Symantec NetBackup™ for

Hyper-V Administrator's
Guide

Release 7.7
Symantec NetBackup™ for Hyper-V Guide
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 Contents

Technical Support ............................................................................................... 3

Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................................................... 11

About Hyper-V ............................................................................. 11

New feature in NetBackup 7.7 for Hyper-V ......................................... 12
FlashBackup-Windows policy type no longer supported for Hyper-V
backups ............................................................................... 12
NetBackup for Hyper-V environment ................................................ 12
Basic phases in a NetBackup backup of a Hyper-V virtual
machine ............................................................................... 14
Hyper-V terminology related to backup ............................................. 15
NetBackup administrator tasks for Hyper-V ........................................ 16
Quick reference for troubleshooting .................................................. 17

Chapter 2 Notes and prerequisites .................................................... 18

NetBackup for Hyper-V prerequisites ............................................... 18
NetBackup for Hyper-V notes and restrictions .................................... 19
NetBackup character restrictions for virtual machine display
names ................................................................................. 20
Notes on Linux virtual machines ...................................................... 21

Chapter 3 Configure NetBackup communication with

Hyper-V ........................................................................... 23

Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon (vnetd.exe)

to the domain user account ...................................................... 23
Setting global limits on the use of Hyper-V resources ........................... 25

Chapter 4 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V .................... 27

Creating a Hyper-V policy from the Policy Configuration Wizard ............ 27
Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility ................ 28
Limit jobs per policy on the Attributes tab (for Hyper-V) ........................ 32
Backup options on the Hyper-V tab .................................................. 32
Optimizations option (Hyper-V) .................................................. 32
Primary VM identifier option (Hyper-V) ........................................ 33
 Contents 7

Enable offline backup for non-VSS VMs (Hyper-V) ........................ 34

Cluster shared volumes timeout (Hyper-V) ................................... 34
Hyper-V - Advanced Attributes ........................................................ 35
Provider Type configuration parameter ........................................ 35
Snapshot Attribute configuration parameter ................................. 36
Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines ................................................ 36
About cached names for virtual machine backup ........................... 37
Prerequisites for alternate client backup of a virtual machine ................. 38
Configuring alternate client backup of virtual machines ......................... 38
Requirements for a NetBackup client inside the virtual machine ............. 40

Chapter 5 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies ........................... 41

About Hyper-V Intelligent Policy (automatic selection of virtual machines
for backup) ............................................................................ 42
The basics of a NetBackup query rule ............................................... 43
Important notes on Hyper-V Intelligent Policy ..................................... 44
NetBackup requirements for Hyper-V Intelligent Policy ......................... 46
Setting up Hyper-V Intelligent Policy: Task overview ............................ 47
Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines ................................... 48
Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection ........... 50
Editing a query in Basic Mode ......................................................... 55
Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode ....................................... 55
AND vs. OR in queries .................................................................. 56
Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder ....................................... 57
The IsSet operator in queries .......................................................... 58
About selecting virtual machines by means of multiple policies .............. 59
Order of operations in queries (precedence rules) ............................... 60
Parentheses in compound queries ................................................... 62
Query rules for virtual machine Notes that contain a newline
character .............................................................................. 62
Query Builder field reference .......................................................... 64
Test Query screen for Hyper-V ........................................................ 68
Test Query: Failed virtual machines .................................................. 70
Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test
Query results ......................................................................... 71
Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on VM Name column in Test
query results ......................................................................... 72
Restoring a VM that was backed up with a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy
and that has a pass-through disk ............................................... 72
 Contents 8

Chapter 6 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster

support ............................................................................ 76
About virtual machines on Windows 2008 and 2012 failover
clusters ................................................................................ 76
Notes on CSV backup and restore ................................................... 77
Creating a policy for virtual machines in a cluster ................................ 78
Location of the restored virtual machine in a cluster ............................. 80
Virtual machine maintenance after a restore ...................................... 81
Removal of cluster resources during restore ................................ 81
Hyper-V restore may fail if the VM was created on a CSV and the CSV
is a reparse point on the destination drive .................................... 82

Chapter 7 Back up and restore Hyper-V ............................................ 84

Backing up Hyper-V virtual machines ............................................... 84
Notes on individual file restore ........................................................ 86
Notes on full virtual machine restore ................................................. 88
About the NetBackup lost and found directory on Linux ........................ 90
About restoring individual files ......................................................... 91
Restoring individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client ............... 92
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of individual files ...................... 94
Restoring individual files to a shared location on the virtual
machine ............................................................................... 97
Setting up NetBackup Client Service for restore to a shared
location on the virtual machine ............................................ 98
Restoring the full Hyper-V virtual machine ......................................... 99
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V virtual
machine ............................................................................. 100
About restoring common files ........................................................ 104
The BAR interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse
to restore Hyper-V VM files ..................................................... 105

Chapter 8 Best practices and more information ........................... 108

Best practices ............................................................................ 108

Chapter 9 Troubleshooting ................................................................. 109

NetBackup logs and how to create them .......................................... 110
Enabling VxFI logging ............................................................ 111
Configuring VxMS and vhd logging ........................................... 112
Format of the VxMS core.log and provider.log file names .............. 115
Errors during policy creation .......................................................... 115
 Contents 9

NetBackup policy validation failed ............................................ 115

Increasing the client connect timeout value ...................................... 116
NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V ..................................... 117
Snapshot error encountered (status code 156) ........................... 118
Backup job hangs for multiple virtual machines ................................. 121
Viewing or resizing Windows NTFS shadow storage ......................... 121
The Hyper-V integration component is not installed ............................ 122
LDM volumes and status code 1 .................................................... 122
Hyper-V snapshots (avhd or avhdx files) and status code 1 ................. 123
Unable to log in to the NetBackup Administration Console ................... 123
When backing up the virtual machines that reside on the same CSV,
Windows warning 1584 can be ignored ..................................... 123
Problems with alternate client backup ............................................. 124
Verifying support for transportable snapshots by using the vshadow
command ...................................................................... 124
Restored virtual machine fails to start .............................................. 126
Problem with a restart of a restored virtual machine: Why did the
computer shut down unexpectedly? ...................................... 128
Problems with restore of individual files ........................................... 128
Problems with restore of the full virtual machine ................................ 129
Linux VMs and persistent device naming ......................................... 132

Appendix A Hyper-V online and offline backups .............................. 133

About Hyper-V online and offline backups ........................................ 133
Conditions that determine online vs. offline backup ............................ 134
Additional notes on offline backups ................................................. 134

Appendix B Hyper-V pass-through disks ............................................ 136

About Hyper-V pass-through disks with NetBackup ............................ 136
Configurations for backing up pass-through disks .............................. 137
Requirements for backing up Hyper-V pass-through disks ................... 137
Restrictions for Hyper-V pass-through disks ..................................... 138
Configuring a local snapshot backup of Hyper-V pass-through
disks .................................................................................. 138
About alternate client backup of pass-through disks ........................... 139
Configuring an alternate client backup of Hyper-V pass-through
disks .................................................................................. 140
Important note on VSS and disk arrays ........................................... 142
 Contents 10

Appendix C NetBackup commands to back up and restore

Hyper-V virtual machines .......................................... 143
Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V policy ..................... 143
Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V Intelligent
Policy ................................................................................. 145
bpplinfo options for Hyper-V policies ............................................... 149
bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in Hyper-V policies .......... 151
Examples of nbrestorevm for restoring VMs to Hyper-V ...................... 153
The nbrestorevm -R rename file for Hyper-V .................................... 156
Notes on troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command for Hyper-V ......... 157
Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command .......................... 158

Index ................................................................................................................... 160

 Chapter 1
Introduction
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ About Hyper-V

■ New feature in NetBackup 7.7 for Hyper-V

■ FlashBackup-Windows policy type no longer supported for Hyper-V backups

■ NetBackup for Hyper-V environment

■ Basic phases in a NetBackup backup of a Hyper-V virtual machine

■ Hyper-V terminology related to backup

■ NetBackup administrator tasks for Hyper-V

■ Quick reference for troubleshooting

About Hyper-V
NetBackup for Hyper-V provides snapshot-based backup of the virtual machines
that run on Windows 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, and 2012 R2 Hyper-V servers.
The principal features of NetBackup for Hyper-V are the following:
■ NetBackup for Hyper-V uses snapshot technology to keep virtual machines
100% available to users. NetBackup for Hyper-V creates quiesced Windows
snapshots using Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).
■ NetBackup for Hyper-V performs full backups and file-level incremental backups
of the virtual machine.
■ Can restore the full virtual machine or selected virtual machine files.
■ Can restore selected files from a full virtual machine backup.
 Introduction 12
New feature in NetBackup 7.7 for Hyper-V

■ Can restore to the original virtual machine, to other locations on the Hyper-V
server, or to a different Hyper-V server.

New feature in NetBackup 7.7 for Hyper-V

The following is new in the 7.7 release of NetBackup for Hyper-V:
■ Hyper-V Intelligent Policy
NetBackup for Hyper-V can automatically select virtual machines for backup by
means of filtering rules in the policy. The policy Clients tab now includes a
Query Builder for creating the rules.
See “About Hyper-V Intelligent Policy (automatic selection of virtual machines
for backup)” on page 42.

FlashBackup-Windows policy type no longer

supported for Hyper-V backups
A new policy type, Hyper-V, was introduced for Hyper-V backups in NetBackup
release 7.5. Before that release, Hyper-V backups used the FlashBackup-Windows
policy type exclusively. For NetBackup releases 7.5 and 7.6, you can use either
policy type for Hyper-V backups. With NetBackup release 7.7, the
FlashBackup-Windows policy type is no longer supported for Hyper-V backups.
All Hyper-V backup policies must be upgraded to use the Hyper-V policy type before
you upgrade to NetBackup release 7.7.
FlashBackup-Windows policies can be converted in either of the following ways:
■ Use the NetBackup Administration Console to change the policy type to Hyper-V.
■ Use the nbplupgrade command to convert policies in a batch. For details, see
nbplupgrade in the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide:
Http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC5332

NetBackup for Hyper-V environment

The following table describes the components that are required for NetBackup 7.7
to back up and restore a Hyper-V virtual machine.
 Introduction 13
NetBackup for Hyper-V environment

Table 1-1 Components required for NetBackup for Hyper-V

Component Description and requirements

NetBackup master server Creates the backup policies and starts backups and restores. The NetBackup master server
must be at 7.7 or later. It must include the NetBackup Enterprise Client license.

NetBackup media server Reads and writes backup data and manages NetBackup storage media. The NetBackup
media server must be at 7.7 or later. The NetBackup media server can be installed on the
Hyper-V host or on a different host.

For a more efficient backup, install the NetBackup media server on the same host as the
Hyper-V server.

NetBackup client (and Processes backup and restore requests.

optional alternate client)
The NetBackup client must be installed on the Hyper-V host.
Note: In most cases, the client does not need to be installed on any virtual machine. For
exceptions, refer to the following topics.

See “About restoring individual files” on page 91.

See “About Hyper-V pass-through disks with NetBackup” on page 136.

For an alternate client backup, a NetBackup client must be installed on the alternate client
host.

The alternate client host must run the same Windows OS and storage stack as the Hyper-V
host.

Hyper-V server A Windows hypervisor virtualization system, for creating the virtual machine guests that
run in a Windows Server host computer.

Additional requirements may apply. Refer to your Microsoft Hyper-V documentation.

Hyper-V integration Provides the integration between the Hyper-V server and the virtual machines.
services (integration
Note: The Hyper-V backup integration service must be enabled.
components)
For installation instructions, refer to the Microsoft Hyper-V Getting Started Guide:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732470(v=ws.10).aspx#BKMK_step4

The following figure shows the NetBackup for Hyper-V environment.

 Introduction 14
Basic phases in a NetBackup backup of a Hyper-V virtual machine

Figure 1-1 NetBackup for Hyper-V backup environment

NetBackup
master server

LAN / WAN

NetBackup media server Windows Hyper-V server with virtual

with external storage machines. Each Hyper-V server
(tape or disk) needs one NetBackup client.

Basic phases in a NetBackup backup of a Hyper-V

virtual machine
The following table describes the phases of the NetBackup for Hyper-V backup
process.

Table 1-2 Phases of NetBackup for Hyper-V backup

Phase Description

Phase 1 The NetBackup master server initiates the backup.

Phase 2 The NetBackup client on the Hyper-V server initiates a snapshot.

Phase 3 The VSS Hyper-V writer quiesces the Windows virtual machine and creates
the snapshot on the host volume. If the Hyper-V writer cannot quiesce the virtual
machine, the virtual machine is placed in the Saved state before creation of the
snapshot.

Phase 4 If the virtual machine was placed in the Saved state, Hyper-V returns the virtual
machine to its original state.

Phase 5 The NetBackup client reads the data from the snapshot of the virtual machine
and transfers the data to the media server. The media server writes the data
to the NetBackup storage unit.
 Introduction 15
Hyper-V terminology related to backup

Hyper-V terminology related to backup

The following table describes the Hyper-V terminology that is related to backup.

Table 1-3 Hyper-V terminology related to backup

Term Description

avhd, avhdx file A snapshot file that Windows Hyper-V creates, for point-in-time
recovery of the virtual machine.

This snapshot-and-recovery mechanism is entirely separate from

the one used by NetBackup for Hyper-V. NetBackup creates its
own snapshots when it backs up virtual machines. NetBackup does
not create Hyper-V avhd or avhdx files.

Common vhd, vhdx Refers to a virtual disk (vhd or vhdx file) that contains the files that
files multiple virtual machines require. Instead of copies of the same file
existing at multiple places, the virtual machines share a single vhd
or vhdx file (the parent).

See “About restoring common files” on page 104.

CSV A cluster-shared volume in a failover cluster. Refer to your Microsoft

documentation for more details regarding CSV.

Differencing disk A differencing disk is in a child relationship to the parent disk (see
common vhd, vhdx files). The parent and child virtual disks may be
on the same physical drive or on different physical drives. This
mechanism enables common files to be shared across virtual
machines.

Failover cluster A Windows Server failover cluster (formerly known as a Microsoft

Cluster Server).

HA (high availability) Describes a virtual machine that is configured in a cluster. If the

virtual machine's Hyper-V host goes down, the virtual machine
automatically moves to another Hyper-V host in the cluster. Users
perceive little or no downtime on the virtual machine. Refer to your
Microsoft documentation for more details.

pass-through disk Any disk that the Hyper-V server can access. It can be locally
attached to the Hyper-V server, or on a SAN. The pass-through
disk is attached to a virtual machine, but the disk is not in vhd or
vhdx format.
 Introduction 16
NetBackup administrator tasks for Hyper-V

Table 1-3 Hyper-V terminology related to backup (continued)

Term Description

vhd, vhdx file A file in a Windows Hyper-V installation that contains the virtualized
contents of a hard disk. vhd or vhdx files can contain an entire
virtual operating system and its programs. Hyper-V supports several
kinds of these files, such as fixed, dynamic, and differencing.

Refer to your Microsoft Hyper-V documentation for more information.

virtual machine NetBackup backs up these files as part of a full virtual machine
configuration files: backup.

xml, bin, vsv The bin and the vsv files are visible only when the virtual machine
is running.

virtual machine GUID A globally unique identifier of the virtual machine.

NetBackup administrator tasks for Hyper-V

The following are the tasks for the NetBackup administrator:
■ Install the NetBackup 7.7 master server and media server. Add the NetBackup
7.7 Enterprise Client license on the master server.
See the NetBackup 7.7 Installation Guide.
Symantec recommends that the NetBackup media server and the Hyper-V
server be installed on the same host. For alternate client off-host backup, install
the media server on the alternate client host.
■ Install a NetBackup 7.7 or later client on the Hyper-V server. Only one NetBackup
client is required on each Hyper-V server. As an option for restore, a client may
be installed on a virtual machine.
■ Add the name of the NetBackup master server to the client's server list. In the
NetBackup Backup, Archive, and Restore interface, click File > Specify
NetBackup Machines and Policy Type. Add the master server to the Server
to use for backups and restores list.
■ Read the notes on NetBackup for Hyper-V.
See “NetBackup for Hyper-V notes and restrictions” on page 19.
See “Notes on full virtual machine restore” on page 88.
See “Notes on individual file restore” on page 86.
■ Read the best practices.
See “Best practices” on page 108.
■ Create a NetBackup policy for Hyper-V.
 Introduction 17
Quick reference for troubleshooting

See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility” on page 28.
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection”
on page 50.
■ Run a Hyper-V backup.
See “Backing up Hyper-V virtual machines” on page 84.
■ Perform a restore.
See “About restoring individual files” on page 91.
See “Restoring the full Hyper-V virtual machine” on page 99.
■ To troubleshoot your configuration:
See the Troubleshooting chapter.

