Job fails right away with error «Checking free space on source datastore. Object reference not set to an instance of an object.»
In the log files you can see:
[timestamp] Info Task operation: ‘Checking free space on source datastore’
[timestamp] Info [AP] Disposing client from thread 1
[timestamp] Info [AP] Sending quit signal for client, host «esxhost»
[timestamp] Info [AP] (Server) state: closed
[timestamp] Info [AP] (Client) state: closed
[timestamp] Info [AP] Stopping local agent process, pid 5936, role Client
[timestamp] Info [Soap] Connection ‘vc:443:domainadministrator:False::0:1’ is disposing.
[timestamp] Info [Ssh] Connection ‘esxhost:22:root:False:False:1’ is disposing.
[timestamp] Info [AP] Disposing client from thread 1
[timestamp] Info [AP] Sending quit signal for client, host «esxhost»
[timestamp] Info [AP] (Server) state: closed
[timestamp] Info [AP] (Client) state: closed
[timestamp] Info Starting perlSoap protocol to «esxhost»
[timestamp] Info Installing perlsoap library to /tmp/veeb8f283e5-2eb1-4ef6-8403-c5843e8aaf65
[timestamp] Info Reading «veeam_soap.tar» from directory «C:Program FilesVeeamBackup and Replication»
[timestamp] Info Answer to installation: :
[timestamp] Info Executing firewall command «ClosePortOut», port 2500
[timestamp] Info [Soap] Connection ‘vc:443:domainadministrator:False::0:1’ is disposing.
[timestamp] Info Unlocking storage(s), lockId: ’62ebbc13-f147-4502-a0c9-745c5af4e0fb’
[timestamp] Error Object reference not set to an instance of an object. in Veeam.Backup.Core.CFreeSpaceChecker.CheckFreeSpaceOnSourceDatasore(CBackupTaskSession taskSess, Datastore datastore)
[timestamp] Error in Veeam.Backup.Core.CVddkSource.Backup(IReceiver receiver)
[timestamp] Error in Veeam.Backup.Core.CBackupJobPerformer.ExecuteTask(IVmBackupTask task, ITarget target, CBackupTaskSession taskSess)
[timestamp] Error in Veeam.Backup.Core.CBackupJobPerformer.ExecuteTask(IBackupTask task, ITarget target)
You have a workingDir parameter in the vmx file of the VM
| KB ID: | 1850 |
| Product: | Veeam Backup & Replication |
| Version: | 6.x, 7.x |
| Published: | 2014-01-22 |
| Last Modified: | 2020-08-13 |
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Challenge
You receive an error after manually deleting a replica VM.
Cause
The replication job is still mapped to the previous replica VM. An error is produced when Veeam attempts to access the invalid object.
Solution
Unchecking the Low Connection Bandwidth (Enable replica seeding) checkbox does not clear the values held in the seeding /mapping settings, if mapping is left enabled when the box is unchecked. The map must be cleared before unchecking this box.
If it is not already, check the box to enable replica seeding in the Name section of the job settings, then click next until you reach the Seeding options.
In the mapping options, highlight the affected VM and click the remove button.
After this you can disable Replica Mapping, and Low Connection Bandwidth (Enable replica seeding)
This will now allow Veeam to create a new replica VM.
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KnowledgeBase: You receive a ‘Object reference not set to an instance of an object.’ error when backing up Teams with Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365
For years, we’ve been advising organizations using Microsoft 365 services (formerly known as Office 365 services) like Exchange Online to create backups of their data stored in these services and/or to define their exit scenario.
Now, organizations using Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 to this purpose are seeing errors with this product…
The situation
An organization leverages Microsoft Teams.
To create backups of their data in Teams and to restore this data and/or other locations, they use Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 version 5.
The issue
Since last week, admins receive an error when creating Teams backups:
Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
The cause
Recent changes made by Microsoft to their application programming interfaces (APIs) have impacted backups of data in Microsoft Teams in versions of Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 prior to version 5.0.2.42.
The solution
When using Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365, you must upgrade to latest version: Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 5b cumulative patch KB4187 (version 5.0.2.42).
