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NetVault Plug-in for VMware 11.4 - 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

File-level backups do not back up data for a reparse point

Description

The file-level backup method does not back up data through a reparse point.

Symptom

When a disk mounted as a reparse point on a Guest OS is included in a file-level backup, the backup completes without any errors or warnings. However, the plug-in does not back up any data for a reparse point. It is listed as an empty node on the Create Selection Set page.

Solution

The VMware API does not support this type of backup.

Workaround:

•
Install NetVault Backup Client on the Guest OS, and perform a backup using the Plug-in for FileSystem to include the reparse point directory.
— or —
•
Mount the disk as drive letter instead of a reparse point. Then, create a backup job to include the new drive letter.

Restore job fails when using SAN transport

Description

Restore job fails.

Symptom

A restore job fails with the following error:

Log Message:

Failed to restore VM disk data.

Log Context:

Failed to open vmdk VDDK error encountered: code 13

Retrieving error message text VDDK error message is ‘You do not have access rights to this file’

Disk data restore failed for ‘[datastore]VirtualMachineName/ VitrualDiskName.vmdk’

Solution

The NetVault Backup Client running the Plug‑in for VMware may not have access to the SAN. To verify, try using the NBD transport mode. If restore completes successfully with this mode, it indicates SAN connectivity issues.

To use the SAN transport mode, the NetVault Backup Client must have SAN connectivity to the VMFS LUN. Ensure that the LUN is accessible and the SAN is configured correctly.

Restore job fails to add a virtual machine to the server inventory

Description

Restore job fails.

Symptom

A restore job fails with the following error:

Log message:

Failed to add VM to target server's inventory.

Log context:

Fault string is 'Invalid configuration for device '3'.

Solution

When this error occurs, enable trace and run the restore job again. When the job completes, open the file named vmw<nnn>_soaprecv.log, and check if it contains an XML message <WaitForUpdatesExResponse> with contents similar to the following:

<val xsi:type="LocalizedMethodFault">
<fault xsi:type="InvalidDeviceSpec">
<property>deviceChange[3].device.backing.fileName
</property>
<deviceIndex>3</deviceIndex>
</fault>
<localizedMessage>Invalid configuration for device &apos;3&apos;.</localizedMessage>
</val>

If so, it indicates that the backup contains an invalid configuration for a CD or DVD drive.

To correct this problem:

1
Open the file vmware.cfg in a text editor.
You can find this file in <NetVault Backup home>\config on Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/config on Linux.
2
Set the value for the following entry to True:
[Custom:ReconfigureVirtualCdromDevices]
Value=True
(The default value for this entry is False.)
3
Save the file.
4
Run the restore job again.
The job completes successfully. If a CD or DVD drive was set to “Host Device” or “Datastore ISO File” type during the original backup, it is reconfigured as “Client Device” type. A warning message in the logs provides a list of reconfigured devices. The log context includes their original configuration. To view the log context, click the More Info button.
5
After restoring the virtual machine, reset [Custom:ReconfigureVirtual CdromDevices] to False.

Backup jobs of virtual machines protected by vSphere FT fail intermittently

Description

When backing up virtual machines that are protected using VMware vSphere Fault Tolerance (vSphere FT), the backup job fails.

Symptom

The job fails and reports the following: Cannot back up virtual machine while legacy fault tolerance is enabled.

Solution
 
* 
CAUTION: Before using the plug-in to back up virtual machines that are protected using vSphere FT, verify that your environment uses VMware ESXi 6.0 build number 4192238 or later.

Your virtual machine is protected by an earlier version of fault tolerance that does not support backup snapshots.

To back up and restore virtual machines that are using legacy fault tolerance, reconfigure the virtual machines to use a newer version of vSphere FT. Using the vSphere Web Client, turn off fault tolerance for the virtual machine, and then turn it on again. During the reconfiguration process, FT protection is not available for the virtual machine that you are reconfiguring.

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