Quick reference for troubleshooting

Consult the following topics for troubleshooting tips and pointers:
■ See “NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V” on page 117.
■ See “NetBackup logs and how to create them” on page 110.
 Chapter 2
Notes and prerequisites
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ NetBackup for Hyper-V prerequisites

■ NetBackup for Hyper-V notes and restrictions

■ NetBackup character restrictions for virtual machine display names

■ Notes on Linux virtual machines

NetBackup for Hyper-V prerequisites

The following prerequisites apply to NetBackup for Hyper-V:
■ For a list of supported Hyper-V servers, see the Symantec NetBackup Enterprise
Server and Server 7.7 - 7.7.x OS Software Compatibility List available from the
following location:
NetBackup Master Compatibility List
■ For Hyper-V servers on Windows 2008, apply the following hot fixes:
■ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959962
This hot fix is an update for Windows Server 2008-based computers to
address issues with backing up and restoring Hyper-V virtual machines.
■ http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/956697
This hot fix is an update for an unsuccessful virtual machine restore. The
unsuccessful restore causes an invalid link to the virtual machine
configuration XML file that was created at the following:
%SystemDrive%\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual
Machines

■ http://support.microsoft.com/KB/959978
 Notes and prerequisites 19
NetBackup for Hyper-V notes and restrictions

An update for the VSS hardware provider snapshot for Hyper-V, to avoid a
Hyper-V writer crash during backup.
■ Check with Microsoft to see if additional hot fixes have been released:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd430893.aspx

■ Before starting a backup of a virtual machine, verify that the NetBackup master
server and media server can communicate with the Hyper-V server. Add the
name of the NetBackup master server to the server list on the NetBackup client
and (optional) alternate client.
■ On a virtual machine, Windows shadow storage for a volume (such as C:) does
not have to be configured on the same volume. For instance, shadow storage
for the C:\ volume can be configured on D:\. If the Hyper-V server is Windows
2008 R1 and shadow storage for a volume is not configured on the same volume,
note: Windows hot fix KB959962 must be installed to perform an online backup
of the virtual machine. In this case, if the Hyper-V server is 2008 R1 and the hot
fix has not been applied, the backup is performed offline.
Windows 2008 R2 contains all required hot fixes.
Windows shadow storage is required whenever the Windows Volume Shadow
Copy Service (VSS) creates point-in-time snapshots.

NetBackup for Hyper-V notes and restrictions

The following notes and restrictions apply to NetBackup for Hyper-V:
■ If a virtual machine is Paused when the backup starts, the virtual machine is
placed in the Saved state after the backup completes.
■ For VSS with disk arrays:
To use a hardware array snapshot, make sure that the hardware array's VSS
provider supports the snapshots that involve the Hyper-V writer. Check the
release notes of the array vendor or VSS provider.
■ More information about NetBackup for Hyper-V support is available in the
following Symantec tech note:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH127089
■ NetBackup for Hyper-V does not support the NetBackup Instant Recovery
feature.
■ To perform Hyper-V backups with the SAN Client feature, install SAN Client on
the Hyper-V server. Do not install SAN Client on the virtual machines. For more
information on SAN Client with Hyper-V, see the NetBackup SAN Client and
Fibre Transport Guide.
 Notes and prerequisites 20
NetBackup character restrictions for virtual machine display names

■ NetBackup for Hyper-V supports Windows NTFS file encryption and compression,
for backup and restore. However, it does not support NetBackup’s compression
or encryption options (in the NetBackup policy attributes).
For UNIX or Linux guest operating systems: NetBackup for Hyper-V does not
support any type of compression or encryption, whether they are set in
NetBackup or in the guest OS.

Note: The compressed Windows NTFS files are backed up and restored as
compressed files.

■ (The following is due to a Microsoft limitation.) NetBackup for Hyper-V does not
support backup of encrypted vhd or vhdx files.
■ (The following is due to a Microsoft limitation.) For the virtual machines that
have a FAT or FAT32 file system, NetBackup supports only Hyper-V offline
backup.
See “About Hyper-V online and offline backups” on page 133.
■ NetBackup for Hyper-V has certain character restrictions for virtual machine
display names.
See “NetBackup character restrictions for virtual machine display names”
on page 20.
■ NetBackup for Hyper-V does not support restores with the Fibre Transport data
transfer method.
■ More information is available on the restore of Hyper-V virtual machines.
See “Notes on individual file restore” on page 86.
See “Notes on full virtual machine restore” on page 88.

NetBackup character restrictions for virtual machine

display names
When Hyper-V virtual machines are included in a NetBackup policy, certain
characters are not allowed in the virtual machine display name.
If the name contains the wrong characters, the backup may fail.
For NetBackup, the following characters are allowed in virtual machine display
names:
■ Uppercase and lowercase ASCII characters
■ Numbers
 Notes and prerequisites 21
Notes on Linux virtual machines

■ Period (.)
Note however that a display name cannot end with a period.
■ Hyphen (-)
■ Underscore (_)
■ Plus sign (+)
■ Percent sign (%)
■ Left and right parentheses ()
■ Spaces

Note: No other characters are allowed.

For the policies that select virtual machines automatically: A space in a display
name is converted to "%20" in the test query results if the virtual machine is listed
as included.
See “Primary VM identifier option (Hyper-V)” on page 33.

Notes on Linux virtual machines

The following notes apply to virtual machines with Linux guest operating systems:
■ Windows Hyper-V provides no mechanism for quiescing file system activity on
Linux virtual machines.
As a result, NetBackup has no way to guarantee that data in the file system is
in a consistent state when the snapshot occurs. If data has not been flushed to
disk before the snapshot is created, that data is not included in the snapshot.
To guarantee that Linux files are consistent at the time of backup, turn off the
virtual machine before backing it up. When the virtual machine is turned off,
data buffers are flushed to disk and the file system is consistent.
For a description of file system quiesce, see the NetBackup Snapshot Client
Administrator's Guide.
■ Linux files that are inconsistent at the time of the backup can be recovered from
the NetBackup.lost+found directory.
See “About the NetBackup lost and found directory on Linux” on page 90.
■ Unmounted LVM2 volumes must start with /dev
If the path of an unmounted LVM2 volume does not start with /dev, the backup
of the virtual machine fails. Note: The path of the volume is set with the dir
parameter on the LVM volume configuration file. An example of this configuration
file is /etc/lvm/lvm.conf.
 Notes and prerequisites 22
Notes on Linux virtual machines

■ For Linux files or directories, NetBackup for Hyper-V has the same path name
restriction as NetBackup on a Linux physical host. Files or directories with path
names longer than 1023 characters cannot be individually backed up or restored.
Such files can be restored when you restore the entire virtual machine from a
full virtual machine backup.
For more information on the files that NetBackup does not back up, refer to the
topic on excluding files from backups in the NetBackup Administrator's Guide
for UNIX and Linux, Vol I.
■ More information is available on the restore of Hyper-V virtual machines.
See “Notes on individual file restore” on page 86.
See “Notes on full virtual machine restore” on page 88.
 Chapter 3
Configure NetBackup
communication with
Hyper-V
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon (vnetd.exe) to the

domain user account

■ Setting global limits on the use of Hyper-V resources

Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service

logon (vnetd.exe) to the domain user account
You can configure a NetBackup Hyper-V Intelligent Policy to search for VMs in all
the nodes of a Hyper-V failover cluster.
Important! To allow the policy to discover all cluster nodes, you must set the
NetBackup Legacy Network Service (vnetd.exe) logon to the domain user account.
The logon must not be left at its default (the local system account). If the logon is
not changed, the policy does not search the VMs on other nodes of the cluster.

Note: Because VMs can automatically migrate from one cluster node to another, it
is important to allow the policy to search the entire cluster. The node where the VM
currently resides may have changed since the VM was last backed up.

