"Error while disabling jobs: disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)" at Stage 2 of migration to vCenter Appliance 6.x/7.x from a vCenter Server 6.x with external MS SQL database

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• When migrating from from a vCenter Server 6.x with external MS SQL database to vCenter Appliance 6.x/7.x, in Stage 2 of the migration, you see an error similar to:

Error disabling jobs: disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)
 

• In the /var/log/vmware/upgrade/upgrade-export.log file, you see entries similar to:

2019-02-28T10:23:23.171Z ERROR upgrade_commands Export failed with {'componentKey': 'com.vmware.vcdb', 'detail': [{'args': [' disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)\n'], 'translatable': 'Error while disabling jobs: %(0)s', 'id': 'vcdb.error.export.disable.jobs', 'localized': 'Error while disabling jobs: disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)\n'}], 'problemId': None, 'resolution': {'localized': 'Read the log files and address the issues experienced while disabling your jobs.', 'translatable': 'Read the log files and address the issues experienced while disabling your jobs.', 'id': 'vcdb.action.disable.jobs.log'}}. Check UpgradeRunner.log log for details. 

 

• In the Export_com.vmware.vcdb_YYYY_MM_DD_HH_mm.log file (being the date of the migration attempt), you see entries similar to:

2019-02-28T10:22:56.744Z ERROR vcdb.const Error while disabling jobs:     disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)
2019-02-28T10:22:56.746Z ERROR __main__ Upgrade Phase 'vcdb:Export' failed. Exception: Error while disabling jobs:     disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)
2019_02_28_10_16.log:    ret = disable_jobs(**kwargs)
2019_02_28_10_16.log:  File "C:\migA23E.tmp\PFiles\VMware\CIS\cis_upgrade_runner\payload\component-scripts\vcdb\vcdb_db_utils.py", line 883, in disable_jobs
2019_02_28_10_16.log:PermanentError: Error while disabling jobs:     disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)

 

• In the UpgradeRunner.log file, you see similar entries to:

2019-02-28T10:22:56.744Z ERROR vcdb.const Error while disabling jobs:     disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)
2019-02-28T10:22:56.746Z ERROR __main__ Upgrade Phase 'vcdb:Export' failed. Exception: Error while disabling jobs:     disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)
2019-02-28T10:22:57.706Z INFO upgrade.states.component_states vcdb:Export: PermanentError: Error while disabling jobs:     disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)

 

• In the bootstrap.log file, you see entries similar to:

2019-02-28T10:23:23.171Z ERROR upgrade_commands Export failed with {'componentKey': 'com.vmware.vcdb', 'detail': [{'args': ['    disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)\n'], 'translatable': 'Error while disabling jobs: %(0)s', 'id': 'vcdb.error.export.disable.jobs', 'localized': 'Error while disabling jobs:     disable_jobs(cur_odbc, con_odbc, args.rdbms)\n'}], 'problemId': None, 'resolution': {'localized': 'Read the log files and address the issues experienced while disabling your jobs.', 'translatable': 'Read the log files and address the issues experienced while disabling your jobs.', 'id': 'vcdb.action.disable.jobs.log'}}. Check UpgradeRunner.log log for details.
 

Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7.x
VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x

Cause

This issue occurs if the necessary database permissions are not available.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, check the required database permissions and restart the migration process.

Process to check the required database permissions:

1. Permission for the DB user used for vCenter Server
   1. Log in to SQL Management Studio
   2. Go to Security > Logins > Select the user you're using to interact with the vCenter database > right click > select properties
   3. Under the vCenter database (by default vcdb), check that the selected user in the previous step has the db_owner role membership.
      • Note: Database role db_owner is a simple way of assigning permissions for vCenter database user.

For more information review Prepare the vCenter Server Database by Using the dbo Schema and the db_owner Database Role

2. Permissions for the owner of the SQL jobs in the vCenter database
   1. Log in to SQL Management Studio
   2. Expand Databases > Expand the database of the vCenter (by default vcdb) 
   3. Expand Schemas > Expand the schema you're using (by default dbo) > right click Properties > Permissions > View database permissions > Select Effective
   4. Check that the permissions applied to that user/schema are similar to the ones listed in Database Permission Requirements for vCenter Server
3. Re-start the migration process

Additional Information

• For more information about Preparing Microsoft SQL Server Database Before Upgrading vCenter Server, refer: Prepare the vCenter Server Database by Using the dbo Schema and the db_owner Database Role
• Additional information regarding SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), refer to Microsoft Tutorials similar to this: Tutorial: Connect to and query a SQL Server instance by using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)