VMware Aria Automation patch upgrade hangs at "Wait for execution of VMware Aria Automation upgrade" and eventually times out

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• When patching VMware Aria Automation to version 8.18.1 Update 5, the process hangs in Fleet Manager at the "Wait for execution of VMware Aria Automation upgrade" step. The upgrade eventually times out after 4 hours.
• Running the patch verification command indicates that all patches are technically installed:
  
  vracli version patch 
  
  
• Checking the upgrade status shows that the deployment process is still active but stalled:
  
  Configuring upgrade.
Upgrade is in progress. This might take more than an hour to complete and the system might be rebooted several times.
  
  
• Checking the cluster pod status with below command shows that the "prelude" namespace is missing or several Kubernetes pods are stuck in a "Pending" state:
  
  kubectl get pods -A
  
  
• Checking disk utilization with the following command reveals that the /dev/sdd(/home) partition is critical (over 90% utilization):
  
  vracli disk-mgr

Environment

VMware Aria Automation 8.18.x

Cause

The /dev/sdd (/home) partition is low on free space (over 90% utilization). This storage constraint prevents Kubernetes from successfully scheduling and initializing the required pods, causing the patching process to stall and eventually time out.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must free up space on the /home partition so the pods can initialize and complete the upgrade.

1. Log in to the Aria Automation appliance via SSH as root.
2. Identify large or unnecessary files (such as old log bundles, temporary files, or unneeded backups) stored under the /home directory.
3. Safely remove or transfer the non-required files to free up disk space.
4. Verify that the utilization of the /home partition has dropped below 90% threshold with vracli disk-mgr.
5. Once sufficient space is available, the Kubernetes pods should automatically transition from Pending to Running, allowing the upgrade process to self-heal and complete.
   If necessary, retry the upgrade or restart the appliance with: /opt/scripts/deploy.sh.