To verify the privileges that are needed to discover the failover cluster
◆ Run the Failover Cluster Manager as the Failover Cluster Manager user.
 Configure NetBackup communication with Hyper-V 24
Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon (vnetd.exe) to the domain user account

■ On the Failover Cluster Manager host, click Start, click Administrative

Tools, and then right-click Failover Cluster Manager.
■ Click Run as different user, and provide the user name and password for
the Failover Cluster Manager.

To change the NetBackup Legacy Network Service (vnetd.exe) logon to the domain
user account
1 On a Hyper-V server node that you want the policy to search, open Services
(run services.msc).
2 Double-click the NetBackup Legacy Network Service. This service is
vnetd.exe.

3 Click the Log On tab, and click This account.

4 Enter the user name and password for the domain user account.
5 Click OK.
6 Restart the NetBackup Legacy Network Service.
7 Repeat these steps for each cluster node that you want the policy to search.
 Configure NetBackup communication with Hyper-V 25
Setting global limits on the use of Hyper-V resources

Setting global limits on the use of Hyper-V resources

You can use the NetBackup Resource Limit dialog to control the number of
simultaneous backups that can be performed on a Hyper-V resource type. The
settings apply to all NetBackup policies for the currently selected master server.
For example, to avoid overloading the Hyper-V server, you can place a limit on the
number of concurrent snapshots per server.

Note: The Resource Limit screen applies only to policies that use automatic selection
of virtual machines (Query Builder). If virtual machines are selected manually on
the Browse for Virtual Machines screen, the Resource Limit settings have no effect.

Note: To limit the number of simultaneous jobs per policy, use the Limit jobs per
policy setting on the policy Attributes tab. The effect of this option depends on
how the policy selects virtual machines.

See “Limit jobs per policy on the Attributes tab (for Hyper-V)” on page 32.
To set limits on the use of Hyper-V resources
1 In the NetBackup Administration Console, click Host Properties > Master
Servers and double-click the NetBackup master server.
2 Under Properties, click Resource Limit.
3 Click Hyper-V.
4 Click in the Resource Limit column to set a limit for the resource type. The
settings apply to all policies.

For each resource type, the default is 0, No limit.

Table 3-1 describes the limits:
 Configure NetBackup communication with Hyper-V 26
Setting global limits on the use of Hyper-V resources

Table 3-1 Resource types and limits

Resource type Resource limit

Active Snapshots This option controls the number of active snapshots on local volumes
Per Server (including CSV volumes). It therefore controls the number of active
backup jobs per Hyper-V server. All volumes are treated as a single
resource.

Active Snapshots This option controls the number of active snapshots on CSV volumes.
Per Cluster It therefore controls the number of active backup jobs per cluster. If
the cluster has multiple CSV volumes, the CSV volumes are treated
as one resource.

Snapshot The maximum number of snapshot jobs per Hyper-V server.

Operations Per
Server

Snapshot The maximum number of snapshot jobs per Windows failover cluster.
Operations Per
Cluster

See “Best practices” on page 108.

 Chapter 4
Configure NetBackup
policies for Hyper-V
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ Creating a Hyper-V policy from the Policy Configuration Wizard

■ Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility

■ Limit jobs per policy on the Attributes tab (for Hyper-V)

■ Backup options on the Hyper-V tab

■ Hyper-V - Advanced Attributes

■ Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines

■ Prerequisites for alternate client backup of a virtual machine

■ Configuring alternate client backup of virtual machines

■ Requirements for a NetBackup client inside the virtual machine

Creating a Hyper-V policy from the Policy

Configuration Wizard
The following procedure describes how to create a backup policy with the Policy
Configuration Wizard.
To create a backup policy with the Policy Configuration Wizard
1 In the NetBackup Administration Console (on the NetBackup master server),
click the name of the master server.
2 Click the Create a Policy wizard.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 28
Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility

3 Click VMware and Hyper-V.

4 Click Next.
5 Enter a name for the policy.
6 Click Hyper-V as the virtual machine type, and enter the name of the Hyper-V
server.
7 Follow the remaining panels in the wizard.
The wizard creates the policy according to your selections. Backups run
according to the choices that you make on the wizard's Frequency and
Retention and schedule panels.

Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies

utility
Before you configure a policy, make sure that the Hyper-V server is online.
NetBackup must be able to communicate with the Hyper-V server.
Use the following procedure to create a policy to back up the Hyper-V virtual
machines that you select manually.
To create a policy that selects virtual machines automatically:
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection” on page 50.
To create a Hyper-V policy through manual selection of virtual machines
1 In the NetBackup Administration Console, click Policies and click Actions
> New > Policy.
2 Select Hyper-V as the policy type.
To configure policies for 7.1 clients, you can use the FlashBackup-Windows
policy type. For more information on FlashBackup-Windows and Hyper-V
backup, see the NetBackup 7.1 for Hyper-V Administrator's Guide.
3 Select a policy storage unit or storage unit group (or Any Available).
4 In most cases, you can leave the Disable client-side deduplication option
at the default (unchecked).
The Disable client-side deduplication option is described in the NetBackup
Administrator's Guide, Volume I.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 29
Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility

5 Use the Schedules tab to define a schedule.

On the Schedules Attributes tab, you can select Full backup, Differential
Incremental Backup, or Cumulative Incremental Backup.
Note that incremental backups require selection of the Enable file recovery
from VM backup option on the Hyper-V tab.
6 Use the Hyper-V tab to set Hyper-V options.
See “Backup options on the Hyper-V tab” on page 32.

7 Click the Clients tab.

■ Enter the name of the Hyper-V server in the Hyper-V server field. This host
must contain a NetBackup client to perform backups of the virtual machines.
■ To manually select the virtual machines to back up, click Select manually,
then click New....
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 30
Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility

The option Select automatically through Hyper-V Intelligent Policy query

is explained in different topics:
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection”
on page 50.
See “Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines” on page 48.
See “About Hyper-V Intelligent Policy (automatic selection of virtual machines
for backup)” on page 42.

8 In the Browse for Virtual Machines dialog, do the following:

■ Under Enter the VM display name, type the name of the virtual machine
to back up.
■ Or, click Browse for Virtual Machines, and click the appropriate check
boxes to select the virtual machines to back up.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 31
Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility

If NetBackup cannot obtain the IP address of the virtual machine, the IP

address is displayed as NONE.
More information is available on these fields:
See “Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines” on page 36.
■ Click OK.
The virtual machines you selected appear in the Clients tab.

Note: The Backup Selections tab is set to ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES. Individual

drives cannot be specified.

9 Click OK to save the policy.

A validation process checks the policy and reports any errors. If you click
Cancel, no validation is performed.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 32
Limit jobs per policy on the Attributes tab (for Hyper-V)

Limit jobs per policy on the Attributes tab (for

Hyper-V)
The Limit jobs per policy option operates as follows, depending on how the policy
selects virtual machines.

For the policies that select virtual machines automatically

(Query Builder)
The Limit jobs per policy option controls the number of parent (discovery) jobs
that run simultaneously for the policy. This option does not limit the number of
snapshot jobs and backup (bpbkar) jobs that the parent job launches. For example,
if this option is set to 1 and you begin a backup of a policy that discovers 100 virtual
machines: all the snapshot jobs and backup jobs for each of the 100 virtual machines
are allowed to execute simultaneously. Only the initial discovery job counts against
Limit jobs per policy. If you begin a second backup of the policy, its discovery job
cannot start until all the child jobs from the first backup are complete.

For the policies that use manual selection of virtual machines

Limit jobs per policy controls the number of virtual machines that the policy can
back up simultaneously. Because no discovery job is needed, each virtual machine
backup begins with a snapshot job. Each snapshot counts against the Limit jobs
per policy setting. If this option is set to 1: the backup of the next virtual machine
that is specified in the policy cannot begin until the first snapshot job and its backup
are complete.
See “Setting global limits on the use of Hyper-V resources” on page 25.

Backup options on the Hyper-V tab

In the NetBackup Administration Console, the Hyper-V tab appears when you select
Hyper-V as the policy type.
The following options apply to the Hyper-V policy type.

Optimizations option (Hyper-V)

Enable file recovery from VM backup
This option allows the restore of individual files from the backup. With or without
this option, you can restore the entire virtual machine.
Use this option for incremental backups (differential incremental backup or
cumulative incremental backup).
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 33
Backup options on the Hyper-V tab

To perform a Hyper-V backup to a deduplication storage unit, select this option.

This option provides the best deduplication rates.

