Collection error appears after adding VMware Aria Operations for Networks (formerly vRealize Network Insight) to vCloud Usage Meter

Products

• VMware Aria Suite

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
The following vRNI collection errors are shown after checking the vrni_error.log located at /opt/vmware/cloudusagemetering/var/logs.

[2021-06-24 06:26:53]  | ERROR | RNI collector thread | com.vmware.um.collector.CollectionHelper | VRNI collector1560 | Collection error HTTP POST api/ni/entities/fetch on server 11 failed with: timeout=>timeout=>Socket closed=>Socket closed

[2021-06-24 06:26:53]  | ERROR | RNI collector thread | com.vmware.um.collector.CollectionHelper | VRNI collector1560 | Status (COLLECT_API_ERR) for VRNI server 11: Collection error: APIError

Environment

VMware vCloud Usage Meter 4.x

Cause

This is due to a socket getting closed during an API request sent to the vRNI server.

Resolution

Procedure

To solve this issue, do the following:

1. Take a snapshot of your Usage Meter appliance.
2. Enter the conf directory:

cd /opt/vmware/cloudusagemetering/conf

3. Take a backup of the vrnicollector_process.conf file by running the command:

cp vrnicollector_process.conf vrnicollector_process.conf.bak

4. Check the content of the rnicollector_process.conf file by entering:

vi vrnicollector_process.conf

5. Add the following piece of code anywhere in the conf file.

   [
     -componentName  vrni_collector
     -componentFactory  com.vmware.um.vrnicollector.VRNICollector.createInstance
     -componentParams {
       -minutesBeforeFirstCollection 55
       -minutesBetweenCollections 60
       -httpConnectionTimeout 1200
       -httpReadTimeout 1200
       -httpWriteTimeout 1200
     }
   ]

6. Exit the vi editor by pressing the Escape key and then entering :wq! (save and exit ). If you want to exit the vi editor without making any changes, enter :q.
7. Reboot the appliance.
8. Edit the vRNI credentials in the Usage Meter web application. Click Save. An OK status will show that the vRNI collection is now started.

Note: Restarting services using the root account is not recommended. You need to reboot your Usage Meter appliance instead.