Troubleshooting VMware backups
The following table describes the issues that may occur when you perform VMware backups.
Table: Errors with VMware backups
Issue | Explanation |
|---|---|
Backup fails with | NetBackup allows up to 31 snapshots per virtual machine. If the virtual machine has more than 31 snapshots, the backup may fail with status 13. Messages similar to the following appear in the NetBackup job details: 10/18/2012 4:56:59 PM - Critical bpbrm(pid=4604)from client Umesh_w2k3_hypervm33: FTL - vSphere_freeze: Unable to remove existing snapshot, too many existing snapshots (91). 10/18/2012 4:56:59 PM - Critical bpbrm(pid=4604) from client Umesh_w2k3_hypervm33: FTL - VMware_freeze: VIXAPI freeze (VMware snapshot) failed with 26: SYM_VMC_REMOVE_SNAPSHOT_FAILED As a reminder to consolidate or delete snapshots, the NetBackup detailed status provides the following message when the number of snapshots exceeds 15: Umesh_w2k3_hypervm33: WRN - vSphere_freeze: VM has 16 existing snapshots. Snapshots may start failing if this number exceeds 32 Recommended action:
|
Snapshot backup fails with | If the storage unit is available on a media server that is not a supported VMware backup host, the snapshot may not succeed (status 20). |
Backup fails with message: | If the number of snapshot delta files for a VM's vmdk exceeds 32, snapshot creation fails. A message similar to the following appears in the NetBackup detailed status: Umesh_w2k3_hypervm33: FTL - vSphere_freeze: Unable to proceed with snapshot creation, too many existing delta files(50). As a reminder to consolidate or delete snapshots, the NetBackup detailed status provides the following message when a vmdk's delta files exceed 16: Umesh_23k3_hypervm33: WRN - vSphere_freeze: VM has 17 existing delta files for vmdk Umesh_23k3_hypervm33.vmdk. Snapshots may start failing if this number exceeds 31 Delta files can accumulate if the VM's snapshots are not deleted or consolidated. Consolidate or delete the existing snapshots, then rerun the backup. |
For an independent disk, the backup succeeds but the backup image contains no data for the independent disk. | NetBackup for VMware cannot back up the data on an independent disk, because an independent disk cannot be captured with a snapshot. To back up the data on an independent disk, install a NetBackup client on the virtual machine. You can configure NetBackup to back up the virtual machine and any independent disks as if the client was installed on a physical host. You can restore the virtual machine and then restore the independent disk as a separate job. |
NetBackup fails the backups of virtual machines that are empty. | A VM may be empty because all of its disks are empty or because disk exclusion excludes all disks. |
For the virtual machines that vSphere 6.5 hosts, NetBackup fails the backup if a snapshot exists while NetBackup tries to enable VMware Change Block Tracking. | Because the VMware Change Block Tracking API behavior has changed beginning in vSphere 6.5, NetBackup fails the backup. NetBackup enables CBT on a VM if is enabled in the backup policy and CBT is not enabled already on the VM. |
The status log displays: There is no complete backup image match, a regular full backup will be performed. | If a policy is changed from manual selection to Intelligent policy (or vice versa), the next backup of the VM is a regular full backup, even if a backup already exists for that VM. |
The virtual machine cannot be quiesced in preparation for the snapshot. | Make sure that the VMware Tools are installed and up to date on each virtual machine. |