Primary VM identifier option (Hyper-V)

This setting specifies the type of name by which NetBackup recognizes virtual
machines when it selects them for backup.

Table 4-1 Primary VM identifier options

Option Description

VM hostname Specifies the network host name for the virtual machine. The host
name is available only when the virtual machine is running. If you
select VM hostname but the virtual machine is not running at the
time of the backup, the backup may fail.

VM display name Specifies the name of the virtual machine as it appears in the
Hyper-V Manager console.
Note: NetBackup for Hyper-V does not currently support the virtual
machine display names that contain non-US-ASCII characters. If
the display name contains such characters, select VM hostname
or VM GUID.

Note: When virtual machines are included in a NetBackup policy,

restrictions apply to the characters that are allowed in the virtual
machine display name.

Note: See “NetBackup character restrictions for virtual machine

display names” on page 20.

VM GUID Specifies the unique ID assigned to the virtual machine when the
virtual machine was created.

Note: If you create a policy and then change the Primary VM identifier, you may
have to delete the virtual machine selections on the Clients tab. Otherwise,
NetBackup may no longer be able to identify the virtual machines to back up.
For example: if you change the Primary VM identifier from VM hostname to VM
display name, and the display names of the virtual machines are different from
the host names, note: The host names in the Clients tab cannot be used and the
virtual machines are not backed up. You must delete the host name entries on the
Clients tab and browse the network to select the virtual machines by their display
names.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 34
Backup options on the Hyper-V tab

Note: When creating virtual machines, use the same name for both the host name
and the display name. If the Primary VM identifier is changed, the existing entries
on the Clients tab still work.

Enable offline backup for non-VSS VMs (Hyper-V)

This option determines whether or not NetBackup is allowed to perform an offline
backup of a virtual machine. This option is intended for the guest operating systems
that do not support VSS (such as Linux).

Note: Online vs. offline backup are Microsoft backup types and are not configured
in NetBackup.

If this option is enabled, NetBackup can perform an offline backup of a virtual

machine.
In certain situations, if the virtual machine cannot be quiesced for an online backup,
the virtual machine must be placed in the Saved state. The backup is thus performed
offline. User access to the virtual machine may be interrupted during the backup.
After the backup is completed, the virtual machine is returned to its original state.
If this option is disabled, NetBackup is not allowed to perform an offline backup of
a virtual machine. Only an online backup can be done (user access to the virtual
machine is not interrupted). If an online backup cannot be done, the backup job
fails with status 156.
More information is available about online and offline backups.
See “About Hyper-V online and offline backups” on page 133.
See “Snapshot error encountered (status code 156)” on page 118.

Cluster shared volumes timeout (Hyper-V)

For clusters on Windows server 2008 R2: This option applies to backups of the
virtual machines that are configured in a Microsoft Cluster that uses cluster shared
volumes (CSV). The timeout determines how long the backup job waits, in case
another cluster node backs up the same shared volume at the same time.
The default is 180 (wait for 3 hours). A wait of 3 hours is recommended if you have
multiple virtual machines on one CSV. The Windows 2008 R2 cluster node owns
the CSV for the entire duration of the backup.
If you do not want NetBackup to wait for another backup to release the shared
volume, set the value to 0. If at the same time another cluster node backs up a
shared volume that this backup requires, the backup fails with status 156.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 35
Hyper-V - Advanced Attributes

The appropriate value for this timeout parameter depends on the following factors:
■ The average backup job duration for the virtual machines that reside on the
same CSV. The job duration depends on the size of the virtual machines and
the I/O speed.
■ The number of virtual machines on the same CSV.

Note: On Windows server 2012, cluster nodes can back up the same cluster-shared
volume simultaneously. As a result, NetBackup does not use the Cluster shared
volumes timeout option if the cluster is on Windows 2012 or later.

More information is available on NetBackup support for the virtual machines that
use CSVs.
See “About virtual machines on Windows 2008 and 2012 failover clusters”
on page 76.

Hyper-V - Advanced Attributes

This dialog appears when you click Advanced on the Hyper-V policy tab.
You can use the Hyper-V Advanced Attributes dialog to set the following additional
parameters for Hyper-V backup. In most situations, the best settings are the defaults.

Table 4-2 Hyper-V Advanced Attributes

Configuration Description
parameter

Provider Type See “Provider Type configuration parameter” on page 35.

Snapshot Attribute See “Snapshot Attribute configuration parameter” on page 36.

Provider Type configuration parameter

The Provider Type configuration parameter determines the type of VSS snapshot
provider that creates the snapshot.

Auto Attempts to select the available provider in this order: hardware,

software, system.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 36
Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines

System Uses the Microsoft system provider, for a block-level copy on write
snapshot.

Unlike the Hardware type, the System provider does not require
any specific hardware.

Software Not certified in this release.

Hardware Uses the hardware provider for a disk array. A hardware provider
manages the VSS snapshot at the hardware level by working with
a hardware storage adapter or controller.

For example: To back up the data that resides on an EMC

CLARiiON or HP EVA array by means of the array’s snapshot
provider, select Hardware. Depending on your array and on the
snapshot attribute you select, certain preconfiguration of the array
may be required. See the chapter on configuration of snapshot
methods for disk arrays in the NetBackup Snapshot Client
Administrator's Guide.

Snapshot Attribute configuration parameter

The Snapshot Attribute configuration parameter determines the type of VSS
snapshot that is created.

Unspecified Uses the default snapshot type of the VSS provider.

Differential Uses a copy-on-write type of snapshot. For example, to back up

an EMC CLARiiON array with an EMC CLARiiON SnapView
Snapshot, select Differential.

Plex Uses a clone snapshot or mirror snapshot. For example, to back

up an HP EVA array with an HP EVA Snapclone snapshot, select
Plex.

Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines

On the Clients tab, click New to select virtual machines.
The following table describes the options that you can use to select Hyper-V virtual
machines.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 37
Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines

Table 4-3 Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines

Option Description

Enter the VM display name

Note: The type of name to enter depends on the Primary VM identifier setting on the
(or VM hostname or VM
Hyper-V tab of the policy.
GUID)
Enter the host name, display name, or GUID of the virtual machine. The format of the
host name or display name depends on your system. It may be the fully qualified name
or another name, depending on your network configuration and how the name is defined
in the guest OS. If NetBackup cannot find the name or GUID you enter, the policy
validation fails.

Make sure the Browse for Virtual Machines option is unchecked.

Browse for Virtual Click this option to discover Hyper-V servers or cluster nodes (shown in the left pane).
Machines You can select virtual machines from a list (in the right pane).

The virtual machine names that are listed may be derived from a cache file. Use of the
cache file is faster than rediscovering the virtual machines on the network if your site
has a large number of virtual machines. If the virtual machine is turned off but was
turned on when the cache file was last created, its name appears in the list.

If the display name of the virtual machine was recently changed in the Hyper-V Manager,
note: The virtual machine name that was used for the backup does not change.

If NetBackup cannot obtain the IP address of the virtual machine, the IP address is
displayed as NONE.

See “About cached names for virtual machine backup” on page 37.

Last Update To update the cache file and re-display virtual machines, click the refresh icon to the
right of the Last Update field. This field shows the date and time of the most recent
cache file that contains the names of virtual machines.

About cached names for virtual machine backup

The NetBackup policy maintains a cache file of virtual machine names. The names
are shown in the Browse for Virtual Machines dialog box. You can select a virtual
machine from the cached list in the dialog box, rather than waiting to rediscover
them on the network. This approach can save time if your site has a large number
of virtual machines.
If you change the VM display name in the Hyper-V Manager, the new name may
not be used for backups until the cache is renewed. On the policy's Browse for
Virtual Machines dialog box, click the refresh icon to the right of the Last Update
field to update the list of virtual machines.
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility” on page 28.
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 38
Prerequisites for alternate client backup of a virtual machine

Prerequisites for alternate client backup of a virtual

machine
You can back up a virtual machine with a NetBackup client that is installed on a
host other than the Hyper-V server. The separate host is called an alternate client.
Although a NetBackup client must reside on the Hyper-V server, that client does
not perform the virtual machine backup. The alternate client handles the backup
I/O processing, to save computing resources on the Hyper-V server.
Note that the NetBackup media server can be installed on the alternate client instead
of on the Hyper-V server. In this configuration, the alternate client host performs
the media server processing.
Note the following prerequisites for the alternate client backup of a virtual machine:
■ The VSS snapshot provider must support transportable snapshots with the
Hyper-V writer. A transportable snapshot is one that can be imported to the
alternate client.
Check with the vendor of the VSS provider, or use the vshadow command.
See “Verifying support for transportable snapshots by using the vshadow
command” on page 124.
■ The VSS provider should be installed on both the primary client (the Hyper-V
server) and the alternate client.
■ All virtual machine files must reside on Hyper-V host volume(s) that the VSS
provider supports for transportable snapshots involving the Hyper-V writer.
■ The primary client (Hyper-V server) and alternate client must run the same
Windows operating system, volume manager, and file system. For each of these
I/O system components, the alternate client must be at the same version as the
primary client, or at a higher version.
■ The primary client and alternate client must run the same version of NetBackup.
For example, the use of a later version of NetBackup on the primary client and
an earlier version on the alternate client is not supported.
For more information on alternate client requirements, see "Alternate client
backup" in the NetBackup Snapshot Client Administrator's Guide.

