vCenter server upgrade from 7.x to 8.x fails during the firstboot with error message "Error 1319: Operation failed with error ERROR_NO_SUCH_GROUP (1319)"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• vCenter server upgrade from 7.x to 8.x fails during the firstboot phase with the following error: "An error occurred while invoking external command: 'Error 39 while adding user vpxd-svc-acct-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx to SSO group "Users": dir-cli failed. Error 1319: Operation failed with error ERROR_NO_SUCH_GROUP (1319)'"

  • Below error is seen in logs:

    • /var/log/firstboot/firstbootInfrastructure.log

    YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss INFO firstbootInfrastructure Running firstboot script: ['/opt/vmware/bin/python', '/usr/lib/vmware-vpx/firstboot/vpxd_firstboot.py', '--action', 'firstboot', '--compkey', 'vpxd', '--errlog', '/var/log/firstboot/vpxd_firstboot.py_18828_stderr.log']
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss INFO firstbootInfrastructure [Failed] /usr/lib/vmware-vpx/firstboot/vpxd_firstboot.py is complete
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss WARNING firstbootInfrastructure Bug component info file does not exist
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss INFO firstbootInfrastructure Firstboot duration: 427 sec
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss INFO firstbootInfrastructure First boot is a failure
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss ERROR firstbootInfrastructure Installation of vCenter server failed with firstboot scripts
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss WARNING firstbootInfrastructure stopping status aggregation...

    • /var/log/firstboot/fbInstall.json

      {
    "progress": 50,
    "progress_message": {
        "id": "install.ciscommon.component.starting",
        "translatable": "Starting %(0)s...",
        "args": [
            "VMware vCenter Server"
        ],
        "localized": "Starting VMware vCenter Server..."
    },
    "status": "error",
    "info": [],
    "warning": [],
    "question": null,
    "error": {
        "detail": [
            {
                "id": "install.vpxd.action.failed",
                "translatable": "VMware VirtualCenter failed %(0)s.",
                "args": [
                    "firstboot"
                ],
                "localized": "VMware VirtualCenter failed firstboot."
            },
            {
                "id": "install.ciscommon.command.errinvoke",
                "translatable": "An error occurred while invoking external command : '%(0)s'",
                "args": [
                    "Error 39 while adding user vpxd-svc-acct-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx to SSO group \"Users\":\ndir-cli failed. Error 1319: Operation failed with error ERROR_NO_SUCH_GROUP (1319) \n"
                ],
                "localized": "An error occurred while invoking external command : 'Error 39 while adding user vpxd-svc-acct-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx to SSO group \"Users\":\ndir-cli failed. Error 1319: Operation failed with error ERROR_NO_SUCH_GROUP (1319) \n'"
            }
        ],
        "componentKey": "vpxd",
        "problemId": "install.vpxd.action.failed",
        "resolution": {
            "id": "install.vpxd.action.failed.resolution",
            "translatable": "Please search for these symptoms in the VMware Knowledge Base for any known issues and possible resolutions. If none can be found, collect a support bundle and open a support request.",
            "localized": "Please search for these symptoms in the VMware Knowledge Base for any known issues and possible resolutions. If none can be found, collect a support bundle and open a support request."
        }
    },
    "start_time": "YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss",
    "end_time": "YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ"
}

• Running the below command on the source (vCenter 7.x) shows that the "Users" group is missing in SSO:

  root@<VC-Name>[ ~ ]# /usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli group list --name Users

Enter password for [email protected]:

dir-cli failed. Error 1319: Operation failed with error ERROR_NO_SUCH_GROUP (1319)

Environment

vCenter Server 7.x

vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

The upgrade workflow process attempts to add the vpxd-svc user to the default SSO group "Users". This operation fails if the "Users" group is missing in the SSO domain, leading to a failure during the firstboot phase.

Resolution

If you encounter the symptoms outlined above, contact Broadcom Technical Support for further assistance, as the resolution involves re-creating missing groups on the vmdir database instance, which should be performed with caution.