Error "Failed Adapter install failed" after step 11 of 14 when installing SNMP Management Pack

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to upgrade the VMware Aria Operations for SNMP management pack (typically to version 3.3.x or later), the installation fails.
The collector.log or analytics.log reveals an error similar to the following:
text

ERROR [DistTaskDistributedTaskDescribe] com.vmware.vcops.controller.data.utils.AdapterDescribeManager.describeAdapters - Describe failed java.lang.RuntimeException: **Describe would remove resources, so we are failing to describe. Problematic resource kind is SNMPAdapter:xxxx.mib. Please mark this kind as deleted to remove with the child resource or repair the adapter and try again!**

Additionally, the pakManager/vcopsPakManager.root.post_apply_adapter.log may show:
text

ERROR [35297] - vcopsPakManager.HandleError:630 - Exiting with exit code: 1, message: The solution file: /storage/db/casa/pak/dist_pak_files/VA_LINUX/SNMPManagementPack-xxxx.pak failed to install

Environment

Aria Operation: 8.18.x

Cause

This issue occurs due to a safety mechanism in Aria Operations designed to prevent accidental data loss during management pack upgrades or redescribes.
If the new version of the management pack (specifically its describe.xml) no longer defines a ResourceKind that currently exists in the inventory with active resources (in this case, xxxx.mib), the describe process immediately aborts to avoid implicitly deleting those resources.
Simply deleting the physical .mib files from the filesystem is insufficient because the metadata and resource objects still exist in the Aria Operations database.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, the problematic resources must be manually purged from the inventory before re-attempting the upgrade.

Prerequisites

• Take a snapshot of the Aria Operations cluster (without memory) before performing these steps.

  How to take a Snapshot of a cluster

Procedure

• Clean up Inventory Resources:
  • Log in to the Aria Operations product UI.
  • Navigate to Environment > Inventory (or Operations > Inventory depending on version).
  • Search for the problematic ResourceKind identified in the error log (e.g., xxxx.mib).
  • Select and Delete all existing resource objects associated with this kind.
• Purge MIB from Adapter Instance:
  • Navigate to Data Sources > Integrations (formerly Administration > Solutions).
  • Edit the SNMP Adapter instance.
  • Ensure the problematic MIB is no longer selected or attached in the configuration.
  • Validate the connection and click Save.
    
    
• Perform Redescribe:
  
  • Navigate to Administration > Global Settings.
  • Click the Redescribe button.
  • Monitor the task; it should now complete successfully because the system is no longer protecting non-existent resources.
    
    
• Retry Management Pack Upgrade:
  
  • Once the Redescribe is successful, navigate back to the Repository tab.
  • Re-attempt the installation/upgrade of the SNMP Management Pack.