Upgrading vCenter Server Appliance from 6.0 to 6.5 results in an error: "Unable to detect appliance type"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

 

• Upgrading a vCenter Server Appliance from 6.0 to 6.5, after clicking 'Next' at the Deploy Appliance stage, an error is produced stating:

 

vCenter 5.5 SSO Appliance?

psc-fqdn.corp.com

Unable to detect appliance type. If this is a vCenter 5.5 SSO appliance, to proceed with the upgrade click Yes. Otherwise, click No to go back to the previous screen.

 

• As this is not a 5.5 Single Sign-On appliance, No is selected and you are returned to the Deploy Appliance screen.

 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.x
VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs due to root password's expiry date on the Platform Services Controller.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, change the root password of the PSC, and correct any issues seen with the password expiry (such as if it is in the past).

1. Open the VAMI of the Platform Services Controller in a browser - https://psc-fqdn.corp.com:5480
2. Login using the root account.
3. Navigate to the Administration tab.
4. Change the root password.
5. Choose not to have an expiry date for the appliance, or correct the date to be a time not in the past (e.g: Jan 1 1970 -> Jan 1 2020)
6. Run the upgrade once more.

The upgrade process should now complete without issue.

Additional Information

简体中文：vCenter Server Appliance 从 6.0 升级到 6.5 时出现以下错误：“无法检测设备类型 (Unable to detect appliance type)”