Update to vCenter 8.0 Update 3 fails with error "Destination path '/storage/analytics/stage/...' already exists"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to patch or update to vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3, the upgrade process may fail. Upon reviewing the /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/patchrunner.log file, you observe an error message similar to the following indicating that a directory path already exists:

Destination path '/storage/analytics/stage/XXXXXX_processed_logs' already exists

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3

Cause

Starting with vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3, the analytics service stores telemetry log files in a new directory. In rare circumstances—specifically, if previous update attempts had failed and were subsequently reverted—the attempt to copy the telemetry log files to their new location fails. This occurs because the destination files or directories were left behind from the prior, failed patching attempt.

Resolution

To resolve this issue and successfully complete the update, clear the leftover analytics stage and prod files from the VCSA appliance before retrying the patch.

Steps to resolve:

1. Connect to the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) via SSH and log in as the root user.

2. Enable the Bash shell (if not already enabled) by typing shell.

3. Take vCenter snapshot

4. Run the following commands to delete all files and subdirectories under the affected analytics directories:
   
   rm -rf /storage/log/vmware/analytics/stage/*
   rm -rf /storage/log/vmware/analytics/prod/*
   rm -rf /storage/analytics/stage/*
   rm -rf /storage/analytics/prod/*

5. Once the directories have been cleared, retry the vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3 patch installation.