NSX Edge upgrade to version 4.2.4 fails during OS download with "[MUS] InvalidArgsError"

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

During an attempted upgrade of NSX Edge nodes, the upgrade process may halt, and the Edge OS download task fails on the transport node.

When reviewing the upgrade agent logs, the download_os task explicitly shows a CMD_ERROR accompanied by a detailed stack trace indicating that communication with the Edge upgrade agent was interrupted. Administrators will observe protobuf errors citing communication errors and timeouts attempting to reach the repository, specifically:

• [MUS] InvalidArgsError: Arg communications is invalid...

• Arg timed is invalid... out/repository...

Environment

VMware NSX 4.x

Cause

This issue occurs if the Edge node upgrade is initiated too quickly following a recent system reboot (for example, a reboot performed to address a prior, unrelated problem).

The NSX upgrade agent and related communication daemons require time to fully start up and stabilize after a reboot. Because the upgrade task is pushed while the Edge is still initializing its core service stack, the management plane encounters communication timeouts with the node. This interruption prevents the payload from being improperly parsed, resulting in the malformed InvalidArgsError protobuf response.

Resolution

To resolve and prevent this issue, allow a settling period of 5 to 10 minutes following an Edge node reboot before initiating the upgrade process.

1. If the upgrade has already failed, acknowledge/clear the error in the upgrade coordinator.

2. Verify the Edge node is powered on and accessible.

3. Wait for 5 to 10 minutes from the time the Edge node finished booting.

4. Retry the Edge node upgrade.

Additional Information

Implementing a 5 to 10-minute wait time after a reboot ensures that all essential Edge services, daemons, and communication agents are completely initialized. Once these services are fully recovered, the management plane can successfully push the payload, allowing the OS download and subsequent upgrade tasks to complete without communication timeouts.