"vSAN Build Recommendation Engine Health" - "VMware ISO download site is down"

Products

• VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• "vSAN Build Recommendation Engine Health" alert triggered on vSAN Skyline Health - It states that the "VMware ISO download site is down.":

  

• vCenter has internet connectivity, yet the VMware ISO download site connectivity check fails.

• When trying to log into "my.vmware.in" in the above health check it fails with the same error message "VMware ISO download site is down".

Environment

VMware vSAN 8.x

Cause

• The URLs of the official VMware online depot are now unique for each customer.

• Since the currently configured URL is unreachable, the alert "VMware ISO download site is down" is triggered.

• This can be validated from vSphere Client > Lifecycle Manager > Settings > Administration - Patch Setup > Under "Patches downloaded from the internet", the following URLs would be present:

  • https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

  • https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/addon-main/vmw-depot-index.xml

  • https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/iovp-main/vmw-depot-index.xml

  • https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/vmtools-main/vmw-depot-index.xml

• The above URLs are not valid anymore, as the download URLs are unique to each customer due to the use of "download tokens". Refer Installing, Setting Up, and Using the Update Manager Download Service for more details.

Resolution

In order to resolve the "vSAN Build Recommendation Engine Health" alert, the download links must be updated:

1. Get the unique download token by following the steps in VCF Authenticated downloads Configuration Update Instructions. If you already have it, apply the same by following below instructions.

2. Navigate to vSphere Client > Lifecycle Manager > Settings > Administration - Path Setup > Under "Patches downloaded from the internet".

3. Disable the default repositories.
   Note: They cannot be removed and the delete button would be greyed out.

4. Add the below URLs one by one by clicking "New" and replace <Download Token> with the actual downloaded token ID from step 1:

   1. https://dl.broadcom.com/<Download Token>/PROD/COMP/ESX_HOST/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

   2. https://dl.broadcom.com/<Download Token>/PROD/COMP/ESX_HOST/addon-main/vmw-depot-index.xml

   3. https://dl.broadcom.com/<Download Token>/PROD/COMP/ESX_HOST/iovp-main/vmw-depot-index.xml

   4. https://dl.broadcom.com/<Download Token>/PROD/COMP/ESX_HOST/vmtools-main/vmw-depot-index.xml

5. Perform "Retest" of vSAN Skyline Health and the "vSAN Build recommendation engine health" alert should now be resolved.