VMware Converter Agent fails to install due to a connection error

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• VMware Converter fails to locate a physical server or running virtual machine.
• You are unable to establish a connection to the source system.
• VMware Converter Agent does not install.
• You receive one or more of these errors:
  • Failed to connect to \\<hostname>\pipe\vmware-ufad-p2v30-vmdb .
    Reason: The network path was not found. . Error code: 53.
  • Error 1219: Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user, using more than one user name, are not allowed. Disconnect all previous connections to the server or shared resource and try again.
  • Unknown error returned by VMware Converter Agent
  • P2VError UFAD_SYSTEM_ERROR(Internal Error)
  • Failed to connect
  • Giving up trying to connect
  • Failed to establish Vim connection to hostname.domain.com.
    Vmacore::Exception: The requested name is valid, but no data of the requested type was found.
  • Image processing task has failed with MethodFault::Exception: sysimage.fault.IncompatibilityFault
  • ERROR: Unable to open file %s
  • [NFC ERROR] NfcNewAuthdConnectionEx: Failed to connect to peer. Error: Host address lookup for server hostname.domain.coml failed: The requested name is valid and was found in the database, but it does not have the correct associated data being resolved for
  • sysimage.fault.FileOpenError
  • Task failed: P2VError FILE_OPEN_FAILED
  • Unable to find server

Environment

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.3.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.0.x
VMware Converter 3.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.2.x

Resolution

If you receive any of these errors when trying to connect to a source system or install the Converter Agent, it is because VMware Converter is using an interprocess communication (IPC) named-pipe network connection with multiple sets of credentials between the local Windows Redirector and the remote host. Windows Redirector does not allow IPC connections with multiple credentials from the same user session.

Note: This restriction also applies to mapped network drives as they are also a type of named-pipe connection.

To ensure the Converter Agent connection succeeds, perform these steps on the source system that is to be converted and the system running VMware Converter (whether it be vCenter Server or a workstation):

1. Close any application views or Windows Explorer windows showing files, Active X components, or Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins in the server you are trying to convert.
2. Open a command prompt. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt.
3. Disconnect any mapped drives from the remote host by running this command:
   
   net use \\<remote_hostname> * /delete
   
   
4. Open My Computer and check for any mapped network drives to the remote host. if you find any, disconnect them.
5. Log off from the server running VMware Converter and log on again to disconnect any open IPC named-pipe connections established by any remaining applications.

If issues with VMware Converter persist:

1. Restart the server running VMware Converter.
2. Restart the server running vCenter Server if you are using the vCenter Server Converter plug-in.

For more information, see Troubleshooting when VMware Converter fails to complete a conversion of a physical or virtual machine.