Configuring or adding Enhanced Replication mapping fails with error : "A runtime error occurred in the vSphere Replication Management Server"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Error seen while adding new Enhanced replication mappings in Site Recovery UI:
  
  “A runtime error occurred in the vSphere Replication Management Server. Exception details: ‘java.lang.NullPointerException’.  Operation ID: ########-####-####-####-############”.
  
  
• Source and Target datastores to be configured for mapping are part of new clusters used for first time to replicate VMs.
  
  
• Replication Mapping for existing cluster works without any issues. 

Environment

vSphere Replication 9.0.2

Cause

• Cause of the issue is that all the hosts in Source and Target ESXi Clusters are marked with tag com.vmware.vr.disallowedHost that prevents replication data to sync between sites.
  
  
• Following null pointer exception errors are reported when new mapping is added under Enhanced Replication Mapping in UI:
  
  (from /opt/vmware/hms/logs/hms.log --- of Source vSphere Replication appliance)

YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.604 ERROR com.vmware.vim.vmomi.server.impl.InvocationTask [tcweb-17] ( ..server.impl.InvocationTask) [operationID=########-####-####-####-############-HMS-51665, sessionID=########] | Method invocation threw unexpected exception!
java. lang. NullPointerException: null
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.604 ERROR com.vmware.hms.il8n.class com.vmware.hms.response.filter.I18nActivationResponseFilter [tcweb-17] ( .. hms.fault.ExceptionToFaultConverter) [operationID=########-####-####-####-############-HMS-51665, sessionID=########] | Fault conversion needed. Method 'calculateReplicationMapping' cannot throw java.lang. NullPointerException: null
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.604 DEBUG com.vmware.hms.il8n.class com.vmware.hms.response.filter.I18nActivationResponseFilter [tcweb-17] (. .hms. fault.ExceptionToFaultConverter) [operationID=########-####-####-####-############-HMS-51665, sessionID=########] | Converted exception java.lang.NullPointerException

(hms.fault.HmsRuntimeFault) {

faultCause = (hms.fault.HmsRuntimeFault)

faultCause = null,

faultMessage = null,

originalMessage = null,

 

faultMessage = null,
originalMessage = null

YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.444 INFO com. vmware. hms. il8n. class com. vmware. hms . response. filter. I18nActivationResponseFilter [tcweb-7] (. .response. filter. I18nActivationResponseFilter) [operationID=########-####-####-####-############-HMS-471, sessionID-#######] | The localized message is: A runtime error occurred in the vSphere Replication Management Server. Exception details: 'Cannot read the array length because "<parameterl>" is null'.

Resolution

To resolve this error on VM replications, perform the following:

1. Remove com.vmware.vr.disallowedHost tag set on Source and Target ESXi Clusters to be configured for Enhanced Replication Mapping.

   (Select Cluster in vSphere Client > under Summary tab > remove 'com.vmware.vr.disallowedHost")
   
   
2. Reconfigure VM replication reporting error.