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NetVault Plug-in for VMware 10.5 - User Guide

Introduction 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

Diagnosing virtual machine issues

The Diagnose Virtual Machine method includes some pre-defined 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 VMDK files
•
Check CBT status and capabilities
•
Create quiesced snapshots
The plug-in reports the problems detected during these tests, and provides suggestions to correct the problems. You can run these tests at any time.
To run diagnostic tests
1
Start the Backup Job Wizard, and click Create New 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 ESX/ESXi or vCenter Server and the other applicable container nodes (for example, Datacenter, Cluster, Resource Pool, and other nodes) to display the target virtual machine.
4
Select the virtual machine, and in the Actions list, click Diagnose Virtual Machine.
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
You can 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 problems detected during the tests.
•
Virtual Machine: This tab shows general information about the virtual machine.
6
Click Close to close the dialog box.

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 ESX/ESXi Servers.
When you send the trace files to Dell Technical Support, ensure that these two files are included.

VDDK logs

The Plug‑in for VMware uses the VMware VDDK API for image-level backups and restores and file-level browse and backup operations. To diagnose or troubleshoot errors encountered during such operations, Dell Technical Support may request you to send the VDDK logs.
To generate VDDK logs
1
Open the vmware.cfg file in any 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:GenerateVddkLogsOnDisk]
Value = True
By default, this value is set to False. It should only be changed under the direction of Dell Technical Support.
Save the file.
3
Retry the operation with the new setting. The plug-in generates VDDK log files entitled vixDiskLib*.log in the following directories:
•
Windows: <SYSTEMDRIVE>\WINDOWS\Temp\vmware-SYSTEM
•
Linux: /tmp/vmware-root
4
After capturing the data, reset [Custom:GenerateVddkLogsOnDisk] to False.
 
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