DSM 7.1 ABB: cannot delete old backups/remove VMware host from configuration

[mirekmal]

Hello Community!
I recently faced problem related to ABB. Some backround; I recently reconfigured my home lab with changed network topology. So now I have dedicated SAN connection from NAS to ESXi host (previously using user network). So I wanted to reconfigure ABB to use new, faster connection instead of old one, which involves change in IP address of VMware host. Apparently not possible for existing host, so I created it as a new one with updated IP. So far so good, evertyhing works fine in new configuration. But then I wanted to disconfigure (remove) old ESXi server from ABB configuration. First I got notification, that this is only possible after removing all old backup task. Fine, I managed to remove all of them but one, for which I got error message:

I tried to go to Versions and remove old backups one by one, which worked... partially. Again I was able to remove all backups but two; one which is the most recent (probably can only be removed by removing the task itself) and one, for which I got exactly the same error message as above. I tried to make additional backups and remove all, I tried to make full restore from this problematic one (perhaps to change some 'uncompleteness' flags for this job), I even changed retention policy to keep only one version of backup for one day (in hope retention process will delete it)... but nothing helps. I have now this one bakup from old configuration that prohibits removing obsolete server from inventory.
The only option I see now is to remove files from ABB backup folder manually, but will this remove also backup info from ABB? I do not want to proceed this way yet... it is not about space reclamation but rather keeping order in configuration.
Any idea what is causing this and how this can be remediated?

 

[Rusty]

Have you tried stopping ABB package completely and then starting it up again? Maybe the jobs in the background will be terminated and then you will be able to remove the esxi host

 

[mirekmal]

Great catch! That was that! Task running in the background that was initiated almost 2 months ago and did not completed for some reason was blocking deletion of task from ABB.
Stopping and restarting of ABB though was not sufficient; as soon as package started it also restarted the restore job. Proper way of getting rid of this was to go to Restore Status tab and there I could see running task, that was vlovking deletion. From here it could be cancelled and finally I could clear unwanted ESXi host from my configuration. Thanks alot for pointing me into the right direction, Rusty!