VMware Cloud Director - Data Solutions Extension (DSE) Kubernetes Operator remains in "Pending" status during upgrade

Products

• VMware Cloud Director

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to upgrade the VMware Cloud Director Data Solutions Extension (DSE) across major release branches (for example, from version 1.2 to 1.6), the Kubernetes Operator fails to complete deployment.

Symptoms:

• Navigating to the VCD tenant portal under Data Solutions > Kubernetes Operator shows the operator status stuck persistently in Pending.
• The operator does not transition to a Ready or Healthy state.

Environment

Data Solutions Extension 1.6.2

VMware Cloud Director 10.6.1

Cause

• This issue occurs during VCD Data Solutions Extension upgrade across major release branches (specifically from version 1.2 to 1.6) without updating the underlying container registry configurations.
• The deployment fails to progress because the legacy container registry (registry.tanzu.vmware.com) used in DSE 1.2 has been decommissioned. Since this endpoint is no longer accessible, the Kubernetes cluster cannot pull the necessary operator images or data solution packages, causing the deployment to remain in a persistent "Pending" state.

Resolution

Step 1: Verify CSE Cluster Functional Health

Before modifying Data Solutions settings, ensure that the underlying VMware Cloud Director Container Service Extension (CSE) Kubernetes clusters are healthy and responsive:

1. Download the target cluster's kubeconfig file from the VCD tenant portal.

2. Run a baseline cluster communication check via the Kubernetes CLI:

   kubectl --kubeconfig <your-cluster-name>.kubeconfig get ns
   

3. Ensure the command successfully returns the list of namespaces without connection timeouts or API errors.

Step 2: Update Container Registry Endpoints in DSE UI

Navigate to the Container Registries page within the Data Solutions Extension (DSE) UI and replace the decommissioned registry.tanzu.vmware.com entry with the active Broadcom package registries for your respective services:

• Tanzu MySQL: tanzu-mysql.packages.broadcom.com

• Tanzu Postgres: tanzu-sql-postgres.packages.broadcom.com

• Tanzu RabbitMQ: rabbitmq-kubernetes.packages.broadcom.com

Step 3: Upgrade The Data Solutions Operator 

Once the new registries and authentication credentials are saved:

1. Navigate to the repository configuration and ensure the VCD Data Solutions Operator version is set to the default updated target: 1.6.2.

2. Go to Data Solutions > Kubernetes Operator.

3. Click the SET UPGRADE POLICY button.

4. Enter 1.6.2 as the target version and apply the changes.

5. Monitor the operator status until it successfully pulls the new images from the Broadcom registry and transitions from "Pending" to "Ready".