A vCenter Server upgrade can fail when the installer is unable to stop the Tomcat service.

Problem

If the vCenter Server installer cannot stop the Tomcat service during an upgrade, the upgrade fails with an error message similar to Unable to delete VC Tomcat service. This problem can occur even if you stop the Tomcat service manually before the upgrade, if some files that are used by the Tomcat process are locked.

Solution

  1. From the Windows Start menu, select Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
  2. Right-click VMware VirtualCenter Server and select Manual.
  3. Right-click VMware vCenter Management Webservices and select Manual.
  4. Reboot the vCenter Server machine before upgrading.
    This releases any locked files that are used by the Tomcat process, and enables the vCenter Server installer to stop the Tomcat service for the upgrade.

Solution

Alternatively, you can restart the vCenter Server machine and restart the upgrade process, but select the option not to overwrite the vCenter Server data.