vRealize Automation Designer CloudUtil.exe Machine-BulkRegisterExport fails with System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

Products

• VMware Aria Suite

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• When running vRealize Automation Designer CloudUtil.exe Machine-BulkRegisterExport a similar error message is returned:

Your license is not valid for Development Kit. You can use only Design Center.

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at DynamicOps.WorkQueueModel.Client.WorkQueueRegisterHelpers.<>c__DisplayClass29.<BulkRegisterExport>b__1e(VirtualMachine m)
at System.Linq.Enumerable.WhereEnumerableIterator`1.MoveNext()
at System.Linq.Buffer`1..ctor(IEnumerable`1 source)
at System.Linq.Enumerable.ToArray[TSource](IEnumerable`1 source)
at DynamicOps.WorkQueueModel.Client.WorkQueueRegisterHelpers.BulkRegisterExport(BulkExportRequest exportRequest)
at DynamicOps.Cdk.Tooling.Commands.BulkRegisterExportCommand.<>c__DisplayClass11.<ExecuteCommand>b__f()
at DynamicOps.Cdk.Tooling.Repositories.UnitOfWork`1.Commit()
at DynamicOps.Cdk.Tooling.Commands.BulkRegisterExportCommand.ExecuteCommand(CommandLineParser parser)
Command succeeded.

• VirtualMachine objects stored in the the Infrastructure as a Service database dbo.VirtualMachine table contain VirtualMachineName of NULL or "[None]"

Environment

VMware vRealize Automation 7.5.x
VMware vRealize Automation 7.4.x
VMware vRealize Automation 7.1.x
VMware vRealize Automation 7.2.x
VMware vRealize Automation 7.3.x

Cause

CloudUtil.exe parses the dbo.VirtualMachine table on name.  When a record in this table exists with a NULL or record of [None], the import fails with a NULL reference exception.

Resolution

There issue is resolved in vRealize Automation 7.6. See workarounds for steps to workaround this issue in previous releases of vRealize Automation 7.5 and below.

Workaround:
There are 2 currently known workarounds for this issue:

1. Change IsManaged field in dbo.virtualmachine table to 0 (unmanaged) for the impacted VirtualMachine records in question
   • Log into the SQL Server hosting the IaaS database
   • Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS.EXE)
   • Update the IsManaged flag to 0 for each impacted Virtual machine record:
     • Verify the string of the impacted machines:
       • SELECT * from dbo.VirtualMachine where VirtualMachineName = '[None]'
     • Using the list of records from above, Update the IsManaged flag:
       • UPDATE dbo.VirtualMachine SET IsManaged = 0 WHERE VirtualMachineName = '[None]' and VMUniqueID = 'ID Of Record from above'

Note: The italicized string within single quotes can be updated based upon the environment data.

2. Unmanage the virtual machine records within the IaaS database.
   • Log into the SQL Server hosting the IaaS database
   • Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS.EXE)
   • Update the [None] VirtualMachineName to fake, placeholder names such as Remove1 or something unique
   • Unmanage the virtualmachines using the new names with: Removing a virtual machine from vRealize Automation 7.x using Cloud Client