vCenter Upgrade Fails at VCENTER_UPGRADE_PRECHECK - VMDir replication is not working correctly.

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VCF - MCOE - SDDC

Issue/Introduction

 

• vCenter upgrade initiated from SDDC Manager fails during the VCENTER_UPGRADE_PRECHECK stage
• Same error can be seen on the vCenter VAMI page

 

• The VMDIR state is validated to be healthy on each vCenter with the command: /usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli state get 
• The var/log/vmware/applmgmt/patchRunner.logreport the following message: 

         "name": "vmdir",

        "patchScript": "/storage/seat/software-updatedvsay6u1/stage/scripts/patches/payload/components-script/vmdir",

        "requirementsResult": {

            "mismatches": [

                {

                    "description": {

                        "id": "vmdir.replicationerror.text",

                        "localized": "VMDir replication is not working correctly",

                        "translatable": "VMDir replication is not working correctly"

                    },

                    "problemId": null,

                    "relatedUserDataId": null,

                    "resolution": {

                        "id": "vmdir.replicationerror.resolution",

                        "localized": "Please refer the KB to handle VMDir replication issues: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/93910",

                        "translatable": "Please refer the KB to handle VMDir replication issues: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/93910"

                    },

                    "severity": "error",

                    "text": {

                        "id": "vmdir.replicationerror.text",

                        "localized": "VMDir replication is not working correctly",

                        "translatable": "VMDir replication is not working correctly"

                    }

                }

                "requiredDiskSpace": {}

            }

        },

        "stageDir": "/storage/seat/software-updatedvsay6u1/stage/patch_runner/cis-license"

    }

]

 

2025-10-19T11:14:42.995Z INFO rpm_utils Validating if ['VMware-vsan-racadm'] rpms can be removed from the system.

2025-10-19T11:14:43.9Z INFO vmware_b2b.patching.phases.discoverer Check if there is enough storage for RPM installation

2025-10-19T11:14:43.9Z INFO vmware_b2b.patching.phases.discoverer RPM stage dir is /storage/seat/software-updatedvsay6u1/stage/patch_runner/../../../stage/stageDir.json

2025-10-19T11:14:43.10Z ERROR __main__ Discovery of vCSA patching components failed

(END)

• The vCenter /var/log/vmware/vmdird/vmdird.log contains vmdirdsafeldapBindEx error messages between affected vCenter nodes. 

YYYY:MM:DDTHH:MM:SS :t@139676832757312:ERROR: VmDirSafeLDAPBindEx to (ldap://REPLICATION_VC_FQDN:389) Failed. SRP(9234) 

Environment

VCF 5.x 

vCenter 8.x 

Cause

The issue is caused by a mismatch in the machine account passwords between vCenter Server nodes in an Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM) configuration. 

Resolution

To resolve the issue, ensure you have snapshots of all involved vCenter's, and follow the steps from the KB LDAP Error Code 49 : Reset Machine Account Password of vCenter Server Appliance using Shell Script