VxRail: How to Enable vSphere Lifecycle Manager Mode

VxRail has two life cycle management modes which are fully abstracted by the VxRail API. In either mode, VxRail Manager orchestrates the full-stack update. Here are the two modes:

• Legacy LCM (ESXCLI) Mode: VxRail orchestrates life cycle management and the continually validated state using the ESXCLI.
• vLCM Mode (Recommended): VxRail orchestrates life cycle management and the continually validated state using the VMware vSphere LCM (vLCM) API.

The below table highlights considerations, cautions, and key drivers for vLCM enablement on VxRail and unique considerations for VCF on VxRail.

Review carefully before enabling it, either at deployment or after an upgrade.

Starting with VxRail 8.0.300, the default VxRail LCM mode during deployment is now set to vLCM mode to help prepare for future upgrades to 9.0. This setting can be changed if the cluster is not vLCM-ready.

Review:
VxRail: Best Practices for vLCM in VxRail
 

Why is this important?

• The VxRail self-signed certificate must be recognized by vCenter to allow secure communication between vLCM and VxRail Manager.
• Failure to apply this certificate may prevent vLCM from functioning correctly or result in unexpected validation and upgrade failures.

What to do if this option is missing?

• If the checkbox to agree to adding the certificate is not visible during vLCM enablement, do not proceed.
• Contact VMware or Dell VxRail Support immediately for further assistance.
• Proceeding without ensuring the proper certificate application may cause configuration issues and upgrade failures requiring manual intervention. By ensuring this step is completed, customers can avoid potential issues and ensure a smooth vLCM enablement process.

Steps:

1. Log in to vCenter UI, go to the VxRail cluster plug-in "Updates" panel and choose the "SETTINGS" tab. Before enable vLCM, the VxRail LCM Mode is "Legacy LCM (ESXCLI)."
2. Click the "ENABLE VLCM MODE" button to start the enablement.
   
3. Filling out "vCenter User Credentials" then click the "VERIFY CREDENTIALS" button.
   
4. Check the box "I agree to add the VxRail self-signed certificate to the SSL Certificate folder on VMware vCenter Server," then click the "APPLY AND VALIDATE" button.
   
5. After the vCenter user credentials verify passes, click the "NEXT" button to the "Validate" panel.
   
6. Wait a moment to view the validated results.
   
7. After the validation is completed, the message shows that "This cluster is compliant with the defined desired state.", click the "NEXT" button to the "Summary" panel.
   
8. Check the box "I want to update the components and enable vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) for this VxRail cluster" then click the "ENABLE" button.
   
9. Wait for the task to complete.
   
10. After the UI shows vLCM was successfully enabled, click the "FINISH" button.
    
11. Go back to the VxRail plug-in "Updates" panel "INTERNET UPDATES" tab and confirm "vLCM is enabled" shows at the upper right corner, and the "SETTINGS" tab shows LCM Mode is "vLCM."
    

To check if vLCM is enabled on VxRail 8.x clusters, using the VxRail Manager CLI, run:​​​

curl --unix-socket /var/lib/vxrail/nginx/socket/nginx.sock http://127.0.0.1/rest/vxm/internal/configservice/v1/configuration/keys/vlcm_enabled

1. If there are third-party drivers installed on the ESXi hosts, such as NVIDIA vGPU driver, vLCM enablement may experience validation error and the drivers must be manually uploaded over UI.
2. vLCM enable fails when using external vCenter 8.0 U3, see KB000225089 (login required).
3. vLCM enable fails when the host driver is higher than the cluster-matched version, see KB000223446 (login required).
4. (suggested) vLCM enable fails when using external vCenter and TCP port 5480 is blocked, see KB000258975.