vCenter 9.0.1 update fails during staging due to missing EULA and manifest files

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to stage the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) 9.0.1 update, the process fails with "Staging Interrupted"
Manual connectivity tests (e.g., wget) from the vCenter command line to dl.broadcom.com result in an HTTP 403 Forbidden error.

The /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/applmgmt.log , indicates missing EULA.txt and manifest discrepancies during the file staging process.

DEBUG:vmware.appliance.update.update_functions:Can't remove directory /storage/core/software-update/tmp/stage: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/storage/core/software-update/tmp/stage'
DEBUG:vmware.appliance.update.update_functions:/storage/core/software-update/tmp/stage directory created successfully
DEBUG:vmware.appliance.update.update_b2b:staged discovery failed: RpmManifestNotFoundException() 'Traceback (most recent call last):\n  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/update/py/vmware/appliance/update/update_b2b.py", line 1695, in _discoverUpdateAt\n    copyFileFunc(path.join(manifestDir,\n  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/shutil.py", line 431, in copy\n    copyfile(src, dst, follow_symlinks=follow_symlinks)\n  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/shutil.py", line 256, in copyfile\n    with open(src, \'rb\') as fsrc:\n         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\nFileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: \'/storage/seat/software-update1bfobufj/stage/manifest-latest.xml\'\n\nDuring handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:\n\nTraceback (most recent call last):\n  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/update/py/vmware/appliance/update/update_b2b.py", line 1851, in _discoverUpdateAtStageArea\n    header = _discoverUpdateAt(stageDir, stageDir, copyFileFunc, \'stage\', enableListMajorUpgradeVersions=enableListMajorUpgradeVersions)\n             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\n  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/update/py/vmware/appliance/update/update_b2b.py", line 1720, in _discoverUpdateAt\n    raise RpmManifestNotFoundException\nvmware.appliance.update.update_b2b.RpmManifestNotFoundException\n'
DEBUG:vmware.appliance.update.update_b2b:discoverLocalUpdate failed.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/update/py/vmware/appliance/update/update_b2b.py", line 1695, in _discoverUpdateAt
    copyFileFunc(path.join(manifestDir,
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/shutil.py", line 431, in copy
    copyfile(src, dst, follow_symlinks=follow_symlinks)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.11/shutil.py", line 256, in copyfile
    with open(src, 'rb') as fsrc:
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/mnt/iso-contents/manifest-latest.xml'
:::::
INFO:vmware.appliance.update.update_functions:linux version not consistent with upcoming linux rpm
ERROR:vmware.vapi.provider.local:Error in invoking com.vmware.appliance.update.pending in get - [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/storage/seat/software-update1bfobufj/stage/eulas/EULA.txt'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/vapi/lib/vapi_runtime-2.100.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl/vmware/vapi/provider/local.py", line 277, in invoke
    method_result = self._invoke_int(
                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/vapi/lib/vapi_runtime-2.100.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl/vmware/vapi/provider/local.py", line 249, in _invoke_int
    method_result = iface.invoke(ctx, method_id, input_value)
                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/vapi/lib/vapi_runtime-2.100.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl/vmware/vapi/bindings/skeleton.py", line 371, in invoke
    meth_output = method(**meth_args)
                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/vapi/py/vmware/appliance/vapi/update_impl.py", line 138, in get
    return worker.get(version, component)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/update/py/vmware/appliance/update/update_pending.py", line 249, in get
    info = b2b.buildLongInfo(thisUpdateDir, rpmManifestPrefix)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/update/py/vmware/appliance/update/update_b2b.py", line 1592, in buildLongInfo
    with open(os.path.join(thisUpdateDir, "eulas", "EULA.txt")) as f:
         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/storage/seat/software-update1bfobufj/stage/eulas/EULA.txt'

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 9.x

Cause

This failure is typically caused by a network security appliance (Firewall, Proxy, or IDS/IPS) blocking the vCenter Server's outbound communication with Broadcom’s update servers.

When the vCenter attempts to reach the repository, the connection is rejected with a 403 error. Because the download fails, the staging folders remain empty. When the update service later tries to read the EULA or the version manifest from those folders to display them in the VAMI, it encounters a FileNotFoundError and fails.

Resolution

To resolve this update failure, outbound connectivity to the Broadcom update repositories must be restored. Validate the following:

Review the Proxy/Firewall settings: Coordinate with the network team to review proxy and firewall logs for any outbound traffic from the vCenter Server IP.
Implement Whitelisting: Ensure dl.broadcom.com is whitelisted for outbound traffic over Port 443 (HTTPS).
Verify and Relaunch: Once the firewall rules are confirmed, re-attempt the update via the VAMI.