Configuring alternate client backup of virtual

machines
This topic describes the details unique to setting up a policy for alternate client
backup. This topic is a supplement to a larger procedure. For further instructions
on creating a policy, see the following:
 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 39
Configuring alternate client backup of virtual machines

See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility” on page 28.
To configure an alternate client backup of a virtual machine
1 On the NetBackup policy Attributes tab, select Hyper-V as the policy type.
2 Under Snapshot Client and Replication Director, click Perform off-host
backup and select Alternate client from the pull-down. Enter the name of the
alternate client in the Machine field.

3 Click the Hyper-V tab and review the options.

See “Backup options on the Hyper-V tab” on page 32.
Note the following:

Enable file recovery from This option supports full and incremental schedules.
VM backup

4 Create a schedule for the backup.

 Configure NetBackup policies for Hyper-V 40
Requirements for a NetBackup client inside the virtual machine

5 On the Clients tab, click New to select the virtual machine(s) to back up.
See “Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines” on page 36.

Note: The Backup Selections tab is set to ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES.

6 Click OK to validate and save the policy.

After you start the backup, the Detailed Status log should include the following
line:

... snapshot backup using alternate client <host_name>

Troubleshooting assistance is available.

See “Problems with alternate client backup” on page 124.

Requirements for a NetBackup client inside the virtual

machine
Although a NetBackup client is required on the Hyper-V server, it is not required in
the virtual machine except in the following cases:
■ To back up the individual virtual drives that are inside the virtual machine. For
example, the virtual drives that are on vhd (or vhdx) files as though on a physical
host.
■ To back up the physical disks that the virtual machine accesses in a pass through
configuration.
To back up disks in a pass through configuration by means of a VSS hardware
snapshot provider, an alternate client configuration is required.
See “About Hyper-V pass-through disks with NetBackup” on page 136.
■ To back up databases or applications using NetBackup agents.
 Chapter 5
Configure Hyper-V
Intelligent Policies
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ About Hyper-V Intelligent Policy (automatic selection of virtual machines for

backup)

■ The basics of a NetBackup query rule

■ Important notes on Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

■ NetBackup requirements for Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

■ Setting up Hyper-V Intelligent Policy: Task overview

■ Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines

■ Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection

■ Editing a query in Basic Mode

■ Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode

■ AND vs. OR in queries

■ Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder

■ The IsSet operator in queries

■ About selecting virtual machines by means of multiple policies

■ Order of operations in queries (precedence rules)

■ Parentheses in compound queries

■ Query rules for virtual machine Notes that contain a newline character
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 42
About Hyper-V Intelligent Policy (automatic selection of virtual machines for backup)

■ Query Builder field reference

■ Test Query screen for Hyper-V

■ Test Query: Failed virtual machines

■ Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query

results

■ Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on VM Name column in Test query

results

■ Restoring a VM that was backed up with a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy and that
has a pass-through disk

About Hyper-V Intelligent Policy (automatic selection

of virtual machines for backup)
Instead of manually selecting the virtual machines for backup, you can configure
NetBackup to automatically select virtual machines based on a range of criteria.
You specify the criteria (rules) in the Query Builder on the NetBackup policy Clients
tab. NetBackup creates a list of the virtual machines that currently meet the rules
and adds those virtual machines to the backup.
This feature is called the Hyper-V Intelligent Policy.
For a list of supported Hyper-V servers and related requirements for Hyper-V
Intelligent Policy, see the Symantec NetBackup Enterprise Server and Server 7.7
- 7.7.x OS Software Compatibility List available from the following location:
NetBackup Master Compatibility List
Automatic selection of virtual machines has the following advantages:
■ Simplifies the policy configuration for sites with large virtual environments.
You do not need to manually select virtual machines from a long list of hosts:
NetBackup selects all the virtual machines that meet the selection rules in the
policy's Query Builder.
■ Allows the backup list to stay up-to-date with changes in the virtual environment.
Eliminates the need to revise the backup list whenever a virtual machine is
added or removed.
■ Virtual machine selection takes place dynamically at the time of the backup.
Examples of automatic virtual machine selection are the following:
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 43
The basics of a NetBackup query rule

Table 5-1 Examples for automatic virtual machine selection

Example Description

Add new virtual machines At the next backup, the policy can automatically discover the virtual machines
that have recently been added to the environment. If the virtual machines
match the query rules that you configure in the policy, they are automatically
backed up.

The basics of a NetBackup query rule

For automatic virtual machine selection, NetBackup uses query rules to determine
which Hyper-V virtual machines to select for backup. You create the rules in the
Query Builder, on the Clients tab of the policy.
A query rule consists of the following:
■ A keyword, such as Displayname (many keywords are available).
For example: For automatic selection of the virtual machines with the display
names that contain certain characters, you need the Displayname keyword in
the rule.
■ An operator, such as Contains, StartsWith, or Equal.
The operator describes how NetBackup analyzes the keyword. For example:
Displayname StartsWith tells NetBackup to look for the display names that
start with particular characters.
■ Values for the keyword.
For the Displayname keyword, a value might be "prod". In that case, NetBackup
looks for the virtual machines that have the display names that include the
characters prod.
■ An optional joining element (AND, AND NOT, OR, OR NOT) to refine or expand
the query.
The policy uses these elements to discover and select virtual machines for backup.
Table 5-2 contains the examples of rules.

Table 5-2 Examples of rules

Rule Description

Displayname Contains "vm" NetBackup selects the virtual machines that have the
characters vm anywhere in their display names.

Displayname EndsWith "vm" NetBackup selects the virtual machines that have the
characters vm at the end of their display names.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 44
Important notes on Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

Table 5-2 Examples of rules (continued)

Rule Description

HypervServer AnyOf NetBackup selects the virtual machines that reside on

"hv1","hv2" Hyper-V servers hv1 or hv2.

Powerstate Equal poweredOn NetBackup selects only the virtual machines that are
currently turned on.

Important notes on Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

The Hyper-V Intelligent Policy in NetBackup is a different approach to Hyper-V
virtual machine selection in the policy. It represents a paradigm shift in the way you
select virtual machines for backup. As with all major changes, the effective use of
this feature requires forethought, preparation, and care.

Table 5-3 Important notes on automatic virtual machine selection!

Note! Explanation

Create rules carefully.... Instead of manually selecting virtual machines for backup, you create guidelines for
automatic selection of virtual machines. The guidelines are called rules; you enter the
rules in the policy's Query Builder.

You make the rules, and NetBackup follows them.

If the rules state: Back up all virtual machines with a host name that contains "prod",
NetBackup does that. Any virtual machine that is added to the environment with a host
name containing "prod" is automatically selected and backed up when the policy runs.
Virtual machines with the names that do not contain "prod" are not backed up. To have
other virtual machines automatically backed up, you must change the query rules (or
create additional policies).

Changes to the virtual If many virtual machines are temporarily added to your environment and happen to fall
environment can affect within the scope of the query rules, they are backed up. The backups can therefore
backup times. run much longer than expected.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 45
Important notes on Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

Table 5-3 Important notes on automatic virtual machine selection! (continued)

Note! Explanation

Test the query rules. Test the query rules ahead of time. The policy includes a Test Query function for that
purpose. It's important to verify that your query operates as expected. Otherwise, the
query may select too many or too few virtual machines.

