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NetVault Plug-in for VMware 11.1 - 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

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 yes, 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.)
Save the file.
3
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.
4
After restoring the virtual machine, reset [Custom:ReconfigureVirtual CdromDevices] to False.

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.
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