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Bengt_Gronas's avatar
Bengt_Gronas
Level 4
10 years ago

NBU VSS not truncating Exchange 2010 SP1 Transaction Logs

 

I've got a VM and Application backup of Exchange following every guideline in the world, all available support articles, all rights are set OK, All config looks fine. Backup and restore works like a charm, Full VM's, Files, Databases and single mail items can be restored from one single vmdk backup. All windows eventlogs are fine (master, media, exchange, cas, clients). Everything looks swell, grand, perfect. No error messages anywhere. But no truncate. Take a look at the bpfis INF (information) entry:

But... I've still got a problem, here's the only evidence I've found is from the BPFIS log on the Exchange Client being backed up:  
"INF - INF - Exchange Transaction Logs will not be truncated by VSS because this is a pre-VM type backup"

Pre-VM type backup = what is that ? What does it actually refer to? Is my VM's or my policy wrongly configured?

A normal GRT backup via the net/client works fine and clears the transaction logs, but I was hoping to do a vmware backup, with transport type = SAN :-)

 

Anyone with any idea? Anything is appreciated :-)

NBU 7.6.0.3+patch, windows 2008, exchange 2010 SP2
 

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  • Mark_Solutions's avatar
    Mark_Solutions
    10 years ago

    Is this a single standalone exchange server or is it part of a DAG / replication group etc?

    That could be where your issue is if it is part of a larger entity - are you backing up very component of the DAG / CCR in this way?:

    ■ VMware backups are supported for stand-alone Exchange servers, DAGs, and

    CCR clusters.

    ■ For DAG nodes, NetBackup protects at the node level of a DAG. This behavior

    is different than for an agent backup, where protection is at the DAG level.

     

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  • tom_sprouse's avatar
    tom_sprouse
    Level 6
    10 years ago

    Bengt,

    Did you have to install the Symantec VSS writer?

    Have you been able to test the Exchange Backup, and complete the job, with the transaction logs truncating?

     

    --Tom

     

  • Bengt_Gronas's avatar
    Bengt_Gronas
    Level 4
    10 years ago

    Hi Tom,

    Yes I had to install the Symantec VSS writer (not just because it is a prerequisite for truncating logs). I got other type of errors without it.

    I Have a complete full backup with both vmware backups and regular GRT backups. A regular GRT backup via LAN and client, truncates the logs. A VMware san backup completes, shows no errors, gets the blue happy guy, finishes off with status code 0, no errors anywhere, but... wait for it ... does not truncate the transaction logs, and it gives that bpfis INF-entry during log'ing.

    The regular type backup with agent(client), over the network, works both with and without Symantec VSS, and 'always' truncates the logs.

    -Bengt

     

     

    ps. I still can't get over the "pre-VM type backup" from the bpfis log...



     

  • Mark_Solutions's avatar
    Mark_Solutions
    Level 6
    10 years ago

    Is this a single standalone exchange server or is it part of a DAG / replication group etc?

    That could be where your issue is if it is part of a larger entity - are you backing up very component of the DAG / CCR in this way?:

    ■ VMware backups are supported for stand-alone Exchange servers, DAGs, and

    CCR clusters.

    ■ For DAG nodes, NetBackup protects at the node level of a DAG. This behavior

    is different than for an agent backup, where protection is at the DAG level.

     

  • maurijo's avatar
    maurijo
    Level 6
    10 years ago

    The virtual machine you want to back up is a node in an Exchange 2010 DAG or an Exchange 2007 CCR. In this case, only the active copies of the database are cataloged and the log files for only those same databases are truncated.

  • Bengt_Gronas's avatar
    Bengt_Gronas
    Level 4
    10 years ago

    This is an Exchange 2010 DAG   ...

     

    Still got the bpfis log telling me I am not backing up a VM, LOL:)    "INF - INF - Exchange Transaction Logs will not be truncated by VSS because this is a pre-VM type backup.


     

  • Bengt_Gronas's avatar
    Bengt_Gronas
    Level 4
    10 years ago

    About this,

     

    the backup performed is a "COPY" backup, not a full. 

     

    [PS] C:>Get-MailboxDatabase -Identity <my_DB> -Status | Format-List

     

    There is always an update of the "LastCopyBackup" date/time and not the  "LastFullBackup" date/time,

    The application Log says:

    Log Name:      Application

Source:        MSExchangeIS

Date:          09.10.2014 13:04:50

Event ID:      9781

Task Category: Exchange VSS Writer

Level:         Information

Keywords:      Classic

User:          N/A

Computer:      My_Exchange_Server

Description:

Exchange VSS Writer (instance d60292f9-5bb3-4b54-8e00-e2f4bbbdd4d5:23) has successfully completed the copy or differential backup of database 'that_DB_name'. No logfiles were truncated for this database.

     

    The scripts Freeze.bat, pre-freeze-script.bat and post-thaw-script.bat located in

    C:\Program Files\Symantec\Symantec VSS Provider\  and

    C:\windows

    Has been hardcoded to include (-full instead of –copy):

    "%BATDIR%\BeVssRequestor.exe" -pre2 -logscreen -skipprovidercheck !SkipExReplica! !SkipSQL! -full !ExcludeList!

     

     

    NO LUCK!