Backup of independent disks

[Gostev]

I have a VM with a bunch of virtual disks that are explicitly excluded from backup (Virtual machines, Exclusions, Disks tab). They are also set to be independent (cannot snapshot).
These disks are generating a warning message from the Veeam backup job.

Explicitly excluded disks of course should not generate this warning, this looks to be a bug. I will forward this to QC.

[mfc]

I'm experiencing the same issue, independent disks that are excluded still generate a warning.

[Vitaliy S.]

Mike, I would appreciate if you could also contact our technical team to be notified about fix availability (if this issue is confirmed).

[itguy1024]

Hi all,

This warning came up this morning for two of our server backups. The backups completed with the warning, I don't recall seeing this before. Curious if anyone has some ideas about it?

Disk vmname.vmdk has been skipped due to unsupported type (independent)

Veeam Backup & Replication 8.0.0.917

Thanks,
Scott

[Shestakov]

Hi Scott, please review Gostev`s explanation on the first page of the topic.
Thanks!

[FFessler]

Hi, I realize this is over a year old BUT I wanted to point out a scenario here that would justify (IMO) a possible reason to include a warning. I have developers who can create VMs themselves. Then they ask me to create the backup jobs for them. It would have been helpful, in this case, to have a WARNING message pop-up at the time of the Backup Job Creation (so it would be one time) that indicated there were independent disks and that they would NOT be backed up. That way I could have a conversation with the VM creator to find out why they did that and if they understood the implications.
So, that brings up the question: What if they change it AFTER the backup job has been created? Again, maybe a ONE TIME message indicating that change was made on the emailed results of the backup would be enough for the user and I to re-visit that issue.
Just a reason and a couple of suggestions on how to address it without turning on "Warning Messages" for everyone that doesn't want them (and already knows about them).

[Vitaliy S.]

Hi FFessler,

Thanks for your feedback and for posting into existing solution.

in this case, to have a WARNING message pop-up at the time of the Backup Job Creation (so it would be one time) that indicated there were independent disks and that they would NOT be backed up

This could do the job, however VM scanning procedure might take time and if you have 1000 of VMs in the job, this might not be the best way to address this situation.

So, that brings up the question: What if they change it AFTER the backup job has been created? Again, maybe a ONE TIME message indicating that change was made on the emailed results of the backup would be enough for the user and I to re-visit that issue.

Have you considered using Veeam ONE predefined report that can be scheduled to run on daily/weekly basis to detect these VMs?

Thanks!

[FFessler]

Thanks, I will definitely give that a try. Just giving some feedback since it just happened recently to me.

[gingerdazza]

Hi.

v8.0 Update 3
I configured a backup job as forward incremental, with the list of VMs to be backed up being generated by specifying a vSphere folder. The first full backup reported that 3 VMs could not be backed up (they had independent disks). I fixed one of these VMs. The next incremental job finished with 100% success, having backed up all the VMs it had previously done, plus the fixed VM. But the two VMs that still have independent disks are not in any way reflected in the backup job results! This is surely incredibly misleading and dangerous. I would want that job to report failure of these VMs until I have either fixed it or excluded them.

Why does it do this?

Thanks

[foggy]

The warning is only displayed when the VM is backed up for the very first time (first full backup). Please review this thread for considerations behind this behavior.

[gingerdazza]

I've read the discussion and add my voice to those calling out that marking a job as "successful" when it isn't is the wrong way to have tackled the other issues. I see no reason why users cannot specifically exclude known independent disks from backup jobs when they realise it creates warnings. What is worse, giving some admins less warnings and more exclusions to manage, or inferring to other admins that something they think they are backing up is actually... not? Or you could simply have a non-default setting that states "Do not warn me of ongoing independent disk warnings". The default should 100% be, if there's something excluded that I have not excluded, warn me. I wonder how many backup admins out there have "successful" backup jobs and are unaware that some VMs are not being backed up? You can say all you like about check this report, check that report, test your backups, blah blah... but I really think this is a potential big issue. I urge you to rethink this and change it. It should be a conscious proactive decision to not want the warnings, not vice versa.

How do I now trust "success"? What other scenarios result in the same false "success" result being reported?

[gingerdazza]

Even worse.. today I see that the job report, the Veeam ONE "Protected VMs" report, etc all report these independent disk VMs as successfully and protected!!

Is anyone going to defend THIS position?

Which report can I use to definitively, without exception, show me which VMs are not protected?

[Vitaliy S.]

