SDDC Manager vCenter Upgrade fails with "MOVE_TARGET_VC_TO_PRIMARY_AZ_IN_STRETCH_CLUSTER"

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager

Issue/Introduction

The attempt to upgrade vCenter through SDDC Manager failed, as indicated in the SDDC Manager UI. The reported error states that the vCenter upgrade failed while trying to move the target vCenter to the primary Availability Zone (AZ) in a stretched environment.

Under SDDC manager /var/log/vmware/vcf/lcm/lcm.log  below log snips are found:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS ERROR [vcf_lcm,########8b9e4ead2e1465ee########,####] [c.v.evo.sddc.lcm.model.task.SubTask,http-nio-127.#.#.1-7400-exec-4] Upgrade error occured: com.vmware.vcf.error.runtime.move.target.vc.to.primary.az.in.stretched.env.failed
Reference token #######

Under SDDC manager /var/log/vmware/vcf/lcm/lcm-debug.log below log snips are found:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS INFO  [vcf_lcm,69cc####f1fc####4600af0d46bc####,6232] [c.v.e.sddc.lcm.audit.AuditScheduler,Scheduled-8] Last upgrade status for software type VCENTER and resourceId c9eac17f-####-####-####-af6400d5#### is: {"id":"7","bundleId":"f16c####-####-####-####-2c738c9c####","bundleElementId":"c5f7####-####-4176-####-1f1a68c8####","bundleElementOrder":1,"resourceType":"VCENTER","resourceId":"c9ea####-####-####-####-af6400d5####","upgradeId":"####2c79-####-####-####-480aeda3####","upgradeStatus":"COMPLETED_WITH_FAILURE","upgradeError":{"errorType":"RECOVERABLE","stage":"VCENTER_UPGRADE_POST_UPGRADE_CONFIGURATION","errorCode":"com.vmware.vcf.error.runtime.move.target.vc.to.primary.az.in.stretched.env.failed","errorDescription":"com.vmware.vcf.error.runtime.move.target.vc.to.primary.az.in.stretched.env.failed","metadata":"Move
 the new vCenter vcenter-upgrade-target-appliance_UUID to primary AZ in stretch cluster environment manually. Contact GSS for assistance.\n Please retry the upgrade once the upgrade is available again.\nContact GSS for assistance, if the retry fails."
 
{
            "severity": "WARNING",
            "stage": "VCENTER_UPGRADE_POST_UPGRADE_TASKS",
            "timestamp": ####0059721##,
            "message": {
              "id": "vcenter.deployment.migration_upgrade.failed_to_change_vm_name",
              "defaultMessage": "Failed to change the name of VM with Instance UUID 5021####-bc##-58##-d3##-b4ad########## to ########.",
              "localizedMessage": "Failed to change the name of VM with Instance UUID 5021####-bc##-58##-d3##-b4ad########## to ########."
            },
            "originator": "VCENTER",
            "errorType": "RECOVERABLE",
            "remediationActions": [
              {
                "id": "vcenter.deployment.migration_upgrade.failed_to_change_vm_name.resolution",
                "defaultMessage": "After the upgrade, manually change the VM names of the source and the new vCenter to the desired values.",
                "localizedMessage": "After the upgrade, manually change the VM names of the source and the new vCenter to the desired values."
              }
            ],
            "referenceToken": "#######"

Environment

VCF 5.x

Cause

The issue is caused by a failure in the VCF upgrade workflow to decommission the source vCenter or rename the target appliance. This often stems from timing or synchronization errors during the VM renaming sub-task, even in non-stretched clusters.

Resolution

Prerequisites

• Verify that you have a current backup or snapshot of both the SDDC Manager and the newly deployed vCenter VM before proceeding.

• Follow these steps to synchronize the SDDC Manager inventory and finalize the upgrade:

  Step 1: Manually Rename the vCenter Virtual Machine

  1. Access the vSphere Client.
  2. Find the new vCenter VM (typically named vcenter-upgrade-target-appliance_UUID).
  3. Right-click the VM and choose Rename.
  4. Enter the original inventory name of the source vCenter (e.g., #######).

  Step 2: Restart the Upgrade in SDDC Manager

  1. Log in to the SDDC Manager user interface.
  2. Go to Lifecycle Management > Settings > Workload Management (or select the specific Workload Domain where the error occurred).
  3. Locate the failed vCenter upgrade entry.
  4. Select Retry.