vCenter Server 8.x Patching Pre-Check Fails with Error "Unable to retrieve the VMDir state of the vCenter"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server 8.0
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to patch vCenter Server via the appliance management interface (VAMI), the pre-check fails.

The interface displays the following warning:

Error: Unable to retrieve the VMDir state of the vCenter.
Resolution: Make sure VMDir state is normal before continuing.

Example:


The /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/update_microservice.log 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 SSH session, confirms the VMDir state is NORMAL.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0.3

Cause

This issue occurs because the vCenter Server's Machine Account password is out of sync.
This prevents the VAMI upgrade framework from authenticating locally to verify the directory state, causing the pre-check to fail.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must reset the vCenter Server machine account password so the directory can successfully authenticate.

1. Follow the steps outlined in Broadcom KB article vCenter upgrade fail | Encountered an internal error. see /var/log/firstboot/vmafd-firstboot.py_#####_stderr.log to execute the built-in reset_machine_pw.sh script.
2. Once the script completes successfully, restart all vCenter Server services to apply the new password and restore the directory to a normal state.
3. Retry the vCenter Server upgrade.