NSXT manager restore from backup fails with error "Restore process failed. Authentication failed on fileserver http://notset."

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

When you attempt to restore a VMware NSX-T Data Center 4.x environment from a backup, the process fails with the following error message in the NSX UI:

Restore process failed. Authentication failed on fileserver http://notset.

This error prevents the automated restore workflow from proceeding, even if the file server credentials are confirmed to be valid and the network path is functional.

Environment

VMware NSX 4.x

Resolution

Note: For further assistance and to troubleshoot for a possible cause, proceed to open a support case with Broadcom Support using the instructions contained in Creating and managing Broadcom cases.  Include issue details and what troubleshooting has already been performed along with all the NSX manager log bundles uploaded to the newly generated SR.

 

To workaround this issue, bypass the automated download process by manually transferring the backup files from the SFTP server directory to the NSX-T Manager local file system.

• Log in to the NSX-T Manager via SSH as root or admin.
  • If you are logged in as root, switch to engineering mode using st en and provide root credentials.
• Move to the /image/backup/cluster/ folder:

  cd /image/backup/cluster/

• Connect to the SFTP server using the SFTP credentials:
  • sftp <username>@<sftpserver>
  • For a specific port number, use the following syntax:

    sftp -P <port-number> <username>@<sftpserver>

  • Move to the folder where your inventory file is located:

    cd /<sftppath>/inventory-summary/

  • Execute the get command:

    get 4.#.#.#.####-<UUID>/inventory-<date>.json

  • Type exit and press Enter.
• Rename the inventory file to inventory_backup.json:

  mv 4.#.#.#.####-<UUID>/inventory-<date>.json inventory_backup.json

• Navigate to System > Backup & Restore in the NSX-T UI and retry the backup using the same backup date as the file date copied.
  • Follow the restore procedure as usual.
• The restore process now completes successfully.

Additional Information

You cannot restore the NSX-T Manager when this error occurs.

For additional information, see Troubleshooting NSX Backup and Restore Failures.