Commvault Intellisnap Backup Failures on Specific Virtual Machines.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Commvault Intellisnap backups are failing for specific virtual machines.
• Quiesced snapshots complete successfully without errors.
• Guest OS Writers are healthy, particularly for Windows systems.
• Tools are running without version compatibility issues.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7.x

Cause

Commvault Intellisnap backups rely on the presence of a 'writer.xml' file within the virtual machine's folder, which is generated during snapshot operations. Backup failures may occur when these 'writer.xml' files are not created, potentially due to the absence of the 'disk.EnableUUID = "TRUE"' parameter within the virtual machine's advanced configuration settings. This parameter is essential for proper snapshot management and subsequent Intellisnap backup operations.

Resolution

The advanced parameter "disk.EnableUUID = "TRUE" would need to be added to the VM.

To enable UUID support for the virtual machine, follow these steps: 

1) Power off the virtual machine.

2) Edit the virtual machine settings:
Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.

3) Navigate to the advanced configuration:
Click the VM Options tab and select Advanced.

4) Add the 'disk.EnableUUID' parameter:

• Click Edit Configuration within Configuration Parameters.
• Click Add parameter.
• In the Key column, type disk.EnableUUID.
• In the Value column, type TRUE.

5) Save the changes and power on the virtual machine:

• Click OK, then Save.

6) Power on the virtual machine.