if you came across this post then you’ll probably had the problem that the vCenter installation became stuck around the 80%, with the text “Installing RPM This may take several minutes…”.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t take minutes but several hours until it figures out that it got an issue and it just stops. Like this screen:
After that, you won’t get a prompt to enroll the PSC, and if you open the console of the vm, you’ll see the following as well.
What this means is that you just got unlucky and that you most probably downloaded a bad ISO build. There are ways to fix this (you can patch the deployment), but honestly, it is much better to just download a different ISO build that doesn’t contain this issue and do the installation again. This way, you’re sure there are no weird or bad configuration issues that will stay behind, and you’re most probably also much quicker in finishing the deployment (on a normal way). VMware has covered this also in the following kb. https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/51124?docid=57387
According to the documentation, the root password had a 365day expiration date, but it keeps the build date as his point of time reference, not the initial time of the deployment. In the kb you can find the builds that are being affected with this issue. The build that I had that showed this issue was 6816762. Check the KB, so that you are sure you don’t have one of the problematic builds.
Ah well, at least you know now that it isn’t your fault, and that you can stop rechecking all your settings over and over again. Just like I did 😑😉.
P.S.
If you get this error:
Or This Error:
Then it means that you don’t have properly set up your DNS, or that it cannot reach it.
In my case, I configured the wrong DNS server during installation, and apparently that doesn’t work 😅. Only way to solve this, is to redeploy your appliance with the right IP settings. Other then that, if you forgot to create a DNS record before deployment, then you probably can still restore that, if the IP address of your DNS is correct, by rechecking the DNS during the Deployment of the PSC. And while we’re at it, selecting the wrong portgroup for the vm will give a similar effect.
So the sum it up, the following can ruin the deployment of your vCenter:
- Wrong Network settings or DNS configured incorrectly
- Wrong DNS server during deployement, no DNS record, wrong default Gateway
- Wrong Portgroup selected or DNS is just not accessible through the selected network
- Wrong ISO build
- Check the kb before Deployment.
Hope this helps 😉
Samir is the author of vSAM.Pro & a Life enthusiast who works as a consultant in the field of IT. With a great passion for Tech & Personal Development, he loves to help people with their problems, but also inspire them with a positive outlook on life.
Besides that, he is also a big Sport & Music junky that loves to spend a big chunk of his time on producing music or physically stretching himself.
Issue can be resolved by removing free VMware license from host. Make sure you have the trial license on, then trying the install once again.
Thank you for sharing😊
Thanks for that! License removed at the same time installation completed
Great to hear that the shared information of other people helped you with this issue. 🙂
Remove License ? I’m using the trial for a prod enviroment that i’m setting up.
I’ve tried to install VCSA 6.5 from different builds, from Windows Installer or OVA … All fail with different errors … I don’t get how the leader of virtualization had this messy software … is quiet insane pass 2 days trying to install a “solid” and “robust” system.
Thank you for any help.
Were you able to solve the issue? If not, what is the message that you are getting?
hi
I confirm that by removing the free icense and assigning a normal essentials one, it jumped from 80 to 99 per cent immediatly
Also if DRS is enabled and the VM got moved while VC was installing you get this issue.
Solution: Set DRS to partially automated.
Thank you, a good tip. Can understand that it can give you some issues when the vm is moved around. Thanks 😁
When I nslookup with vcsa FQDN (first ip to name and then name to ip) from DNS server then installation goes continue and successful. This worked for me
What worked for me after multiple failing installations, from OSX and Windows machines, where installation stuck at 80 percent.
You can install the Vmware Vcenter server, without a DNS server running
– Copy the installer ISO to a (windows) Virtual Machine, that already runs on the VM host server, that also will host the Vcenter Server (6.7 version in my case).
– Make sure the NTP service on that host is configured and started.
– Run the installer from that (windows) Virtual Machine on the VM host server.
– During the setup: For the FQDN fill the same IP as your Gateway (so you don’t need to have a DNS service running)
-For the rest follow the steps you find here:
https://www.tech-coffee.net/step-by-step-deploy-vcenter-server-appliance-vcsa-6-5/
thanks everyone, I was struggling with this issue for couple of days and removing the licence did the magic
excellent, it worked for me by removing the license from esxi host.