NSX edge node upgrade fails with errors 30249 and 30205 when the management vNIC is disconnected at power on

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

During an NSX upgrade from 4.1.2.1 to 4.2.4.1, the edge cluster stage fails on edge node. The Upgrade Coordinator reports two errors against the node and leaves it in NSX Maintenance Mode:

 

Cannot upgrade edge node ######, has errors
Errors = [
  {"moduleName":"upgrade-coordinator","errorCode":30249,
   "errorMessage":"Upgrade Agent on Edge node ###### is unreachable.
    Restart the Upgrade agent service and check network connectivity."},
  {"moduleName":"upgrade-coordinator","errorCode":30205,
   "errorMessage":"Management plane connection status of the edge
    transport node ###### is DOWN."}
]

The same errors are visible in the NSX Manager UI under System > Upgrade. The remaining nodes in the edge cluster are unaffected, and the peer node continues to carry the T0/T1 service routers, so there is no north-south traffic impact while the upgrade is stalled.

 

Environment

VMware NSX 4.x

 

Cause

The management vNIC on the edge node VM was not connected when the appliance powered back on after the upgrade reboot.

Inspection of the edge node VM in vCenter shows the management IP address still assigned to the node, confirming the appliance booted and retained its configuration. However, Network adapter 1 (the management vNIC) shows as not connected following the first upgrade attempt and the subsequent reboot, and the Connected checkbox on the adapter is cleared.

The edge upgrade installs the MUB while the node is still running the previous build, then reboots the appliance into the new version. The Upgrade Coordinator waits for the node to come back and re-register over the management plane to confirm the upgrade succeeded.

With the management vNIC disconnected at power on, the appliance boots normally and completes its software installation, but has no network path to the NSX Managers. The MPA cannot re-establish, the management plane connection status stays DOWN, and the Upgrade Coordinator cannot query the upgrade agent producing errors 30205 and 30249 and leaving the node in a failed state in NSX Maintenance Mode.

This is why the MUB installation reports success while post-power-on verification fails: the two operate at different layers, and only the latter depends on management plane connectivity.

Resolution

Workaround:

1. In vCenter, select the edge node VM and go to Actions > Edit Settings.
2. Tick the Connected checkbox next to the management vNIC to restore the connection immediately.
3. Expand the adapter and enable Connect At Power On so the interface state persists across future reboots.
4. Confirm the management plane connection status for the edge transport node returns to UP.
5. Return to the Upgrade Coordinator and select Retry on the edge group. The upgrade resumes from the failed node and takes it out of NSX Maintenance Mode on completion.
6. Before continuing, verify Connect At Power On is enabled on all vNICs of every remaining edge node in the cluster.

Additional Information

The management plane connection must re-establish after power on for the Upgrade Coordinator to confirm the node booted into the new build and to finalize the upgrade unit. Without it, the coordinator has no way to distinguish a healthy upgraded node from a failed one, and the upgrade stalls regardless of whether the software installed correctly.

Enabling Connect At Power On makes the interface state persistent across reboots, so the management channel restores automatically each time the appliance cycles. Since the NSX edge upgrade workflow reboots every node in sequence, applying this across the entire cluster prevents the same failure from repeating on each subsequent node.