"Request has timed out (195)" when attempting to Browse for Virtual Machines in new policy for one VMware backup host

Problem

When attempting to Browse for Virtual Machines in new policy from VMware backup host that does not have access to all of the vCenter servers defined on the master server, pop-up window with error "Request has timed out (195)" appears.

Error Message

Request has timed out (195)

Solution

As part of creating a NetBackup policy, the administrator must specify which virtual machines to back up. One approach is to let NetBackup search the network and list all available virtual machines. However, if the VMware environment contains many VMware servers and virtual machines, it may take too long to search and list all of them. For example, consider an environment with 10 vCenter servers. To back up the virtual machines on one of the 10 vCenter servers, browsing virtual machines on all 10 servers is unnecessary.  If any of the vCenter servers are not accessible from a VMware backup host, due to firewall configuration, a timeout error is inevitable. 

To avoid timeout errors when attempting to connect to inaccessible vCenter servers, it is necessary to exclude each inaccessible VMware server from the search.

When it probes the network for virtual machines, NetBackup queries only the
VMware servers that are not named in the exclude list for the VMware backup host.

To limit the VMware servers that NetBackup discovers, per VMware backup host:

Windows backup host:

1. On the Windows desktop of the VMware backup host, click Start > Run and enter regedit.
2. To be on the safe side, make a backup of the current registry (File > Export).

Warning: Incorrect use of the Windows registry editor may prevent the operating system from functioning properly. Great care should be taken when making changes to a Windows registry. Registry modifications should only be carried-out by persons experienced in the use of the registry editor application. It is recommended that a complete backup of the registry and workstation be made prior to making any registry changes.

3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Veritas > NetBackup >CurrentVersion > Config and create a key called BACKUP.
4. Right-click in the right pane and click New > String Value. Enter excludeVMservers as the name.
5. Right-click the excludeVMservers name and click Modify.
6. In the EditString dialog, enter a comma-delimited list of the VMware servers

that are NOT to be queried when NetBackup browses the network. Do not
enter spaces. You can enter vCenter servers and individual ESX servers.

Linux backup host:

1. On the Linux backup host, create (or open) the following file:

   /usr/openv/netbackup/virtualization.conf

2. Add the following to the file:

   [BACKUP]"excludeVMservers"="server1,server2,server3"

   where server1,server2,server3 is a comma-delimited list of the VMware servers that are NOT to be queried when NetBackup browses the network. Do not enter spaces. You can enter vCenter servers and individual ESX servers.

   Note: If the file already contains a [BACKUP] line, do not add another [BACKUP] line. Any other lines that already exist under [BACKUP] should remain as they are.

3. Save the file.

The exclude list applies only to this VMware backup host. The servers are not queried when NetBackup browses for virtual machines to list on the policy's Browse for Virtual Machines dialog of the NetBackup Administration Console.

Reference:

Limiting the VMware servers that NetBackup searches when browsing for virtual machines