vCenter 8 backup fails with failed to create backup directory on backup server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) backups are failing immediately. When attempting to initiate the backup, the system returns the error message: "failed to create backup directory on backup server".

Environment

vCenter 8.x

Cause

There is insufficient or no free disk space available on the target SFTP backup server partition to create the directory and store the backup data.

To validate this is the cause:

• SSH to backup server
• Run df -h
• Look for backup partition and determine if it is running out of capacity

Resolution

 

To resolve this issue:

• Access the target SFTP backup server.
• Verify the available free disk space on the partition designated for vCenter backups. (df -h)
• Free up storage capacity by removing unneeded files, or extend the partition's size
• Retry vCenter appliance backup operation

 

Additional Information

For more information on vCenter Server backup requirements, see the File-Based Backup and Restore of vCenter Server documentation.