The newest product build leverages different API queries which help to avoid the issue which takes place in older builds.
Concluding
Microsoft 365 is a fluid platform. Changes can be implemented overnight that break functionality in the morning. Unintended, or not. Veeam has been working closely with Microsoft for several years.
Check if you’re running version 5.0.2.42, or a newer version. If not, update your Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 installation(s).
Posted on August 26, 2021 by Sander Berkouwer in Security Updates, Veeam, Veeam Vanguard
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KnowledgeBase: You receive a ‘Object reference not set to an instance of an object.’ error when backing up Teams with Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365
18/10/2018
Reading Time: 1 minute
After installing VMware vSphere 6.7 Update 1, Veeam backup fails due to a change in the vSphere API 6.7 introduced by VMware.
The processed backup jobs fail with the error «Object reference not set to an instance of an object».
If you use Veeam as your backup solution, avoid updating your infrastructure with vSphere 6.7 Update 1 until the issue has been fixed.
Workaround for Veeam Backup
Currently there is not a fix for this problem but Veeam provided a temporary workaround to allow the jobs to be completed successfully.
In Veeam Backup and Replication Server you need to create a registry key in the HKLMSOFTWAREVeeamVeeam Backup and Replication section.
Open the Registry Editor, right click the Veeam Backup and Replication item and select New > Multi-String Value.
Create the key VMwareOverrideApiVersion and assign the value 6.7.1=6.7. Click OK to confirm.
The created new registry key.
After creating this registry key, reboot the server and re-run the failed backup jobs. This time the backup job completes successfully.
As stated by Veeam in the KB2784, this is just a workaround since overriding the API version may affect other Veeam functionalities.
The official support for vSphere 6.7 Update 1 will be included in the upcoming Veeam Backup and Replication 9.5 Update 4.
UPDATE
The issue has been fixed in Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 4.
About The Author
Paolo Valsecchi
System Engineer, VCP-DCV, VCP-DM, vExpert, VMCE, VMCA, Veeam Vanguard. Working experience focused on VMware vSphere, Microsoft Active Directory, and backup/DR solutions.
In a previous post I posted back in december 2018 (CLICK HERE) we experienced issues while using on of our Veeam 9.5U3a environments together with VMware vSphere 6.7 U1. Since time has passed and Veeam has released support for vSphere 6.7 U1 (Veeam 9.5 U4) and vSphere 6.7 U2 (Veeam 9.5 U4a) you should have already upgraded Veeam and removed the previously mentioned workaround.
Since this particular environment cannot be easily upgraded we are still on Veeam version 9.5 U3a and we continued using it. As of late I’ve been getting the same messages which we received with vSphere 6.7 U1, messages like below:
|
Processing VM1 Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. Processing VM2 Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. Processing VM3 Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. |
It didn’t instantaneously trigger anything with me so I once again started to troubleshoot the logs and try and find out why this happend. Until I googled my own previous blog post! After this I checked the VMware vCenter environment that we were targeting and ofcourse the customer upgraded his VMware vCenter environment to version 6.7 U2 without mentioning it to us!
Since this environment couldn’t easily be upgraded I started looking at solutions, but couldn’t actually find anything this time. But then I started thinking, with the previous workaround we were able to have Veeam use the vSphere 6.7 API to enable our replications again. Would this work another time with the newer VMware vCenter API?
So there we go again; look up the previously made registry key (if you still have it), or create it again:
|
Location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREVeeamVeeam Backup and Replication Key type: Multi-String Value (REG_MULTI_SZ) Value: VMwareOverrideApiVersion Data: 6.7.2=6.7 |
But this time, instead of using “6.7.1=6.7“, use “6.7.2=6.7“. Again make sure there are no spaces in the “Data” field, apply the registry and reboot the Veeam Backup Server Service.
And sure enough, everything is working smoothly again. Just like last time please make sure you remove the registry once you’ve updated to Veeam 9.5 U4. And remember that this is ofcourse officialy not supported! I thought to share this with you guys since I couldn’t find any mentions on the web that this workaround also works for vSphere 6.7 U2.
Back to your backups/replications!
**Edited and updated with new findings on 2020-06-18.