VMware virtual machine restore fails with "The operation is not allowed in the current state. <280>"

Problem

Restore of virtual machine using NetBackup VMware agent is failing.

Error Message

The following is observed in the Activity Monitor Job Details for the restore:

Oct  1,  2019  3:00:43  PM  -  Info  bpVMutil  (pid=9092)  INF  -  vmwareLogger:  WaitForTaskComplete:  The  operation  is  not  allowed  in  the  current  state.  <280>
Oct  1,  2019  3:00:45  PM  -  Info  bpVMutil  (pid=9092)  INF  -  vmwareLogger:  WaitForTaskComplete:  SYM_VMC_ERROR:    TASK_REACHED_ERROR_STATE
Oct  1,  2019  3:00:46  PM  -  Info  bpVMutil  (pid=9092)  INF  -  vmwareLogger:  CreateVm:  SYM_VMC_ERROR:    TASK_REACHED_ERROR_STATE
Oct  1,  2019  3:00:48  PM  -  Info  bpVMutil  (pid=9092)  INF  -  vmwareLogger:  CreateVirtualMachineExAPI:  SYM_VMC_ERROR:    TASK_REACHED_ERROR_STATE
Oct  1,  2019  3:00:49  PM  -  end  Restore;  elapsed  time  0:00:40
NetBackup  VMware  policy  restore  error   (2820)

A verbose 5 NetBackup bpVMutil legacy log on the VMware recovery host will also capture this activity.

Cause

Two possible causes and solutions (there may be more):

1.  The ESXi host selected for the virtual machine at time of restore to is in "maintenance mode."

2.  There is a cd/dvd image mounted in the VMs virtual disk drive at time of backup and the restore is unable to reestablish this mapping.

3.   A variant of the above error is:

The operation is not allowed in the current state of the datastore. <31>

In this case, check the datastore as it may be in maintence mode, or in some error or warning state that needs to be addressed.

Solution

For 1 above, at time of restore select a ESXi host that is not in maintenance mode.

For 2 above, select "remove backing devices" during the restore configuration steps.

For 3 above, work with VMware team to identify what needs to be corrected with the datastore, or choose another datastore for this restore (one that is not in an error state).