to ensure accessibility to the VAMI                  interface.

3. Reboot the vCenter Server and verify the changes. 

4. Remove Temporary PNID Configuration from Proxy DNS:

                i. Restore the original configuration:
                   # cp /etc/dnsmasq.conf.original /etc/dnsmasq.conf
                ii. Delete the temporary hosts file:
                   # rm /etc/dnsmasq.hosts
                iii. Restart the dnsmasq service:
                  # systemctl restart dnsmasq.service

5. Change PNID to Destination PNID (vcsa02.example.com) in VAMI:

                i. Access the vCenter Appliance Management Interface: https://<vCenter_IP>:5480.
                ii. Under Networking -> Edit, update the hostname to vcsa02.example.com

6. Reboot the vCenter Server and verify the changes.