vCenter upgrade from vCenter Server 7.x to vCenter Server 8.x fails during the vpxd firstboot stage.
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vCenter upgrade from vCenter Server 7.x to vCenter Server 8.x fails during the vpxd firstboot stage.

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Article ID: 412698

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

  • vCenter upgrade from vCenter Server 7.x to vCenter Server 8.x fails during the vpxd firstboot stage.

    Error
    VMware VirtualCenter failed firstboot.
    Resolution
    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.

  • Logs /var/log/firstboot/firstbootInfrastructure.log shows errors similar to below snippets:

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_14778_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: 1400 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...

  • Logs /var/log/firstboot/fbInstall.json shows errors similar to below snippets:

{
    "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.service.failstart",
                "translatable": "An error occurred while starting service '%(0)s'",
                "args": [
                    "vpxd"
                ],
                "localized": "An error occurred while starting service 'vpxd'"
            }
        ],
        "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:ss"
}

  • Logs /var/log/vmware/vpxd/vpxd.log shows errors similar to below snippets:

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss warning vpxd[24572] [Originator@6876 sub=VpxProfiler] Start [AlarmMoManager::Start()] took 420 ms
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss warning vpxd[24572] [Originator@6876 sub=VpxProfiler] Start [CustomFieldsManagerMo::Start()] took 10 ms
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss error vpxd[24572] [Originator@6876 sub=Daemon] Unhandled exception: N3Vim5Fault13DuplicateName9ExceptionE(Fault cause: vim.fault.DuplicateName
--> )
--> [context]zKq7AVECAQAAAI48ewEOdnB4ZAAAQxxTbGlidm1hY29yZS5zbwAACBhCACk/QwCWmUqBpe0cAXZweGQAgfYTHgGBiBUeAYF8nCABgTF6HwGB3qsdAYHmuR0BgUraHAECCn8CbGliYy5zby42AIEpwBwB[/context]
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss info vpxd[24572] [Originator@6876 sub=SupportMgr] Wrote uptime information

Environment

vCenter Server 7.x
vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

The issue occurs because the mo_type_name field in vpx_field_def table is null for the entry com.vmware.vcenter.network.folder.externalManaged.

VCDB=# select id,name,mo_type_name from vpx_field_def where name='com.vmware.vcenter.network.folder.externalManaged';
 id  |                       name                        | mo_type_name
-----+---------------------------------------------------+--------------
 101 | com.vmware.vcenter.network.folder.externalManaged |
(1 row)

 

Resolution

Before making any changes refer: VMware vCenter in Enhanced Linked Mode pre-changes snapshot (online or offline) best practice

Following steps has to be performed in 7.x vCenter prior to upgrade:

1. Stop vCenter Server service

service-control --stop vpxd

2. Connect to vCeneter Server Database:

psql -d VCDB -U postgres

3. Update vpx_field_def table to correct null mo_type_name value:

update vpx_field_def set mo_type_name='vim.Folder' where name='com.vmware.vcenter.network.folder.externalManaged';

4. Start vCenter Service

service-control --start vpxd

5. Proceed with the vCenter upgrade activity.

Additional Information

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