v7 Configuration Backup error.

[Lunddahl]

I'm in the proces of upgrading our customers to version 7, normally we wait a few weeks, to avoid the bugs, but a lot of customers are relly eget to explore and use the new Backup Copy and WAN acceleration features.

So first upgrade was under 24 hours after release, and now i have done 3 upgrades, very smoot, almost no issues, and only one issue related directly to Veeam.

The issue is Configuration Backup, and i have it on all 3 installations, the error is:

21-08-2013 10:06:19 Job started at 21-08-2013 10:06:18
21-08-2013 10:06:19 Packing accounts file
21-08-2013 10:06:19 Error Value cannot be null. Parameter name: itemName

Has anyone seen this error, and what is the solution.

- Ulrik Lunddahl / PROconsult Data A/S

[veremin]

Hi, Ulrik. We haven’t seen this issue so far, so, kindly open a ticket with our support team and let them investigate it directly. Thanks.

[Lunddahl]

Done, Case# 00432129

- Ulrik

[veremin]

Thank you. Let’s wait and see what support team says about this behaviour.

[aharvey]

I'm seeing this same behavior, and would like to hear what the support team comes back with. Thanks

[Vitaliy S.]

Aaron, in order to get a quick assistance with this, I would also recommend contacting our tech team directly.

[Lunddahl]

I did try a few things with support, and i have a useful solution for me now:

From Veeam Support: "I investigated issue for a bit more and it seems to be one of already confirmed bugs for v7. The reason configuration backup job fails is actually that smtp credentials are empty in the email notifications settings.This is most likely going to be fixed in patch 1 for v7, and for now the workaround would be to actually put in smtp creds there explicitly."

In this case the server did not support credentials, however Veeam seems to just not use the credentials if the server is not asking for them, so even after entering some bogus credentials mails still get trough.

This is almost a feature, now you can't forget to configure the SMTP server settings by mistake, because you will be reminded about it when you configure Configuration Backup.

- Ulrik

[veremin]

Thank, Ulrik, for coming back and updating the topic with the found resolution; much appreciated.

[bfoley]

This resolved the issue for me as well. Thanks!

[jhamer]

This resolved my issue as well. Never would have found that one... Thanks!

[nunciate]

UPDATE: Apparently I had either a repository or proxy that was causing my issues. One of our folks added a proxy by it's IP only and I didn't like that so I removed it and recreated with the DNS name. I also deleted some old repositories that we weren't using anymore. Then I went through all my jobs and locked each backup job to one proxy and replications jobs to another. There were a couple of replication jobs that had target and destination proxies both in the same datacenter so I moved those to have one in the target location and one in our DR location.

Configuration backup is now running.



Unfortunately this didn't resolve my issue. I need to backup my configuration so I can move my B&R server to a new physical server with tape drives but I can't get my configuration to backup..
I checked my SNMP settings and put in a username/password. I am able to send a test message and my jobs are able to send messages but configuration backup fails with this message every time.

8/26/2013 7:01:49 AM Job started at 8/26/2013 7:01:48 AM
8/26/2013 7:01:50 AM Packing accounts file
8/26/2013 7:01:50 AM Error Value cannot be null. Parameter name: itemName

[foggy]

Thanks all for confirming. This will most likely be addressed in the next product update.

[sbbots]

Another confirmation that adding SMTP credentials fixes the problem. It should backup the config whether they are there or not, so I hope this bug gets fixed.

[Satanek]

Hi,
after upgrade to Veeam Backup 7, I cannot run backup configuration. In log I see this message:

"Value cannot be null. Parameter name: ItemName"

What can I do?
Thanks.
Jakub

[foggy]

Jacub, this is an already known issue with Veeam B&R v7, please look this topic for workaround. Thanks.

[sayho]

I'm having the same issue:
"Value cannot be null. Parameter name: ItemName"

However, entering credentials for smtp under notifications did not resolve this for me. Anybody else have the same problem?

[foggy]

There is also another tip that did the trick for one of the forum members, you could try to analyze your setup for possible issues like that. Otherwise, I recommend contacting support for logs investigation.

[TommyB]

Hi,

same problem here - providing SMTP credentials does *not* fix it for me.

regards
Thomas

[Vitaliy S.]

Then it's better to contact our technical team for further investigation. Thanks!

[itfnb]

I guess a fix for this didn't make it into Patch 1? Thanks!

[foggy]

Actually, according to QC, it did. However, it is not listed in the patch release notes for some reason.

[Gostev]

Now listed

[itfnb]

I guess I could've been more specific:

After applying the patch, I'm still receiving the same "Value cannot be null. Parameter name: itemName" error (I had previously attempted the work-around, but it didn't work).

???

[foggy]

Then I suggest to contact support, as it is supposed to be fixed.

[Moebius]

I'm joining the club. Just upgraded and patched a 2-socket installation and Configuration Backup doesn't work anymore. I entered bogus credentials in the SMTP advanced settings but it didn't help.

[veremin]

Then, it’s time you open a ticket with our support team and let them investigate this behavior directly. Thanks.

[Moebius]

Opened a ticked. Case # 00460487. It seems, however, that I'm not the only one having this problem (Patch #1 applied, SMTP credentials entered even if not needed, and still receiving an error). Has the support team resolved the other guys' cases or did they just give up?

[foggy]

The only user that has reported this issue here on forums since the patch release has not provided his case ID, so I cannot track it. Please continue working with support.

[itfnb]

Support helped us through running a SQL server query. Super quick fix.

[Moebius]

Talking with the support I got this issue resolved. This is what I found and what I did, in case other users have the same issue.

When VBR was installed first (it was v6), the credentials of an account member of the Administrators group (but not "Administrator") were used for the server.
VBR was then updated to v7, and apparently there is an issue when upgrading an older version in a similar circumstance.
When editing "This Server" the credentials text box was blank and the Add button (to add new credentials) was greyed out.
Added the real Administrator credentials in "Manage Credentials" and the configuration backup was suddenly working again.