Backup files are not visible in VMware Cloud Director Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) during restore despite successful NFS mount

Products

• VMware Cloud Director

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to restore a VMware Cloud Director (VCD) appliance, the "Select a Backup" list in the Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) is empty.
• The NFS share is successfully mounted on the cell, and backup files are confirmed to exist at the mount point via SSH.
• File permissions are correctly set (e.g., 750 vcloud:vcloud).
• No explicit mount errors are displayed, but the restore process cannot proceed due to the missing backup list.

Environment

VMware Cloud Director 10.6

Cause

The issue is caused by specifying the incorrect directory level as the NFS mount target during the restore operation.

The VCD restore logic is designed to automatically scan for a subdirectory named backups within the specified mount point. If the user mounts the backups folder itself (e.g., /nfs/backups), the system attempts to look for a nested path (e.g., /nfs/backups/backups), fails to find it, and therefore displays no available backup files.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must mount the parent directory of the backups folder rather than the backups folder itself.

1. Log in to the VCD Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) at https://<Appliance_IP>:5480.
2. Navigate to the Restore section.
3. When prompted for the NFS mount details, enter the path to the parent directory that contains the backups folder.
4. Verify that the backup files now appear in the selection list.
5. Proceed with the restore process as documented.

Additional Information

Backup and Restore of Your VMware Cloud Director Appliance