Error: "The URL for component package is not reachable" during VCF Automation deployment

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer

Issue/Introduction

A precheck failure occurs in VCF Installer, preventing the deployment of VCF Automation .. The component package URL is unreachable during the deployment process.

During the "Install Service Using Fleet lifecycle" subtask, the following error occurs:

• The Fleet lifecycle 'VSP component installation' task with ID ########-####-####-####-########## failed. Internal errors: Running Component Stage Prechecks. Status: Failed, URL Connectivity Check Precheck. Status: FAILED
  
  The URL for component package is not reachable: https://<VCFInstallerFQDN>/vmware/vcf/bundle/########-####-####-####-##########/########-####-####-####-##########/vcfa-bundle-9.1.0.####.########.tar. Please verify the URL and network connectivity. [VCFMS-PRECHECK-URL-001]. Please check the component package URL and try again. Check if there are any firewall rules that may block access to this URL. If the issue persists, contact support.

 

Environment

• VCF Installer 9.1.x.x
• VCF Automation 9.1.x.x

Cause

VCF Automation fails to deploy due to a certificate trust issue between the VCF Installer and the VCFA cluster. The VCF Installer used to deploy VCF Automation was not the original VCF Installer used to deploy the VCF environment; therefore, the certificate was not in the VMSP trust store and could not be added to the VCFA cluster.

Resolution

Add the VCF Installer certificate to the VCF Automation cluster to establish the necessary trust store relationship. Follow these steps in order:

1. SSH into the VCF Automation FQDN with the vmware-system-user account. (If the password is unknown, follow the steps in the documentation for resetting the vmware-system-user password for VCF Identity Broker & VCF Automation. See: Resetting the vmware-system-user password).

2. Run the following command to save the certificate from the VCF Installer:

   openssl s_client -showcerts -connect <VCFInstallerFQDN>:443 </dev/null 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -outform PEM > /home/vmware-system-user/vcfinstaller.pem

3. Download the attached vmsp-utility.py file from VMSP Utility.

4. Copy the file to the VCF Automation FQDN's /home/vmware-system-user directory using an scp utility, logging in with vmware-system-user.

5. In the SSH session, elevate to root:

   sudo -i

6. Change directories:

   cd /home/vmware-system-user

7. Run the script:

   python vmsp-utility.py

8. Select option 4. Add certificates into truststore.

9. Specify the path to the .pem file:

   /home/vmware-system-user/vcfinstaller.pem

10. Wait for the import task to complete, and then select option 6. Quit.

11. Go back to the VCF Installer and retry the deployment.