Forum Discussion

Hamza_H's avatar
Hamza_H
Moderator
6 years ago

Missing files/folders from a VMware backup

Hello ! We are facing a problem when we are trying to restore individual files/folders from a Vmware backup. the backup finishes with no problem (status code = 0), no error or warning messages in d...
8.1.2
Linux
  • Lowell_Palecek's avatar
    Lowell_Palecek
    6 years ago

    Did you execute ls -li to check that you have i-node values greater than 2^31 - 1?

    The ETrack you reference (3970781) is targeted for a future release after 8.2. For NetBackup 8.2, see the sibling ETrack ET 3977870. The issue is fixed for 8.2. (The reason there are two fixes is that the issue was discovered and fixed only very recently.)

    I am drafting a TechNote for the problem this evening. I'll post the reference here when it's ready.

Marianne's avatar
Marianne
Level 6
6 years ago

Hamza_H 

You may be onto something with the vxms log entries that you found.
Although, it seems to be a notice (INFO) that unused blocks are being excluded.

The process of 'excluding unused and deleted blocks' is described in this TN:  https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.100011492

With the option to Exclude unused and deleted blocks turned on, NetBackup has to examine the filesystem and find which blocks are in use. In addition, with this option enabled, NetBackup will perform reads of contiguous used blocks of data (extents).

So, maybe this option does not 'play well' with fragmented XFS fs (yet).

Suggestion:
Disable 'Exclude unused and deleted blocks' option and check results after next backup. 

Submit existing vxms log and new one (with exclude option disabled) when you log Support call with Veritas. 

  • Hamza_H's avatar
    Hamza_H
    Moderator
    6 years ago

    Hello Marianne,

    Your suggestion seems correct, I'd like to disable the option "Exclude unused and deleted blocks" and give it a try,

    Can you please show me how can I disable it?

    Thanks !

  • Hamza_H's avatar
    Hamza_H
    Moderator
    6 years ago

    Is it the Exclude deleted blocks in the VMware tab?

     

     

    • Marianne's avatar
      Marianne
      Level 6
      6 years ago

      I assume so, yes. I was just Googl'ing the messages you saw in vxms log. 

      I just had a look in the NBU for VMware Admin Guide and saw the following:

      NetBackup for VMware: notes on Linux virtual machines
      The following notes apply to virtual machines with Linux guest operating systems:
      ■ NetBackup cannot exclude unused or deleted blocks from the backup if the
      virtual machine is configured with software RAID volumes. The policy's Exclude
      deleted blocks option is not supported.

      So, it seems that you need to disable the option in any case. 

      • Hamza_H's avatar
        Hamza_H
        Moderator
        6 years ago

        Hello All,

         

        Just a reply to make this topic updated,

         

        After long investigations and discussions with Veritas Support, it turned out that the problem is already been worked on another Etrack : 3970781.

        "We can see in ET3970781 that the change required to fix this issue is not yet available. Also the change required to resolve this issue is not a small one and may take some time to be ready."

        Looking at the stat -f and ls -li  output  (of the missing folders on the Vm)  it seems that the problem is related to the inode values being greater than the maximum signed 32-bit integer, which is 2,147,483,648.

        As mentionned, the problem is not resolved yet, so I will come back again as soon as I get an update (EEB or ETRACK).

         

        Regards