"Unsupported Protocol" error restoring a SMB or NFS backup with the vCenter Server Appliance GUI installer

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
Restoring a SMB or NFS backup using the vCenter Server Appliance GUI installer fails with the error:

Unsupported Protocol

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7.x

Cause

Restoring vCenter SMB or NFS backups is currently not supported by the vCenter Server Appliance GUI installer.

For more information, see Restore a vCenter Server Appliance from a File-Based Backup.

Resolution

To restore a backup:

1. Download the vCenter ISO file with the same build as the backup.
2. Start the installer and complete Stage 1
3. Connect to the vCenter Server Appliance with an SSH session. If SSH is disabled, log into the VAMI/5480 page and enable it under the "Access" submenu.
4. Run this command:

restore.job.create --locationType SMB_or_NFS --location LOCATION_of_BACKUP --locationUser USER –-locationPassword

For NFS, use syntax like the following:

restore.job.create --locationType NFS --location <NFS IP or Host Name>/share/vchost/vCenter/sn_vcenter.example.com/S_6.7.0.32000_20190821-055908_ --locationUser nfsuser --locationPassword

Replace "sn_vcenter.doman.com" with your vCenter's FQDN and "nfsuser" with your appropriate NFS username.

5. Enter the admin password for the SMB or NFS location where the backup file is located:

Example Output:

Enter locationPassword:
Response:
   Messages:
     1:
         Restore job started.
   Progress: 0
   State: INPROGRESS

 

6. The status can be verified with the restore.job.get command.
7. Log into the VAMI/5480 page once more to confirm the fix and remediate if the restored vCenter is in linked mode with another.