This article explains the vSAN HCL Health – vSAN HCL DB up-to-date check in the vSAN Health Service and provides details on why it might report an error.

Adherence to the VMware Compatibility Guide (VCG)/Hardware Compatibility Guide (HCL) is critically important to the stability of vSAN environments. Experience has shown that failing to observe the VCG often leads to production outages over time. It is, therefore, very important to monitor the health checks in the HCL checker category. For more information, see the VMware Certified Compatibility Guides.

VMware vSAN 7.0.x
VMware vSAN 6.0.x
VMware vSAN 6.2.x
VMware vSAN 6.7.x
VMware vSAN 6.1.x
VMware vSAN 8.0.x

Q: What does the vSAN HCL Health – vSAN HCL DB up-to-date check do?

This health check verifies the VMware Compatibility Guide database used for the HCL checks is up-to-date. These VCG checks are not done against the HCL on the VMware website, but rather against a copy stored on the vCenter Server.

The initial release of the health feature ships with a copy of the HCL database, which was current when released. This copy of the database will become outdated over time. This is especially true as new certifications with partners get added to the VCG.

Note: Hardware vendors regularly update their drivers and send them for VMware certification. Older drivers may even get removed from the VCG to reflect issues found. Therefore, it is critically important to keep the local copy up-to-date.

Q: What does it mean when it is in an error state?

This check uses thresholds of 90 or 180 days of age to show a warning or error, respectively. Those thresholds are on the high side, and VMware recommends keeping the database updated as often as operationally possible.

Note: As of version 6.7 U3 this warning will also trigger if one or more hosts are running a build of ESXi that is not on the HCL such as a pulled build or custom hot patch.

Q: How does one troubleshoot and fix the error state?

• If your vCenter Server has Internet access, click the "Get Latest Version Online" button. (Do not support vCenter Server without DNS, will hit the error message "Unable to get the latest HCL database version online". Please try the method for vCenter Server doesn't have Internet access).
• If your vCenter Server doesn’t have Internet access, then you can get the latest HCL DB from http://partnerweb.vmware.com/service/vsan/all.json, save this as a .json file locally then use the "Update From File" button to upload it to vCenter Server.