"Host cannot download files from VMware vSphere Update Manager patch store." on an ESXi host.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• The error message is seen for selected hosts in the vCenter.
• On an affected host, esxupdate logs show:

esxupdate.log :
vmware.esximage.Errors.MetadataDownloadError: ('http://<vCenter-FQDN>:9084/vum/repository/hostupdate/vmw/vmw-ESXi-
6.7.0-metadata.zip', None, "('http://<vCenter-FQDN>:9084/vum/repository/hostupdate/vmw/vmw-ESXi-6.7.0-metadata.zip', '/tmp/tmp6wka6hem', '<urlopen error [Errno -2] Name or service not known>')") 
esxupdate: download from any URLs: ('http://<ESXi-FQDN>:9084/vum/repository/hostupdate/vmw/vib20/bnxtnet/VMW_bootbank_bnxtnet_216.0.50.0-44vmw.703.0.50.20036589.vib', '/var/vmware/lifecycle/hostSeed/reservedVibs/VMW_bootbank_bnxtnet_216.0.50.0-44vmw.703.0.50.20036589.vib', 'HTTP Error 404: Not Found')")
####-##-##T##:##:###Z esxupdate: 3833655: downloader: INFO: Downloading http://<ESXi-FQDN>:9084/vum/repository/hostupdate/vmw/vib20/i40en/VMW_bootbank_i40en_1.11.1.32-1vmw.703.0.125.23794027.vib to /var/vmware/lifecycle/hostSeed/reservedVibs/VMW_bootbank_i40en_1.11.1.32-1vmw.703.0.125.23794027.vib

• Forward and reverse lookup between the affected host and the vCenter are not perfect.
  
  

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0

Cause

A faulty DNS entry or missing DNS entry in the ESXi host.

Resolution

• Ensure there are proper DNS records for the vCenter and the ESXi host in the DNS server.
• Open a console to the affected ESXi host.
• Login as root -> IPv4 settings -> Verify if the DNS server set there is right.
• Restart the management network.
• Refresh the vCenter web-client.
  
  

Additional Information

Reference KB for configuring DNS : Configuring VMware ESXi Management Network from the direct console

The above solution is also valid for cases where vSphere HA will not enable due to DNS issue. vCenter hostname will not get resolved from ESXi host and it will not push the fdm vib.

lifecycle.log:

http://<vc-fqdn>:9084/vum/repository/hostupdate/__micro-depot__vendor-Addon-cumulative_metadata__index__.xml --component vsphere-fdm:8.0.3-XXX
###-##-##T##:## Db(15) lifecycle[####]: HostImage:##Deferring initiating installers
<urlopen error [Errno -2] Name or service not known>'))"