[RESOLVED] VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection

Hello Neil,

Welcome to our Forum, we're glad to greet you here. We're sincerely you've faced this issue. It has been fixed in the hotfix pre-release build. I will send it to you via Private Message in a minute.

Please update your installation, and check whether the issue remains.

Should you need anything else or have any further questions - feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience, we will be happy to help you!

Thank you.

Hi

I've got a very similar problem.

vmProtect 7.0. build 5155
Installed as a virtual appliance on ESXi 4.1
Backing up a Windows Server 2008 standard, which is on a different vcenter running on vsphere 5.0.

Here is the full error message.

Echec lors de l'accès au disque dur '[datastore1] test1/test1.vmdk'.
Informations additionnelles :
--------------------
Code d'erreurs : 23
Module : 83
LineInfo : c61573f663f5d98d
Champs :
Message : Echec lors de l'accès au disque dur '[datastore1] test1/test1.vmdk'.
--------------------
Code d'erreurs : 94
Module : 83
LineInfo : c61573f663f5d8d1
Champs :
Message : Echec lors de l'ouverture du fichier de données du disque dur brutes '[datastore1] test1/test1.vmdk'.
--------------------
Code d'erreurs : 208
Module : 83
LineInfo : c61573f663f5d756
Champs : code : 14009
Message : VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection
--------------------

Would the hotfix solve this error?

Hello François,

Welcome to our Forum, we're glad to greet you here.

The hotfix should solve the issue. The problem is the hotfix build is available in English language only. Will it suit you as a temporary solution while we're waiting for the new build to get released? Please let me know via PM.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thank you!

Yana wrote:

Hello Neil,

Welcome to our Forum, we're glad to greet you here. We're sincerely you've faced this issue. It has been fixed in the hotfix pre-release build. I will send it to you via Private Message in a minute.

Please update your installation, and check whether the issue remains.

Should you need anything else or have any further questions - feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience, we will be happy to help you!

Thank you.

Hello Yana,

I replied to your PM message with the results. The update you FTP linked to was not a new version of vmProtect or a hotfix as far as I could see. It wanted to install itself in Windows and create bootable media??

We're using vmProtect as a virtual appliance running on ESXi servers. This update you provided is useless to us.

Regards.

Neil.

IM getting this error too, and im using the latest build and update of VMprotect 7.

Additional info:
--------------------
Error code: 246
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d800
Fields:
Message: Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
--------------------
Error code: 208
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d776
Fields: code : 14009
Message: VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection

Hello Neil, and Ron,

Thank you for your comments.

Neil, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. It looks like your message never reached me, I've checked our PM, and can only see my message there. I've rechecked the FTP account. The uploaded file is actually the Agent of the vmProtect. Please accept my sincere apologies for the confusion. I'm uploading the full hotfix build, please check whether it solves the issue.

Ron, I will be glad to send you the fix, but for that I'll need to know your product license. Could you please specify it to me via PM?

Important note: in case the issue remains, please send us the debug logs. (If you're using Windows Agent, please enable debugging by going to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\Global\Configuration -> change DebugTrace meaning to "1", and restart Acronis vmProtect Managed Machine Service VMMS).

We need to be sure that the solution for the issue is included to the upcoming hotfix update, and for this we need to proceed with the investigation of the problem if its still present.

Thank you.

Hi Yana,

Currently running vmProtect7 7.0 build 5155 and also receiving the error message when trying to restore of a VM from Acronis Online storage. I am currently running with a trail version.

Will hotfix help me in this situation ?

Thanks

Tony

Error code: 23
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d98d
Fields:
Message: Failed to get access to hard disk '[datastore1] connect7_Apr 30, 2012/connect7_Apr 30, 2012_1_393B35B2-1932-4E3B-A7BE-F406441EEACC.vmdk'.
--------------------
Error code: 94
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d8d1
Fields:
Message: Failed to open raw hard disk data file '[datastore1] connect7_Apr 30, 2012/connect7_Apr 30, 2012_1_393B35B2-1932-4E3B-A7BE-F406441EEACC.vmdk'.
--------------------
Error code: 208
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d756
Fields: code : 14009
Message: VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection

I'm glad to report that (so far) we've had no recurrence of this issue, after applying the hotfix.

