Deleted VBK File and Gettin Error (Veeam 6.5.0 144)

[mobin.qasim]

Hi Guys,

I had an alert that my Veeam Backup Repository space was Full. I went to repository server and checked that there was two VBK files of 550 GB.

I assumed 2 VBK files must be taking a lot space, so I deleted one of them and then tried to run the back job again. By running the backup job again, gave

me the following error.

Error: Client error: There is no FIB [summary.xml] in the specified restore point. Failed to restore file from local backup. VFS link: [summary.xml]. Target file: [MemFs://Tar2Text]. CHMOD mask: [0].

KB is telling me to running Full Backup again.

Is there any way I can get the backup job again?

Thanks in advance

Regards

[foggy]

Mobin, deleting backup files manually is not recommended. What backup mode are you using (forward or reversed incremental)? Most likely you've deleted the full backup that the entire chain depends on, so to proceed with your backups you need to run the active full, as KB is recommending.

[mobin.qasim]

Hi Foggy, thanks for the quick reply. I'm running forward incremental. If manually deletion is not recommended, then what should the best way to remove old backups or those backup jobs which are taking large amount of space.

Cheers

[foggy]

Backups are deleted according to the specified retention settings. If you feel that your backup storage is not capable of storing the required number of restore points, you can decrease it. Please note, that with forward incremental mode, the number of full backup files stored at each point in time may vary. Probably the better strategy would be switching to reversed incremental, where the single VBK file is maintained (this, however, puts heavier load on the storage).

[mobin.qasim]

Ok, so as KB recommended to run the Full Backup again. What about the already placed 550 VBK file? Will the new Full Backup overwrite the existing backup VBK file or I'll have to delete the previous job and create the new job from scratch.

I'm just confused because on Saturday Full Backup ran already and if I'll run Full Backup again, will it overwrite or create a new VBK file.

Please help.

Cheers

[foggy]

Active full will create an entirely new VBK file from scratch, starting backup chain anew.

[mobin.qasim]

So, it would be better to remove the old backup job and start a new job backup from scratch is that correct?

Thanks

[foggy]

No need to re-create the job, you can schedule the existing job to perform an active full or right-click it and perform the active full manually.

[mobin.qasim]

Thanks foggy, I will do that tonight and see how it goes.

Regards

[foggy]

Make sure you have enough space to hold another full on the target repository.

[mobin.qasim]

Foggy, I don't want to keep an old VBK of 550 GB. I want to keep only a new VBK which will be created when I will run the Active Full.

Can you please guide me how can I achieve this, so I can only have one VBK.

Cheers

[dellock6]

The only way to have only 1 VBK file is to use reversed incremental backups. Forward incremental needs at least two full backups, because the first one needs to be kept inline until all the chain belonging to it is expired. Here you can find a nice graphical representation of how the different backup jobs work:

http://www.veeam.com/kb1799

Also, remember Reversed Incremental creates 3 times th I/O on backup storage, so plan carefully.

Luca.

[Vitaliy S.]

In addition to this, please consider using Veeam ONE and especially "capacity planning for backup repositories" report, that would notify you about the date when you run out of free space on the repository. Should be a useful tool in understanding and controlling free space on the backup storage. Thanks!

[mobin.qasim]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. Running the Active Full solved my problem

Here is another quick question.....

My backup Jobs are set as Incremental and Enable synthetic fulls (forever-incremental) on Saturday. I would like to set my backup jobs as

Incremental and Enable synthetic fulls (forever-incremental) with the option "Transform previous full backup chain into rollbacks" .

As this will create only one VBK and save the space as mentioned in http://www.veeam.com/kb1799

What kind of impact can I expect by changing my current settings to Transform previous full backup.

Regards

[foggy]

Your backup storage will have to handle 2x load on synthetic full days.

[mobin.qasim]

Foggy, what would be the best practice? Would it be better to have two Full Backups VBK or storage handling 2 x load.

Can you please also explain how the storage will have to take 2 x load.

Cheers

[veremin]

Hi, Mobin,

Would it be better to have two Full Backups VBK or storage handling 2 x load.

There is no universal solution, since everything depends solely on your needs and desires. If storage performance is the major issue, enabling rollback transform isn't recommended. If you're concerned with storage space savings, then, synthetic full with transform should be the way to go.

Can you please also explain how the storage will have to take 2 x load.

As mentioned, ordinary synthetic full backup requires 2 I/O on target for each block (read + write). Meanwhile, synthetic full with transform needs 4 I/O on target for each block (read + write + read + write). Thus, there is such a number. (4/2 = 2x load).

Thanks.

[mobin.qasim]

Hi Eremin, thanks for the information.

[veremin]

You're welcome. Should any additional help be needed, don't hesitate to let us know. Thanks.