vCenter upgrade from 8.0 U3h to 9.0.1 fails with an error "Encountered an internal error. see /var/log/firstboot/vpostgres-firstboot.py_XXXXX_stderr.log"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

 vCenter Upgrade from 8.0.3.00700 to 9.0.1.0 fails. New appliance deploys fine in stage 1. In stage 2, migration fails:

Encountered an internal error. see /var/log/firstboot/vpostgres-firstboot.py_XXXXX_stderr.log. This is an unrecoverable error, please retry install.

vCenter Upgrade - Stage 2: Failed

Encountered an internal error. see /var/log/firstboot/vpostgres-firstboot.py_XXXXX_stderr.log
Resolution
This is an unrecoverable error, please retry install. If you encounter this error again, 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.
 
A problem has occurred. The source vCenter Server might have been Powered Off during this process.

The following error can be found in the logs of the failed target vCenter:

var/log/firstboot/failed:

Failed to start services. Firstboot Error.

fbInstall.json
{
    "progress": 12,
    "progress_message": {
        "id": "install.ciscommon.component.starting",
        "translatable": "Starting %(0)s...",
        "args": [
            "VMware Postgres"
        ],
        "localized": "Starting VMware Postgres..."
    },
    "status": "error",
    "info": [],
    "warning": [],
    "question": null,
    "error": {
        "detail": [
            {
                "id": "install.ciscommon.internal.error",
                "translatable": "Encountered an internal error.\n\n%(0)s",
                "args": [
                    "see /var/log/firstboot/vpostgres-firstboot.py_13885_stderr.log"
                ],
                "localized": "Encountered an internal error.\n\nsee /var/log/firstboot/vpostgres-firstboot.py_XXXXX_stderr.log"
            }
        ],
        "componentKey": "vpostgres",
        "problemId": null,
        "resolution": {
            "id": "install.default.failure.resolution",
            "translatable": "This is an unrecoverable error, please retry install. If you encounter this error again, 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": "This is an unrecoverable error, please retry install. If you encounter this error again, 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-ddT00:00",
    "end_time": "yyyy-mm-ddT00:00"
}


var/log/firstboot/firstbootStatus.json:

{
    "totalSteps": 49,
    "stepsStarted": 7,
    "stepsCompleted": 7,
    "finalStatus": "failure",
    "runTime": [
        {
            "visl-support-firstboot": "0:00:03"
        },
        {
            "vdtc_firstboot": "0:00:00"
        },
        {
            "vmafd-firstboot": "0:00:24"
        },
        {
            "vmon-firstboot": "0:00:01"
        },
        {
            "envoy_hgw_firstboot": "0:00:01"
        },
        {
            "rhttpproxy_firstboot": "0:00:01"
        },
        {
            "vpostgres-firstboot": "0:00:04"
        }
    ],
    "failedSteps": "vpostgres-firstboot",  <==== Failed service!!!
    "stepsCompletedList": "visl-support-firstboot,vdtc_firstboot,vmafd-firstboot,vmon-firstboot,envoy_hgw_firstboot,rhttpproxy_firstboot,vpostgres-firstboot"
}




var/log/firstboot/vpostgres-firstboot.py_XXXXX_stdout.log

yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Successfully connected to database postgres
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmpccolep3t
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmp7ah0whhf
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmp6jtueeq4
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmpyeqw0i6z
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmpgimajo2t
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmpyo20yx7v
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmp4_p3o4aa
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Removing temp file /tmp/tmpvuiv34u_

Error log for failed vpostgres service:

var/log/firstboot/vpostgres-firstboot.py_XXXXX_stderr.log

yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Upgrade import failed due to error Error while deploying roles: psql.bin:/storage/seat/cis-export-folder/vcdb/VCDB_roles.dump:5: error: invalid command \restrict
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  Upgrade import step failed
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00  vPostgres firstboot(action=firstboot) failed

Environment

vCenter Server 8.0U3h

 

Cause

This is considered a back-in-time upgrade because vCenter versions 9.0.0 and 9.0.1 were released prior to vCenter 8.0 Update 3h.

Therefore this is not supported. 

Resolution

 

Upgrading vCenter from version 8.0 Update 3h to vCenter 9.0.0/9.0.1 is currently not supported.

 

An upgrade from vCenter 8.0 Update 3h to vCenter 9.x will only be supported after a vCenter 9.x patch, maintenance, or minor version release.

If you are planning to upgrade to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.x before Jan 2026, do not upgrade to vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3h at this time.

Additional Information

https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/vsphere-supervisor/8-0/release-notes/vmware-vsphere-supervisor-80-release-notes.html