Upgrade options unavailable during VCF Optimized Maintenance Window Upgrade VMware Cloud Foundation

Products

• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

 After upgrading SDDC Manager and prepping vCenter, subsequent upgrade options (e.g., NSX Manager) on the Upgrades tab appear greyed out. Attempts to run prechecks do not resolve the UI state. This often occurs when using the "Optimized maintenance window plan" in VMware Cloud Foundation.

Environment

VCF 9.x

Cause

The "Optimized maintenance window plan" requires strict synchronization between Management and Workload domains. An inconsistent state loop or pending switch-over can cause the LCM (Lifecycle Manager) service to hang, resulting in a failure to parse task responses, effectively locking the UI workflow.

Resolution

1. Cancel Stalled Upgrade: Navigate to the SDDC Manager UI and click the Cancel Upgrade button for the stalled component.
2. Verify State: Perform environment validation via LCM prechecks to ensure no residual tasks remain in the vmsp service.
3. Change Upgrade Methodology: Initiate a new upgrade plan, specifically selecting the Sequential upgrade mode.
4. Execute: Proceed with the upgrade component by component (Management, Workload, NSX), allowing each to complete validation before initiating the next.