vCenter Server Installation hangs at 0% or 80% (Stage 1) due to ESXi Free Hypervisor or Expired License

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to deploy a new vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA), the Phase 1 deployment (OVF deployment) hangs indefinitely at 0% or 80%. This occurs even when network connectivity, DNS resolution, and firewall ports are correctly configured.
• Symptoms:
  • vCenter 7.x: Installation gets stuck at 80% (rpm_install) during Stage 1.
  • vCenter 8.x/9.x: Installation gets stuck at 0% for an extended period during Stage 1.
  • The VCSA installer UI may eventually time out with a generic "Installation failed" message.
    
    
    
• Below logging is observed in the installer.logs on the machine running the vCenter ISO (usually in %TEMP% for Windows/ ~/Library/Logs/VMware/ for Linux):
  • vCenter Server 7.x network-######-######.log:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: [720]pollRpmInstallProgress:getGuestFileErr:ServerFaultCode: Current license or ESXi version prohibits execution of the requested operation.
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - error: pollRpmInstallProgress reached timeout before completed: loopCount=721, installProgress=null
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: Cancelling the ping timer for session mgmt

• •  vCenter Server 8.x/9.x installer-######-######.log:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - error: No VM found with hostname <vCenter Server IP address>
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: Error in getVmWithIPFQDN: No VM found with hostname <vCenter Server IP address>
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: Network Prechecks Succeeded
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: Terminate the ovfDeploy process
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - error: Error on terminating the ovfDeploy process: TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'kill')

Environment

• VMware vCenter Server 7.x
• VMware vCenter Server 8.x
• VMware vCenter Server 9.x

Cause

• The target ESXi host is currently assigned a vSphere Hypervisor (Free Edition) license or the Evaluation Period has expired.
• The VMware Free Hypervisor license restricts "Write" access to the vSphere SDK/API. Because the vCenter Installer must use these APIs to create the Virtual Machine shell and upload the OVF/VMDK files, the operation is blocked by the hypervisor's licensing layer.

Resolution

• Step 1: Verify Host License
  • Log into the ESXi Host Client (https://<host-ip>/ui).
  • Navigate to Manage > Licensing.
  • Check the License Features. If it lists "vSphere Hypervisor" or says "Expired," you cannot install vCenter on this host.
• Step 2: Apply a Valid License:
  • Choose one of the following options
    • Option 1: Assign a Paid License - Assign a valid vSphere Standard, Enterprise Plus, or VCF license to the host. These licenses unlock the necessary APIs for vCenter management and OVF deployment.
    • Option 2: Change Target Host - Deploy the vCenter Server on to a different ESXi host that already has a valid, non-free license or is currently within its 60-day evaluation period.
• Step 3: Cleanup and Retry
  • Close the vCenter Installer.
  • Log into the ESXi host and delete any "orphaned" VM shells created during the failed attempt.
  • Restart the vCenter Installation.

Additional Information

How to Configure License Settings for ESXi Host