NVP-vProxy: Backups failing - Unable to backup virtual disk "Hard disk 1" - Failed to open source VMDK

Summary: The NetWorker VMware Protection integration is configured with the vProxy Appliance. The backup of a virtual machine fails to complete in the environment.  The NetWorker Management Console message simply indicates it is unable to backup virtual disk "Hard disk 1". The ESX host that hosts the vProxy appliance has an issue with the HBA and cannot retrieve disk information required to perform the backup. Investigate the ESX host that the vProxy appliances reside on. Engage VMware Support as necessary or as a workaround, vMotion the vProxy appliance to another ESX host. ​​​​ ...

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Symptoms

The NetWorker VMware Protection integration is configured with the vProxy Appliance. The backup of a virtual machine fails to complete in the environment.  The NetWorker Management Console message simply indicates it is unable to backup virtual disk "Hard disk 1".
 
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Figure 1: Backup action messages for failed VM backup.

The vProxy vbackupd-engine.log file and NetWorker server backup log shows: 
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS TRACE:  [43] Opening source VMDK "[DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk" ...
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS INFO:   [43] Calling VixDiskLib_Open("[DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk")...
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR:  [43] VDDK Error: 13: You do not have access rights to this file.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR:  [43] Failed to open source VMDK "[DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk".
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR:  [43] "Hard disk 1": BackupVmdk: "Hard disk 1": Unable to open Virtual Disk "[DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk" in "hotadd:nbd" mode.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR:  [43] "Hard disk 1": BackupVmdk: "Hard disk 1": Unable to open Virtual Disk "[DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk" in "hotadd:nbd" mode.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR:  [43] "Hard disk 1": BackupVmdk: Failed backup.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR:  [43] Unable to backup virtual disk "Hard disk 1".

The vProxy vbackupd-vddk.log file shows: 
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS NOTICE: VDDK INFO YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error -[7F4EE8059700] [Originator@6876 sub=transport] Reconfigure attempt failed for VM "vm-123" with Vmomi::MethodFault::Exception ("vim.fault.InvalidDeviceSpec")
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS NOTICE: VDDK INFO YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error -[7F4EFC315740] [Originator@6876 sub=transport] Mounting VM vm-35 using transport hotadd failed : Failed to hot-add SCSI targets: Vmomi::MethodFault::Exception: vim.fault.InvalidDeviceSpec.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS NOTICE: VDDK INFO YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error -[7F4EFC315740] [Originator@6876 sub=transport] Cannot use mode hotadd to access [DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk: Cannot mount using this method. (Mounting VM vm-35 using transport hotadd failed : Failed to hot-add SCSI targets: Vmomi::MethodFault::Exception: vim.fault.InvalidDeviceSpec.)
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS NOTICE: VDDK INFO VixDiskLib: Unable to locate appropriate transport mode to open disk. Error 13 (You do not have access rights to this file) (Mounting VM vm-35 using transport hotadd failed : Failed to hot-add SCSI targets: Vmomi::MethodFault::Exception: vim.fault.InvalidDeviceSpec.) at 4905.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS NOTICE: VDDK INFO VixDiskLib: VixDiskLib_OpenEx: Cannot open disk [DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk. Error 13 (You do not have access rights to this file) (Mounting VM vm-35 using transport hotadd failed : Failed to hot-add SCSI targets: Vmomi::MethodFault::Exception: vim.fault.InvalidDeviceSpec.) at 5026.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS NOTICE: VDDK INFO VixDiskLib: VixDiskLib_Open: Cannot open disk [DATASTORE_NAME] [VM_NAME]/[VM_NAME].vmdk. Error 13 (You do not have access rights to this file) at 5064.

Cause

The ESXi host, running the vProxy appliance, has an issue with the host bus adapter (HBA) and it cannot retrieve disk information required to perform the backup.  A VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) InvalidDeviceSpec exception is thrown if a virtual machine configuration fails because a device specification contains an invalid value.

Resolution

Investigate the ESXi host that the vProxy appliances reside on for HBA issues. Engage VMware Support as necessary.

Workaround
vMotion the vProxy appliance to another ESXi host

Additional Information

The vProxy vbackupd-vddk.log and vbackupd-engine.log files are located on the vProxy in the /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/vbackupd/ directory.

Affected Products

NetWorker

Products

NetWorker
Article Properties
Article Number: 000035425
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 02 Nov 2023
Version:  3
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