Performing a restore of vCenter Server using installer fails with error: ReferenceError: oid is not defined

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

•  Performing a restore of vCenter Server using installer fails with error: ReferenceError: oid is not defined

• C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Temp\vcsaUiInstaller\installer-yyyymmdd-hhmmss.log (Log location on the machine used for installer)

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: installerLogFile: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Temp\vcsaUiInstaller\installer-yyyymmdd-hhmmss.log
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: networkLogFile: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Temp\vcsaUiInstaller\network-yyyymmdd-hhmmss.log
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] Locale initialised: English
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] Product: vcsa
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppService] Using cached ovfOptions
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] version.js buildnumber: 24185845
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] App runtime buildnumber: 24185845
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] Build numbers matched
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] Found ovftool with correct version from the discovered path
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: The file does not exist: E:\vcsa\gateway_type.json
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] Saved OVA folder path: E:\vcsa
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: [AppComponent] Saved ovftool path: E:\vcsa\ovftool\win32\ovftool.exe
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: wizardTitle: Restore - Stage 1: Deploy vCenter Server
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: ovaFileNameRe: /.*_OVF10.ova$/
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: files in E:\vcsa: VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-8.0.3.00400-24322831_OVF10.ova,ovftool,version.txt
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: ovaFile: E:\vcsa\VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-8.0.3.00400-24322831_OVF10.ova
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: path:sftp://<backup server IP/FQDN>:<port>/<backup directory>/vCenter/sn_<vCenter Server FQDN>
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - info: backup location:<backup server IP/FQDN>:<port>/<backup directory>/vCenter/sn_<vCenter Server FQDN>
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - error: ReferenceError: oid is not defined
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS - debug: ReferenceError: oid is not defined

Cause

This issue is caused by the key exchange algorithms used by the remote SFTP server hosting the backups. Due to ssh2 packages part of vCenter Server Installer being version 0.8.9, it is not able to work with these key exchange algorithms

Resolution

This issue is resolved with vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3e Build 24674346. Refer to VMware vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3e Release Notes

As a workaround, implement the steps below:

• Proceed with the Stage 1 Install of vCenter Server Appliance with the same FQDN and IP address. Refer to Stage 1 - Deploy the OVA File as a vCenter Server Appliance
• Post completion of Stage 1, Open the url using browser
• Select the Restore option and proceed with Stage 2. Refer to Stage 2 - Transfer Data to the Newly Deployed Appliance