Upgrading vCenter Server fails when the CLS Administrator role is deleted

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Upgrading vCenter Server fails.
• In the content-library-firstboot.py_<pid>_stderr.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  INFO:root:Found 1 matching service. ID is e38db92f-e808-49ac-b326-68efef2013dd
  Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "/usr/lib/vmware-content-library/firstboot/content-library-firstboot.py", line 219, in Main
      vdc_fb.register_cis()
    File "/usr/lib/vmware-content-library/firstboot/content-library-firstboot.py", line 77, in register_cis
      self._reg_info.registerAll(self.get_soluser_id(), self.get_soluser_ownerId())
    File "/usr/lib/vmware-content-library/install_lib/cis_register.py", line 368, in registerAll
      self.registerUserAndService(user_name, user_id, service)
    File "/usr/lib/vmware-content-library/install_lib/cis_register.py", line 395, in registerUserAndService
      add_vmtx_privileges(self.vdc_cfg_dir)
    File "/usr/lib/vmware-content-library/install_lib/add_vmtx_privileges_after_fb.py", line 105, in add_vmtx_privileges
      log("Adding privileges [%s] to role %s" % (' '.join(VMTX_SYNC_PRIVILEGES), cls_admin_role.name))
  AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'name'
  2019-06-05T21:26:20.015Z VdcSvc firstboot failed. Return code is 1
  
  Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7.x
VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.x
VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs because the provided Content Library Administrator sample role was deleted.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in vCenter Server 6.7 Update 3b/P01, available at VMware Downloads also in vCenter Server 7.0, available at VMware Downloads.

Workaround:
To work around this issue:

1. On the vSphere Web Client, navigate to Menu > Administration > Access Control > Roles.
2. Select '+' (Create Role action) from the top left area of the panel. This brings up the New Role workflow.
3. Choose Content Library, select All Content Library Privileges.
4. Click Next.
5. Provide Content library administrator for upgrade as the Role name. Add any description to clarify why this role is added.
6. Click Finish. You should now be ready for upgrade.

Note: The Role name can be anything, but it needs to start with 'Content library administrator'.