Error: "Path not exported by the remote filesystem" during vCenter restoration/backup from NFS share

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• A vCenter Server restoration from an NFS mount share fails, displaying the following error message in the user interface:

     "Path not exported by the remote filesystem"

• When attempting to manually mount the NFS share directly from the vCenter command line to verify connectivity, the server explicitly denies the request across multiple NFS versions (v4.2, v4.1, v4, and v3). Manual Mount Test Output:

      root@localhost [ / ]# mkdir /mnt/nfs_test
      root@localhost [ / ]# mount -v -t nfs <nfs_server_ip>:<nfs_export_path> /mnt/nfs_test
      mount.nfs: timeout set for <date_time>
      mount.nfs: trying text-based options 'vers=4.2, addr=<nfs_server_ip>, clientaddr=<vcenter_client_ip>'
      mount.nfs: mount (2) : Permission denied
      mount.nfs: trying text-based options 'vers=4, minorversion=1, addr=<nfs_server_ip>, clientaddr=<vcenter_client_ip>'
      mount.nfs: mount (2) : Permission denied
      mount.nfs: trying text-based options 'vers=4, addr=<nfs_server_ip>, clientaddr=<vcenter_client_ip>'
      mount.nfs: mount (2) : Permission denied
      mount.nfs: trying text-based options 'addr=<nfs_server_ip>'
      mount.nfs: prog 100003, trying vers=3, prot=6
      mount.nfs: trying <nfs_server_ip> prog 100003 vers 3 prot TCP port 2049
      mount.nfs: prog 100005, trying vers=3, prot=17
      mount.nfs: trying <nfs_server_ip> prog 100005 vers 3 prot UDP port 635
      mount.nfs: mount (2) : Permission denied
      mount.nfs: access denied by server while mounting <nfs_server_ip>:<nfs_export_path>

Environment

VMware vCenter Server

Cause

The failure is caused by an authorization restriction on the backend NFS storage array. The export policy on the storage server does not currently contain a rule allowing the specific IP address of the vCenter appliance (or the temporary restoration appliance) to access the share. Because the client IP is not recognized as an authorized host, the storage server actively rejects the connection, resulting in a "Permission denied" error.

Resolution

Engage your internal storage administration team to update the storage array's configuration. They must add a new NFS export rule to the target share's export policy that explicitly grants Read/Write access to the restoring vCenter appliance's IP address.