VMware Intelligent Policy (VIP) Test Query will fail when the reverse lookups exceed 30 minutes.

Problem

Where performing a Test Query using the VMware Intelligent Policy(VIP), the test query may fail due to reverse lookup from the VMware Backup Host taking more than 30 minutes.  If some of the IP addresses cannot be resolved, it slows down the reverse lookup of the IP addresses.

Error Message

ncfnbcs logs:

11/29/2011 20:07:31.565 [vfms_virt_log] vmwareLogger: SOAP 1.1 fault: "":ServerFaultCode [no subcode]
"The session is not authenticated."
Detail: <NotAuthenticatedFault xmlns="urn:vim25" xsi:type="NotAuthenticated"><object type="Folder">group-d1</object><privilegeId>System.View</privilegeId></NotAuthenticatedFault>
 
11/29/2011 20:07:31.565 [vfms_virt_log] dovSphereDisconnect: vmcLogout failed with 6
11/29/2011 20:07:31.721 [vfms_virt_log] dovSphereDisconnect: disconnect for virtualcenter01 completed with flags 0 and status 6
11/29/2011 20:07:31.721 [VMwareIteration::doIteration] dovSphereDisconnect failed for virtualcenter01 (../VMwareIteration.cpp:276)
11/29/2011 20:07:31.737 [Warning] V-386-10 vSphere disconnect failed, server = [virtualcenter01].
11/29/2011 20:07:31.737 [vfms_virt_log] dovSphereDisconnect: disconnect for virtualcenter01 completed with flags 0 and status 0
 

Cause

The issue occurs because while NetBackup is performing the reverse lookup for all the IP addresses, Virtual Center is not receiving any updates and will disconnection after 30 minutes without any updates.

Resulting in the "The session is not authenticated.." at the next attempt to use it.

Solution

1. Address the name resolution issues between the VMware Backup/Access Host and the IPs of the VMs.

2. Disable reverse lookup for the virtual machines:
Reverse IP looks can be disabled by adding the following registry entry from Windows VMware Backup Host:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\NetBackup\CurrentVersion\Config\BACKUP\disableIPResolution
This will disable the reverse IP lookup. If an IP address is discovered, the hostname will be set to the IP address.

For Linux VMware Backup Host:

a. On the Linux backup host, create (or open) the following file:
/usr/openv/netbackup/virtualization.conf
b. Add the following to the file:
[BACKUP]
"disableIPResolution"=dword:00000000
This entry causes NetBackup to use the virtual machine's IP address as the virtual machine's host name.

Note: If the file already contains a [BACKUP] line, do not add another [BACKUP] line. Any other lines that already exist under [BACKUP] should remain as they are.