Error: "Failed to export personality files from vCenter" when importing VMware ESX 9.1.0.0 image into Lifecycle Manager

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer

Issue/Introduction

• VMware Cloud Foundation(VCF) 9.0 to 9.1 upgrade process is halted during the VMware ESXi upgrade step.
• Import Image from vCenter fails within SDDC Manager and throws the error as below:
  

  The import task (Type=PERSONALITY_UPLOAD) fails with ERROR Message: Failed to export personality files from vCenter

• Restarting the SDDC manager and vCenter server does not resolve the issue.
• From vCenter /var/log/vmware/vmware-updatemgr/vum-server/vmware-vum-server.log,entries of the following type are seen:
  
  <Timestamp> ERROR vmware-vum-server #######[vc@#### sub="com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.ExportTask"] [Task, ###] Task:com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.ExportTask ID:########-####-####-####-############. Task Failed. Error: Error:
-->    com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.error
--> Messages:
-->    com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.depots.VibDownloadErrorInfo.Resolution<Retry the operation after performing Sync Updates if the VCF Depot is registered to the vCenter.>
-->    com.vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.depots.VibDownloadErrorInfo<Failed to download VIB(s): URL: https://<SDDC FQDN>/vmware/vcf/umds/patch-store/hostupdate/<vib name>.vib Error: HTTP Error Code: 404>

Environment

• VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1
• VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0

Cause

The PERSONALITY_UPLOAD task fails because restrictive proxy server settings prevent SDDC Manager from reaching the Online Software Depot. Consequently, required image components are missing from the local SDDC Manager UMDS patch store. When vCenter attempts to retrieve these VIBs from the SDDC Manager depot during the image export phase, the request fails with HTTP 404 errors because the files were never successfully downloaded and cached.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, ensure all required components are accessible in the SDDC Manager depot:

1. Ensure the necessary Broadcom and VMware URLs are whitelisted on your proxy server to allow the SDDC Manager to connect to the Online Software Depot. Refer to the Public URLs Required for Online Functionalities for VCF and vSphere Foundation documentation.
2. Synchronize Depot with the steps below: 
   • Navigate to Lifecycle Management > Depot Settings in the SDDC Manager UI.
   • Verify the connection status to the depot.
   • Perform a Sync Updates task to ensure the latest vendor add-ons, ESXi, and other required components are downloaded to the local patch store.
3. If the SDDC Manager does not have internet access, manually download the missing offline bundles and use the Offline Bundle Utility to upload them to the SDDC Manager depot.
4. Once the VIBs are confirmed present in the depot, retry the image upload task from the SDDC Manager UI.

Additional Information

Connect to an Online Depot for a VCF Instance

Connect to an Offline Depot for a VCF Instance 

"Extract Cluster Image" task fails with error "Failed to export personality files from vCenter" 

Connecting to an Online Depot for VCF Fleet Management fails with error