vSphere HA configuration fails with error "Cannot install the vCenter Server agent service. Unknown installer error" due to missing boot.cfg in altbootbank partition.
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vSphere HA configuration fails with error "Cannot install the vCenter Server agent service. Unknown installer error" due to missing boot.cfg in altbootbank partition.

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Article ID: 448724

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

  • vSphere HA configuration on an ESXi host remains in an Uninitialized state.
  • The vCenter Server UI reports the error: Cannot install the vCenter Server agent service. Unknown installer error.
  • The esxupdate log contains the following warning indicating the host cannot stage the HA agent:

/var/log/esxupdate.log:

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss esxupdate: ####: BootBankInstaller.py: WARNING: Ignoring error when loading bootbank: Error in loading boot.cfg from bootbank /altbootbank: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/altbootbank/boot.cfg'

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 

Cause

Configuring vSphere HA requires pushing the Fault Domain Manager (FDM) agent to the ESXi host. This installation fails when the boot.cfg file is missing from the alternate bootbank (/altbootbank), which prevents the host from staging new VIBs. This is typically caused by filesystem corruption, or unexpected reboots during a previous patching cycle.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must restore the configuration file to the alternate bootbank and retry the HA configuration.

Restore the Alternate Boot Bank Partition

  1. Log in to the ESXi host via SSH as root
  2. Run the following command to copy the configuration file from the active boot bank to the alternate boot bank: cp /bootbank/boot.cfg /altbootbank/boot.cfg

Reconfigure vSphere HA

  1. Restart management agents on host: /etc/init.d/hostd restart && /etc/init.d/vpxa restart
  2. Disconnect and reconnect the host in the vCenter inventory.
  3. Right-click the host and select Reconfigure for vSphere HA.

Additional Information

If the vSphere HA configuration continues to fail after restoring the boot.cfg file, check the /var/log/esxupdate.log again for new errors.

If the log now reports a failure regarding a missing VIB (vmware.esximage.Errors.InstallationError: Upgrade VIB(s) "loadesx" is required for the transaction), the host's image profile metadata is inconsistent. To resolve this secondary issue, refer to: KB 453943

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