"Failed to update release catalog" error while loading 'Release catalog' file

Products

• VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Updating 'Release Catalog' in vSAN Skyline Health fails with error 'Failed to update release catalog.
  
  

 

• Path to update the file ----> vSAN Skyline Health > vSAN Release Catalog Up-To-Date > Click on 'Update from File' and upload the file shared in the following KB:
  
  vSAN Health Service - vSAN Build Recommendation - vSAN release catalog up-to-date
  
  

Environment

VMware vSAN

Cause

• When the 'Release catalog' file is loaded, a metadata file /etc/vmware-vsan-health/vsan-releases.json updates on vCenter.
  
  
• If this file fails to update, the UI will throw error "Failed to update release catalog".
  
  

  
  Validation:

  In vCenter, log file vsan-health/vmware-vsan-health-service.log, reports following error:

  2025-03-05T06:28:07.213Z INFO vsan-mgmt[15221] [VsanVumSystemImpl::UploadReleaseDb opID=agw-0003596-9109] Updating release catalog
  2025-03-05T06:28:07.214Z INFO vsan-mgmt[15221] [VsanVumSystemUtil::RemoveConfigIssue opID=agw-0003596-9109] Remove config issue metadataOutdated, None, None
  2025-03-05T06:28:07.214Z ERROR vsan-mgmt[15221] [VsanVumIntegration::_UpdateMetadataFile opID=agw-0003596-9109] Failed to write metadata file /etc/vmware-vsan-health/vsan-releases.json
  2025-03-05T06:28:07.215Z INFO vsan-mgmt[15221] [VsanVumSystemUtil::RemoveConfigIssue opID=agw-0003596-9109] Remove config issue ISONotAvailable, None, None
  2025-03-05T06:28:07.215Z INFO vsan-mgmt[15221] [VsanVumSystemUtil::RemoveConfigIssue opID=agw-0003596-9109] Remove config issue metadataNotFound, None, None
  2025-03-05T06:28:07.216Z INFO vsan-mgmt[15221] [VsanVumSystemUtil::AddConfigIssue opID=agw-0003596-9109] New config issue health.test.vum.metadataOutdated, entity None, args None added
  2025-03-05T06:28:07.216Z INFO vsan-mgmt[15221] [VsanVumSystemUtil::RemoveConfigIssue opID=agw-0003596-9109] Remove config issue createBaselineFailed, None, None
  
  

• The file /etc/vmware-vsan-health/vsan-releases.json had following permissions and users/groups set with which prevented it from being edited during the Release catalog update:
  

  root@<vcenter-fqdn> [ ~ ]# ls -1 /etc/vmware-vsan-health/ | grep "vsan-releases"
-rwxr--r-x 1 root root 11705 Nov 7 10:56 vsan-releases.json

• In ideal case scenario, the permissions and user/group for the file should be as follows:
  
  root@<vcenter-fqdn> [ ~ ]# ls -1 /etc/vmware-vsan-health/ | grep "vsan-releases"
-rw-r--r-- 1 vsan-health users 11705 Mar 25 07:47 vsan-releases.json
  
  

Resolution

1. Login to the vCenter shell through a command line terminal.
   
   
2. cd /etc/vmware-vsan-health/
   
   
3. Run following two commands to change the user, user group and privilege of the file vsan-releases.json
   

   # chmod 777 vsan-releases.json
# chown vsan-health:users vsan-releases.json

4. Upload the 'Release catalog' file in vSAN Health  > vSAN Release Catalog Up-to-date > 'Update from file'.