vcenter 5.5 windows to vcsa 6.0 migration fails with error to set environment variable UPGRADE_EXPORT_TIMEOUT

[prakash81]

current vc 5.5 on windows 2012 r2.

migration timesout after 60 min and fails to complete migration. error states to set env variable UPGRADE_EXPORT_TIMEOUT. where to set this is not mentioned anywhere.

import.json file states

{

    "status": "error",

    "info": [],

    "question": null,

    "progress_message": {

        "args": [

            "VMware vCenter Inventory Service"

        ],

        "id": "ur.upgrade.script.import.progress.text",

        "localized": "Importing VMware vCenter Inventory Service data...",

        "translatable": "Importing %(0)s data..."

    },

    "warning": [],

    "error": {

        "resolution": {

            "args": [

                "UPGRADE_EXPORT_TIMEOUT",

                "UPGRADE_IMPORT_TIMEOUT"

            ],

            "id": "ur.upgrade.execution.timedout.resolution",

            "localized": "To extend the default timeout, set environment variable UPGRADE_EXPORT_TIMEOUT for export upgrade operation, and UPGRADE_IMPORT_TIMEOUT respectively for import upgrade operation. The timeout is in minutes.",

            "translatable": "To extend the default timeout, set environment variable %(0)s for export upgrade operation, and %(1)s respectively for import upgrade operation. The timeout is in minutes."

        },

        "detail": [

            {

                "args": [

                    "VMware vCenter Inventory Service Import",

                    60,

                    60

                ],

                "id": "ur.upgrade.execution.timedout.text",

                "localized": "Upgrade execution timed out. Operation VMware vCenter Inventory Service Import was supposed to take only 60 minutes, but it is already running for 60 minutes.",

                "translatable": "Upgrade execution timed out. Operation %(0)s was supposed to take only %(1)s minutes, but it is already running for %(2)s minutes."

            }

        ],

        "componentKey": "upgrade_framework",

        "problemId": null

    },

    "progress": 24

}

[Finikiez]

As the error says you can try to increase timeout.

Or you can try to reset inventory service database before converting. However there are some cautions with resetting IS database. Read the following KB carefully VMware Knowledge Base

[msripada]

What is the vcenter database size? You can use this KB to find that and try to reduce or truncate events and tasks if they are too huge or taking huge space.

VMware Knowledge Base

Also as our community member suggested, you can try the inventory service db reset but pls go through the kb which has listed the impacts of doing them as well.

Thanks,

MS

[b2TUMAzDq · Accepted solution]

So we finally figured it out and someone online will greatly benefit from this! Some programmer at VMware did implement this, but not in the way you would think.

Upon the VCSA deploy tool deploying the new VM. Log in as soon as you can with the root to it to the temp ip address you've given it. Then navigate to and add these entries:

This is set in /etc/profile /etc/bash.bashrc

UPGRADE_EXPORT_TIMEOUT=480
UPGRADE_IMPORT_TIMEOUT=480

export UPGRADE_EXPORT_TIMEOUT
export UPGRADE_IMPORT_TIMEOUT

This is 480 min, you could make it longer I guess. Our environment was pretty much the configuration max. The biggest slowdown in the upgrade is the importing of port groups.. We had over 6000 of them, hence the issue. Vmware didn't provide a good answer and they kept saying we need to slim down the database, which we did very much.

We were using the CLI method or upgrade/migration, but I'm sure this works fine when using the GUI system also.