Applying host profile fails with "Error setting advanced options on the host. View the host logs for details." on ESXi host

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0
• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0
• VMware vCenter Server 7.0
• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• During host profile remediation, the task fails with the error "Host profile apply failed with error: Error setting advanced options on the host.
• Log file /var/run/log/hostd.log on ESXi will show similar to the below snippets:

yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.mssZ error hostd[2100193] [Originator@6876 sub=Hostsvc.SyslogConfigProvider opID=xxx user=vpxuser] Failed to set logger 'hbr-agent' configuration
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.mssZ verbose hostd[2100193] [Originator@6876 sub=Solo.Vmomi opID=xxx user=vpxuser] Arg changedValue:
--> (vim.option.OptionValue) [
-->    (vim.option.OptionValue) {
-->       key = "Syslog.loggers.cmmdsd.rotate",
-->       value = 0
-->    },

• Log file /var/run/log/vpxa.log on ESXi will show similar to the below snippets:

yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.mssZ info vpxa[2318048] [Originator@6876 sub=Default opID=xxx] [VpxLRO] -- ERROR task-236500 -- HostdHostProfileManager -- vim.profile.host.profileEngine.HostProfileManager.applyHostConfig: vmodl.MethodFault:
--> Result:
--> (vmodl.MethodFault) {
-->    faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null,
-->    faultMessage = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) [
-->       (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) {
-->          key = "com.vmware.vim.profile.applyHostConfigError.Settings.Advanced.Config",
-->          arg = <unset>,
-->          message = "Error setting advanced options on the host. View the host logs for details."
-->       }
-->    ]
-->    msg = "MethodFault.summary"

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

 

Cause

File "/etc/vmsyslog.conf.d/hbr-agent.conf" has incorrect permissions.

Resolution

Procedure:

1. Enter Maintenance Mode:

   • Place the host in maintenance mode to prevent disruptions during the configuration changes.

2. Adjust Sticky Bit File Handling:

   • Temporarily disable the "VisorFSPristineTardisk" setting to enable the replacement of sticky bit files.
   • Execute the following command:

     vsish -e set /config/VisorFS/intOpts/VisorFSPristineTardisk 0
     

3. Correct File Permissions:

   • Ensure proper file permissions for the '/etc/vmsyslog.conf.d/hbr-agent.conf' file configuration file by executing the following command:

     chmod 1644 /etc/vmsyslog.conf.d/hbr-agent.conf 
     

4. Configure Syslog for hbr-agent:

   • Configure the syslog settings for the '/etc/vmsyslog.conf.d/hbr-agent.conf' file by executing the following command:

     esxcli system syslog config logger set --id='hbr-agent' --reset='rotate'
     

5. Revert Sticky Bit File Handling:

   • Revert the "VisorFSPristineTardisk" setting to its original state by executing the following command:

     vsish -e set /config/VisorFS/intOpts/VisorFSPristineTardisk 1