SDDC Manager: vCenter Upgrade Fails with 'VCSA_CREATE_INPUT_SPEC_GET_DATACENTER_NAME_FAILED' Error when vCenter VM is in a vApp

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to upgrade a vCenter Server through VMware SDDC Manager, the upgrade workflow fails during the "Create Input Spec Stage." The specific error indicates an inability to retrieve the datacenter name associated with the vCenter Server. This prevents the upgrade process from initiating.

Observed Error Message:
The SDDC Manager workflow reports the following error:
errorCode=VCSA_CREATE_INPUT_SPEC_GET_DATACENTER_NAME_FAILED, errorDescription=Reason is: In Create Input Spec Stage, vCenter precheck failed while getting the datacenter name.

Relevant Log Entry (from /var/log/VMware/vcf/lcm/lcm-debug.log):

####-##-##T##:##:##.499+0000 ERROR [vcf_lcm,6850447048176003178dbe1c40974253,ed59] [c.v.evo.sddc.lcm.model.task.SubTask,http-nio-127.0.0.1-7400-exec-4] Upgrade error occured: Reason is: In Create Input Spec Stage, vCenter precheck failed while getting the datacenter name. Reference token IVU36S Task: { "errorType": "RECOVERABLE", "stage": "VCENTER_UPGRADE_CREATE_INPUT_SPEC", "errorCode": "VCSA_CREATE_INPUT_SPEC_GET_DATACENTER_NAME_FAILED", "errorDescription": "In Create Input Spec Stage, vCenter precheck failed while getting the datacenter name.", "errorDescriptionCodes": [ "GENERIC_REASON" ], "errorDescriptionAttributes": { "0": "In Create Input Spec Stage, vCenter precheck failed while getting the datacenter name." }, "metadata": "\

Cause

The vCenter Server virtual machine (VM) is located inside a vApp object (e.g., named "Management") within the vSphere inventory. SDDC Manager's lifecycle management operations, including vCenter upgrades, expect the vCenter VM to reside within a standard folder structure. Placing the vCenter VM inside a vApp introduces an unexpected hierarchical layer that interferes with SDDC Manager's internal pre-check mechanisms, specifically its ability to correctly parse and retrieve the associated datacenter name.

Resolution

To resolve this issue and allow the SDDC Manager vCenter upgrade workflow to proceed, the vCenter Server VM must be moved out of the vApp and into a standard vSphere inventory folder.

Steps:

1. Access your vCenter Server directly via the vSphere Client (web UI).
2. Navigate to the vCenter Server VM that is experiencing the upgrade failure.
3. Identify the vApp it is currently nested within (e.g., "Management").
4. Right-click the vCenter Server VM.
5. Select Move to… (or drag and drop).
6. Select the parent folder of the vApp (e.g., MGMT-fd-mgmt as indicated in the issue description) as the new location for the vCenter VM. Ensure it is not moved into another vApp or an unsupported location.
7. Confirm the move operation.
8. Once the move is complete, retry the vCenter upgrade workflow from SDDC Manager.

After performing this action, the SDDC Manager upgrade pre-check for getting the datacenter name should succeed, allowing the workflow to continue.

Additional Information

For environments managed by VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and SDDC Manager, it is generally recommended to avoid placing management VMs (like vCenter Server, NSX Managers, SDDC Manager components) inside vApps unless explicitly documented and supported by VMware by Broadcom. Maintaining a clean and standard vSphere inventory structure is crucial for the stability and success of automated lifecycle management operations performed by SDDC Manager.