Hopefully I won't need to repost here ;-)

Hi there,

we are also having the same problem. ESXi 5.0

How do we obtain this hotfix?

Can anyone supply the hotfix please.

Hi there, Can somebody please get back to me,

17 Warning 5/3/12 10:04:37 PM Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
Additional info:
--------------------
Error code: 246
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d800
Fields:
Message: Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
--------------------
Error code: 208
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d776
Fields: code : 14009
Message: VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection

Will this hotfix fix this issue??

Andy/Tony, have you tried to contact Yana via PM?
(she offered to send the hotfix this way, but requested the used license key)

Tony: as i think you are facing a quite different issue than anyone else (restore instead of backup),
i strongly suggest opening a new thread or support case with details on your configuration, debug log and probably troubleshooting steps so far.
(Also note, that Acronis vmProtect does not support raw disks - just in case you changed disk configuration before trying to overwrite a VM: http://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/AVMP7/#18884.html )

Hi all,
I have applied the hotfix, and still i am getting warnings. Only on one server though.

Server 2003 R2 Sp2
Running SQL 2000

--------------------
Error code: 246
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d808
Fields:
Message: Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
--------------------
Error code: 208
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d77e
Fields: code : 14009
Message: VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection
--------------------

Just an update on my issue, which was occurring with a restore, just in case it helps others.

The TCP connection to port 902 to the ESXi management address was blocked by our firewalls. Once this was permitted my restore completed without errors.

Can anyone supply the hotfix please.

I also need the hotfix .. i have the same error messages when backup this server

I have this message when I try to backup. It is a new installation with the lastest version downloaded 6days ago.

Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
Additional info:
--------------------
Error code: 246
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d808
Fields:
Message: Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
--------------------
Error code: 208
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d77e
Fields: code : 14009
Message: VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection

I cannot back up my server. I should have used a trial key before commiting to this purchase.

How do I get it to back up? It backed up once and that was my lot 6days ago.

I have this same issue on one of my backups.

Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
Additional info:
--------------------
Error code: 246
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d808
Fields:
Message: Failed to execute IO operation 'Read'.
--------------------
Error code: 208
Module: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d77e
Fields: code : 14009
Message: VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection
--------------------

Are you using build 5173 already? For some languages, it was only releases a few days ago.

Yes I am using the 5173 build

I am also having this issue with ESXi 5.0 623830

I am also having this issue with ESXi 5.0 623830 and Acronis VMprotect 7 Appliance. latest build.
what is the resolution for this problem? I am only getting this on one VM that I am backing up which is windows 2003 VM with 40GB Hard drive on one Datastore and 1.5TB on another hard drive in a different datastore.

I still having the issue. Acronis contacted me and tell me that try the VMProtect 8 , i am goinng to try this new beta version. The VM protect7 never work in that guest. Other guest in the same host works without problem.

Guest with Win2003 STd server works without problem, but with other guest with Win2008 Std server i have a warning at the end of the backup and then not delete the snapshot's that create at the begin. and that's right i have the datastore full two times.. thank to vmware forums i have the procedure to delete the snapshots created by acronis, but that is not a good solution for this issue.

Hope this new version of VM Protect 8 works better.

Acronis support I have attached my log files... We really need to get this resloved.

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for posting and we will definitely help you with addressing this issue.

The "VDDK: Server refused connection" problem is caused by the fact that Acronis vmProtect 7 reads the .vmdk blocks in large chunks and this affects the vCenter/ESXi host VDDK responses which block the connection. This issue affects only the backup of VMs with disks larger than ~1TB.

