Network & Security: Automating NSX Manager Reboot Readiness for Upgrade Prechecks

NSX upgrade prechecks can block progress for reasons that aren’t obvious during a change window. One documented example is a precheck warning triggered when an NSX Manager has not been rebooted in the previous 24 hours (linked to a specific JDK issue).

Source KB: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/399509/precheck-warning-for-jdk8330017-issue-during-nsx.html

The narrow use case

Before running NSX upgrade prechecks, automatically validate NSX Manager 'recent reboot' status and schedule a controlled reboot if required.

Orchestrator action: NSX reboot readiness precheck

Goal: eliminate last-minute precheck warnings by turning the requirement into an automated gate.

Workflow steps (VMware Aria Orchestrator)

• Create a workflow: 'NSX - Reboot Readiness Gate (24h)'
• Inputs: nsxManagerFqdn (string), nsxAdminUser (string), nsxAdminPassword (secure string)
• Step 1: Call NSX API to retrieve Manager uptime / last reboot time (cluster node status).
• Step 2: If last reboot > 24 hours, branch to 'Reboot Required' and fail the gate with a clear message.
• Step 3 (optional): If approved, invoke a secondary workflow that performs a controlled reboot during a defined window.
• Step 4: Re-run the status check and return PASS only after the reboot requirement is satisfied.

Action steps

1. Run this gate 7–10 days before upgrades, then again at change start.
2. Make the 'reboot required' output block downstream NSX upgrade tasks automatically.
3. Log the reboot time and precheck PASS result as evidence for your upgrade record.