Upgrading the vCenter Server Appliance 5.x to 6.0 fails with the error: vmodl.fault.system error

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
Upgrading vCenter Server Appliance 5.x to 6.0 fails in Step 4 (Connect to source Appliance) with these symptoms:

• You see the error:
  
  vmodl.fault.system error
  
  
• In the /vmfs/volumes/vCenter_Server_ Appliance_5.x_datatore/vCenter_Server_ Appliance_5.x/vCenter_Server_ Appliance_5.x.vmx file contains this entry:
  
  guest.commands.enabled= "FALSE"
  

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.5.x

Cause

During the initial connection to the appliance the upgrade process pushes data to the vCenter Server Appliance 5.x through VMware Tools. Having the guest.commands.enabled= "FALSE" parameter set in the .vmx file blocks this communication path. This setting may have been enabled when hardening the environment.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, remove the parameter guest.commands.enabled= "FALSE" from the .vmx file. This can be added back after the upgrade has completed.

To remove the guest.commands.enabled= "FALSE" parameter:

1. Connect to the ESXi host that contains the vCenter Server Appliance 5.x virtual machine with an SSH session. For more information, see Using ESXi Shell in ESXi 5.x and 6.0 (2004746).
2. Navigate to the location of the .vmx file with this command:
   
   cd /vmfs/volumes/vCenter_Server_ Appliance_5.x_datatore/vCenter_Server_ Appliance_5.x/
   
   
3. Open the .vmx file with a text editor:
   
   vi vCenter_Server_ Appliance_5.x.vmx
   
   
4. Remove the entry:
   
   guest.commands.enabled= "FALSE"
   
   
5. Save and exit the text editor.
6. Shutdown the vCenter Server Appliance 5.x virtual machine.
7. Power on the virtual machine.
8. Run the upgrade process again.

Additional Information

Using ESXi Shell in ESXi 5.x and 6.x
vCenter Server Appliance 5.x から 6.0 へのアップグレードが失敗し、次のエラーが表示される：vmodl.fault.system error
将 vCenter Server Appliance 5.x 升级到 6.0 失败并显示错误：vmodl.fault.system 错误