Updating Lenovo Servers with VUM: A Known Issue and Workaround

As a VMware administrator, I recently encountered an issue while attempting to update Lenovo servers using vSphere Update Manager (VUM). The update process failed with an error message indicating that the pending transaction requires more free space than the maximum supported size. This is a known issue specific to Lenovo servers, and it can be resolved by removing unnecessary VIBs from the host.

The Error Message

Here’s the error message I received:

“esxupdate: 31744883: BootBankInstaller.pyc: ERROR: The pending transaction requires 242 MB free space, however the maximum supported size is 239 MB.”

The Cause of the Issue

According to VMware KB article 2144200, the issue is caused by Lenovo servers having a large number of drivers installed, which exceeds the maximum supported size for updates. This results in the update process failing with the above error message.

The Workaround

To resolve this issue, we need to remove unnecessary VIBs from the host that are not needed. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Log onto the affected host using SSH.

2. Run the command “esxcli software vib list” to identify the VIBs installed on the host.

3. Once you have identified a driver that you want to remove, put the host in maintenance mode using the command “esxcli software vib remove -n “. Replace “” with the name of the VIB you want to remove.

4. After removing the unnecessary VIBs, you should be able to update the host using VUM without any issues.

In my case, I removed the qlogic nx2 driver, as I wasn’t using it on my Lenovo server.

Conclusion

Updating Lenovo servers with VUM can be a bit tricky due to the known issue with the maximum supported size for updates. However, by following the steps outlined above, you should be able to resolve this issue and successfully update your hosts. Remember to carefully identify the unnecessary VIBs and remove them before updating the host to avoid any further issues.