Avamar: Upgrade workflow fails with "Linux root password validation failed"

Summary: This article addresses an issue where an Avamar upgrade workflow fails with "Linux root password validation failed" due to incorrectly configured Avamar server FQDN.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.

Symptoms

The Avamar upgrade workflow fails wit the following error:

Linux root password validation failed
 

The Avamar installer log (/usr/local/avamar/var/avi/server_log/avinstaller.log.0) also reports a password error:

...
INFO: [aviguiserv:10.11.12.13] making rest call: http://10.11.12.13:7580/avi/service/userinput/validate/2c0e0c74e06aff1f1027950fbf90fe85/linux_root_password/************/password_field
Nov 26, 2021 1:36:55 PM com.avamar.avinstaller.process.UserInputManager buildCommands
INFO: /data01/avamar/repo/temp/AvamarUpgrade-7.4.1-58.avp_1511688016595/scripts/validate/default, --input_name=linux_root_password, --value=**********, --input_type=password_field
Nov 26, 2021 1:37:25 PM com.avamar.avinstaller.process.UserInputManager validateUserInput
INFO: validation error message: Validating Password Failed.
 

The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) does not display correctly when using the hostname command:

hostname -f
avamar1

Cause

The entry in the /etc/hosts file for the Avamar grid is incorrect. The FQDN and hostname have been swapped:

grep <hostname> /etc/hosts
 

-- Or --

grep "<Avamar-grid-IP-address> /etc/hosts
 

Examples:

grep avamar1 /etc/hosts
grep 10.11.12.13 /etc/hosts
 

Example output:

10.11.12.13 avamar1 avamar1.company.com
 
Note: Linux hosts file must have the entries in the following order:

<IP Address> <FQDN> <Hostname>
 

Resolution

1. Log in to the Avamar Utility Node as admin.

2. Elevate to root privilege.

3. Make a backup copy of the hosts file:

cp -p /etc/hosts /etc/hosts.`date +%y%m%d`
 

4. Edit the /etc/hosts file:

vi /etc/hosts 
 

5. Update the invalid entry:

From:

10.11.12.13 avamar1 avamar1.company.com
 

To:

10.11.12.13 avamar1.company.com avamar1
 

(The actual values here would be changed relevant to the environment)

6. Save the file and exit.

7. Verify the contents of /etc/hosts is correct:

10.11.12.13 avamar1.company.com avamar1
 

The upgrade workflow should now run without issue.

Affected Products

Avamar Server

Products

Avamar Server
Article Properties
Article Number: 000027083
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 20 Jul 2025
Version:  5
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