Snapshot quiescing fails on Linux virtual machines

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

When you perform a quiesced snapshot of a Linux virtual machine, you experience these symptoms:

• The vmware.log file of the affected virtual machine contains the errors:
  
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>Z| vmx| I120: SnapshotVMXTakeSnapshotComplete: done with snapshot 'smvi_UUID': 0
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>Z| vmx| I120: SnapshotVMXTakeSnapshotComplete: Snapshot 0 failed: Failed to quiesce the virtual machine (40).
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>Z| vmx| I120: GuestRpcSendTimedOut: message to toolbox timed out.
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>Z| vmx| I120: Vix: [18631 guestCommands.c:1926]: Error VIX_E_TOOLS_NOT_RUNNING in
  MAutomationTranslateGuestRpcError(): VMware Tools are not running in the guest</time></time></time></time>
  
  Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.
   
• The virtual machines guest operating system fails after the snapshot operation and requires a reboot

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5

Cause

This issue occurs when the call by VMware Tools to freeze the Linux filesystem takes too long due to high I/O on the virtual machine. During the freeze operation, VMware Tools does not respond, causing the host to fail the quiesced snapshots operation.

 

When the virtual machine has completed the filesystem freeze, it asks the host to take a snapshot of the virtual machine. However, since the host has previously failed the snapshot operation due to the VMware Tools times out, this task is failed and the filesystem remains in a frozen state.

Resolution

This is a known issue affecting vSphere ESXi 5.1, 5.5, and 6.0.
 

This issue is resolved in:

• VMware ESXi 5.1 Patch Release ESXi510-201510401, available at VMware Downloads. For more information, see VMware ESXi 5.1, Patch Release ESXi510-201510401 (2114860).
• VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 3, available at VMware Downloads. For more information see the VMware ESXi 5.5 Update 3 Release Notes.
• VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 1, available at VMware Downloads. For more information see the VMware ESXi 6.0 Update 1 Release Notes.

Additional Information

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VMware ESXi 5.1, Patch Release ESXi510-201510001