Issue Uploading Custom RHEL 8 OVA to VMware ESXi – Missing 'VirtualHardwareSection'

[Ramash]

Hello Everyone,

I am trying to create a custom RHEL 8 OVA/OVF file using Packer. The OVA is generated successfully and works fine when imported into VMware Workstation. However, when I try to upload it to a VMware ESXi host via the client to create a new VM, I encounter the following error:

"Line 16: Missing child element 'VirtualHardwareSection'"

Below is the OVF file's XML code. Kindly guide me on how to fix this issue. 
code file

[shashi01]

@Ramash 

VMware ESXi requires the virtual hardware type to match its supported types; virtualbox-2.2 is not accepted, causing import to fail even if the VirtualHardwareSection is present.  Let me check more attributes.

I think the "line 16" mention is not the actual fix point. What matters is correcting the virtual hardware type for ESXi compatibility. This resolves the error even though the section physically exists.

Can you confirm the exact version of ESXi (e.g., 6.7, 7.0, 8.0) you are using, so I can ensure compatibility and recommend the correct virtual hardware version (vmx)?

[Ramash]

Thanks for the reply, @shashi01 . I am using VMware ESXi 8 and have also tried uploading the OVA after changing
<vssd:VirtualSystemType>vmx-20</vssd:VirtualSystemType>, but I am still getting the same error.

[shashi01]

@Ramash 

I believe that changing <vssd:VirtualSystemType> to 'vmx-20' alone isn’t enough.

Update or remove the manifest (.mf) file after editing the OVF to avoid checksum mismatches.

Remove any VirtualBox-specific or unsupported devices from the OVF.

Repackage the OVA properly before importing.

If problems persist, use VMware OVF Tool to fix and convert the OVF for ESXi compatibility.

[malareddy]

Whereas uploading a custom RHEL 8 OVA record to VMware ESXi, you might experience an mistake related to a lost VirtualHardwareSection. This issue regularly emerges when the OVA was made with deficient or incongruent OVF metadata. The VirtualHardwareSection is a obligatory component in the OVF descriptor that characterizes the virtual machine's equipment setup, like CPU, memory, and organize interfacing. Without it, ESXi cannot get it how to arrangement the virtual equipment, coming about in a fizzled purport. To resolve this, you can extricate the OVA, physically alter the .ovf record to incorporate the lost segment (based on a working format), at that point repackage it into a modern OVA. This guarantees ESXi recognizes and sends the virtual machine accurately.

[shashi01]

@malareddy 

Thanks for sharing your insights. You're absolutely right—the VirtualHardwareSection is essential for ESXi to interpret the VM's hardware configuration correctly. In many cases, especially when the OVF is generated by tools like VirtualBox or Packer, the metadata may not fully conform to VMware's schema.

To move forward practically, I recommend extracting the OVF, validating its contents, and either manually adding a correct VirtualHardwareSection or using the VMware OVF Tool to convert and repackage the OVA for ESXi compatibility. This helps avoid schema mismatches and missing element issues during deployment.