"Stage Only" & "Stage and Install" Buttons disabled/greyed out in vCenter VAMI during patching

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• When checking for available patches, options will be present but the ability to "Stage Only" & "Stage and Install"  are unavailable

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x

Cause

You may encounter this issue, If patching database contains the stale/corrupted patching data. 

Resolution

To resolve, this issue follow the below steps. 

1.  Take a offline snapshot of the vCenter appliance
2. Run the following commands via SSH to clear any bad patching data to restore functionality:
   

   rm -rf /storage/core/software-update/updates
   rm -rf /storage/updatemgr/software-*
   rm /etc/applmgmt/appliance/software_update_state.conf
   rm /storage/db/patching.db*
   rm -r /storage/core/software-update/*

    

3. The option for patching "Stage Only" & "Stage and Install" should now be visible.