Avamar: Resolve 'Reached the Maximum Number' Error in Instant Access Restore

Summary: Instant Access (IA) restore fails with "Reached the maximum number of instant access sessions that are allowed on the Data Domain system."

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Symptoms

Instant Access (IA) restore job does not complete with error:

Reached the maximum number of instant access sessions that are allowed on a Data Domain system.

Cause

The Data Domain object in Avamar only has "1" stream that is configured for Instant Access.

Resolution

  1. Verify the Data Domain version. If the Data Domain version is before 6.0, then only one Instant Access stream is allowed. Otherwise, Instant Access streams can be set up to 32.
  2. Log in to the Avamar server as admin and run:
ddrmaint read-ddr-info --format=full
admin@av-server:~/>: ddrmaint read-ddr-info --format=full
====================== Read-DDR-Info ======================
 System name        : dd-server
 System ID          : 63719A6C285F1AF9379190F02BD5EF48CC1A2458
 DDBoost user       : ddboost
 System index       : 1
 Replication        : True
 CP Backup          : True
 Model number       : DD VE Version 5.0
 Serialno           : AUDVXNR73ESKXR
 DDOS version       : 7.2.0.95-692608
 System attached    : 2023-07-17 14:50:03 (1689605403)
 System max streams : 20
 RL Mode            : -1
 RL Status          : -1
admin@av-server:~/>:
  1. Verify the Instant Access Limit flag values:
mccli dd show-prop --xml | grep InstantAccessLimit
admin@av-server:~/>: mccli dd show-prop --xml | grep InstantAccessLimit
      <InstantAccessLimit>10</InstantAccessLimit>
admin@av-server:~/>:
  1. Verify that Instant Access restore is allowed in mcserver.xml:
grep "ddr_instant_access_enabled" /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml
admin@av-server:~/>: grep "ddr_instant_access_enabled" /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml              
              <entry key="ddr_instant_access_enabled" value="true" />
admin@av-server:~/>:
  1. Verify that the Instant Access limit modification is allowed in mcserver.xml:
grep "ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml
admin@av-server:~/>: grep "ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml              
              <entry key="ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" value="false" />
admin@av-server:~/>:
  1. Back up the mcserver.xml file:
cp -p /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/x-mcserver.xml-`date -I`.bkp
admin@av-server:~/>: cp -p /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/x-mcserver.xml-`date -I`.bkp
admin@av-server:~/>: ls -ltrh /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/*mcserver.xml*
-rw-r----- 1 admin admin 59K Aug 13 09:21 /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml
-rw-r----- 1 admin admin 59K Aug 13 09:21 /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/x-mcserver.xml-2021-09-30.bkp
admin@av-server:~/>:
  1. Edit the mcserver.xml using vi and change the parameter value below:
From:  
<entry key="ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" value="false" />
To: 
<entry key="ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" value="true" />
  1. Save the change and verify if the change was successful.
grep "ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml
admin@av-server:~/>: grep "ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" /usr/local/avamar/var/mc/server_data/prefs/mcserver.xml
              <entry key="ddr_can_modify_ir_limit" value="true" />
admin@av-server:~/>:
  1. Restart the Management Console Service (MCS):
mcserver.sh --restart --v --force
  1. Edit the Data Domain from the Avamar User Interface (AUI), Avamar Administrator console or through mccli command.
  2. Verify if the value changed:
mccli dd show-prop --xml | grep InstantAccessLimit
admin@av-server:~/>: mccli dd show-prop --xml | grep InstantAccessLimit   
      <InstantAccessLimit>32</InstantAccessLimit>
admin@av-server:~/>:    
  1. Start IA restore jobs to verify that multiple IAs are now allowed.
  2. Resume the backup scheduler service and check if all services are up and enabled:
dpnctl start sched
dpnctl status
admin@av-server:~/>: dpnctl start sched
Identity added: /home/admin/.ssh/admin_key (/home/admin/.ssh/admin_key)
dpnctl: INFO: Resuming backup scheduler...
dpnctl: INFO: Backup scheduler resumed.
dpnctl: INFO: No /usr/local/avamar/var/dpn_service_status exist.
admin@av-server:~/>:
admin@av-server:~/>: dpnctl status
Identity added: /home/admin/.ssh/admin_key (/home/admin/.ssh/admin_key)
dpnctl: INFO: gsan status: up
dpnctl: INFO: MCS status: up.
dpnctl: INFO: emt status: up.
dpnctl: INFO: Backup scheduler status: up.
dpnctl: INFO: Maintenance windows scheduler status: enabled.
dpnctl: INFO: Unattended startup status: enabled.
dpnctl: INFO: avinstaller status: up.
dpnctl: INFO: ddrmaint-service status: up.
dpnctl: INFO: ESE status: up.
admin@av-server:~/>:

Affected Products

Avamar, Avamar Client for VMware, Avamar Server
Article Properties
Article Number: 000317425
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 07 May 2025
Version:  2
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