As an alternative, you can use the nbdiscover command to test a query. Refer to
the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.

Note also: The policy's Primary VM identifier parameter can affect the automatic
selection process.

See “Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query

results” on page 71.

See “Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on VM Name column in Test query

results” on page 72.

A query test does not create The automatic selection process is dynamic. Changes in the virtual environment may
the backup list. NetBackup affect which virtual machines the query rules choose when the backup runs.
creates the backup list when
Note: If virtual machine changes occur, the virtual machines that are selected for
the backup runs.
backup may not be identical to those listed in your query test results.

Backup
list

Query test

Backup
list
Backup
execution
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 46
NetBackup requirements for Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

Table 5-3 Important notes on automatic virtual machine selection! (continued)

Note! Explanation

The policy does not display a If you select virtual machines manually (with the Browse for Virtual machines screen),
list of the virtual machines the selected virtual machines are listed on the policy Clients tab. But when you use
that are to be backed up. the Query Builder for automatic selection, the selected virtual machines are not listed
on the Clients tab.
Use the Activity Monitor or
OpsCenter. For a list of the backed up virtual machines, use the NetBackup Activity Monitor or the
OpsCenter web interface.

When you save the policy, the When you save a policy, policy validation does not consult the query rules and select
query rules are not validated. virtual machines for backup. Because of the potential for changes in the virtual
environment, virtual machine selection must wait until the backup runs. As a result,
when you save the policy, NetBackup does not check the policy attributes against a
backup list. If the query rules select the virtual machines that are incompatible with a
policy attribute, policy validation cannot flag that fact. The incompatibility becomes
apparent when NetBackup determines the backup list at the time of the backup.
Policy Take for example a policy that is configured for Enable block-level incremental
backup (BLIB). BLIB works only with ESX 4.0 virtual machines at version vmx-07 or
later. If the query rules select a virtual machine at a version earlier than vmx-07, the
policy cannot back up that virtual machine. The mismatch between the policy and the
virtual machine is revealed when the backup runs, not when the policy is validated.
The Activity Monitor's job details log indicates which virtual machines can or cannot
be backed up.

NetBackup requirements for Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

Note the following requirements for automatic selection of Hyper-V virtual machines:
■ The system where the NetBackup Administration Console runs must have access
to the Hyper-V server.
■ For the policies that back up VMs that reside in a Hyper-V cluster: The NetBackup
master server should not be installed on any Hyper-V nodes of the cluster. If
the master server resides on one of the nodes, you cannot log on to the
NetBackup Administration Console.
See “Unable to log in to the NetBackup Administration Console” on page 123.
■ If the policy's Primary VM identifier option is set to VM display name, certain
special characters are not supported in the name.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 47
Setting up Hyper-V Intelligent Policy: Task overview

The following characters are supported: ASCII letters a through z (uppercase

and lowercase), numbers 0 through 9, hyphen (-), period (.), underscore (_),
plus sign (+), percent sign (%), left and right parentheses (), spaces.
If the display name contains unsupported characters, set the Primary VM
identifier to VM GUID, or to VM hostname if a host name is available.
■ Automatic virtual machine selection requires no additional license beyond the
NetBackup Enterprise Client license.
■ Refer to the following Symantec document for support information and additional
requirements for Hyper-V Intelligent Policy:
"Support for NetBackup 7.x in virtual environments"

Setting up Hyper-V Intelligent Policy: Task overview

This topic is a high-level overview of how to set up a NetBackup policy for automatic
selection of Hyper-V virtual machines. Follow the links in the table for more details.

Table 5-4 Automatic selection of virtual machines: overview of the tasks

Steps to configure automatic Description and notes

selection

Configure a Hyper-V policy Use the policy Attributes tab.

See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility” on page 28.

Set rules for virtual machine selection On the policy Clients tab, click Select automatically through Hyper-V
in the policy Query Builder Intelligent Policy query.

Choose a host for virtual machine selection (the default is the Hyper-V server).

To add the rules, use the Query Builder drop-down fields.

See “Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection”

on page 50.

See “Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines” on page 48.

Test the rules Click Test Query in the Query Builder on the Clients tab. Virtual machines
are labeled as included or excluded, based on the rules.
Note: The list of virtual machines is not saved in the Clients tab.

Note: The query rules are also displayed in the Backup Selections tab. The
backup selections are pre-set to All_LOCAL_DRIVES (not displayed).

As an alternative, you can use the nbdiscover command to test a query.

Refer to the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 48
Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines

Table 5-4 Automatic selection of virtual machines: overview of the tasks

(continued)

Steps to configure automatic Description and notes

selection

Execute a backup When the policy executes, NetBackup consults the rules in the Query Builder,
creates a list of virtual machines, and backs them up.

Check the backup To see which virtual machines were backed up, use the Activity Monitor, or
run a Virtual Client Summary report in OpsCenter.

Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines

This topic describes the options on the policy Clients tab for Hyper-V policies.
You can use these options to manually select virtual machines, or to configure
NetBackup to select virtual machines automatically. For automatic selection, you
specify the selection criteria (rules) in the policy's Query Builder. When the backup
job runs, NetBackup discovers the virtual machines that currently meet the criteria
and backs up those virtual machines.
A procedure is available:
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection” on page 50.

Table 5-5 Virtual machine selection options (not available on the Backup
Policy Configuration Wizard panel)

Option Description

Hyper-V server Enter the name of the Hyper-V server.

For a clustered environment, note:

■ Enter the name of the cluster (or one of the Hyper-V cluster nodes).
■ Set the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon to the cluster user.
See “Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon (vnetd.exe) to the domain
user account” on page 23.
■ The NetBackup master server should not be installed on any Hyper-V nodes in the cluster.
If the master server resides on one of the nodes, you cannot log on to the NetBackup
Administration Console.

Select manually Click this option and click New to manually enter virtual machines names, or to browse and
select them from a list.

See “Browse for Hyper-V virtual machines” on page 36.

Note: The rest of the fields and options are for automatic selection of virtual machines.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 49
Options for selecting Hyper-V virtual machines

Table 5-5 Virtual machine selection options (not available on the Backup
Policy Configuration Wizard panel) (continued)

Option Description

Select automatically Click this option to allow NetBackup to automatically select virtual machines for backup based
through Hyper-V on the rules that you enter in the Query Builder.
Intelligent Policy
query

Table 5-6 Query Builder

Option Description

Query Builder (Join, Use these pull-down fields to define rules for automatic selection of virtual machines. From
Field, Operator, left to right, each pull-down refines the rule.
Values)
Click the plus sign to add the rule to the Query pane.

Click the reset icon (curved arrow) to blank out the pull-down fields.

See “Query Builder field reference” on page 64.

See “Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder” on page 57.

Advanced Places the Query Builder in Advanced Mode for manual entry of rules.

See “Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode” on page 55.

See “Query Builder field reference” on page 64.

See “Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder” on page 57.

Basic Returns the Query Builder from Advanced Mode to Basic Mode.

See “Query Builder field reference” on page 64.

Edit Use this option to change an existing query rule when in Basic Mode, as follows:

■ Click the rule and then click Edit.

■ Make new selections in the Query Builder pull-down fields.
■ Click the save option (diskette icon).

Remove Deletes a query rule when in Basic Mode. Click on the rule and then click Remove.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 50
Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection

Table 5-6 Query Builder (continued)

Option Description

Test Query Click this option to test which virtual machines NetBackup selects based on the rules in the
Query Builder.
Note: This test option does not create the backup list for the policy. When the next backup
runs from this policy, NetBackup re-discovers virtual machines and consults the query rules.
At that time, NetBackup backs up the virtual machines that match the rules.

See “Test Query screen for Hyper-V” on page 68.

As an alternative, you can use the nbdiscover command to test a query. Refer to the
NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.

Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual

machine selection
NetBackup can automatically select Hyper-V virtual machines for backup based on
the criteria that you enter. You specify the criteria (rules) in the Query Builder on
the NetBackup policy Clients tab. You can set up rules to include certain virtual
machines for backup, or to exclude virtual machines.
When the backup job runs, NetBackup creates a list of the virtual machines that
currently meet the query rules and backs them up.
The following is the policy Clients tab with the option Select automatically through
Hyper-V Intelligent Policy query. It has a query rule to back up all virtual machines
that are powered on.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 51
Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection

Figure 5-1 Policy Clients tab for automatic selection of virtual machines

The Query Builder can operate in Basic Mode or in Advanced Mode.

