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NetVault Plug-in for VMware 12.3.3 - User Guide

Introducing NetVault Backup Plug-in for VMware Installing the plug-in Configuring the plug-in Defining a backup strategy Using the image-level backup method Using the file-level backup method Restoring image-level backups Restoring file-level backups Troubleshooting

Backup proxy opens in NBD mode instead of HotAdd transport mode

If you are using CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.x systems as the backup proxy, and the Primary Transport Mode is set to HotAdd or Auto and the Fallback Transport Mode is set to none, a VMware VDDK library prevents the backup proxy from opening the VM disk in HotAdd transport mode and causes it to open in NBD transport mode instead.

Diagnosing virtual machine issues

The Diagnose Virtual Machine method includes some predefined tests, which are used to identify issues in virtual machine setup that can cause failures when the plug-in performs the following activities:

•
Access the virtual machine disk (VMDK) files
•
Check CBT status and capabilities
•
Create quiesced snapshots

The plug-in reports the issues detected during these tests, and provides suggestions to correct the issues. You can run these tests at any time.

To run diagnostic tests:
1
Start the Backup Job Wizard, and click next to the Selections list.
2
Open the NetVault Backup Client on which plug-in is installed, and then open VMware Plugin.
3
Open the VMware ESXi or VMware vCenter Server and the other applicable container nodes — for example, Datacenter, Cluster, Resource Pool, and other nodes — to display the target virtual machine.
4
Click the virtual machine, and select Diagnose Virtual Machine from the context menu.
The plug-in performs the following tests:
•
Create a snapshot.
 
* 
NOTE: When performing diagnostic tests, the plug-in tries to create a quiesced snapshot. This operation may take some time to complete depending on how busy the virtual machine is.
•
Open and read VMDK files using the configured primary transport mode.
•
Check the virtual hardware version.
•
Check the current CBT setting.
•
Check if VMware Tools are installed and running.
•
Check if any snapshots exist on the virtual machine.
5
View the results in the Diagnostic Results dialog box:
•
Results: This tab shows the results of the diagnostic tests (passed or failed).
•
Recommendations: This tab includes suggestions to correct the issues detected during the tests.
•
Virtual Machine: This tab shows general information about the virtual machine.
6
To close the dialog box, click Close.

SOAP messages

When you enable tracing, the Plug‑in for VMware generates the following two files along with the other trace logs:

•
vmw(nnn)_soapsent.log
•
vmw(nnn)_soaprecv.log

These files contain communication details between the plug-in and vSphere Web Service running on the VMware vCenter or ESXi Servers.

When you send the trace files to Quest Technical Support, ensure that these two files are included.

Generating VDDK logs

The Plug‑in for VMware uses the VMware VDDK API for the following operations:

•
Image-level backups and restores
•
File-level browse and backups

To diagnose or troubleshoot errors encountered during these operations, Quest Technical Support may request you to send the VDDK logs. You can use the following procedure to enable VDDK logging when these operations are performed.

To generate VDDK logs:
1
In the navigation pane, click Create Backup Job, and then click next to the Selections list.
2
Open the NetVault Backup Client on which the plug-in is installed.
3
Click VMware Plugin, and select Configure from the context menu.
 
* 
NOTE: You can also configure the default settings from the Change Settings page:
1
In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.
2
If the plug-in is installed on the NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.
— or —
If the plug-in is installed on a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings; in the clients table, select the client, and click Next.
3
Under Plugins, click Plugin Options.
4
Under Troubleshooting, select the Enable VDDK Logging check box.
5
To save the settings, click OK or Apply.
The plug-in generates the VDDK log files entitled vixDiskLib*.log in the following directories:
•
Windows: <System Drive>\Windows\Temp\vmware-SYSTEM
•
Linux: /tmp/vmware-root
The log files are generated when you perform image-level backup or restore or file-level backup or browse operations.
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