vCenter Update from 8.0 U1 VAMI shows the UI error "Unable to connect to the vCenter server. The vCenter Server is down due to an occurred error during the update process. Restore the vCenter Server from a snapshot or a backup."

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

When patching vCenter from the Appliance Management page an error message appears

Unable to connect to the vCenter server.

The vCenter Server is down due to an occurred error during the update process. Restore the vCenter Server from a snapshot or a backup

There are no errors or failures in the below logs.

/var/log/vmware/applmgmt/Patchrunner.log
/var/log/vmware/applmgmt/update_microservice.log


All services are continuing to progress when connected to vCenter via SSH in CLI when using the command

watch service-control status

Cause

vCenter 8.0 U1 has a less tolerant timeout configuration than later versions and if the time to start services exceeds the timeout the vCenter can incorrectly report that the update failed and to restore from snapshot or backup. 

Resolution

Allow the update to proceed without making changes or intervention and if no further errors or symptoms arise the update was successful.