3201 Cannot open on VA-Hotadd and\or VA-Network replication (4046529)

If you are seeing 3201 Cannot open Vix:...<vmname>vmdk errors when trying to replicate with VA-hot-add and\or VA-Network

There are many possible solutions to this problem\ error code:

Cause 1: DNS Resolution is Failing

RESOLUTION:

1. Putty into the Source and Target VA's and try pinging the VC(s), Source and Target hosts on both VA's. (Using FQDN)
2. If the name does not resolve then configure the /etc/resolv.conf file to point to your DNS servers. The steps are listed below and in the install guide.
3. If you do not have your hosts in DNS, then you can attempt to put the hosts in the /etc/hosts file with the process listed below. HOWEVER - vRanger heavily relies on DNS and it is highly reccommended to have your virtual environment entered in DNS.

Configuring DNS

1. Login to the virtual appliance.
2. Using the VI text editor, edit the resolv.conf file:
   
   vi /etc/resolv.conf
3. Enter the following text, substituting the appropriate values where indicated:
   
   search <domain1> <domain2> <domain3>
   nameserver <IP address>
   nameserver <IP address>
4. Save the file.
5. Restart the VM by typing reboot at the prompt.

Configuring Host file

1. Login to the virtual appliance.
2. Using the VI text editor, edit the hosts file:
   
   vi /etc/hosts
3. Enter the following text, substituting the appropriate values where indicated:
   
   127.0.0.1 localhost
   <IP address> <Host FQDN> (Repeat on a new line as many as required)
4. Save the file by pressing Esc, : (colon), wq <Enter>
5. Restart the VM by typing reboot at the prompt.

Cause 2: The Required Ports are not Available

RESOLUTION:

Login to VA(s) vai putty session or VMware console window and:

1. Run telnet <virtual center FQDN> 443 this confirms that the VA can connect to the Virtual Center server
2. Run telnet <esx host FQDN> 902 this confirms that the VA can connect to the ESX(i) host
3. If these test fail, verify that these ports are open.

Cause 3: Expired Password/Special Characters

RESOLUTION:

Reset/Change the password of the account that is used to connect vRanger to vCentre without special characters.

Cause 4: Improper VA Deployment

RESOLUTION:

Deploy VA via the vranger virtual deployment wizard versus having deployed the VA from OVF via vSphere Client

Cause 5: Block Size Mismatch

RESOLUTION:

Migrate the VM being replicated  to a  vmware datastore of same block size as the VA.

Cause 6: Insufficient VMware Licensing

RESOLUTION:

This error can occur if your Virtual Center License is not at the sufficient level to support Hardware Hot Add

Verify that "Hot-Pluggable virtual HW" is licensed on both sides of the Replication. This can be verified by selecting both hosts on either side and selecting the 'Configuration" tab, Licensed features, and verifying that "Hot-Pluggable virtual HW" is in the list of Product features.

If that feature is not licensed then, in vRanger, go to 'tools\options\transport failover', select 'VA-based Network', and press the up arrow to make that the first option. This should make the backups work if licensing is the issue.

Cause 7: VA has been vMotioned

RESOLUTION:

If and only if  VA(s) have been deployed  in ESXi host mode and not cluster based mode whereby the VA happens to vmotion off of the ESXi host where the VM resides would this possible resolution apply.

Cause 8: Snapshots on the Replica

RESOLUTION:

1. In vSphere Client, Navigate to Snapshot Manager
2. If possible, revert to the earliest snapshot
3. Take a snapshot of the _Replica VM
4. Remove the snapshot by "Delete All', this will remove the snapshot and all other existing snapshots.
5.  Retry replication job.

Cause 9: Errors on the host

RESOLUTION:

One possible resolution is to vmotion VMs off troublesome ESX(i) host and then reboot the ESX(i) host. Then move VMs back to ESX(i) host and replication proceeds normally.

Cause10: Replica is missing configuration files

RESOLUTION:

Examin the  VM folder within the datastore to see if only the vmname-Replica_1-flat.vmdk file may exists. If no other files associated with the VM exist,  follow these steps:

1. In vSphere remove the replica from Disk
2. In vRanger remove the replication job
3. Refresh the vRanger inventory
4. Create a new replication job and run the new job

Cause 11: Domain credentials are needed to communicate with the VC.

RESOLUTION:

Make sure when adding vcenter server into vranger that "Domain\Username" is used vs. "Username" only.

Cause 12: The hosts is not licnesed in vRanger

RESOLUTION:

Go to Tools > Options > Host -- check for enough\ valid number of sockets for backup and/or replication in each hosts.
If  not enough licenses then go to https://support.quest.com/LicenseKey.aspx to upgrade license.

Cause 13: NAT is Configured in the Environment

RESOLUTION:

vRanger 6.x and above uses VA version 1.8.0 while vRanger 5.x and earlier uses VA version 1.5.0. Based on this information if on the wrong VA version redeploy correct version of VA.

To check VA version in vSphere client click on VA & choose summary tab this will list the version of VA.

Cause 15: Access Restriction has been Enabled on the Host

RESOLUTION:

http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/mid-size-and-enterprise-business/compare-editions.html