Getting the error java.lang.NullPointerException when trying to add new licenses in vSphere Client

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Adding a New License from vSphere Client shows the error message java.lang.NullPointerException.
  
  
  
  
• Selecting Licenses shows empty result (No items found)
  
  
  
  
• vSphere Client logs shows below errors :
  
  /var/log/vmware/vsphere-ui/logs/vsphere_client_virgo.log

[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.###] [ERROR] data-service-pool-761        70023604 103098 200446 c.vmware.license.client.cis.adapter.BaseDataProviderAdapterImpl   Unable to retrieve licensing data:  com.vmware.vim.binding.vmodl.fault.SystemError: java.lang.NullPointerException
        at com.vmware.license.client.cis.management.impl.ManagementEditorImpl.searchLicenseUtilizations(ManagementEditorImpl.java:922)
  
  
• License service log shows below errors :
  
  /var/log/vmware/cis-license/license.log

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.### vmomi-executor-1   ERROR vim.vmomi.server.impl.SoapBindingImpl Method 'searchLicenseUtilizations' completed with undeclared fault of type java.lang.NullPointerException: null

Environment

vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

• This issue is caused when invalid entries related to vSphere+ licenses are stored in License service asset information.
• License service logs will show which entry is causing the problem when DEBUG logging is enabled (steps to enable debug logging is available in Additional Information section) 
  
  /var/log/vmware/cis-license/license.log

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.###Z invocation-vmomi-executor-1 operationID=<opID>  DEBUG server.common.repository.impl.LdapRepositoryImpl Searching using filter: (&(&(vmwLicSvcAssetProductName=VMware VirtualCenter Server)(vmwLicSvcAssetLicenseId=9#######-c###-3###-b###-4###########))(vmwLicSvcObjectClass=AssetEntity))
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.###Z invocation-vmomi-executor-1 operationID=<opID>  ERROR vim.vmomi.server.impl.InvocationTask Method invocation threw unexpected exception!
java.lang.NullPointerException: null

Resolution

Remove the stale license entries by following below steps :

1. SSH to vCenter Server with 'root' account.
2. Change shell to bash using command 'shell".
3. Execute below command to list the vSphere+ license and note down the value of "dn :" parameter.

ldapsearch -H ldap://localhost -x -D "cn=Administrator,cn=Users,dc=vsphere,dc=local" -W -b "cn=LicenseService,cn=Services,dc=vsphere,dc=local" -o ldif-wrap=no -s sub "(&(objectclass=vmwLicSvcLicenseEntity)(vmwLicSvcLicenseType=SubscriptionLicense)(vmwLicSvcLicenseName=vSphere+))"

Sample Result:
# LicenseEntity_9#######-c###-3###-b###-4###########, LicenseService, Services,vsphere.local
dn: cn=LicenseEntity_9#######-c###-3###-b###-4###########,cn=LicenseService,cn=Services,dc=vsphere,dc=local
vmwLicSvcObjectClass: LicenseEntity
vmwLicSvcLicenseType: SubscriptionLicense
vmwLicSvcLicenseName: vSphere+
vmwLicSvcLicenseId: 9#######-c###-3###-b###-4###########
objectClass: top
objectClass: vmwLicSvcLicenseEntity
cn: LicenseEntity_9#######-c###-3###-b###-4###########

Note: Change the domain name based on the environment. In the above example, vsphere.local is used as the domain name.
   
   
4. Execute below ldapdelete command to delete the license entry. It will prompt for administrator password and will not give any message if the operation is successful.
   
   ldapdelete -H ldap://localhost -x -D "cn=administrator,cn=users,dc=vsphere,dc=local" -W "cn=LicenseEntity_<AssetID>,cn=LicenseService,cn=services,dc=vsphere,dc=local"

Sample command:
   ldapdelete -H ldap://localhost -x -D "cn=Administrator,cn=Users,dc=vsphere,dc=local" -W "cn=LicenseEntity__9#######-c###-3###-b###-4###########,cn=LicenseService,cn=Services,dc=vsphere,dc=local"
   
   Note: Replace the string "<AssetID>" with the ID from Step 3.
   
   
5. Restart the license service
   
   service-control --restart cis-license
   
   
6. Logout and login back to vSphere Client.
7. Retry the License management task.

Additional Information

Steps to enable License service DEBUG logging on vCenter Server:

• SSH to vCenter Server as root account
• Take a backup of log configuration file
  
  cp /etc/vmware-cis-license/log4j.properties /etc/vmware-cis-license/log4j.properties_backup_<date>
  
  
• Edit the file /etc/vmware-cis-license/log4j.properties using 'vi' editor
  
  Change the line
  rootLogger.level = info
  
  To:
  
  rootLogger.level = debug
  
  
• Restart license service
  
  service-control --restart cis-license