Error: "Unable to retrieve the VMDir state of the vCenter" during vCenter Server 8.x patching

Products

• VMware vCenter Server 8.0
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Patching vCenter Server via the appliance management interface (VAMI) fails during the pre-check phase.
  
  
• The VAMI displays the following warning regarding the VMDir state:
  
  Error: Unable to retrieve the VMDir state of the vCenter.
Resolution: Make sure VMDir state is normal before continuing.

• The /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/update_microservice.log in vCenter Server records the following output:

"text": {
    "id": "vmdir.collect_requirements.vmdirsinglevcerror.text",
    "translatable": "Unable to retrieve the VMDir state of the vCenter.",
    "localized": "Unable to retrieve the VMDir state of the vCenter."
},
"resolution": {
    "id": "vmdir.collect_requirements.vmdirsinglevcbasicerror.resolution",
    "translatable": "Make sure VMDir state is normal before continuing.",
    "localized": "Make sure VMDir state is normal before continuing."
}

• Running /usr/lib/vmware-vmdir/bin/vdcadmintool (Option 6) in the vCenter Server SSH session confirms the VMDir state is NORMAL.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

The vCenter Server Machine Account password is out of sync. This desynchronization prevents the VAMI upgrade framework from authenticating locally to verify the VMDir state, which causes the pre-check to fail.

Resolution

Reset the vCenter Server machine account password to allow the directory to authenticate successfully.

1. Execute the built-in reset_machine_pw.sh script by following the instructions in vCenter upgrade fail | Encountered an internal error. see /var/log/firstboot/vmafd-firstboot.py_#####_stderr.log.
2. Restart all vCenter Server services using the command (service-control --stop --all && service-control --start --all) to apply the new password.
3. Retry the vCenter Server upgrade.