Appliance Mode (Hotadd) cannot be used if the proxy VM and its replica is running in the same vCenter
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Appliance Mode (Hotadd) cannot be used if the proxy VM and its replica is running in the same vCenter

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Article ID: 412921

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When adding a disk from a VM to a proxy VM, the following error can occur:

Unable to access file since it is locked filePath: /vmfs/volumes/datastore path/VM name/VM_2-flat.vmdk lockMode: 1 mac: ##### Locking conflict for file "/vmfs/volumes/datastore path/VM name/VM_2-flat.vmdk". 
VMFS on-disk lock owner is host with MAC address ##### and VMFS lock mode 0x1. 

The following error messages are shown in the VMware logs of the original VM:

YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss cpu12:2098372 opID=#####) DISKLIB-LINK  : "VMName.vmdk" : failed to open (The file is locked or in use).
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss cpu12:2098372 opID=#####) SCSI: Reservation conflict while accessing [Datastore] VMName/VMName.vmdk
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss cpu12:2098372 opID=#####) WARNING: HotAdd: Failed to attach disk scsi0:1 - reported capacity 0 bytes.
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss cpu12:2098372 opID=#####) Msg_Post: Warning: Disk attach failed due to lock or corrupted metadata
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss cpu12:2098372 opID=#####) Device removal requested for scsi0:1 (disk not successfully attached)

Cause

VDDK (used by backup and replication software) validates transport modes on the backup proxy. Beginning with VDDK 6.0, this validation process checks whether the VM performing the hotadd shares a UUID with any other VM in the environment. If a duplicate UUID exists, the hotadd operation is denied.

This conflict most commonly occurs when a replica or clone of the backup proxy VM is created within the same vCenter Server as the original.

Resolution

Due to the additional checks implemented in the VMware VDDK 6.0 and higher, it is inadvisable to replicate any Backup Proxy or Backup & Replication VM to the same vCenter managed environment as the original VM.

Additional Information

There are several ways to find a Virtual Machine’s UUID. Repeat either of the below methods for other Virtual Machine to confirm if it is duplicate. 

  • Method 1: From ESXi Shell or SSH:
    • Identify the VMID using: vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
    • Retrieve the UUID with: vim-cmd vmsvc/get.summary <VMID> | grep uuid
  • Method 2: From the VM Configuration File:
    • Open the VM’s configuration file (.vmx) in a text editor.
    • Locate the line beginning with: uuid.bios

For more information refer to the KB: How to Locate the UUID of a Virtual Machine

References:

Backup & Replication uses VDDK to communicate with VMware infrastructure.

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