Pass the VMware Professional Level Exams 2V0-15.25 Questions and answers with ExamsMirror

When troubleshooting NSX on an ESXi host, VMware requires verification that NSX VIBs (vSphere Installation Bundles) are installed and in the correct state. VIBs are responsible for NSX datapath, control-plane modules, and kernel extensions on ESXi. The authoritative and documented method to list VIBs on an ESXi host is the command:

esxcli software vib list

This command displays all installed kernel modules, version numbers, NSX packages, and their installation status. For NSX-T (now part of VCF networking), administrators expect to see VIBs such asnsx-aggservice,nsx-bridge,nsx-esx-datapath, and others. If any required NSX VIBs are missing or inconsistent, the ESXi host will fail to join NSX transport nodes or will show “Not Ready.”

Option A (esxtop) is for performance monitoring and does not show VIB information.

Option C (nsxcli get version) checks NSX version on Edge Nodes or host transport nodes butdoes not list VIBs.

Option D (esxcfg software list) is an outdated and invalid command.

VCF Operations enforces strict certificate format validation when importing certificate chains. According to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x certificate management requirements,all uploaded certificates must be PEM-encoded. A PEM certificate must contain:

ASCII-encoded content

Proper headers such as:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----

-----END CERTIFICATE-----

If the certificate is encoded inDER, PFX, PKCS#12, or any non-PEM format, VCF Operations will reject the upload with the error:

“The provided certificate content is invalid.”

This matches the behavior described in the question.

Option B (chain order invalid) and Option C (missing root CA) can cause validation issuesonly afterthe certificate file is successfully parsed. The error described indicatesthe file itself cannot be parsed, which directly points to encoding.

Option D (missing private key) is incorrect becausecertificate chain uploads must NOT include a private key— private keys are only used during CSR signing and are handled separately by the system.

When VMware Cloud Foundation Operations performs actions on vCenter—such as powering on or off a VM—the tasks are initiatedthrough an integration service account, not the identity of the user logged into the VCF Operations UI. VCF Operations connects to vCenter using a configuredcollector or integration credential, typically a service account defined during initial setup.

VCF documentation clarifies that all automated or orchestrated tasks originating from VCF Operations use this trusted account to ensure consistent auditing, RBAC enforcement, and operational isolation from user identities. Therefore, in the vCenter task pane, the “Initiated By” field always reflects theVCF Operations → vCenter service account, even if the end-user triggered the action indirectly.

Option A is incorrect because the logged-in user does not directly interface with vCenter.

Option C refers to SDDC Manager’s integration account, which is unrelated to VCF Operations workflows.

Option D (administrator@vsphere.local) appears only when vCenter’s built-in admin performs the action.

In avSAN Stretched Cluster, communication between thewitness nodeanddata nodesrequires several specific TCP/UDP ports. The ability to successfully execute:

vmkping -I -s 1472 -d

confirms that:

L2/L3 connectivity is present

MTU is correctly configured

ICMP traffic flows without fragmentation

However,vmkping alone does not verify vSAN control-plane communication.

For the vSAN Witness to properly form a cluster,TCP port 12321must be openbidirectionallybetween:

Witness → Data nodes

Data nodes → Witness

Port12321is required for:

vSAN cluster membership

Witness traffic

vSAN object health/state synchronization

If this port is blocked by firewall policy or misconfigured network ACLs, the nodes can ping each other, butvSAN witness traffic will fail, preventing the stretched cluster from forming.

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. Port 443— Required for management, not cluster formation.

C. No VMs in cluster— Hasno impacton witness formation.

D. Jumbo frames not enabled— Already ruled out by the successful 1472-byte vmkping with DF bit.

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0, VCF Operations (vROps-based) usespoliciesto control which alerts, symptoms, and metrics are evaluated for a given object. Creating an alert definition and symptom alone is not sufficient; the alert must beassociated with and enabled in a policythat is actively applied to the target object (in this case, a Virtual Machine). The documentation shows that when you create an alert definition, there is an explicitPolicies step, where you select the policy (for example, the default policy) so that the alert becomes active for objects governed by that policy.

The metric “Read Latency (ms)” is valid for virtual-machine–related objects: VCF Operations documents Read Latency metrics at the VM disk and VM–datastore link level (for Disk and Datastore metrics on Virtual Machines). Therefore, option B (metric not applicable) is incorrect. No requirement exists that such a performance alert must be forwarded from VCF Operations for Logs (D); log-based alerts are a separate alert type.

If the alert definition is not enabled in the effective policy for that VM, VCF Operations will not evaluate the symptom or generate the alert, and it will not appear in the alert pane—even though the definition technically exists. This matches optionCexactly.