The problem is fixed in Acronis vmProtect 8 beta, which I will provide you in a private message with all the required details (SNs/links, etc.) so that you can confirm the resolution.

Once Acronis vmProtect 8 gets officially released, you can receive a free upgrade provided you have a valid support program.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Thank you.

I update my vmprotect 7 to version 8 and then make a backup test to confirm this comment, not work and i still have the same warning error . snapshots still not deleted at the end of the process.

Hi everyone,

I would like to give a technical explanation to the reasons of this issue and where we currently stand with it:

- The problem occurs while reading relatively large VM disks through VMware VDDK API by vmProtect. Typically the issue occurs on disks larger than 1Tb, however it may be present on 500Gb+ disks also.
- This depends on the available bandwidth between the vmProtect Agent (Virtual Appliance or Windows Agent) and the version of the ESX(i) host/vCenter.
- Therefore the problem occurs only during backup using NBD (network) mode and one of the workarounds is to use SAN mode (Windows Agent + connected iSCSI/FC LUN to this Windows machine) or disk-attach method (where disks are attached to the Virtual Appliance automatically via Hot-Add feature)
- The version of the ESX(i) host/vCenter does matter due to limitations of the NFC connections which are different for each version (see details of the limitations here: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cm…). Acronis vmProtect uses 1 NFC connection per opened disk. The disks of one backed up VM are opened simultaneously which means if you have 2 disks then 2 NFC connections will be required.

The problem is as follows: Acronis vmProtect 7 starts reading the disk in large chunks the size of which depends on the size of the disk being read (for large disks the chunk size can grow up to 50Mb). The read request for large chunk is sent to the ESX(i) host and the host starts getting this data to be sent over back to the vmProtect Agent. There is a timeout on the NFC connections which are allowed to keep alive only while there is some activity over this connection. At the time when the host prepares the data to be sent back the NFC connection remains idle and therefore is considered as inactive. This leads to connection closure upon timeout by the ESX(i) host. What happens then is that the host replies to vmProtect Agent that the NFC connection has timed out, while in fact this connection is not really closed on the host side (this issue we are working on with VMware support team). Now we've came up with the situation that the NFC connection is in fact used on the host, however it is unavailable for vmProtect Agent to transfer the data. At this point Acronis vmProtect imposes a VDDK retry attempt to re-read the data from the disk and before this rertry vmProtect Agent closes the opened disk through the VDDK API which means that NFC connection must be closed on the ESX(i) host side (while this doesn't happen in fact). This means that a new NFC connection is opened, while the old one is still used. After several retries (if all of them fail) the NFC connections limit is reached and none of the NFC connections are in fact closed until the ESX(i) host reboot. This results in locked snapshot disks, inability to consolidate snapshots, etc.

To solve this issue in Acronis vmProtect 8 we have limited the chunk size of the data to be read from the ESX(i) host down to 4Mb and this works pretty good in most situations. However we can still see some cases when for example the connection between the vmProtect Agent (Windows Agent) and the ESX(i) host is established via VPN and the 4Mb reads still don't get through the ESX(i) host timeout, so to address these issues we are going to create a custom build with 1Mb chunk read size (later on this read chunk size will be customizable in vmProtect Agent itself via registry). Note that we cannot reduce the size of the chunks to be read down to 1Kb for example because this will significantly impact the performance, so it's more a matter of balance for each particular environment.

P.S. If you still run into the same issue with Acronis vmProtect 8 build (not Beta, but the build provided by Anton) then we'll need to check the log files (/var/lib/Acronis/vmProtect/ folder from Virtual Appliance or \ProgramData\Acronis\vmProtect\ folder from Windows Agent + View->Show Logs->Save All To file) from the new version in order to check the timings between the NFC connection timeouts and advise on the next steps.

Thank you.
--
Best regards,
Vasily
Acronis vmProtect Program Manager

Hello JP,

Thank you for keeping us posted.

