Failed to do new installation of a vCenter, UI error - "An error occurred while starting service 'vc-ws1a-broker''"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Trying to do a new installation of a vCenter results in this error being presented in the UI - 

Install - Stage 2: Failed
Failed to download logs
A problem occurred during setup. services might not be working as expected

 

When reviewing the Messages UI element, (where a LOGS and CLOSE button are available), this error is seen -

An error occurred while starting service 'vc-ws1a-broker'

 

Environment

• VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0.x
• VMware vCenter Server 8.0.x
• VMware vCenter Server 9.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the vCenter Server cannot resolve its own Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address during the bootstrap process. This is typically caused by:

• Missing Forward (A) or Reverse (PTR) DNS records.
• The incorrect DNS server being provided during the deployment workflow.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, ensure the environment meets all DNS requirements before restarting the installation.

1. Verify that the vCenter Server FQDN is correctly populated in the DNS server.
2. Ensure both Forward (A) and Reverse (PTR) records exist for the vCenter IP and FQDN.
3. Use the nslookup command from a jump host or a similar management component to confirm resolution: nslookup <vCenter_FQDN> nslookup <vCenter_IP>
4. In the VCF deployment workflow or vCenter Installer, verify the DNS server IP address is correct.
5. If the records were missing, create them and wait for DNS propagation before retrying the installation.