Remove from inventory grayed out on esxi host after applying a baseline update

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

After updating a large number of hosts with a baseline in vCenter the option to "remove from inventory" is grayed out. 

Environment

vCenter Server 8 using baseline mode

Cause

While patching esxi hosts with baseline mode a flag is added into the vCenter database to disable certain operations for safety such as remove from inventory. If a large number of hosts are selected at once for baseline patching the flag created is to large to fit into the database column. This leaves the remove from inventory option grayed out until vCenter is rebooted. 

 

vmware-vum-server.log 

2025-10-01T16:37:07.287-06:00 error vmware-vum-server[188039] [Originator@6876 sub=Default] [VdbStatement] SQLError was thrown: "ODBC error: (22001) - ERROR: value too long for type character varying(2000);



postgresql.log

2025-08-05 20:20:56.031 UTC 68925a24.2d61 0 VCDB vumuser [local] 11617 22ERROR:  value too long for type character varying(2000)

Resolution

Option 1: Reboot vCenter to clear the disable operation flag. 

Option 2. Baseline mode is deprecated. Switch to single image mode which doesn't have this issue. 

Option 3. Select less hosts when using baseline mode to avoid the issue from happening.

Option 4. Edit the database to expand the size of text allowed for the flag

1. Take snapshot of vcenter
2. su - updatemgr -s /bin/bash (switches to update manager account)
3. /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -d VCDB -U vumuser (connects to update manager datbase)
4. ALTER TABLE vci_vc_cleanup_action ALTER COLUMN action TYPE character varying(2500);  (sets the size from 2000 to 2500)
5. \q (quit the database)
6. Reboot vCenter