NVP: vProxy operations fail: "Unable to find identity (MORef) of vProxy's virtual machine"

Summary: NetWorker VMware Protection (NVP) Virtual Machine (VM) backups fail with an error message "Backup has FAILED: Unable to find the identity (MORef) of vProxy's virtual machine: Unable to determine network interface" ...

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Symptoms

The NetWorker VMware Protection integration is configured with the vProxy Appliance. The vProxy was successfully registered in the NetWorker Management Console (NMC), but all the backup sessions fail against the vProxy. The backup session log shows:

ERROR:  [189] Unable to find identity (MORef) of vProxy's virtual machine: Unable to query network interfaces

Cause

The vProxy hostname does not match the name registered on the NetWorker server. For example, the vProxy hostname is "nodename.mydomain," but the NMC registration and Domain Name System (DNS) resolution show "vproxyDNSname.mydomain."

Resolution

Check the names of the NVP vProxies registered in the NetWorker server. This can be done within the NetWorker Management Console (NMC), NetWorker Web User Interface (NWUI), or nsradmin prompt on the NetWorker server:

[root@nsr ~]# nsradmin
NetWorker administration program.
Use the "help" command for help, "visual" for full-screen mode.
nsradmin> show name
nsradmin> print type: nsr vmware proxy
                        name: nsr-vproxy02.amer.lan;

                        name: nsr-vproxy01.amer.lan;

                        name: nsr-vproxy03.amer.lan;
nsradmin>

Ensure that the name used to register the vProxy correctly resolves in DNS. Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), short name alias, and IP address must all resolve correctly:

nslookup FQDN
nslookup SHORT_NAME
nslookup IP_address

Check the NetWorker server, vCenter server, and vProxy local hosts files for any incorrect address specifications:

Linux: /etc/hosts
Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts


Correct any forward and reverse DNS look up failures in the datazone. Ensure to always use the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) when configuring the NetWorker datazone.

NetWorker: Name Resolution Troubleshooting Best Practices

The information is documented in the "Configuration checklist" section of the Dell NetWorker VMware Integration Guide.  

Additional Information

If the above resolution does not apply, see the following articles which may apply to the error observed:

Affected Products

NetWorker

Products

NetWorker Family, NetWorker Series
Article Properties
Article Number: 000050135
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 22 Oct 2025
Version:  5
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