> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://platform9.com/kb/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://platform9.com/kb/pcd/compute/missing-barbican-section-in-nova.conf-causes-host-upgrade-convergence-failure-during-pcd-upgrade.md).

# Missing \[barbican] Section in nova.conf Causes Host Upgrade Convergence Failure During PCD Upgrade

## Problem

One or more hosts fail to converge during a Private Cloud Director (PCD)  host upgrade and remain offline or stuck in a failed upgrade state in the Management Plane.

Observed symptoms may include:

* Host upgrade failure during reconciliation.
* Host shown offline/unreachable in the Management Plane.
* Upgrade unable to proceed for the affected node.
* Repeated `pf9-ostackhost:get_config failed: 'barbican'` errors in hostagent logs.
* Missing `[barbican]` section in `nova.conf`.

Example log entries in `/var/log/pf9/hostagent.log`:

```bash
pf9_app.py ERROR - pf9-ostackhost:get_config failed: 'barbican'session.py ERROR - Bad message, app config or reading current app config
```

## Environment

* Private Cloud Director Virtualization - v2025.4 and Higher
* Private Cloud Director Kubernetes – v2025.4 and Higher
* Self-Hosted Private Cloud Director Virtualization - v2025.4 and Higher
* Self-Hosted Private Cloud Director Kubernetes - v2025.4 and Higher

## Cause

This issue is caused by a reconciliation sequencing issue during the upgrade process.

During the upgrade, the reconciliation process fails before the `[barbican]` configuration section is written into the `nova.conf` file. As a result, the `pf9-ostackhost` application fails repeatedly during configuration reconciliation and the host does not converge successfully.

## Diagnostics

* Check hostagent logs for Barbican reconciliation failures

```shellscript
grep -i -C5 barbican /var/log/pf9/pf9-hostagent.log
```

Expected error:

```
pf9-ostackhost:get_config failed: 'barbican'
```

* Verify whether the `[barbican]` section exists

```
grep -C5 "\[barbican\]" /opt/pf9/etc/nova/conf.d/nova.conf
```

If no output is returned, the section is missing.

## Resolution

* Step 1: Copy the `[barbican]` section from a healthy node

From a healthy upgraded node, copy the complete `[barbican]` section from:

```bash
/opt/pf9/etc/nova/conf.d/nova.conf
```

Example:

```bash
[barbican]
barbican_region_name = [REGION_NAME]
auth_url = http://localhost:8158/keystone/v3
barbican_endpoint_type = admin
```

#### Step 2: Paste the `[barbican]` section into the affected node

Add the copied section into:

```bash
/opt/pf9/etc/nova/conf.d/nova.conf
```

#### Step 3: Verify whether the host converges automatically

Monitor the hostagent logs:

```bash
tail -f /var/log/pf9/pf9-hostagent.log
```

Check whether the host becomes healthy in the Management Plane.

#### Step 4: Restart services if the host does not converge automatically

Restart the following services on the affected host:

```bash
systemctl restart pf9-hostagent
systemctl restart pf9-ostackhost
```

#### Step 5: Verify host convergence

Confirm:

* Host becomes online in the Management Plane.
* Upgrade stage completes successfully.
* Reconciliation errors no longer appear in logs.

## Validation

Validate the following after remediation:

* Host status becomes healthy/online.
* Upgrade workflow completes successfully.
* `/var/log/pf9/hostagent.log` no longer reports:
  * `pf9-ostackhost:get_config failed: 'barbican'`
* `[barbican]` section exists in `nova.conf`.


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