Attempting to stage or remediate patches for ESXi 7.0 Update 3m fails with the following error message:
VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager had an unknown error. Check the events and log files for details.
or:
The host returns esxupdate error codes: -1. Check the Lifecycle Manager log files and esxupdate log files for more details.
The esxupdate Agent log (/var/run/log/esxupdate.log or esxupdate.0) contains the following error stack:
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: An esxupdate error exception was caught:
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: Traceback (most recent call last):
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: File "/usr/sbin/esxupdate", line 222, in main
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: cmd.Run()
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: File "/lib64/python3.8/site-packages/vmware/esx5update/Cmdline.py", line 153, in Run
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: File "/tmp/esx-update-923891/lib64/python3.8/site-packages/vmware/esximage/Transaction.py", line 852, in InstallVibsFromSources
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: File "/tmp/esx-update-923891/lib64/python3.8/site-packages/vmware/esximage/Transaction.py", line 1098, in _installVibs
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: File "/tmp/esx-update-923891/lib64/python3.8/site-packages/vmware/esximage/Transaction.py", line 1257, in _validateAndInstallProfile
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: esximage.Errors.DependencyError: VIB MEL_bootbank_nmlx4-core_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807 requires esx-version << 7.0.1, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: VIB MEL_bootbank_nmlx4-en_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807 requires esx-version << 7.0.1, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
2023-05-15T08:27:25Z esxupdate: 923891: esxupdate: ERROR: VIB MEL_bootbank_nmlx4-rdma_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807 requires esx-version << 7.0.1, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.
The update manager log (/var/log/vmware/vmware-updatemgr/vum-server/vmware-vum-server-xx.log) contains the following error:
--> <esxupdate-response>
--> <version>1.50</version>
--> <error errorClass="DependencyError">
--> <errorCode>14</errorCode>
--> <errorDesc>There was an error resolving dependencies.</errorDesc>
--> <problemset>
--> <problem>VIB MEL_bootbank_nmlx4-core_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807 requires esx-version << 7.0.1, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.</problem>
--> <problem>VIB MEL_bootbank_nmlx4-rdma_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807 requires esx-version << 7.0.1, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.</problem>
--> <problem>VIB MEL_bootbank_nmlx4-en_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807 requires esx-version << 7.0.1, but the requirement cannot be satisfied within the ImageProfile.</problem>
--> </problemset>
--> </error>
--> </esxupdate-response>
-->
This issue is resolved on 5th June 2023 by recalling the problematic Mellanox Driver "Mellanox-nmlx4_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807".
Note:
In vCenter Servers deployed prior to the recall event, the driver may be seen as part of Non-Critical baseline in VUM, in "Not Applicable" status. This is expected, as VUM DB has a stale entry. The driver won't be attempted to be applied on the host.
To work around this issue, you can use a copy of the predefined Non-Critical Host Patches (Predefined) baseline and exclude the problematic versions of the "Mellanox Native OFED ConnectX-3 Drivers" VIB from it. To do this, please apply the following steps:
In vSphere Client go in Menu > Lifecycle Manager > Baselines
Select the baseline "Non-Critical Host Patches (Predefined)" and click on "DUPLICATE"
Provide a name for the baseline
Select the new baseline and click on EDIT
On the second page of the Edit Baseline wizard, click on (xxx) Matched
Click on the small funnel symbol next to ID and filter the list for mellanox-nmlx4_3.19.70
This should only leave 2 patches listed:
Name: Mellanox Native OFED ConnectX-3 Drivers
ID: Mellanox-nmlx4_3.19.70.1-1OEM.670.0.0.8169922
Name: Mellanox Native OFED ConnectX-3 Drivers
ID: Mellanox-nmlx4_3.19.70.1001-1OEM.700.1.0.15843807
Deselect the check boxes in the first column for both patches
Select (x) Excluded to verify that the patches are being excluded from the baseline
Finish the baseline configuration (NEXT > NEXT > FINISH)
Detach the baseline Non-Critical Host Patches (Predefined) from the host (or from the parent object it was attached to) and attach the baseline you just created instead
This issue is being checked by Diagnostics for VMware Cloud Foundation.
The check is as follows: