Unable to download latest ESX patches using VMware Update Manager

Error:

  • VMware Update Manager fails to download the latest patches
  • You receive the following message when the Scheduled Task is set to run at a time rounded off to an hour:

    Unable to download latest ESX patches using VMware Update Manager
  • The logs contain the following snippet:

    [2009-02-03 12:02:22:368 'HostUpdateMetadataMgr' 2688 INFO] [hostUpdateMetadataMgr, 753] save meta data to: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Update Manager\Data\\hostupdate\update_metadata.xml
    [2009-02-03 12:02:22:384 'VciSigUpdateTask.SigUpdateTask{5}' 2688 INFO] [vciSigUpdateTask, 442] No new host updates.

Solution:
Workaround

Re-configure the Update Manager Scheduled Task to some random time which is not within 5-10 minutes of an given hour to avoid the hourly request spike. For example, configure Update Manager Scheduled Task to 1:17, or 2:48 — instead of 1:00 or 3:00.
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