Error Message

Error generated during a backup failure:

0xe000846b - The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Remote Agent. Make sure that the correct version of the Remote Agent is installed and running on the target computer.

If the server or resource no longer exists, remove it from the selection list. Edit the selection list properties, click the View Selection Details tab, and then remove the resource.

V-79-57344-33899 - The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Remote Agent.

Error generated during a restore failure [Remote Agent for Windows System (RAWS)]:

Final Error Code : a000846a HEX Device could not be restored because an error occurred while connecting to Remote Agent for Windows Servers. Make sure that Remote Agent for Windows Servers is running on the target system.

The Backup Exec Job Engine service debug log may show the following error:
468 : ERROR: unknown host: SERVERNAME, err=11004
468 : SetupNDMPConnection: ndmpConnect failed on server SERVERNAME, port: 10000.
468 : NDMPEngine::Run(): SetupNDMPConnection() returned -472, falling back to local RANT (as specified) to perform operation.
468 : ERROR: unknown host: SERVERNAME, err=11004
468 : SetupNDMPConnection: ndmpConnect failed on server SERVERNAME, port: 10000.

UMI Code: V-379-34113

Local media server backup:

After an upgrade to Backup Exec 11d, 12.x or 2010 from a previous version, backup of the local server fails with one of the following errors:

0xe000846b - The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec Windows Server Remote Agent. Make sure that the correct version of the Remote Agent is installed and running on the target computer.

OR

0xe000f04 - The media server could not connect to the remote computer. The remote computer may not be running Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows/Linux. Make sure that the correct version of the Remote Agent is installed and running on the target computer.

Cause:

From Backup Exec 11d onwards, the System State selection has been separated from Shadow Copy Components selection and is displayed as a separate resource. In previous versions of Backup Exec (i.e. 10.x and prior), System State selection was a part of the Shadow Copy Components resource.

Solution:

1. Go to the backup job Properties
2. Edit the Selection List of the affected job.
3. Deselect the System State resource and re-select it.
4. Save the changes.

Advanced Disk-Based Option (ADBO):

A backup with Advanced Disk-Based Option (ADBO) fails with error 0xe000846b - Unable to connect to the remote agent

Cause:

This error is most likely due to inappropriate logon credentials specified as System Logon Account. To confirm the same we can run the Backup Exec Remote Agent service in debug mode and re-running the backup job.

See How to enable or disable "debug logging" in Backup Exec for Windows Servers
 
The debug logs will show following error:
Logon User failed: Logon failure: Unknown user name or bad password
Logon User failed for user: DOMAIN\account
ERROR: 4 Error: Connection has not been authorized.

Solution:

In Backup Exec console, click on Network > Logon Account.

Make sure the Backup Exec services are using the same credentials as stored in the System Logon Account. If not, use the following steps to change the service credentials:

1. In Backup Exec, go to Tools > Backup Exec Services and choose Services Credentials.
2. Put a check in Change service account information.
3. Enter the updated user credentials.
4. Restart the Backup Exec services.

Agent for VMware Virtual Infrastructure:

VMware backup job may fail during backup or during post-backup verify with error 0xe000846b - Unable to attach to VMVCB::\ESXVC\VCGuestVM\Datastore\VM\Server\Windwos\VM

Cause:

This issue may occur if:

• A sub-directory is added to a vSphere tree structure, or
• Remote Agent on the VM in question has hotfixes updated that are not updated on the media server, or
• The FQDN of the remote machine is not getting resolved from any other machines on the network.

Solution:

If the job fails during a backup operation:

1. Ensure the Backup Exec media server has the latest patches / service packs installed.
   • From the Tools menu, run LiveUpdate and install all available hotfixes/service packs. Repeat this step until you get a message that states all available updates have been installed.
2. Disable VMware VSS and Filesystem Sync drivers from the virtual machines that are to be backed up, as follows:
   • Uninstall the Backup Exec Remote Agent from the virtual machines in question.
   • Uninstall VMware Tools from the virtual machines in question.
   • Reboot the virtual machines.
   • Reinstall VMware Tools and use Custom installation - during installation, disable VMware VSS and Filesystem Sync drivers (Note: In some cases, Filesystem Sync drivers will not be listed)
     See How to perform an automated or manual uninstall of the VMware Snapshot Provider. (100001832)
   • Install Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows on virtual machines in question.
   • Reboot the virtual machines.
3. Ensure that both media server and remote machines have the same version of Backup Exec Remote Agent.
   See How to check the version or status of the Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows. (100004704)
4. Ensure the Backup Exec default logon configured for this backup has all required permissions on the remote machine.
   See Understanding logon accounts and required user rights assignments to resolve connection, backup or restore failures. (100001916)
5. Attempt to use the PING command (attempt to ping using ServerName and FQDN both) to verify proper connectivity between media server and the remote machine.
6. Check DNS entries on the remote machine's NIC properties along with the DNS Suffix and make sure it is configured correctly.
7. In the backup selection list, if the remote machine is selected from under Active Directory Domains (i.e. using FQDN), try selecting it from within Microsoft Windows Networks (i.e. using NetBIOS name).

If the job fails during a Verify operation:

Try one of the following steps to resolve this issue:

1. If the ESX server is being backed up from the selection list, install\upgrade the Remote Agent on the guest machine and verify if the service is running under Local System Account.
2. If ESX is in a cluster environment, then it needs to be backed up from the virtual node. If the server is not selected from vCenter, then it is not possible to back up the server in case of a Failover.
3. If the affected virtual machine is being backed up from under vCenter in the backup job selection list, try to back it up from under ESX host.

Central Admin Server Options - Managed Media Server (CASO - MMS):

 When a backup job is delegated from CAS on to MMS, job fails with error 0xe000846b - The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows servers Remote Agent. Make sure that the correct version of the Remote Agent is installed and running on the target computer.

Cause:

This error occurs when a dedicated backup network is used on the Central Administration Server (CAS) and the Managed Media Server (MMS) or the remote server doesn't have a dedicated backup network.

Solution:

1. On the MMS go to Tools | Options | Network and Security.
2. Under Network Interface select the Dedicated Network.
3. Under Protocol select Use any available protocol.
4. Under Subnet select Use any available subnet.

If MMS is backing up Remote servers and there is no dedicated backup Network on the Remote Server check the box "Allow use of any available network interface, subnet, or protocol for remote agents not bound to the above network interface, subnet, or protocol"

Deduplication Option:

Backup job to a Data Domain with Granular Restore Technology (GRT) option enabled may fail with error 0xe000846b - The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Remote Agent"

Cause:

This issue occurs if the Data Domain Systems have OS versions lower than 4.6.1.3

This error may also occur when backing up GRT data using the Exchange Agent, the SharePoint Agent and/or the Active Directory Agent to a "Backup-to-Disk" folder on a Data Domain device.

Solution:

Check the Data Domain OS version and upgrade the Data Domain OS to version 4.6.1.3 or later.

Contact Data Domain at 877-207-3282 for assistance to upgrade the Data Domain OS.

Agent for Enterprise Vault:

Issue: 
Backup of Enterprise Vault (EV) Site fails with the following error:

 

Error:
0xe000846b - The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Remote Agent.
Make sure that the correct version of the Remote Agent is installed and running on the target computer.  If the server or resource no longer exists, remove it from the selection list. Edit the selection list properties, click the View Selection Details tab, and then remove the resource.

SGMON log from the Media server shows the following output:

BEREMOTE: - BETCPConnection::CreateConnectionFromHostAndPort: Could not create a connection to "" because attempts with both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols failed
BEREMOTE: - ndmpConnectEx: All attempts to connect to '' failed
BEREMOTE: - ndmpConnectEx: failed to connect to ''
BENGINE:      - In EnumerateEVandCreateBSDList : DSSS Enumeration failed. Error e000fe30
BEREMOTE: - DS_CloseSelectionService
BENGINE:      - EnumerateEVAndCreateBSDList: Can not enumerate the EV resource, skipping this machine.

where refers to the old (previous) EV server name. 

OR

BEREMOTE: [3160] 2013-06-11T15:33:25.665 [fsys\ntfs\mnet] - Warning: MSNetEstablishConnection error 67 from WNetAddConnection2 for connection to \\evserver\X$

Cause:

If EV is migrated from one EV server to another EV server, Backup Exec agent for Enterprise Vault may be trying to connect to the old EV server.

OR

Backup Exec is not able to connect to the location where EV partition or index data resides.

Solution:

If Enterprise Vault is migrated from one EV server to another EV server and Backup Exec agent for Enterprise Vault is trying to connect to the old EV server:

1. Delete the Enterprise Vault resources from the selection list of the Backup Job.
2. Rename the current "EVBACKUP.XML" file present in the Enterprise Vault installation directory (Default Location: C:\Program Files\Enterprise Vault\Reports) on the EV server.
3. Restart the Backup exec Remote Agent service on all the EV servers and the Backup exec services on the Media server.
4. Select the Enterprise Vault resources again in the selection list of the Backup Job.

OR

If Backup Exec is not able to connect to the location where EV partition or index data resides:

1. Resolve the connectivity issue between Backup Exec server and the EV data.
2. Check the EVBACKUP.XML file present in the Enterprise Vault installation directory (Default location: C:\Program Files\Enterprise Vault\Reports) on the EV server
3. Confirm the location of EV partition and index data is correct. Try to connect to this location from Backup Exec server using the Run prompt.
4. Error mentioned in the above debug log excerpt can come up if admin share has not been enabled for the drive where EV data resides. Creating admin share may resolve this error.

Remote Agent for Windows Systems (RAWS) / Agent for Windows (AWS):

Backup or Restore of local / remote resources may fail with error 0xe000846b (for backup) or a000846a (for restore)

or

Backup of a server in DMZ fails with error 0xe000846b - The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Remote Agent.

Cause:

This issue can be caused if any of the following condition is true:

1. The local machine (i.e media server) is not physically connected to the network.
    
2. Backup Exec Job Engine is not able to communicate with the local remote agent on port 10000.
   
   To confirm this run SGMON (under C:\Program Files\veritas\Backup Exec) during the backup operation. The SGMON output shows :-
   BENGINE:  [4696]     ERROR: ndmpcSendRequest(): timeout waiting for reply from control connection
   BENGINE:  [4696]     ERROR: ndmpSendRequest failed:
   BENGINE:  [4696]     NDMPAgentConnector::SetupConnection: connectOpen failed on server
   BENGINE:  [4696]     Could not resolve the 'ndmp' service, error: 10109, using port 10000
    
3.  Default NDMP port 10000 is blocked on the Firewall.
    
4.  A third party service is already running on port 10000 and therefore conflicts with the default port for the Backup Exec Remote Agent.

Solution:

1.  Local machine (i.e. media server) is not physically connected to the network:
   1. Physically connect the machine to a network
      or
   2. Install the Microsoft Loopback Adapter (See instructions on Microsoft knowledge base article: support.microsoft.com/kb/842561)
       
       
2. Backup Exec Job Engine is not able to communicate with the local remote agent on port 10000:
   
   Check to make sure the hosts and services files contain appropriate information:
   1. On the remote machine: Navigate to %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc - Open the hosts file
   2. Enter the IP address of the media server, press the tab key, and then add the FQDN (fully qualified domain name) of the media server in the hosts file - Save and close the file.
   3. Restart the Backup Exec Remote Agent service by going to the Windows services console.
   4. On the Backup Exec media server (Windows 2003, for Backup Exec 2012 and lower) : Navigate to %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc\ and open hosts file.
   5. Add the IP address of the remote machine, press the tab key, and then add the FQDN (fully qualified domain name) of the remote machine in the hosts file - Save and close the file.
   6. Restart all Backup Exec services on the media server.
   7. On the Backup Exec media server: Go to %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers\etc\ - Open the services file and remove any entry for port 10000.
   8. Attempt to run the backup job again.
      
       
3. Default NDMP Port 10000 is blocked on the Firewall:
   See How to configure Backup Exec with Firewall (000029930) for instructions on how to make sure port settings are configured correctly.
   
    
4. Third party application/service is already running on port 10000 and therefore conflicts with the default port for Backup Exec Remote Agent:
   1. Find out which application is using port 10000:
      The netstat -a -o command can be used to find out which port are being used by which process id. The process id can in turn be seen under the Windows Task Manager to find out which application's thread has that process ID.
      Note: The command "-o" is available only on Windows 2003 Family.
       
      Note: The Process-id column is not there by default in Windows Task manager. It needs to be added through View Menu -> "Select Colums" -> check the box next to "PID (Process Identifier)"
       
   2. Fix the port conflict:
      See How to change the default NDMP port used by the Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows Server (000025898) for instructions on how to fix the port conflict.

Explanation of how Backup Exec communicates between media server and remote machine:

All backup and restore operations (i.e. local or remote) must go through the remote agent, hence they are all treated like a remote backup by Backup Exec.
 
Control Connection:
When communication takes place between Backup Exec and the Remote Agent for Windows Servers during a backup or restore operation, a control connection is first established. Backup Exec first attempts to connect to the remote agent via the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) port. The remote agent will then respond back to Backup Exec with a port specified in the Enable media server TCP dynamic port range option. (The port range can be found by looking in Tools | Options | Network). The control connection is responsible for any traffic that is not related to the data stream (what resources to back up, credentials to login to the resources, selection lists).
 
Data Connection:
Once the control connection has been established, a second connection is then established between the remote agent and Backup Exec. The second connection is called the Data connection. If there are multiple resources being backed up then there will be multiple data connections, one for each resource. Backup Exec first binds itself to a port specified in the Enable media server TCP dynamic port range option. (Port Range can be found by looking in Tools | Options | Network). It will then attempt to attach to the remote agent using a port specified in the Enable remote agent TCP dynamic port range option. Once this connection is established, data will be sent over it for the backup/restore operation.

After each session is finished, the ports are left open for 60 seconds, making sure there is no activity on them.
 
An example of how Backup Exec communication takes place is given below. It is using the default ports of 1025-65000:

Based on the type of backup jobs that fail with this error, different causes and solutions exist.

Following is a list of different types of backup/restore jobs that have been reported so far which fail with the above mentioned error. Click on the related agent/option link below to see the desired solution:

• Local media server backup
   
• Advanced Disk-Based Option (ADBO)
   
• Agent for VMWare Virtual Infrastructure (AVVI)
   
• Central Admin Server Option - Managed Media Server (CASO-MMS)
   
• DeDuplication Option
   
• Agent for Enterprise Vault
   
• Remote Agent for Windows Systems (RAWS) / Agent for Windows (AWS)