VCP-DCV vSphere Lifecycle Management Practice Question
An administrator is using vLCM to manage a cluster with 4 ESXi hosts. After a remediation, two hosts show a compliance status of 'Non-Compliant' with the message 'Firmware is not compatible with the selected image'. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume the error message 'Firmware is not compatible' always means an actual firmware mismatch, rather than recognizing it as a symptom of a missing Hardware Support Manager configuration.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The cluster does not have a Hardware Support Manager configured.
VLCM relies on a Hardware Support Manager (HSM) to validate firmware compatibility against the selected ESXi image. Without an HSM configured, vLCM cannot check firmware versions, so it flags hosts as 'Non-Compliant' with the message 'Firmware is not compatible with the selected image' even if the firmware is actually compatible. This is a common misconfiguration when using vLCM with vSAN or other hardware-dependent clusters.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The selected image includes a firmware component that is not compatible with the hosts.
Why it's wrong here
vLCM does not include firmware in the base image; it relies on HSM.
- ✗
The firmware update requires a different ESXi version and was skipped.
Why it's wrong here
Firmware compatibility is independent of ESXi version in vLCM.
- ✗
The hosts were put into maintenance mode during remediation and autopassivation failed.
Why it's wrong here
Autopassivation is unrelated to firmware compliance.
- ✓
The cluster does not have a Hardware Support Manager configured.
Why this is correct
HSM is required for firmware compliance checks.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VCP-DCV practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VCP-DCV exam.