Error: PUBLIC_VSP_CLUSTER_BOOTSTRAP_FAILED_DETAILED during VCF Management Services cluster bootstrap

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• When deploying VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Management Services (VMSP), the deployment process fails during the bootstrap phase.

Symptoms:

• The VCF Operations UI displays the message: 

• A temporary Bootstrap virtual machine (VM) is successfully powered on and assigned an IP address, but the deployment stalls and eventually times out while waiting for the cluster to reach a "Ready" state.
  
  
• The /var/log/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/domainmanager.log file on the VCF Installer contains entries similar to the following:
  
  

  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS DEBUG [vcf_dm,6a622###############bd865b] [c.v.e.s.c.util.LocalProcessService,dm-exec-###] Executing the local command: /opt/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/tmp/vmsp_bootstrap_tool bootstrap cluster status -- props-file=/opt/vmware/vcf/domainmanager/tmp/vmsp.props.<ID>.tpl
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS DEBUG [vcf_dm,6a4###############bd5b] [c.v.e.s.c.util.LocalProcessService,dm-exec-###] Local command executed successfully with exit code 0
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS DEBUG [vcf_dm,6a34###############bdb] [c.v.e.s.c.util.LocalProcessService,dm-exec-###] Output: VM <bootstrap_vm_name> has IP: <bootstrap_vm_ip>
  {
  "id": "<task_id>",
  "type": "com.vmware.vcfms.task.Install,vcfmsComponent",
  "phase": "Failed",
  "status": "Failed",
  "createdBy": "vmware-system-user"
  }
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS ERROR [vcf_dm,6a12###############bd86] [c.v.e.s.o.model.error.ErrorFactory,dm-exec-###] [#####] PUBLIC_VSP_CLUSTER_BOOTSTRAP_FAILED_DETAILED VCF Management Services cluster bootstrap failed with the following errors:
  com.vmware.evo.sddc.orchestrator.exceptions.OrchTaskException: VCF Management Services cluster bootstrap failed with the following errors:
  at com.vmware.vcf.vimanager.services.VspserviceImpl.bootstrapVspcluster(VspserviceImpl.java:226)
  at com.vmware.vcf.vimanager.fsm.actions.BootstrapVspClusterAction.execute(BootstrapVspClusterAction.java:185)

Environment

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1.x
• VCF Operations 9.1.x
• VCF Management Services (VMSP)

Cause

The issue is caused by restricted network connectivity between the temporary Bootstrap VM and the management infrastructure.

The VMSP bootstrap process utilizes a temporary Bootstrap VM that acts as a mini-orchestrator. This VM must communicate with the vCenter Server to clone templates, create permanent Control Plane and Worker nodes, and configure networking. If firewall rules or Layer-3 boundaries block communication from the Bootstrap VM to the vCenter Server or VCF Installer, the orchestration fails despite the VM being powered on and assigned an IP.

Resolution

1. Verify Layer-3 Firewall Rules:
   
   
   1. If VMSP services are deployed on a non-management network, ensure explicit firewall rules permit traffic across the network boundary to the Management/vCenter segment.
      
      
   2. Restart the VCF Management Services deployment from the VCF Installer UI after confirming network and port access.
      
      
2. Additionally, ensure that the network ports between the VMSP components and the management network are open:
   
   
   1. Port 5480 (VMSP Agent health checks)
   2. Port 6443 (Kubernetes API access)
   3. Port 443 (HTTPS)