When importing an existing vSphere environment into VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) as a workload domain, several strict prerequisites must be met. One of the key requirements documented in VCF 9.0 is that allVMkernel adapters (vmk ports)used for vSAN, vMotion, management, or other system trafficmust have statically assigned IP addresses. DHCP-assigned VMkernel IPs arenot supportedfor VCF workload domain bring-up or import operations.

In the provided scenario, the environment includes:

vSphere 8.0 U3

A 3-node vSAN OSA cluster

Two VDS switches

VMkernel adapters using DHCP

Before VCF can successfully validate and import the environment, the administrator must convert these VMkernel interfaces tostatic IP addressing. VCF uses IPAM assumptions and deterministic host networking configurations; DHCP introduces variability incompatible with automated lifecycle operations.

Option A (consolidating VDS) is unnecessary—VCF supports multiple VDS configurations during import.

Option B (upgrading to vSphere 9.0) is not required for import.

Option D (convert OSA to ESA) is impossible pre-import and not required—VCF supports OSA clusters.

The error:

“Internal Error: Failed to retrieve vim client”

occurs whenVCF Operations cannot establish a functional API session with vCenter. Thevim clientis the internal vSphere API client library used by VCF Operations to perform cluster actions such as modifying DRS settings, powering on/off workloads, or retrieving inventory.

When this error appears, VMware documentation identifies these common root causes:

Loss of connectivity between VCF Operations and vCenter

DNS resolution issues

Network interruption

Stale or expired authentication tokens

Credential mismatchIf the vCenter password was changed manually, VCF Operations may be unable to authenticate.

vCenter services restarting or unavailableIf vCenter backend services (vpxd, sts, etc.) are unstable, VCF Operations cannot establish a vim session.

Option A is incorrect—DRS automation state in the vSphere Client does not cause vim client retrieval errors.

Option B (vCenter overloaded by API requests) would cause timeouts, not a vim client initialization failure.

Option D (insufficient licensing) affects feature use, not API connectivity.

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0,all host commissioning operationsare performed throughVCF Operations, not through vSphere Client, Cloud Builder, or the VCF Installer. Once VCF is deployed, Cloud Builder is no longer used, and the VCF Installer is for lifecycle and bundle management—not for host workflows. The vSphere Client also cannot commission hosts because host commissioning is a foundational VCF workflow requiring hardware validation, storage type checks, NIC checks, HCL conformance, and version compatibility.

The error message provided:

“Hosts must be unassigned, commissioned with at least one physical NIC and the same storage type… and the ESX version must be compatible…”

is a standard VCF 9.0 validation message shown whenno commissioned hostsmatching the workload domain requirements exist. VMware documentation states that hosts must be commissioned under:

VCF Operations → Fleet Management → Hosts → Commission Host

Here, VCF validates:

Storage type (vSAN ESA, vSAN OSA, NFS, FC, etc.)

Network pool membership (matching the WLD plan)

ESXi version compatibility with the Management Domain baseline

NIC mapping and certifications

Until hosts are commissioned, they cannot appear in the workload domain creation wizard.

Thus, the correct method to commission hosts isD. Using VCF Operations.

This issue stems from an incorrect role assignment during the user creation process in VMware Cloud Director (VCF Automation).

Organization Administrator Role (Option D): This role grants full control, including visibility of the Administration tab (to manage users, groups, and settings), Data Centers, and Monitor tabs. If the user were an Admin, they would see all tabs.

Organization Auditor Role (Option A): This is a read-only role, but by definition, an Auditor can view anything an Organization Administrator can see (including the Administration settings), just without edit rights. Therefore, an Auditor would still see the Administration tab.

Organization User Role (Option B): This is a consumer-level role designed for deploying and managing vApps. By default, this role does not have access to the Administration tab or high-level organization settings. If the organization is new and has no vApps or VDCs populated yet, a user with this role might see a very restricted view (effectively just a dashboard or "Overview") because they lack the rights to see the administrative configuration menus.

Conclusion: The fact that the "Administration" tab is missing (implied by "only Overview is visible") identifies the user as an Organization User (or a restricted Custom Role) rather than an Administrator or Auditor.

When anNSX Adminaccount becomes locked in NSX Manager, this occurs due to failed login attempts exceeding the lockout threshold for either:

CLI access,

API access, or

UI login, which is tied to API authentication.

Once locked, the only supported method to recover the NSX admin account is tolog in to the NSX Manager console as the root userand manually clear the lockout counters. This is documented in NSX Manager password-recovery procedures and is the standard administrative recovery action.

The root console provides access to:

clear account-lockout admin

or the equivalent reset methods within NSX Manager.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. SSH into NSX Manager as AdminImpossible — the admin account is locked and cannot be used to SSH.

B. Change password age policy in vCenterNSX Manager accounts arenotgoverned by vCenter password policy.

C. Rotate admin password in SDDC ManagerSDDC Manager rotates NSX passwords when unlocked; it cannot unlock a locked account.