vLCM Remediation Warning: Firmware Information Unavailable Without Hardware Support Manager

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When utilizing vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) to remediate a VMware vSAN cluster, the image compliance pre-check fails to compute hardware compliance and reports one or more of the following warnings:

"Firmware information is unavailable without a Hardware Support Manager configured as part of the cluster's image. Firmware compatibility must be verified manually."
"Device compliance status cannot be computed. Firmware version unknown."
"This vCenter Server has no hardware compatibility data. Please go to the Lifecycle Manager view to sync the data with VMware Compatibility Guide and vSAN HCL."
"Host is out of compliance with the image."

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

VMware vCenter Server

VMware vSAN

Cause

A vendor-provided Hardware Support Manager (HSM) plugin is not configured within the vCenter Server.

vLCM requires this plugin to automatically interrogate physical host hardware and validate firmware levels against the vSAN Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).

Without an HSM, vLCM defaults to a warning state because it cannot automatically confirm firmware compatibility.

Resolution

To resolve the compliance warnings, follow the below steps:

Engage the physical hardware vendor (e.g., Dell, HPE, Lenovo, etc) to obtain and deploy their respective HSM plug-in for vCenter Server.
Edit the cluster image in vLCM to include the firmware and driver add-on provided by the HSM.
Run a compliance check and remediate the cluster to resolve the flagged devices.

Operational Alternative: If image updates are omitted due to operational constraints, apply the following procedure to suppress or bypass the related alerts.

Log in to the vCenter Server via the vSphere Client.
Navigate to the Lifecycle Manager view and sync the data with the VMware Compatibility Guide to ensure the vSAN HCL database is current.
Connect to the ESXi hosts via SSH to manually retrieve the exact firmware versions running on the physical storage devices (e.g., using standard CLI tools such as esxcli storage core device list).
Manually verify the retrieved firmware versions are certified for the target ESXi version using the Broadcom vSAN Compatibility Guide.
Navigate to the affected cluster, go to Updates > Settings > Images, and click Edit.
Locate the Hardware Compatibility Check section and clear the checkbox for Prevent remediation if hardware compatibility issues are found.
Save the settings and acknowledge the non-blocking vLCM pre-check warnings.
Navigate to the target ESXi host in the vSphere Client inventory.
Right-click the host and select Maintenance Mode > Enter Maintenance Mode. When prompted for vSAN data migration, select Ensure Accessibility and click OK.
Wait for the host to successfully enter Maintenance Mode.
Navigate to the affected cluster's Updates tab.
Scroll down to the Hosts list under the Image Compliance section and select the host currently in Maintenance Mode.
Click the ACTIONS dropdown menu located next to the host's name and select Remediate.
Review the specific remediation impact summary for that single host and click Start Remediation. Repeat steps 8–14 for each host as needed.