Storage problem can contribute to ESXi upgrade failures

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• ESXi host upgrade is being performed using vLCM.
• Upgrade fails with a very generic error on the vCenter UI:
  
  A general system error occurred: Remediation failed for Host  
   
• Below storage errors can be seen at the syslogs on the ESXi:
  
  

  2023-12-15T16:50:05Z Er(11) lifecycle[#####]: imagemanagerctl [InstallationError]
2023-12-15T16:50:05Z Er(11)[+] lifecycle[#####]: Failed to query file system stats: Errors:
2023-12-15T16:50:05Z Er(11)[+] lifecycle[#####]: Error getting data for filesystem on '/vmfs/volumes/#####-#####-#####-#####': Cannot open volume: /vmfs/volumes/#####-#####-#####-#####, skipping.

  2023-12-15T16:50:05Z Er(11) lifecycle[#####]: imagemanagerctl:90 esxutils.EsxcliError: Errors:
2023-12-15T16:50:05Z Er(11) lifecycle[#####]: imagemanagerctl:90 Error getting data for filesystem on '/vmfs/volumes/#####-#####-#####-#####': Cannot open volume: /vmfs/volumes/#####-#####-#####-#####, skipping.

  
  
  
  

Environment

• VMware ESXi 8.x
• VMware vCenter 8.x

Cause

Correlation of these log events points to a compromised storage layer. In addition to operational instability, this condition can lead to the premature termination of ESXi upgrade processes.

Resolution

• Review the storage health. 
• Consult with the storage vendor.
• Check the connectivity to the storage device.