Backup VMWare VMDK files

[Andrew_Smith]

Hello

We are running BE 10 with a BE agent and are trying to backup a VM Server that is running on a Windows 2003 server. Basically all we want to bckup are the VM VMDK files how the agent always skips these. Does anyone know if its possible to get BE to run a script before it run thst job that stops the VM server and then starts it backup again once its backed up the file.

Thanks

[Andrew_Suckling]

What VM software are you using, MS or VMware. Both have startup and shutdown scripts. I have been working on a solution that uses Volume Shadow Copy services (VSS). I use a script to shutdown the VM then use VSS to take and mount a snapshot, and then use a script to restart the VM. All of this takes in the region of 2 minutes. I then use Backup Exec or CPS to backup the mounted snapshot.

[Archilles_Casti]

I'm looking for the same solution.

Would you be able to share your script?


Regards,
Archie

[Hywel_Mallett]

For this sort of application I would imagine that AOFO is what you want, rather than taking your VMs offline then onlining them again.
AOFO should allow you to backup the disk images from a snapshot.