Error: An error occurred in task "Deploy vCenter Appliance". See Tasks panel to learn more.

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer
• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

During a greenfield deployment of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1, the deployment process fails during the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) deployment phase at step 12/13.

Observed Symptoms:

• VCF Installer UI: The deployment halts at Step 12/13 with the error: An error occurred in task "Deploy vCenter Appliance". See Tasks panel to learn more.
  
  
• Tasks Panel: The Deploy vCenter Appliance task shows a Failed status with the message: vCenter installation failed. Check logs under /var/log/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/ci-installer-<timestamp>/ for more details.


• Log Details: In the file /var/log/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/ci-installer-<timestamp>/workflow_<id>/vcsa-cli-installer.log, the final entries indicate a failure during vSAN health checks:
  
  - vCSACliInstallLogger - INFO - [START] Start executing Task: Running vSAN Cluster Health Checks. at 17:17:59
- vCSACliInstallLogger - DEBUG - Getting the vSAN HCL DB's last updated time...

Environment

• VCF 9.1.0.x
• VCF Installer 9.1.0.x

Cause

The VCF Installer Online Depot proxy configuration is not utilized by the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) CLI installer.

The VCSA CLI installer attempts to connect directly to eapi.broadcom.com to retrieve the latest vSAN Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) database. In environments where outbound traffic is restricted to a proxy, the direct connection attempt is blocked by the network firewall, leading to a timeout and deployment failure.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, permit the VCF Installer IP address direct outbound access to the required Broadcom endpoints on port 443.

1. Identify the VCF Installer IP: Note the management IP address assigned to the VCF Installer appliance.
   
   
2. Update Firewall Rules: Configure the network firewall to allow direct outbound traffic (bypassing the proxy) from the VCF Installer IP to the following endpoint: eapi.broadcom.com (Port 443).
   
   
3. Verify Connectivity: Log in to the VCF Installer console via SSH and verify direct connectivity using the following command:
   
   curl -v https://eapi.broadcom.com

Note: Ensure the command is run without environment proxy variables set.

4. Retry Deployment: Once connectivity is confirmed, return to the VCF Installer UI and retry the Deploy vCenter Appliance task.

Additional Information

• For a full list of required public URLs that must be accessible during a VCF deployment, refer to the Broadcom Technical Documentation: Public URLs Required for Online Functionalities for VCF and vSphere Foundation
  
  
• How to subscribe to Broadcom Knowledge Base articles
  
  
• To speak with a Support Engineer, see Contact Support.