• Installing or upgrading vCenter Server 5.x to vCenter Server 6.0 using an external Platform Services Controller (PSC) fails with the error:
  
  install.vmafd.join_vmdir_failed
  ERROR: 1, join vmdir failed
   
• In the C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\logs\firstboot\vmafd-firstboot.py_ xxxx_stdout.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> Setting domain name vsphere.local
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> Setting domain controller name PSC_FQDN
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> Setting PNID VCENTER_FQDN
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> Setting CA Path C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\data\certs
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> Running command: [u'C:\\Program Files\\VMware\\vCenter Server\\vmafdd\\vmafd-cli', 'join-vmdir', '--server-name', 'PSC_FQDN</time></time></time></time></time>', '--user-name', 'Administrator', '--machine-name', 'VCENTER_FQDN', '--domain-name', 'vsphere.local']
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> VMAFD Boot failed</time>
   
• In the C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\logs\firstboot\vmafd-firstboot.py_ xxxx_stderr.log file, You see entries similar to:
  
  C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\firstboot\identityinstall\vmafdInstall.py:35: RuntimeWarning: to-Python converter for struct client already registered; second conversion method ignored. import vmafd
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> AFD Join Domain Failed
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> password: Error 19: Possible errors:
  LDAP error: Constraint violation
  Win Error: The media is write protected.
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time> Exception: Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\firstboot\vmafd-firstboot.py", line 112, in main
  controller.client_mode()File "C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\firstboot\vmafd-firstboot.py", line 75, in client_mode service.client_mode()File "C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\firstboot\identityinstall\vmafdInstall.py", line 684, in client_mode self.join_domain()
  File "C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\firstboot\identityinstall\vmafdInstall.py", line 381, in join_domain problemId = "install.vmafd.join_vmdir_failed")
  BaseInstallException: {
  "resolution": {
  "id": "install.vmafd.join_vmdir_failed.resolution",
  "localized": "Please search of these symptoms in the VMware Knowledge Base for any known issues and possible workarounds. If none can be found, please collect a support bundle and open a support request.",
  "translatable": "Please search of these symptoms in the VMware Knowledge Base for any known issues and possible workarounds. If none can be found, please collect a support bundle and open a support request."
  },
  "detail": [
  {
  "args": [
  1
  ],
  "id": "install.vmafd.join_vmdir_failed",
  "localized": "ERROR: 1, join vmdir failed",
  "translatable": "ERROR: %(0)d, join vmdir failed"
  }
  ],
  "componentKey": "vmafd",
  "problemId": "install.vmafd.join_vmdir_failed"
  }
  </time></time></time>
• In the C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\logs\vmdird\vmafdvmdirclient.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>:t@9484512:ERROR: VmDirLdapSetupComputerAccount (cn=VCENTER_FQDN,ou=Computers,dc=vsphere,dc=local) failed with error (19)
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>:t@9484512:ERROR: VmDirClientJoin failed. Error(19)
  
  
  </time></time>

Process to clean the stale data from the Platform Service Controller: