SUMMARY
How to resolve alert - "Failed to create a backup of system metadata. Refer /usr/bp/logs.dir/applianceAgent-backup-1.log for error details."
ISSUE
The system is reporting an alert of "Failed to create a backup of system metadata. Refer /usr/bp/logs.dir/applianceAgent-backup-#.log for error details."
RESOLUTION
Preferred Resolution Method
Use an SSH client such as PuTTY to access the Unitrends system at the command line level.
Run the following command to verify you are in fact impacted by this bug
psql -c "select node_no,node_name,app_id,name as app_name from bp.nodes join bp.node_applications using(node_no) join bp.application_lookup using (app_id) where node_name = '`hostname`' "If this query returns ZERO rows, please run the following command:
update_dpu_client
After you have done this, please re-run the first command, you should see THREE entries, similar to the picture below, but with the hostname matching your UEB's current hostname.
If all three are displayed, the issue should be resolved, and the alert should resolve itself within the hour when the system automatically attempts another system metadata backup.
Should this not resolve your issue, please contact the Support Center.
Legacy UI Method
To add the missing instances for the system client, we need to open the legacy interface because the system client is not visible in the new 9.0.0-9 interface at this time. To do this click on the gears at the top right of the interface and then click "OPEN LEGACY INTERFACE". Once logged into the Rapid Recovery Console (RRC), you will need to show the system client. To do this, click the gears icon at the bottom of the Navigation area, check "Show System Client?" and Confirm. Then go to Settings->Clients, Networking, and Notifications->Clients and click on the client whose name matches the appliance's hostname (also seen at the top of the Navigation area). On the system client's edit screen, you only need to click the Save button. Then, click the gears icon at the bottom of the Navigation area, UNcheck "Show System Client?" and Confirm.
OPTIONAL TO CLEAR ALERT IMMEDIATELY:
Now, we need to restart the applianceAgent daemon. To do this, go to Settings->System Monitoring->Processes. There, select the applianceAgent process and click "Terminate Process" at the bottom right. Then restart tasker to re-launch applianceAgent. To do this, go to Settings->System Monitoring->Jobs, click "Advanced Options". Click "Stop Tasker", Ok, "Start Tasker" and Ok. You may now go back to Settings->System Monitoring->Processes and confirm that you see a new applianceAgent process is running.
In a moment you may click Status followed by "Past (Historical Status)" and then "Reload / refresh system" (at the bottom of the Navigation area. The alert should now be categorized as "Previously Resolved".
CAUSE
Each appliance is a client unto itself. This "system client" is expected to have 3 instances in the application_instances table, 1 for file-level, 1 for archiving, and 1 for system metadata. The applianceAgent daemon is responsible for creating the system metadata backups which are included in all backup copies (hot or cold) (archive or replication), but without the instance for system metadata it fails to do so.
This has been a confirmed bug in previous releases, and may affect some current users.
NOTES
Advanced support engineer information:
You can force the system to run a new metadata backup immediately by running the following commands
pkill applianceAgent /usr/bp/bin/applianceAgent
Then you can force the box to update its alerts by running
/usr/bp/bin/populate_alerts.php