Could you please get back to us with additional information so that we can take a look at the issue:

1. Please clear the logs before reproducing this issue (Clear Log), recreate it and then attach the log file to your posts. The log can be collected this way: View->Show Logs->Save All To File

2. If this is a Windows agent, please send me the contents of this folder via a private message: /var/lib/Acronis/vmProtect/ or \ProgramData\Acronis\

3. Could you lest us more about your network topology between vmProtect and your ESX host.

Looking forward to your reply and if you have additional questions please let me know.

Thank you.

What is the situation here? I have 4 clients who we purchase licenses for in the last 5 weeks and these licenses are useless to them as it doesnt work. Do we have to buy new licenses or do they get free upgrade to version 8?

Hello Adeinka,

Thank you for your post.

With a valid support license you can get a free upgrade.

I would recommend the following article from our Knowledge Base for additional information.

Please let me know if you need additional help.

Thank you.

i have same error :
impossibile eseguire l'operazione IO 'Open'.
Informazioni aggiuntive:
--------------------
Codice errore: 246
Modulo: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d808
Campi:
Messaggio: Impossibile eseguire l'operazione IO 'Open'.
--------------------
Codice errore: 208
Modulo: 83
LineInfo: c61573f663f5d75e
Campi: code : 14009
Messaggio: VMware_VDDK: The server refused connection
--------------------

Can i have upgrade to version 8 for resolve the problem??
I can send my S/N via PM.
Thanks

Hello Luca,

Thank you for posting and welcome to the Forum.

Could you please send me your product serial number via this link.

Thank you.

Anton wrote:

Hello Luca,

Thank you for posting and welcome to the Forum.

Could you please send me your product serial number via this link.

Thank you.

hi Anton,
i send you new PM.
can you read and answer me.
Thanks.

Luca

Anton

Can I send you my keys to get the upgrade? I have 8keys in total 4 register under 1 account.

Hello Luca and Adeyinka,

Thank you for your posts.

I apologize for any confusion. I have corrected my post and the build we are offering at the moment is the latest one for Acronis vmProtect 8 beta.

As soon as it is released we will post an announcement in the forum. If you have a valid support program you can upgrade for free. Please check this article for additional information.

The latest build for vmProtect beta can be downloaded from this link.

Luca, I sent you a private message with the details.

Adeyinka, I will provide you with serial numbers for the beta version in a few minutes via a private message.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Thank you.

good news for me..hope help to everyone that have my same problem, i download the new version of Acronis vmProtect 8.0 Agent (build 8.0.8112) (i think this is beta version) but work perfectly.. so my only concern is that how Acronis will upgrade our vmprotect 7 licenses that not work.. will be for free. also i put a licenses for the beta version. are this license have an expiration date ??

Thanks for this confirmation.

Hello JP,

Thank you for posting and we are glad the new version resolves the issue.

As soon as vmProtect 8 is released we will post an announcement in the forum. If you have a valid support program you can upgrade for free. Please check this article for additional information.

If there is anything else I can do for you please let me know.

Thank you.

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to provide everybody with an update that we have released Acronis vmProtect 8. I will lock this thread and if you experience any issues please create new topics for them.

We would really appreciate if you could attach these logs when posting about a technical issue.

Thank you.

I'm using VMware ESXi 6.5.0 build-7967591 and I'm having problems that generate this kind of error: "...VDDK (Disk read error: The server refused connection)".

Is there anybody that can help me with this?

Thanks,

Hello Paola,

Welcome to Acronis forum! We'd need more details on the situation:

- What product are using to protect your ESXi 6.5? Please note that Acronis Backup for VMware 9 only supports ESX versions till 6.0. To protect 6.5 you'd need to upgrade the software to Acronis Backup 12.5. 

- What operation is causing errors? Does it fail completely or operation succeeds, but there are errors about refused connection in the log?  

- please attach the whole text of the error message 

Thank you,