Error: "One of: 1. invalid directory path; 2. sftp server disk is full..." observed when modifying NSX Backup configuration

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer
• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading VMware NSX to version 4.2.0 or 4.2.1, the system prevents users from enabling scheduled backups or modifying existing backup configurations.

Users may observe the following behaviors:

• UI Error: The following error is displayed when attempting to update the backup configuration:

  "One of: 1. invalid directory path; 2. sftp server disk is full; 3. Check if the directory path length is beyond 256-character limit on Windows server (Error code: 29111)"

  

  Manual Backups: If the settings were saved prior to the upgrade, manual backups continue to function successfully using the same SFTP server details. Older NSX versions also continue to function with the same SFTP destination.

• VCF Upgrade Failure: A VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) upgrade fails to start because NSX is unable to write the required backup file.

• Log Errors: The /var/log/proton/nsxapi.log file contains the following error:

  Plaintext

   

  BackupAsyncStatus [BackupStatus [status=URI_NOT_FOUND, statusDetail=Specified uri '<path to tmpdir cluster backup file>' not found., remoteUri=<sftp remote uri path>, errorCode=null, startTime=#####, endTime=#####]; responseBody=null]
  

Prerequisite Checks Before proceeding, verify that the issue is not caused by general environmental factors:

1. Validate the backup directory path and ensure the SFTP server has adequate available storage.

2. Ensure the directory path length remains within the 256-character limit.

3. For Windows SFTP deployments, verify the operating system version and ensure long-path support is active (See: NSX-T backups are failing with error "either bad directory path or sftp server disk full").

Environment

 

VMware Cloud Foundation: 5.2.x

VMware NSX: 4.2.0.x, 4.2.1.x

SFTP Platform: OpenSSH on Windows

 

Cause

Scheduled backups created before the NSX upgrade may fail on Windows-based SFTP servers with a 'Bad message' error. This occurs because original file attributes preserved during the upgrade are rejected by the Windows SFTP service.

Resolution

This is a known issue that has been resolved in newer releases of VMware NSX.

Permanent Fix:
Upgrade to VMware NSX version 4.2.0.2 or 4.2.1.2 (or later).

Software can be downloaded from the Broadcom Downloads portal.

Workaround:
If an immediate upgrade is not feasible in your environment, please reach out to Broadcom Support for assistance with a temporary workaround.

Additional Information

For further reading and troubleshooting, please refer to the following resources:

• Documentation: Troubleshooting NSX Backup and Restore Failures

• Downloads: Download Broadcom products, patches, and software