vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) backup fails with the error "Failed to receive data/response from the remote server. See logs for details."

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• The VAMI backup process fails.
• The following error message is displayed in the vCenter Server logs:

/var/log/vmware/applmgmt/backup.log

[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] [ComponentScriptsBackup:PID-#####] [Proc::GetProcsStatus:Proc.py:361] ERROR: rc: 56, stderr: b'curl: (56) response reading failed (errno: 0)\n'
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] [ComponentScriptsBackup:PID-#####]] [ComponentScripts::ComponentScriptsBackup:ComponentScripts.py:114] ERROR: Component vum backup dispatch failed.
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] [ComponentScriptsBackup:PID-#####] [ComponentScripts::ComponentScriptsBackup:ComponentScripts.py:135] ERROR: Failed to dispatch component vum backup
Underlying process status. rc: 56
stdout:
stderr: b'curl: (56) response reading failed (errno: 0)\n'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/backup_restore/py/vmware/appliance/backup_restore/components/ComponentScripts.py", line 115, in ComponentScriptsBackup
    raise BackupRestoreError(('Failed to dispatch component %s '
util.Common.BackupRestoreError: Failed to dispatch component vum backup
Underlying process status. rc: 56
stdout:
stderr: b'curl: (56) response reading failed (errno: 0)\n'
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] [MainProcess:PID-#####] [Proc::VerifyProcStatusAndGetArchive:Proc.py:159] ERROR: Error at process ComponentScriptsBackup; rc:56.
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] [MainProcess:PID-#####] [Proc::VerifyProcStatusAndGetArchive:Proc.py:163] ERROR: stderr:Failed to dispatch component vum backup
b'curl: (56) response reading failed (errno: 0)\n'
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] [MainProcess:PID-#####] [BackupManager::main:BackupManager.py:645] ERROR: BackupManager encountered an exception: Failed to receive data/response from the remote server. See logs for details. 
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] [MainProcess:PID-#####] [BackupManager::HandleBackupCleanup:BackupManager.py:486] INFO: Cleaning up the backup job.

Cause

This error indicates a communication problem between the vCenter Server and the VMware Update Manager (VUM) service. The VUM database might be corrupted, leading to the failure to receive data from the remote server.

Resolution

Reset the VMware Update Manager Database.

To reset the VUM database, refer to the knowledge base article 'Resetting VMware Update Manager Database'

Caution:  Resetting the Update Manager database is a destructive task. Custom baselines (but not Cluster Images), custom download settings and manually imported patches/ISOs will be removed and will need to be reapplied following the reset. Before making any changes, please ensure that you have created snapshot of the vCenter Server appliance. If the vCenter Server is a member of an Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM) replication setup, please keep in mind that you need to create offline snapshots (in powered off state) for all ELM nodes. Similarly, when you need to restore the backup of this vCenter, or roll back to the snapshot, all of the other ELM nodes need to be restored/rolled back as well. Furthermore, please make note of all custom configuration in Update Manager, like proxy settings, third party download URLs, customized baselines, etc. before proceeding.