You can run a VM configuration assessment report that would highlight all VMs with independent disks. As to Protected VMs report behavior, then it displays the VMs that have restore points in the backup files within the defined RPO setting.

[gingerdazza]

Would you not agree that the reports are utterly misleading and dangerous?

The thing is, yes - some users at some point asked Veeam for a feature to stop alerting them to independent disk alerts. But, they never asked "Can we have something that also dangerously changes the efficacy and accuracy of the reports". So, whilst I understand that it was implemented for a reason, I hope you can now see in hindsight that perhaps that style of implementation for this 'feature' was not the right one.

You must surely agree, that an administrators right to not be alerted for independent disks is fine, but that this should NOT be the default. It should be a conscious configuration change?

Please guys - realise that this is not how it should be. Admins out there (many of them unaware of our email trail) are surely assuming their job reports and ONE reports are not misleading them

[Shestakov]

I see your point Dazza,
We will think how to include information about independent disks into Protected VMs report.
Thanks for the feedback!

[gingerdazza]

That's great, but really I think you should also ensure that the job status reports also reflect that the job status is not "success" too.

Thanks

[agood]

Just upgraded to Backup and Replication 9. Very happy to see "warnings" about independent disks. This was setup by someone else and I thought that we were getting full backups.

[darbronnoco]

I think v9 is still behaving the same where the original backup will give the alert for the independent disk then every other backup display successful. I too think this behavior is dangerous. Where is Veeam flagging this independent disk warning? Is this something I could pull into my own reporting to show backed up vm's with independent disks?

[Shestakov]

Brad, as was stated above, you can check VM Configuration Assessment report to check VMs with independent disks.
Thanks!

[darbronnoco]

Brad, as was stated above, you can check VM Configuration Assessment report to check VMs with independent disks.
Thanks!

Thanks for your response, but we don't use Veeam one. The status of the disk is tracked some place that VeeamOne can provide the information. If someone know where that is I can pull it to use in our own reporting.

[Shestakov]

Brad, the mentioned report is a part of Veeam ONE free edition so you pull it from there.

[CPCS]

Hi,

is this going to be "fixed" soon now?

I totally understand both sites thoughts but in the end i think there should be a warning, at least some kind of option to enable or disable it so that both sites are happy with it.

But i also think the default option should enable warnings for EVERY job that was running and not only the first/last fullbackup!

Main Question regarding this toppic:

I had a server that was backuped with one independet disk. Now i changed this disk to non-independent. Do i have to run a fullbackup now or is incremental also fine?

[foggy]

You do not need to run a full backup, this disk will be entirely backed up during the next incremental job run.

[pronto]

Hi Community,

we launched our Veeam B&R Setup these days and received a warning while replication of a guest system with one independent disk. So far so good but what surprised us is that we get this warning only once. The second replication, as well as the following, were performed without warning. Is this by design or can we configure this behavior. It can happen that we do not notice the first warning and the next jobs will not be further warned...

Thx & Bye Tom

[foggy]

Hi Tom, the behavior is expected, please review this thread for considerations behind it.

[pronto]

Hi Foggy,

Ok, I've understood that this behavior remains as it is, but I agree with the critical voices and wish it would be user configurable.

Thx & Bye Tom

[foggy]

Appreciate the feedback.

[jmm]

Just my two cents :
Since fews days i have experienced on one of my VM this "Warning message" each time its job was scheduled at night.
I dig into that forum, but i don't find evidence to catch the same problem you experienced cause at day when I was starting the job manually, everything was fine ! no warning.
So I ask the admin of the VM and he explains me that it was in fact a VM under the control of a Citrix publication (delivery group)
So every night the VM is rebuild from a "Gold Image" by Citrix and at the same VEEAM was dealing with his backup ... and warm me what are you doing ?
We do not backup that's VM because they are rebuilt every night by Citrix.
So perhaps take care it could be an operation on the vmdk disk at night that thrown this warning message, like a Citrix delivery group.

[vijayG]

Hi All,

Recently We migrated vm from Window 2012 to 2019 Server edition. New FIle System is reFS.
After the migration, we configured backup by Veeam B&R. It is giving warning that "SRV2_3.vmdk has been skipped due to an unsupported type (independent disk)"

Please advice, reFS file system is compatible for Veeam B&R??

Thanks,
Vijay G

[DGrinev]

Hi Vijay,

The ReFS file system is recommended and fully supported.
Please read the existing thread above about the independent disks.

Thanks!