SCVMM 2008 and 2008 R2: Error When Trying to Update Virtual Server Host: 432

After you add a Virtual Server 2005 R2 Service Pack 1 host into SCVMM 2008 or SCVMM 2008 R2, it may show a status of “Needs Attention.”  Upon further investigation, the host reveals that the virtualization software needs to be updated.  When you attempt to update the Virtual Server software, you may get the following error:

Error (432)

Virtual Server installation was not successful on <ServerName>.

 (Unknown error (0x8007066a))

 Recommended Action
Verify that an incompatible version of Virtual Server is not already installed. If the error persists, restart <ServerName>, and then try the operation again.

Refresh may also fail following the update:

Error (12710)

VMM does not have appropriate permissions to access the WSMan resources on the <ServerName> server.

(Unknown error (0x80338105))

The Windows application event log can also show the following:

Log Name:      Application
Source:        MsiInstaller
Date:          <date>

Event ID:      1023
Task Category: None
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          SYSTEM
Computer:      <ServerName>

Description:

Product: Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 – Update ‘{D1FEE6C6-CECF-4928-B356-19592A319C0A}’ could not be installed. Error code 1642. Additional information is available in the log file C:\ProgramData\VMMLogs\vmmvssetup_1-7-2010_18-10-51.log.

Further investigation of the VMM setup log shows the following:

MSI (s) (F0:74) [18:10:51:594]: Windows Installer installed an update. Product Name: Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. Product Version: 1.1.623.0. Product Language: 1033. Update Name: {D1FEE6C6-CECF-4928-B356-19592A319C0A}. Installation success or error status: 1642.
MSI (s) (F0:74) [18:10:51:594]: Note: 1: 1708
MSI (s) (F0:74) [18:10:51:594]: Product: Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 -- Installation failed.
MSI (s) (F0:74) [18:10:51:595]: Windows Installer installed the product. Product Name: Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. Product Version: 1.1.623.0. Product Language: 1033. Installation success or error status: 1642.
MSI (s) (F0:74) [18:10:51:596]: Attempting to delete file C:\Windows\Installer\935a257c.msp
MSI (s) (F0:74) [18:10:51:600]: MainEngineThread is returning 1642
MSI (s) (F0:40) [18:10:51:600]: No System Restore sequence number for this installation.
The upgrade cannot be installed by the Windows Installer service because the program to be upgraded may be missing, or the upgrade may update a different version of the program. Verify that the program to be upgraded exists on your computer and that you have the correct upgrade.
C:\Windows\Installer\8582296.msi
MSI (c) (94:64) [18:10:51:604]: Decrementing counter to disable shutdown. If counter >= 0, shutdown will be denied.  Counter after decrement: -1
MSI (c) (94:64) [18:10:51:605]: MainEngineThread is returning 1642

This is caused by the installer not able to update the specific build of Virtual Server. In this particular case, the build/version of Virtual Server installed was 1.1.623.

Even a manual installation of the Virtual Server update will fail if the existing build is not one of the following:

• R2 SP1 General Release: 1.1.603
• Update for R2 SP1 released 5/15/2008: 1.1.629

The minimum update for SCVMM 2008 and SCVMM 2008 R2 needed to avoid the “Needs Attention” state for outdated virtualization software on Virtual Server 2005 hosts is:

KB 956124 Update released 9/24/2008: 1.1.653

You can resolve this issue in one of two ways:

1.) If the operating system on the host is running Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003 R2, you can remove the host from SCVMM, and then uninstall the Virtual Server software manually from the host. When you go to add the host back into SCVMM, it will deploy and update the virtualization software automatically.

2.) If the operating system on the host is running Windows Server 2008 and you are using Virtual Server 2005 as your virtualization software, you will need to remove the existing version of Virtual Server 2005 and install the Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 software manually. You can choose to update the version manually to 1.1.653 using the MSP file from KB 956124 or have the SCVMM console update the virtualization software from SCVMM after adding the host.