-
Title
Snapshot removal taking long time. -
Description
A vRanger backup or replication task may appear to be taking a longer than normal amount of time. Upon closer inspection you may find that the task is waiting for VMware to complete the removal of the snapshot.
-
Cause
One possible cause of this is a very large snapshot file (-delta.vmdk) being merged back into the base disk file (-flat.vmdk). -
Resolution
To avoid creation of large -delta.vmdk files schedule vRanger backup/replication at a time when the guest os of the vm being backed up is not busy. Things such as running an SQL backup of local database or applying patchs can cause a significant growth in the -delta.vmdk files.
For more information on how VMware snapshots work see these VMware KBs.
Understanding virtual machine snapshots in VMware ESX
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1015180Why snapshot removal can stop a virtual machine for long time
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1002836