vCenter Server VAMI backup fails with "permission denied" on /storage/lifecycle/vmware-wcp/backup/archives

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

File-based backups performed via the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) fail at approximately 15%.

The following error is observed in the /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/backup.log file:

YYYY-MM-DDT HH:MM:SS [ComponentScriptsBackup:PID-######] [Log::run:Log.py:64] ERROR:      msg = 'A general system error occurred: mkdir /storage/lifecycle/vmware-wcp/backup/archives/.########-####-####-####-############: permission denied'

YYYY-MM-DDT HH:MM:SS [ComponentScriptsBackup:PID-######] [Log::run:Log.py:64] ERROR:      reason = 'mkdir /storage/lifecycle/vmware-wcp/backup/archives/.########-####-####-####-############: permission denied'

Environment

vCenter Server 9.x

Cause

The issue occurs because the account used for the backup process (e.g., <USER NAME>) does not have write permissions on the directory /storage/lifecycle/vmware-wcp/backup/archives. When the Workload Control Plane (WCP) backup script attempts to create a temporary subdirectory for archiving, the operation is denied by the filesystem.

Resolution

Please follow the below steps to resolve the issue:

1. Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance via SSH using the root account.
2. Enable and access the Bash shell.
3. Validate the current permissions on the target directory: ls -ld /storage/lifecycle/vmware-wcp/backup/archives
4. Provide write permissions to 'others' on the folder hierarchy to allow the configured backup account to create the necessary directories: chmod o+w /storage/lifecycle/vmware-wcp/backup/archives
5. Log into the vCenter Server VAMI and retrigger the backup process.

Additional Information

Ensure that permission changes align with the organizational security policy. This directory is used locally by the appliance to stage WCP component data before it is streamed to the remote backup target.