Upgrade failure at CREATE DRAFT task - Error: Draft creation failed. Ensure that the draft has valid json.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• There are no precheck errors prior to initiating the upgrade
• The upgrade is initiated on VCF Operations UI > Build > Lifecycle > VCF Instances > sddc_fqdn > vcenter_fqdn > Upgrades tab
• The tasks START, PRECHECK, and UPLOAD PERSONALITY PROFILE are completed
• The upgrade fails on the next task CREATE DRAFT, with a red banner error:

ESX upgrade using vSphere Lifecycle Manager images failed. Error: Draft creation failed. Ensure that the draft has valid json.

• The entry below is observed in vCenter log - /var/log/vmware/vmware-updatemgr/vum-server/vmware-vum-server.log:

com. vmware.vcIntegrity.lifecycle.image.softwarespec.DownloadFailedInfo<Failed to download image. Error: curl_easy_perform() failed: cURL Error: Timeout was reached, Connection timed out after 60002 milliseconds. URL: https://sddc_fqdn/vaware/vcf/personalities/####-####-####-####-############/Content/ESX91EP2.json>

• Attempting from the vCenter to run a curl command against the SDDC Manager results in a failed response:

curl -k -v https://sddc_fqdn
CONNECT tunnel failed. response 503

Environment

VCF 9.1.0

Cause

Network communication issue between vCenter and SDDC Manager, potentially due to a proxy in use by the vCenter, while Upgrading Host Cluster of workload domain from 8.0.u3i to 9.1.0 in VCF 9.1.0.0.

Resolution

1. Resolve the network communication issue that exists between the vCenter and SDDC Manager.
2. Once the network communication issue is resolved, retry the upgrade.
3. The upgrade is now expected to succeed.