Taking quiesced snapshot of a virtual machine fails with the error: msg.snapshot.error-QUIESCINGERROR
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Article ID: 334348
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Updated On:
Products
VMware vSphere ESXi
Issue/Introduction
Symptoms:
You are unable to take a quiesced snapshot of a virtual machine.
You see the error:
msg.snapshot.error-QUIESCINGERROR.
In the/vmfs/volumes/datastore/virtual_machine/vmware.log file you see entries similar to:
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS| vcpu-0| I120: ToolsBackup: changing quiesce state: ERROR_WAIT -> ERROR_WAIT YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS| vmx| I120: GuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox timed out. YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS| vmx| I120: Msg_Post: Warning YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS| vmx| I120: [msg.snapshot.quiesce.rpc_timeout] A timeout occurred while communicating with VMware Tools in the virtual machine. YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS| vmx| I120: ---------------------------------------- YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS| vmx| I120: ToolsBackup: changing quiesce state: ERROR_WAIT -> DONE
In the Event Viewer of the virtual machine, you see entries similar to:
Log Name: System Source: volsnap Date: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Event ID: 8 Task Category: None Level: Error Keywords: Classic User: N/A Computer: VM Description: The flush and hold writes operation on volume D: timed out while waiting for a release writes command.
Log Name: System Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-General Date: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Event ID: 1 Task Category: None Level: Information Keywords: Time User: SYSTEM Computer: VM Description: The system time has changed to ?YYYY?-?MM?-?DDHH:MM:SS from ?YYYY?-?MM?-?DDTHH:MM:SS.
Log Name: Application Source: VSS Date: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS Event ID: 12340 Task Category: None Level: Error Keywords: Classic User: N/A Computer: VM Description: Volume Shadow Copy Error: VSS waited more than 40 seconds for all volumes to be flushed. This caused volume \\?\Volume{#####-UUID-#####}\ to timeout while waiting for the release-writes phase of shadow copy creation. Trying again when disk activity is lower may solve this problem. Operation: Executing Asynchronous Operation Context: Current State: flush-and-hold writes Volume Name: \\?\Volume{#####-UUID-#####}\
Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.
Environment
VMware vSphere ESXi
Cause
This issue occurs when the virtual machine time is not in synchronization with the ESXi host and the time changes during a snapshot process.
Resolution
To resolve this issue, ensure that the virtual machine is configured for time synchronization. For more information, see: