"An error occurred while starting service 'eam'" | AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'replace'

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

Starting EAM service fails immediately:

Service-control failed. Error: {
"detail": [
{
"id": "install.ciscommon.service.failstart",
"translatable": "An error occurred while starting service '%(0)s'",
"args": [
"eam"
],
"localized": "An error occurred while starting service 'eam'"
}
],
"componentKey": null,
"problemId": null,
"resolution": null
}

The logging in /var/log/vmware/vmon/vmon.log resembles:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS In(05) host-10283 Received start request for eam
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS In(05) host-10283 <eam-prestart> Constructed command: /usr/bin/python -B /usr/lib/vmware-eam/watchdog/vmon/sequenceExecutor.py NO_OP /usr/bin/python 2 -B /usr/lib/vmware-eam/watchdog/update_pnid.py /usr/bin/python 2 -B /usr/lib/vmware-eam/watchdog/update_feature_states.py /usr/bin/python 2 -B /usr/lib/vmware-eam/watchdog/adjust_tomcat_logging.py
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Wa(03) host-10283 <eam> Service pre-start command's stderr: Traceback (most recent call last):
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Wa(03)+ host-10283 File "/usr/lib/vmware-eam/watchdog/update_pnid.py", line 56, in <module>
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Wa(03)+ host-10283 main()
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Wa(03)+ host-10283 File "/usr/lib/vmware-eam/watchdog/update_pnid.py", line 41, in main
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Wa(03)+ host-10283 vcUri = vcUriTemplate.replace(VC_HOSTNAME_PATTERN, pnid)
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Wa(03)+ host-10283 AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'replace'
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Wa(03)+ host-10283
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Er(02) host-10283 <eam> Service pre-start command failed with exit code 1.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x

Cause

This issue can happen if the eam-vim.properties file is corrupted or not properly formatted.

Files Path: /etc/vmware-eam

eam-vim.properties
Also validate if features.properties has similar issue.

Resolution

NOTE: Before performing any of these tasks, please take a powered-off snapshot of your vCenter Server Appliance VM.

To resolve this issue, update the eam-vim.properties file by following the steps below within the /etc/vmware-eam directory:

Recreate the required files from a lab environment or an alternate vCenter instance in the customer’s environment.
Retrieve the necessary details:
- Identify the vCenter Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN): This needs to be updated in the eam-vim.properties file.
  - ```
  hostname -f
```
- Identify the Machine ID: This also needs to be updated in the eam-vim.properties file.
  - ```
  /usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-machine-id --server-name localhost
```

If the files are corrupted, delete the existing "eam-vim.properties" file and recreate it using the vi editor: (How to use vi edit command)

```
vi eam-vim.properties
```

Ensure the file follows the format below, updating the vCenter FQDN and Node ID with the machine-id identified in the previous steps.

#########################################################################
# Copyright 2013-2019 VMware, Inc.  All rights reserved. VMware Confidential
#########################################################################
# VC location
vc.proxy.host=localhost
vc.proxy.port=80
vc.tunnelSdkUri.template=https://##{VC_HOST_NAME}##:8089/sdk/vimService
vc.tunnelSdkUri=https://<vCenter Fully Qualified Domain Name>/sdk/vimService
# VC SSL trust
vc.truststore.type=VKS
vc.truststore.storename=TRUSTED_ROOTS
# EAM location
# Hostname or IP of the EAM server
# Fill only if EAM is not running on the same host as VC
eam.host=<vCenter Fully Qualified Domain Name>
# EAM AuthN
#
eam.keystore.type=VKS
eam.keystore.storename=vpxd-extension
eam.key.alias=vpxd-extension
# LookupService
ls.url=https://<vCenter Fully Qualified Domain Name>/lookupservice/sdk
ls.node.id=xxxxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx
############################################################################
#
# The data below is used by not-eam-vim beans hence is going to be moved out
#
############################################################################
# Port and scheme configuration which is used by the ESX 6.x hosts to reach EAM Vib
# file server.
eam.ext.port=443
eam.ext.scheme=https
# Port and scheme configuration which is used by the ESX 5.x hosts to reach EAM Vib
# file server.
eam.ext.port.deprecated=80
eam.ext.scheme.deprecated=http
drs.demandCapacityRatio=100

If the files are recreated, ensure they have the correct permissions using the following commands:
- ```
chmod 664 eam-vim.properties  
chmod 664 features.properties  
```
After setting the appropriate permissions, start the EAM service:
- ```
service-control --start vmware-eam
```