Comprehensive data protection for all workloads
Post Reply
jackptmcs
Lurker
Posts: 1
Liked: never
Joined: Nov 16, 2011 11:27 am

Snapshot question

Post by jackptmcs »

Hello..

When running a network level backup with application-aware image processing enabled will VMware always run a snapshot first? Is this a requirement?

Reason for asking I have a vm 500gb in size, it's datastore doesn't quite have enough space to snapshot it. What alternative options do I have?

Veeam is running from a physical box outside the Virtual environment, same LAN.

I have read through the documentation and FAQs so any help would be appriciated.
Vitaliy S.
VP, Product Management
Posts: 27377
Liked: 2800 times
Joined: Mar 30, 2009 9:13 am
Full Name: Vitaliy Safarov
Contact:

Re: Snapshot question

Post by Vitaliy S. »

Hello Jack,

All VM image based backup solutions rely on snapshots, as snapshot is a requirement for image-level backup of running VM with VMware.

Basically, you have two options to choose from: the first one is to relocate this VM to a datastore with sufficient free disk space, the second option is redirect VM snapshot location to another datastore via workingDir parameter.

Thank you.
averylarry
Veteran
Posts: 264
Liked: 30 times
Joined: Mar 22, 2011 7:43 pm
Full Name: Ted
Contact:

Re: Snapshot question

Post by averylarry »

You can also (with vSphere 4) move the config files for the VM to another datastore but leave the virtual disk(s) alone. The snapshot is created by default on the datastore where the config files are. This is basically the same think as the workinDir parameter, only it isn't a custom modification.
tsightler
VP, Product Management
Posts: 6035
Liked: 2860 times
Joined: Jun 05, 2009 12:57 pm
Full Name: Tom Sightler
Contact:

Re: Snapshot question

Post by tsightler »

averylarry wrote:You can also (with vSphere 4) move the config files for the VM to another datastore but leave the virtual disk(s) alone. The snapshot is created by default on the datastore where the config files are. This is basically the same think as the workinDir parameter, only it isn't a custom modification.
And, as an added bonus, you can do it without downtime if you have storage vMotion license. Changing the workingDir setting requires the VM to be power cycled to take effect. You can use the advanced option of storage vMotion to relocate the VM configuration file while the VM is running.
solidsystems
Novice
Posts: 5
Liked: never
Joined: Jan 02, 2011 9:35 pm
Full Name: Shaun Okeefe
Location: Derby, UK
Contact:

[MERGED] Alternatives to snapshots

Post by solidsystems »

Hi all,

When the backup job runs and the snapshot is created, the delta-file that is created for the snapshot uses up all the space left on the datastore.

Is there any way to create a backup using Veeam without a snapshot ? or create the deltafile elsewhere?

For example our VM is 400 GB in size. The DB drive for veeam 428GB and the backup drive is 1.8 TB.

At present our first attempt to backup this host failed due to lack of space on the DB drive and now there is only 50mb left on this drive.

Is there a way to overcome this ? as I wasnt aware the DB drive had to be as big as the actual drive we are backing up to..

Cheers,
Shaun
foggy
Veeam Software
Posts: 21139
Liked: 2141 times
Joined: Jul 11, 2011 10:22 am
Full Name: Alexander Fogelson
Contact:

Re: Snapshot question

Post by foggy »

Shaun, you can use workingDir parameter to redirect VM snapshot location to another datastore. However, please note that this parameter works differently in vSphere 4 and vSphere 5. Thanks!
solidsystems
Novice
Posts: 5
Liked: never
Joined: Jan 02, 2011 9:35 pm
Full Name: Shaun Okeefe
Location: Derby, UK
Contact:

Re: Snapshot question

Post by solidsystems »

Thank you !, just to confirm that Veeam always deletes the snapshots afterwards anyway , so it only creates the Delta during the backup so its only temporary stored on there....?

Cheers,
Shaun
Solid Systems Computer Services
www.sscs.co.uk
foggy
Veeam Software
Posts: 21139
Liked: 2141 times
Joined: Jul 11, 2011 10:22 am
Full Name: Alexander Fogelson
Contact:

Re: Snapshot question

Post by foggy »

Correct, only for the duration of backup.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: aruns, Bing [Bot] and 80 guests