VAMI stuck at message: "Upgrade - Stage 2: Data transfer and vCenter Server setup is in progress"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• After an update or failed update, the VCSA VAMI may only show the message "Upgrade - Stage 2: Data transfer and vCenter Server setup is in progress"
• This message may be seen even though a major version upgrade was not performed
• The message persists through multiple reboots
• In the file /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/PatchRunner.log, the following messages may appear followed by a list of RPMs that are already installed:
  
  [YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] INFO rpm_utils Rpm installation was not successful,exitCode 199, stdout Preparing...

Environment

vCenter Server Appliance 7.0

Cause

The update files stored in /storage/core/software-updates/ are corrupt.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, the corrupted files within /storage/core/software-updates/ need to be removed. The /storage/core/software-update directory contains downloaded updates metadata and can be safely removed. The update metadata will be re-downloaded the next time updates are checked via the VAMI. For this reason, the next update check may be slower than normal.

1. Take a cold (powered-off) snapshot of the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) VM.
   
   Note: If there are other vCenter appliances in linked mode, they must also get a cold snapshot at the same time.
   
   
2. Power on the vCenter VM
3. SSH to the vCenter via root
4. Change to the /storage/core directory:
   
   cd /storage/core/
   
   
5. Remove the software-update directory:
   
   rm -fr software-update
   
   
6. Restart the applmgmt service:
   
   service-control --stop applmgmt
   service-control --start applmgmt
   
   
7. Validate that the VAMI page at https://<VCSA_ADDRESS>:5480 is functioning normally again.

Additional Information

If the issue persists after performing the above steps, follow the additional steps outlined in KB article 320702:

Accessing the VAMI returns error "Update installation in progress" after recovering from a failed vCenter update or vCenter version upgrade