Cannot remediate ESXi hosts that are part of a vSphere Storage Appliance using Update Manager

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• You are unable to apply patches to ESXi hosts that are part of a vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA) cluster using Update Manager
• Remediating ESXi hosts that are part of a VSA cluster fails
• Remediation task fails at 2%
• In the Recent Task pane, you see the message:
  
  Waiting for host to enter maintenance mode

Environment

VMware vSphere Update Manager 5.0.x

Cause

Update manager requires that the ESXi host be in maintenance mode to apply patches. This issue occurs because the host cannot enter maintenance mode due to the powered on VSA appliance.

Resolution

To work around this issue, place the VSA cluster member in maintenance mode.

To place the VSA in maintenance mode:

1. In the VSA Manager tab, click Appliances.
2. In the Host column, right-click the ESXi host for which you want to perform scan and remediation tasks.
3. Select Enter Appliance Maintenance Mode.
4. In the confirmation dialog, click Yes.
   
   The status of the VSA cluster member changes to Maintenance.
   
   
5. In the Entering Maintenance Mode dialog, click Close.
6. Perform scan and remediation tasks on the ESXi host that accommodates the VSA virtual machine that is in maintenance mode.
7. In the VSA Manager tab, click Appliances.
8. Right-click the VSA cluster member that is in maintenance mode and select Exit Appliance Maintenance Mode.
9. In the Exiting Maintenance Mode dialog, click Close
10. Repeat the steps for each ESXi host for which you want to perform stage and remediation tasks.

Additional Information

For more information on VSA, see the VMware vSphere Storage Appliance Documentation.

For more information on VMware vCenter Update Manager, see the VMware vCenter Update Manager Documentation.

"No supported hosts found for remediate" error during an ESX/ESXi host remediation
VSA appliance cannot exit maintenance mode