Error: Heartbeating between NSX management node and host is down during upgrade pre-checks VMware NSX

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

• NSX upgrade pre-checks fail with the error: Heartbeating between NSX management node and host #### is down.

• Transport node status shows as UNKNOWN or Configuration Failed in the NSX Manager UI.
• The NSX UI incorrectly reports the Controller and Manager connectivity as down, despite the connections being active. You can verify that the actual connectivity status by logging into the ESXi host CLI as root and running the commands nsxcli -c get controllers and nsxcli -c get managersto check the Controller and Manager, respectively.

Environment

• VMware NSX
• VMware vSphere

Cause

Stale Management Plane Agent (MPA) processes on the ESXi host prevent the NSX Manager UI from accurately synchronizing with the host's actual connectivity state. This desynchronization blocks the Upgrade Coordinator from proceeding with host-level pre-checks.

Resolution

1. Log in to the NSX Manager UI and navigate to System > Fabric > Nodes > Host Transport Nodes.
2. Identify the host displaying the UNKNOWN status or heartbeat alarm.
3. Click the Configuration Failed or Node Message link for that host.
4. Select the checkbox for the heartbeat error and click Resolve.
5. Verify the host status transitions to Success and the node status displays as Up.
6. Re-run the NSX upgrade pre-checks.

Additional Information

• Reference link:
  NSX ESXi host transport node upgrade failing at 60%.
• If the Resolve action does not synchronize the host state  Contact Broadcom Support for further assistance.