patch vceter from 7.0.3.02000 to 7.0.3.02200 failing with error RPMs failed

[vijay kumar]

error:

    WHERE _name = ? } with parameters ('VMware-vpxd-7.0.3.02200-14372979.x86_64.rpm',)
2024-11-25 08:34:34,743 - 127339 -            functions::                     runScript: 197 -     INFO - Executing script [/storage/updatemgr/software-updatei58l09zj/stage/pre-VMware-vpxd-7.0.3.02200-14372979.x86_64.rpm.sh]
2024-11-25 08:34:34,743 - 127339 -            functions::                     runScript: 198 -     INFO - Executing command [['/usr/bin/bash', '--login', '-c', "/usr/bin/bash -x '/storage/updatemgr/software-updatei58l09zj/stage/pre-VMware-vpxd-7.0.3.02200-14372979.x86_64.rpm.sh' '2' 2>&1"]]
2024-11-25 08:34:34,743 - 127339 -            functions::                    runCommand:  48 -    DEBUG - Invoking command [/usr/bin/bash --login -c /usr/bin/bash -x '/storage/updatemgr/software-updatei58l09zj/stage/pre-VMware-vpxd-7.0.3.02200-14372979.x86_64.rpm.sh' '2' 2>&1]
2024-11-25 08:34:35,010 - 127339 -            functions::                    runCommand:  69 -    ERROR - Command failed to execute. Return code 1
2024-11-25 08:34:35,011 - 127339 -            functions::                    runCommand:  71 -    ERROR - Exception: return code [1], stdout [+ /usr/sbin/groupadd -f -g 59010 vcdbusers
+ /usr/bin/getent passwd vpxd
+ '[' 0 -eq 2 ']'
+ /usr/sbin/usermod.bk -a -G vcdbusers vpxd
usermod.bk: cannot open /etc/passwd
usermod.bk: failed to unlock /etc/passwd
], stderr []
2024-11-25 08:34:35,011 - 127339 -          dbfunctions::                    executeDML:  54 -    DEBUG - Executing Query {UPDATE meta SET         _prescriptendtime = DATETIME('now'), _statusid = 190         WHERE _name = ? } with parameters ('VMware-vpxd-7.0.3.02200-14372979.x86_64.rpm',)
2024-11-25 08:34:35,013 - 127339 -         rpmfunctions::              executeRpmScript: 387 -    ERROR - Exception: Execution of RPM script failed.
2024-11-25 08:34:35,014 - 127339 -         rpmfunctions::            installPendingRpms: 464 -    ERROR - Pre script execution of RPM failed
2024-11-25 08:34:35,014 - 127339 -           update_b2b::  executeScriptsAndInstallRpms:2142 -    ERROR - Install of one or more RPMs failed. Halting patching
2024-11-25 08:34:35,014 - 127339 -           update_b2b::  executeScriptsAndInstallRpms:2143 -    ERROR - Pre script failed for VMware-vpxd-7.0.3.02200-14372979.x86_64.rpm.
2024-11-25 08:34:35,014 - 127339 -         task_manager::                        update:  80 -    DEBUG - UpdateTask: status=RESUMABLE, progress=75, message={'id': 'com.vmware.appliance.plain_message', 'default_message': '%s', 'args': ['Installation of one or more RPMs failed']}
2024-11-25 08:34:35,017 - 127339 -           update_b2b::                   installRpms:2387 -    ERROR - Installation of one or more RPMs failed. Patching cannot proceed
2024-11-25 08:34:35,018 - 127339 -           update_b2b::                   installRpms:2388 -    ERROR - Pre script failed for VMware-vpxd-7.0.3.02200-14372979.x86_64.rpm.
2024-11-25 08:34:35,018 - 127339 -          dbfunctions::                    executeDML:  54 -    DEBUG - Executing Query {INSERT INTO progress VALUES(NULL, ?,         DATETIME('now'), ?, ?, ?)} with parameters ('failed', 'Installation of one or more RPMs failed. Patching cannot proceed. Installation failed', 100, 95)
2024-11-25 08:34:35,019 - 127339 -           update_b2b::                       install:2674 -    ERROR - Installation of RPMs phase failed.
2024-11-25 08:34:35,019 - 127339 -          dbfunctions::                    executeDML:  54 -    DEBUG - Executing Query {SELECT _value from config where _config = ?} with parameters ('failed-state',)
2024-11-25 08:34:35,020 - 127339 -          dbfunctions::                    executeDML:  54 -    DEBUG - Executing Query {SELECT _value from config where _config = ?} with parameters ('failed-state',)
2024-11-25 08:34:35,020 - 127339 -          dbfunctions::                    executeDML:  54 -    DEBUG - Executing Query {INSERT INTO config (_config, _value) VALUES (?, ?)} with parameters ('failed-state', 30)

[Andrea Consalvi]

Hey,

Looks like the upgrade is getting stuck on RPM package installation failures, and from the logs, it seems like it's having trouble modifying system users. The key part is:

usermod: bk: cannot open /etc/passwd
userdel: failed to unlock /etc/passwd 

That usually means there's either a permissions issue, a locked file, or a filesystem problem preventing modifications.

First thing I’d check is disk space, because if / or /var is full, RPM installations can fail. Run:

df -h 

If any partition is at 100%, that’s likely the problem.

If disk space looks fine, it might be a file system issue. You could try booting into single-user mode and running:

fsck -y / 

Just to rule out any corruption.

Another thing that sometimes helps is manually unlocking /etc/passwd if it got stuck mid-process:

lsattr /etc/passwd
chattr -i /etc/passwd 

Then retry the upgrade.