When applying changes using vSphere configuration profile on ESXI, getting warning" Max retries exceeded with url: /vci/downloads/vcp-plugins.zip"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

While applying configuration changes to a vSphere cluster using vSphere configuration profile, the following warning is encountered: com.vmware.vcIntegrity contains a vSphere Configuration Plugin file that failed to download: HTTPSConnectionPool(host='Host_fqdn', port=9087): Max retries exceeded with url: /vci/downloads/vcp-plugins.zip (Caused by SSLError(SSLEOFError(8, '[SSL: UNEXPECTED_EOF_WHILE_READING] EOF occurred in violation of protocol (_ssl.c:1007)')))

Environment

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

Cause

The issue stems from using imported JSON configuration files that appear to have compatibility or formatting issues, causing the vSphere Configuration Plugin file to fail during download.

Resolution

Use the vSphere Client UI method for applying vSphere configuration profile changes instead of importing/exporting JSON files.

Steps:

1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the Drafts section under Desired State Configuration.

2. Import a reference host directly within the UI.

3. Proceed with the pre-check and remediation workflows.

4. Changes should now apply successfully without triggering the plugin download error.

Additional Information

For Details for vSphere Configuration Profiles ( here)