vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 U2 backup via SMB fails with error: "SMB location is invalid"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• VCSA 6.7 U2 backup via SMB fails with error:

SMB location is invalid

• When configuring scheduler it fails with error:

Error in method invocation module 'util.Messages' has no attribute 'ScheduleLocationDoesNotExist'

• In the /var/log/vmware/applmgmt/applmgmt.log file, you see entries similar to:

<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]DEBUG:backupRestoreAPI:com.vmware.appliance.recovery.backup.job.create(Structure('BackupRequest', dict(comment=None, locationUser='administrator', parts=['common'], location='SMB://jump/vami_backup', backupPassword='****', locationType=LocationType(string='SMB'), locationPassword='****')))
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]ERROR:backupRestoreAPI:Failed to mount the cifs share //jump/vami_backup/ at /storage/remote/backup/cifs/jump/GeZrNlvQ/0mIKTRQz; Err: rc=32, stdOut:, stdErr: mount error(112): Host is down
Refer to the mount.cifs(8) manual page (e.g. man mount.cifs)
.
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]ERROR:backupRestoreAPI:Failed to mount the cifs share //jump/ at /storage/remote/backup/cifs/jump/GeZrNlvQ/0mIKTRQz; Err: rc=32, stdOut:, stdErr: mount error(112): Host is down
Refer to the mount.cifs(8) manual page (e.g. man mount.cifs)
.
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]ERROR:backupRestoreAPI:Couldn't mount the cifs share //jump/ at /storage/remote/backup/cifs/jump/GeZrNlvQ/0mIKTRQz
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]DEBUG:backupRestoreAPI:
Exception:
 Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/backup_restore/py/vmware/appliance/backup_restore/plugins/backupRestoreDispatchSMB.py", line 36, in validate
    self.mount()
  File "/usr/lib/applmgmt/backup_restore/py/vmware/appliance/backup_restore/plugins/backupRestoreMountedFS.py", line 159, in mount
    (self.fsName, shareLocation, self.localMountPath))
Exception: Couldn't mount the cifs share //jump/ at /storage/remote/backup/cifs/jump/GeZrNlvQ/0mIKTRQz

<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]DEBUG:backupRestoreAPI:Mount doesn't exist at /storage/remote/backup/cifs/jump/GeZrNlvQ/0mIKTRQz
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]DEBUG:backupRestoreAPI:Mount doesn't exist at /storage/remote/backup/cifs/jump/GeZrNlvQ/0mIKTRQz
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<TIME> [43441]ERROR:vmware.appliance.vapi.impl:pint.Error('com.vmware.applmgmt.err_invalid_remote_loc', '%(0)s location is invalid.', **{'args': LocationType(string='SMB')})

Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7.x

Cause

The issue occurs due to SMBv1 being disabled on SMB server.

Resolution

This is a known issue in VMware vCenter Appliance 6.7 U2 and above.

Currently, there is no resolution.

Workaround:
To workaround this issue, enable the SMBv1 protocol on the SMB server.

For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base 2696547.

Note: The preceding link was correct as of September 09, 2020. If you find the link is broken, please provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.