lookupsvc service on vCenter Server fails to start due to empty /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql file

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• vCenter Server services are unable to start 
• postgresql service is running 
• lookupsvc logs show: 
  Failure to register SyncaaS tables in postgressql
• Unable to open the PostgreSQL database with: 
  /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -d VCDB -U postgres
• The /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql file is 0 bytes 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.x 

Cause

lookupsvc service is unable to start as it is unable to query the PostgreSQL database due to broken psql binary file 

Resolution

Option 1:

• Restore from last working backup/snapshot 

Option 2:

• Copy the /opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql file from a working vCenter Server appliance of the same version via WinSCP 
• Ensure the same -rwxr-xr-x permissions are applied to root:root on the file