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NetVault Plug-in for VMware 12.1 - 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

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.

Disk type is always Thick Provision Eager Zeroed after restoring an image-level backup

Description

After restoring a virtual machine, virtual drives that are Thin Provisioned or Thick Provisioned Lazy Zeroed are automatically converted to Thick Provision Eager Zeroed.

Symptom

Regardless of the disk provisioning type, image-level backups without CBT enabled always back up the full disk. During restore, the .vmdk file is completely overwritten and VMware automatically converts a Thin Provision or Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed drive to Thick Provision Eager Zeroed.

Solution

To retain the original type for the drive during the restore process, make sure that the Enable Change Block Tracking for VM option is enabled for the backup job. For more information, see Defining a backup strategy.

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.

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 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 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 problems detected during the tests.
•
Virtual Machine: This tab shows general information about the virtual machine.
6
To close the dialog box, click Close.
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