Backups are failing in NetBackup and VMware Consolidated Backup snapshots are not removed

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• You cannot backup virtual machines using NetBackup or backups are not completed
• No pre-existing snapshots before the backup is started. However the backup is failing and VCB snapshots are not being removed.
• Snapshots can be manually removed without issues
  

Environment

VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware Consolidated Backup 1.5.x
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable

Resolution

This issue occurs if due to a short time-out period setting in NetBackup.

When performing a backup with short timeout period, the NetBackup software does not receive a response from VMware Consolidated Backup(VCB) before timing out and reissuing the request to mount the virtual machine. However, when a second request is issued after the first snapshot operation has completed, VMware Consolidated Backup fails due to a pre-existing snapshot (VCB default configuration).

The backup request fails and the original snapshot is not removed (as NetBackup is not aware of its existence). However, a review of the logs shows that the VCB snapshot is successfully created.

To resolve this issue, configure the time-out setting in NetBackup to wait for a sufficient amount of time for the the first snapshot operation to successfully complete. For more information, refer to NetBackup product documentation or contact NetBackup Support for procedure to adjust the time-out setting.