"Internal error occurs during import of VMware Syslog Collector/IllegalServiceOperation: Service cannot be started" while upgrading VC from 6.0 U2a to 6.5 U2d

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
Update from windows vCenter server 6.0 U2a to 6.5 U2d fails with the error: "Internal error occurs during import of VMware Syslog Collector" 

Import_com.vmware.vmsyslogcollector_XXX.log
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\payload\componentPhaseLauncher.py", line 438, in main
    executionResult = systemExtension(exeContext)
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\libs\sdk\extensions.py", line 94, in __call__
    result = self.extension(*args)
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\libs\sdk\extensions.py", line 110, in _func
    return func(*args)
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\payload\component-scripts\vmsyslogcollector\__init__.py", line 98, in importData startService()
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\payload\component-scripts\vmsyslogcollector\__init__.py", line 144, in startService serviceManager.start(SERVICE_NAME)
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\libs\sdk\service_manager.py", line 966, in wrapper
    return getattr(controller, attr)(*args, **kwargs)
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\libs\sdk\service_manager.py", line 874, in start
    super(VMwareServiceController, self).start(serviceName)
  File "C:\vcsCD57.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\libs\sdk\service_manager.py", line 732, in start
    raise IllegalServiceOperation(errorText)
IllegalServiceOperation: Service cannot be started. Error: Error executing start on service vmsyslogcollector.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the default protocol values are missing for vmsyslogcollector service config.xml file.

Resolution

To resolve this issue we need to update the protocol in config.xml file.

1. Take a backup of the config.xml file from this location "ProgramData/VMware/vCenterServer/cfg/vmsyslogcollector/config.xml" 
2. Inside the <defaultValues> stack, confirm the entry for the <protocol></protocol> tag is available with TCP/UDP as the default protocols. 

<defaultValues>
<port>514</port>
<protocol>TCP,UDP</protocol>
<maxSize>10</maxSize>
<rotate>20</rotate>
<sslPort>1514</sslPort>
</defaultValues>

3. Retry the vCenter Server upgrade process.

Additional Information

Modifying the VMware Syslog Collector settings after it is installed