Multiple copies of same vRO workflows are running when only one should be called

Products

• VMware Aria Suite

Issue/Introduction

This article provides resolution steps to remove duplicate entries located in xml db directory.

Symptoms:

• The extensibility workflow runs based on lifecycle events, multiple copies of the same workflows are run by vRealize Orchestrator when only one should be called.
  
  For example: ExternalWorkflow.BuildingMachine.
   
• The IaaS All.log and DEM worker logs do not show any errors but rather multiple EWF events being called.
• Each workflow receives a unique ID as it is being called separately and without error.
• Duplicate workflows may cause a failure in the workflow and could cause the provisioning task to fail.
• Review of the blueprint properties will show no duplicate properties for external workflows.

Environment

VMware vRealize Automation 6.2.x
VMware vRealize Automation 7.0.x
VMware vRealize Automation Desktop 6.2.x

Cause

This issue occurs when there are duplicate workflow entries located in the xmldb directory. vRealize Automation will process every file within that directory as xml regardless of file name or extension.

If you are calling a workflow on ExternalWorkflow.BuildingMachine, any files in that directory that contain the following will be processed:
 

<MasterWFStateCriteria>BuildingMachine</MasterWFStateCriteria>

Resolution

To resolve this issue:

1. Navigate to the vRealize Automation IaaS Manager Service server(s) directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\vCAC\Server\ExternalWorkflows\xmldb\
2. Verify that there are no duplicate files, copies, or nonstandard files included. This directory will typically contain:
    
   1. ExplanationOfExternalWF.xml
   2. ExternalWF.xml
   3. ExternalWF.xsd
   4. ExternalWFInstallSoftware.xml
   5. ExternalWFInstallSoftware.xsd
   6. ExternalWFPolicy.xml
   7. ExternalWFPolicy.xsd
   8. ExternalWFSetAgentId.xml
   9. ExternalWFStubs.xml
       
3. If you find any addtional files in this location, move them out of this directory to another (do not delete any files unless you are sure they are not needed) and try provisioning again.

Additional Information

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