Troubleshooting CA ARCserve Central Host-Based VM Backup › Virtual Machine Backups Fail Because the ESX Server is Not Accessible

Virtual Machine Backups Fail Because the ESX Server is Not Accessible

Valid on Windows platforms.

Symptom:

Virtual machine backups fail. The following message appears in the Activity Log:

Failed to create virtual machine snapshot.

Solution:

Virtual machine backups can fail when multiple backups run concurrently on one ESX Server system. The problem does not occur when multiple backups run concurrently on multiple ESX Server systems. To back up the virtual machines, CA ARCserve Central Host-Based VM Backup takes a snapshot of the data that resides on the virtual machines. When multiple snapshot operations run concurrently on one system, the ESX Server system can stop responding. Although the time in which the ESX Server system stops responding is temporary, the backup operation is interrupted, which causes the backup operation to fail.

To prevent backups from failing, use the solution that suits your environment:

• Reduce the quantity of virtual machines that you are backing up concurrently. For example, if you are backing up eight virtual machines concurrently, reduce the quantity to seven virtual machines, resubmit the backup, and then analyze the results. If necessary, reduce the quantity of virtual machines that are backed up until backups do not fail or the above message does not appear in the Activity Log.

  To reduce the quantity of virtual machines in a backup, you unassign virtual machines from the policy. For more information, see Unassign Policies from Virtual Machines.

• Define a limit to the quantity of concurrent backups. This approach helps you control the quantity of backup jobs that can run concurrently in your environment. For more information, see Define a Limit to the Quantity of Concurrent Backups.