You might need to troubleshoot the following common problems during the workload inventory.
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Problems or Messages |
Solutions |
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The domain in the credentials is invalid or blank |
This error occurs when the Credential Format is incorrect. Try the discovery by using a local administrator account with the credential format hostname\LocalAdmin Or, try the discovery by using a domain administrator account with the credential format domain\DomainAdmin |
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Unable to connect to Windows server...Access is denied |
A non-account was used when trying to add a workload. Use an administrator account or add the user to the administrators group and try again. This message might also indicate WMI connectivity failure. For each of the following possible resolutions, attempt the solution and then perform the WMI Connectivity Test again. If the test succeeds, try adding the workload again. |
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Unable to connect to Windows server...The network path was not found |
Network connectivity failure. Perform the tests in Performing Connectivity Tests. If a test fails, ensure that PlateSpin Forge and the workload are on the same network. Reconfigure the network and try again. |
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"Discover Server Details {hostname}" Failed Progress: 0% Status: NotStarted |
This error can occur for several reasons and each has a unique solution:
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Workload Discovery fails with error message Could not find file output.xml or Network path not found or (upon attempting to discover a Windows cluster) Inventory failed to discover. Inventory result returned nothing. |
There are several possible reasons for the Could not find file output.xml error:
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The following sections provide more troubleshooting information on Windows workloads:
Perform this basic network connectivity test to determine whether PlateSpin Forge can communicate with the workload that you are trying to protect.
Go to your Forge VM.
Open a command prompt and ping your workload:
ping workload_ip
Go to your Forge VM.
See Downloading and Installing the vSphere Client ProgramDownloading and Installing the vSphere Client Program.
Click Start > Run, type Wbemtest and press Enter.
Click Connect.
In the Namespace, type the name of the workload you are trying to discover with \root\cimv2 appended to it. For example, if the hostname is win2k, type:
\\win2k\root\cimv2
Enter the appropriate credentials, using either the hostname\LocalAdmin or domain\DomainAdmin format.
Click Connect to test the WMI connection.
If an error message is returned, a WMI connection cannot be established between PlateSpin Forge and your workload.
Log into the workload that you want to protect.
Click Start > Run.
Type dcomcnfg and press Enter.
Check connectivity:
For Windows systems (XP/Vista/2003/2008/7), the Component Services window is displayed. In the Computers folder of the console tree of the Component Services administrative tool, right-click the computer that you want to check for DCOM connectivity, then click Properties. Click the Default Properties tab and ensure that Enable Distributed COM on this computer is selected.
On a Windows 2000 Server machine, the DCOM Configuration dialog is displayed. Click the Default Properties tab and ensure that Enable Distributed COM on this computer is selected.
If DCOM was not enabled, enable it and either reboot the server or restart the Windows Management Instrumentation Service. Then try adding the workload again.
There are three potential blockages for the RPC service:
The Windows Service
A Windows firewall
A network firewall
For the Windows Service, ensure that the RPC service is running on the workload. To access the services panel, run services.msc from a command prompt. For a Windows firewall, add an RPC exception. For hardware firewalls, you can try the following strategies:
Putting PlateSpin Forge and the workload on the same side of the firewall
Opening up specific ports between PlateSpin Forge and the workload (See Configuring Access and Communication Settings across your Protection Network.
Antivirus software might occasionally block some of the PlateSpin Forge functionality related to WMI and Remote Registry. In order to ensure that workload inventory is successful, it might be necessary to first disable the antivirus service on a workload. In addition, antivirus software might occasionally lock access to certain files, allowing access only to certain processes or executables. This might occasionally obstruct file-based data replication. In this case, when you configure the workload protection, you can select services to disable, such as services installed and used by antivirus software. These services are only disabled for the duration of the file transfer, and are restarted when the process completes. This is not necessary during block-level data replication.
To successfully protect a workload, PlateSpin Forge needs to successfully deploy and install software within the workload. Upon deployment of these components to a workload, as well as during the Add Workload process, PlateSpin Forge uses the workload’s administrative shares. PlateSpin Forge needs administrative access to the shares, using either a local administrator account or a domain administrator account for this to work.
To ensure that the Administrative shares are enabled:
Right-click My Computer on the desktop and select Manage.
Expand System Tools > Shared Folders > Shares
In the Shared Folders directory, you should see Admin$, among other shares.
After confirming that the shares are enabled, ensure that they are accessible from within the Forge VM:
Go to your Forge VM.
Click Start > Run, type \\<server_host>\Admin$, then click OK.
If you are prompted, use the same credentials as those you will use to add the workload to the PlateSpin Forge workload inventory.
The directory is opened and you should be able to browse and modify its contents.
Repeat the process for all shares with the exception of the IPC$ share.
Windows uses the IPC$ share for credential validation and authentication purposes. It is not mapped to a folder or file on the workload, so the test always fails; however, the share should still be visible.
PlateSpin Forge does not modify the existing content of the volume; however, it creates its own directory, to which it requires access and permissions.