Symptoms
vCenter services will fail to start as vPostgres service is in a stopped stateWhen try to start the service manually we get the following error trace :
Operation not cancellable. Please wait for it to finish...Performing start operation on service vmware-vpostgres...Error executing start on service vmware-vpostgres. Details { "detail": [ { "args": [ "vmware-vpostgres" ], "id": "install.ciscommon.service.failstart", "translatable": "An error occurred while starting service '%(0)s'", "localized": "An error occurred while starting service 'vmware-vpostgres'" } ], "componentKey": null, "resolution": null, "problemId": null}Service-control failed. Error: { "detail": [ { "args": [ "vmware-vpostgres" ], "id": "install.ciscommon.service.failstart", "translatable": "An error occurred while starting service '%(0)s'", "localized": "An error occurred while starting service 'vmware-vpostgres'" } ], "componentKey": null, "resolution": null, "problemId": null}
Cause
Checking the serverlog.stderr log we find the following:
Starting service process with pid: 17384.LOG: skipping missing configuration file "/storage/db/vpostgres/postgresql.conf.repl"LOG: skipping missing configuration file "/storage/db/vpostgres/postgresql.conf.repl"2019-11-21 14:52:54.932 UTC 5dd6a4c6.43e8 0 FATAL: lock file "/var/run/vpostgres/.s.PGSQL.5432.lock" is empty2019-11-21 14:52:54.932 UTC 5dd6a4c6.43e8 0 HINT: Either another server is starting, or the lock file is the remnant of a previous server startup crash.2019-11-21 14:52:54.932 UTC 5dd6a4c6.43e8 0 LOG: database system is shut down
The vPostgres Service is failing to start because the contents of ".s.PGSQL.5432.lock" database lock file are missing.
Impact / Risks
vCenter services including the vpxd won't start until and unless vPostgres service is running.
Resolution
Follow the below steps to solve this issue:1. Take a Snapshot of the vCenter Server Appliance virtual machine.2. Login to the Appliance shell via SSH.3. Got to this location : /var/run/vpostgres4. Locate the file named as .s.PGSQL.5432.lock5. Open the file in editor : vi .s.PGSQL.5432.lock6. Enter the following in the file:
21810/storage/db/vpostgres15742782935432/var/run/vpostgres.s.PGSQL.5432.lock (END)
7. Save the file and restart all the vCenter Services.
