Is Quiescing Needed on a File Server?

[DrWhy]

We have a Server 2012R2 VM (ESXi6) that is a large file server. Is it necessary or recommended to use Quiescing when performing backups of a file server? I'm concerned that if Quiescing is not used we may end up with corrupt data or file system. What is the worse that can happen if Quiescing is not used for backups of a File Server?

[tsightler]

I would suggest reading the following blog post from one of our very own Solution Architects:
http://blog.vmjoes.com/2015/05/system-s ... s-and.html

My simple answer is, always use VMware AAIP for Windows server backups when possible. The only reason not to use it is if you don't have a local admin account.

If you don't use it you'll probably still be OK 99% of the time, but it's that 1% that gets you!