Differences in vCenter VAMI/FBBR backup with and without saving SEAT data

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When taking a vCenter VAMI based backups, there are differences when saving SEAT data versus not saving SEAT data. 

Cause

The vCenter Server built in backup will use the following Postgres utilities depending on how the backup is selected:

• Partial backup -- Without SEAT data = pg_dump: This utility will perform backups which will fail if there is inconsistency in DB files.
  
  
• Full backup -- With SEAT data = pg_basebackup: This utility makes an exact copy of the database cluster's files on disk. This method does not check for inconsistency in the DB files.

To support incremental backup, pg_basebackup + wal archives are leveraged for full backups. A full backup is different for the following reasons:

1. Since this is an on-line backup, there could be new data generated during the backup process.
2. A full backup could take longer due to copying the exact files on the disk.

Resolution

If there are concerns about the consistency of the database files for vCenter, the options are:

Option 1: Run a partial backup. This will use pg_dump and will do the file level consistency check.

Option 2: Use the vpgsql-consistency-check.sh script. The script was written to provide an easier consistency check method for the VCDB.

Additional Information

Validate the Consistency of the vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 and Newer Databases