Troubleshooting VMware backups and restores of SQL Server
Note the following when you perform a VMware backup that protects an application:
The Application State Capture (ASC) job contacts the NetBackup client on the guest virtual machine and catalogs the application data for recovery.
One ASC job is created per VM, regardless of which applications are selected in policy.
ASC messages are filtered to the ASC job details in the Activity Monitor.
Failure results in the discovery job or parent job exiting with status 1.
If you enable recovery for a particular application but that application does not exist on the VM, the ASC job returns Status 0.
bpfis is run and simulates a VSS snapshot backup. This simulation is required to gain logical information of the application.
Table: Issues with using a VMware policy to protect SQL Server
Issue | Explanation |
|---|---|
A database backup fails. | Databases are cataloged and protected only if they exist in a configuration that is supported for VMware backups. The following disks are not supported: raw device mapping (RDMs), Virtual Machine Disk (vmdk) volumes that are marked as independent, virtual hard disks (VHDs), RAID volumes, ReFS file systems, or an excluded Windows boot disk. |
NetBackup is installed on an excluded Windows boot disk. The ASC job detects this type of disk and treats it like an independent disk. Do not select the option if NetBackup is installed on the boot drive (typically C:). | |
ASC job produces a status 1 (partially successful). | You selected databases for backup that exist on both supported and on unsupported disks. See "A database backup fails" for unsupported disk information. |
Full-text catalog files exist on the mounted folders. The databases are not cataloged. | |
The Application State Capture (ASC) job fails and the databases are not protected. | When the ASC job fails, the VMware snapshot or backup continues. Application-specific data cannot be restored. When you query the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), it may show that the database was backed up. In this case, though the database was skipped, the snapshot was still successful. |
You disabled the option. | |
Database objects are on a VHD disk. No objects in the backup are not cataloged, including those that do not exist on the VHD. | |
You excluded any data disks from the VMware policy, on the Exclude Disks tab. Be sure that any disks that you exclude do not contain SQL Server data. | |
The VMware disk layout has changed since the last discovery. In this situation, you must force NetBackup to rediscover virtual machines by lowering the value of the option. See the NetBackup for VMware Administrator's Guide. | |
You cannot use a VMware incremental policy to protect SQL Server. However, the VMware backup job is successful. | |