'The guest OS None on VM <Source IP> may not be fully supported' 'Fatal error during upgrade REQUIREMENTS' while upgrading VCSA 6.0 to later versions fails

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Upgrade attempt of VCSA from 6.0 to later fails with "Fatal error during upgrade REQUIREMENTS"
• In upgrade-requirements.log, you see entries similar to:

2018-09-18T15:50:39.241Z WARNING transport.guestops The guest OS None on VM <Source IP> may not be fully supported.
2018-09-18T15:50:39.325Z ERROR __main__ ERROR: Fatal error during upgrade REQUIREMENTS. For more details take a look at: /var/log/vmware/upgrade/requirements-upgrade-runner.log
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "bootstrap_scripts/run-preupgrade-checks.py", line 203, in main
    commandFactory = getCommandFactory(upgradeParameters, execData, reporter)
  File "/usr/lib/vmware/cis_upgrade_runner/bootstrap_scripts/upgrade_commands.py", line 3510, in getCommandFactory
    factory = _getLinuxCommandFactory(upgradeParameters, settings, reporter)
  File "/usr/lib/vmware/cis_upgrade_runner/bootstrap_scripts/upgrade_commands.py", line 3443, in _getLinuxCommandFactory
    guestOpsManager.getTemporaryDirectory()
  File "/usr/lib/vmware/cis_upgrade_runner/libs/sdk/proxy.py", line 81, in __call__
    ret = self.func(*args, **kwargs)

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0.x

Cause

The issue is seen if the SuSE-release file on the source vCenter Server Appliance is incomplete or empty

Resolution

1. Log in to the source vCenter Server Appliance using ssh
2. To update SuSE-release file:
   touch /etc/SuSE-release
   vi /etc/SuSE-release
   
   Add the following lines:
    
   SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (x86_64)
   VERSION = 11
   PATCHLEVEL = 3
3. Reboot the source vCenter Server Appliance
4. Rerun the upgrade