DRVA VM Down and Fails to Boot

This article applies to all JSDR software versions.

Problem

The JetStream DRVA VM is down and fails to boot or gets stuck during booting.

Cause

The DRVA is a stateless appliance. It does not retain any configuration or state information between reboots. If the ISO is not mounted during the boot process the appliance will encounter problems and fail to start. Manually removing the ISO or disconnecting the CD/DVD drive without heeding vCenter warnings can lead to the appliance failing to boot. The problem can also be caused by deleting the required JetStream DR ISO from data store.

Solution

Do the following to ensure successful boot up of a DRVA VM:

1. Check the VM’s CD/DVD drive settings:
   • Ensure that the ISO is mounted correctly.
   • If the ISO is not mounted, attach the correct ISO to the VM’s CD/DVD drive.
2. Check datastore for DRVA VM:
   • Identify the datastore where the DRVA VM is located.
   • Access the datastore via the vSphere client.
3. Check if the directory named “jetstream_iso” exists.
4. If the jetstream_iso directory does not exist, create it:
   • Right-click the datastore, select New Folder, and name the folder “jetstream_iso“.
5. Download the ISO file from the specified URL:
   • <msa_ip>/pkg/latest/drva/<version>/jetstream-drva-<version>.iso
     • Replace <msa_ip> with the appropriate IP address and <version> with the required version number.
6. After downloading the ISO file, upload it to the jetstream_iso folder in the datastore.
7. Mount the ISO to the DRVA VM experiencing the problem and ensure Connect At Power On is enabled.
8. Reboot the DRVA.

Keeping the ISO mounted in a stateless VM is essential to ensure the VM can boot, load the necessary software or OS, and maintain a consistent and repeatable state across sessions.