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VMWare Policy Type Backup

snawaz3
Level 6

I have 6 vms in my VMWare policy type. 1 vm is failing with an error 156 . All the other vms are backing correctly. Attached is the jobs details.

NBU on master/media  7.5.0.6

NBU on client  7.5.0.6

master/media OS 2008 R2

client vm OS 2008 R2

Policy Type VMWare

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

9 REPLIES 9

DG-2005
Level 5

Have you installed a recent copy of vmware tools within the VM ? this is usually the cause of this error.. 

 

if not, check for an existing snapshot in vcenter.

 

referencing this from your logs.

 

10/8/2013 8:18:05 AM - Critical bpbrm(pid=12416) from client NDUAPP001.ndu.edu: FTL - VMware error received: Cannot create a quiesced snapshot because the create snapshot operation exceeded the time limit for holding off I/O in the frozen virtual machine.
10/8/2013 8:18:05 AM - Critical bpbrm(pid=12416) from client NDUAPP001.ndu.edu: FTL - snapshot processing failed, status 156   

snawaz3
Level 6

The vmtools was installed but not uptpdate. Updated the vmtools but still the same error.

Marianne
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited Certified

Have you tried to create a snapshot using vSphere Client?

Status 156 is a generic error for snapshot failure. There are many possible reasons.

See if snapshot creation is successful using vSphere Client. If so, remove snapshot, then try another backup while watching logging in vSphere Client.

Another reason that could cause snapshot failure is RDM disks. 
More possible reasons listed here: 
http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO44492

DG-2005
Level 5

As Marianne has mentioned , look at the HOWTO article posted , as this will help point down the potential reason(s) you are recieving this specific error code.

snawaz3
Level 6

I was able to create a snapshot using vsphere. Deleted the snapshot and tried another backup while watching in vsphere. the backup failed with error " cannot create a quiesced snapshot because the create snapshot operation exceeded the time limit for holding off I/O in the frozen machine"  I looked at the HOWTO link sent by Marianne and used the " The attempt to create a snapshot exceeded the VMware timeout " reccommened action. I created another policy with policy type MS_WINDOWS and was able to run the backup succedfully. Any thoughts why it is not running under the VMWare policy tyoe. This is a VM machine I am trying to backup.

Marianne
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited Certified

How long did the manual snapshot take to complete?

That section of the TN says the following:

 

If the attempt to create a snapshot of the virtual machine exceeds the VMware timeout of 10 seconds, the snapshot fails with NetBackup status 156. This timeout may occur if the virtual machine is configured with a large number of volumes. Note that the timeout may be encountered even if the Virtual machine quiesce option was disabled.

Do one of the following:

  • Reduce the number of volumes within the virtual machine.

  • Install a NetBackup client on the virtual machine and select another backup method for the policy (not the VMware snapshot method).

It seems that those 2 options are your only choices....

snawaz3
Level 6

I can backup the vm using the ms-windows policy.I tried to use the flashbackup-windows policy and the policy validation fails with 'snapshot cannot be created with auto method"

Marianne
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited Certified

Have you seen my previous post?

 
Your next step will be to enable bpfis and VxMS logging (see the manual for info) and see if reason for snapshot failure is logged.
 
Use VMware policy type for NBU 7.5, not FlashBackup. 

snawaz3
Level 6

I have been able to successfully backup the vm using the MS-Windows policy method.