Error: DepotConnectionFailureException when downloading large bundles from VCF Operations.

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

•  Attempts to download large upgrade/install bundles (e.g., vCenter Server or VCF Automation) through the VCF operations fail. This specifically impacts files exceeding 8GB–10GB.
  
  
• The following error is displayed on the VCF Operations UI:
  
  Your download failed due to a ConnectionClosedException: Premature end of Content-Length-delimited message body (expected: #####; received: 0). Please retry the download.
  
  
• Testing smaller bundles download successfully without any issues.
  
  
• /var/log/vmware/vcf/lcm/lcm-debug.log:

yyyy-dd-mmThh:mm:ss ERROR [vcf_lcm,bundleId=####-####-####] [c.v.e.s.l.b.d.d.DepotBundleDownloadServiceImpl,Bundle-Downloader-3] Maximum number of retries without change (3) reached while downloading file: /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/bundle/depot/local/bundles/bundleID-####-####/bundleID-####-####/vcfa-bundle-9.1.0.0.25370929.tar
org.apache.hc.core5.http.ConnectionClosedException: Premature end of Content-Length delimited message body (expected: #######; received: 0)
        at org.apache.hc.core5.http.impl.io.ContentLengthInputStream.read(ContentLengthInputStream.java:178)
        at org.apache.hc.core5.http.io.EofSensorInputStream.read(EofSensorInputStream.java:138)
        at org.apache.hc.core5.http.io.EofSensorInputStream.read(EofSensorInputStream.java:151)
        at com.vmware.evo.sddc.lcm.bundle.download.depot.DepotDownloader.lambda$downloadFile$1(DepotDownloader.java:497)
       

 

 

 

Environment

VCF 9.1

Cause

This issue occurs due to network restrictions enforced by a forward proxy, firewall, or ISP intermediary on the SDDC Manager network segment. Specifically:

• Timeout Restrictions: The local proxy service has strict Read Timeout or Request Timeout thresholds. If a large download takes longer than the allowed threshold (e.g., 100–120 seconds), the proxy forcefully drops the connection.

• File Size Limits: Network inspection tools or proxies often enforce a maximum file size limit (commonly set at 8GB or 10GB), terminating the transfer midway.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must either adjust the environmental proxy settings or bypass the UI limitation by utilizing the VCF Download Tool from an unrestricted machine.

Option 1: Adjust Proxy / Network Configurations

1. Engage your network or security team to review the proxy or firewall logs for traffic originating from the SDDC Manager appliance.

2. Increase the Read Timeout and Request Timeout values for connections to the Broadcom download depots.

3. Remove or increase any Maximum File Size download restrictions (e.g., 10GB+) on the proxy for the affected network segment.

Option 2: Use the VCF Download Tool (Offline Method)

If proxy configurations cannot be modified immediately, you can download the required bundle to a system without network restrictions, then upload it manually to SDDC Manager - VCF Download Tool Command Reference Information