To configure automatic virtual machine selection in Basic Mode
1 On the policy Attributes tab, select Hyper-V for the policy type.
2 Make other policy selections as needed (for example, create a Schedule).
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 52
Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection

3 Click the Clients tab, and select Select automatically through Hyper-V
Intelligent Policy query.
If you selected virtual machines in the Browse for Virtual Machines dialog,
those virtual machines are removed from the policy.
4 Enter the name of the Hyper-V server in the Hyper-V server field.
For a clustered environment, note the following:
■ Enter the name of the cluster (or one of the Hyper-V cluster nodes) in the
Hyper-V server field.
■ Set the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon to the domain user
account:
See “Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon (vnetd.exe)
to the domain user account” on page 23.
■ The NetBackup master server should not be installed on any Hyper-V nodes
in the cluster. If the master server resides on one of the nodes, you cannot
log on to the NetBackup Administration Console.
See “Unable to log in to the NetBackup Administration Console” on page 123.

5 To create a rule, make selections from the Query Builder pull-down menus.
■ For the first rule, you can start with the Field pull-down, depending on the
type of rule. For the first rule, the only selections available for the Join field
are blank (none), or NOT.
Select a keyword for Field:

■ Select an Operator:
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 53
Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection

■ For the Value(s) field:

You can enter the value manually (enclose the value in single quotes or
double quotes).
As an alternative, you can click the folder icon to browse for values.
Depending on the Field keyword, you can use the Value(s) drop-down to
select the value.
Note that browsing with the folder icon may take some time in large
environments.
See “Query Builder field reference” on page 64.

The arrow icon resets the Join, Field, Operator, and Value(s) fields to
blank.

6 Click the plus sign to add the rule to the Query pane.

7 Create more rules as needed.

See “Query Builder field reference” on page 64.
See “Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder” on page 57.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 54
Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection

8 To see which virtual machines NetBackup currently selects based on your

query, click Test Query.
On the Test Query screen, the virtual machines in your current environment
that match the rules for selection in the policy are labeled INCLUDED. Note
however that the Test Query option does not create the backup list for the
policy. When the next backup runs from this policy, NetBackup re-discovers
virtual machines and consults the query rules. At that time, NetBackup backs
up the virtual machines that match the query rules.
The list of virtual machines is saved but the virtual machines are not displayed
in the policy's Clients tab.
See “Test Query screen for Hyper-V” on page 68.
9 To create queries manually (Advanced Mode) instead of using the pull-down
menus, click Advanced.
See “Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode” on page 55.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 55
Editing a query in Basic Mode

Editing a query in Basic Mode

To edit a query rule
1 With the Query Builder in Basic Mode, click on the query rule and click Edit.

2 Make selections in the pull-down menus.

3 Click the save option (diskette icon).

The rule is updated according to your selections.

To remove a query rule
◆ With the Query Builder in Basic Mode, click on the query rule and click
Remove.

Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode

The Query Builder's Advanced Mode provides more flexibility in crafting rules for
virtual machine selection, including the use of parentheses for grouping.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 56
AND vs. OR in queries

To use the Query Builder in Advanced Mode

1 Set up a Hyper-V policy and specify a Hyper-V server.
For assistance, you can refer to the first few steps of the following procedure:
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection”
on page 50.
2 Click the Clients tab.
3 Click Select automatically through Hyper-V Intelligent Policy query.
4 In the Query Builder pane, click Advanced Mode.
5 You can use the Query Builder drop-down menus to add query rules. You can
also type in rules manually.
Here is an example query:
Displayname Contains "vm"

6 To insert a rule between existing rules, place the cursor where you want the
new rule to start and type it in.
When you create a rule with the drown-down menus, it appears at the end of
the query. You can cut and paste it to a different position.
7 To establish the proper order of evaluation in compound queries, use
parentheses to group rules as needed. Compound queries contain two or more
rules, joined by AND, AND NOT, OR, or OR NOT.
More information is available on the use of parentheses and on the order of
precedence.
See “AND vs. OR in queries” on page 56.
See “Order of operations in queries (precedence rules)” on page 60.
See “Parentheses in compound queries” on page 62.

AND vs. OR in queries

The Join field in the Query Builder provides connectors for joining rules (AND, AND
NOT, OR, OR NOT). The effect of AND versus OR in the Query Builder may not
be obvious at first glance.
In essence, AND and OR work in this way:
■ AND limits or restricts the scope of the query.
■ OR opens up the query to an additional possibility, expanding the scope of the
query.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 57
Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder

Note: Do not use AND to join the rules that are intended to include additional virtual
machines in the backup list. For instance, AND cannot be used to mean "include
virtual machine X AND virtual machine Y."
For example: To include the virtual machines that have either "vm1" or "vm2" in
their names, use OR to join the rules:

Displayname Contains "vm1"

OR Displayname Contains "vm2"

If you use AND to join these rules:

Displayname Contains "vm1"

AND Displayname Contains "vm2"

the result is different: the backup list includes only the virtual machines that have
both vm1 and vm2 in their names (such as "acmevm1vm2"). A virtual machine with
the name "acmevm1" is not included in the backup.

Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder

The following table provides example query rules.
To use the Query Builder, you must click Select automatically through Hyper-V
Intelligent Policy query on the Client tab.

Table 5-7 Query Builder examples

Example query Query result when backup job executes

No query rules specified (Query pane is All virtual machines are added to the backup list. Exceptions are those that
empty) do not have a host name, or that have invalid characters in the display name.

See “Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test

Query results” on page 71.

Displayname Contains "prod" All virtual machines with the display names that contain the string "prod" are
added to the backup list.

See “Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test

Query results” on page 71.

Displayname AnyOf The virtual machines named "grayfox7”and "grayfox9" are added to the
"grayfox7”,"grayfox9" backup list. Note that each value must be enclosed in its own quotes, with
a comma in between.

powerstate Equal "poweredOn" Any virtual machine that is turned on is added to the backup list.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 58
The IsSet operator in queries

Table 5-7 Query Builder examples (continued)

Example query Query result when backup job executes

powerstate Equal "poweredOn" Any virtual machine that is turned on and resides on Hyper-V server
HV_serv1 is added to the backup list.
AND HypervServer Equal "HV_serv1"

IsClustered Equal TRUE Any virtual machine that is in a clustered Hyper-V server is added to the
backup list.

Displayname Contains "pre-prod" Any virtual machine with a display name containing "pre-prod" and that is
not in a clustered Hyper-V server is added to the backup list.
AND IsClustered Equal FALSE

IsClustered Equal TRUE Adds to the backup list any virtual machine in a clustered Hyper-V server if
the virtual machine has "pre-prod" in its Notes field.
AND Notes Contains "pre-prod"

Displayname StartsWith "prod" Adds to the backup list any virtual machine with a display name starting with
"prod" or with Notes that contain "prod."
OR Notes Contains "prod"

Click Advanced to see the query rule in Advanced Mode. Only Advanced Mode
supports the use of parentheses for grouping sets of rules.

The IsSet operator in queries

In a query, you can use the IsSet operator to ensure that certain virtual machines
are included or excluded from the backup.
For example: You can use IsSet to exclude virtual machines from the backup list
that do not have any Notes associated with them.

Table 5-8 Examples of queries with the IsSet operator

Query rules with IsSet operator Effect of the query on virtual machine selection

Displayname Contains "prod" INCLUDED: Any virtual machine with a display name that contains the string
"prod" if the virtual machine also has Notes.
AND Notes IsSet
EXCLUDED: Any virtual machines that do not have Notes.

Without Notes IsSet in this query, virtual machines without Notes cannot be
excluded.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 59
About selecting virtual machines by means of multiple policies

Table 5-8 Examples of queries with the IsSet operator (continued)

Query rules with IsSet operator Effect of the query on virtual machine selection

Cluster Contains "dev" INCLUDED: Any virtual machine in a cluster that has a name that contains
the string "dev" if the virtual machine also has Notes.
AND Notes IsSet
EXCLUDED: Any virtual machines that do not have Notes, and any virtual
machines that have Notes but that are not in a cluster that has a name that
contains “dev”.

Without Notes in this query, virtual machines without Notes cannot be

excluded.

The policy's Primary VM identifier parameter has an important effect on which

virtual machines NetBackup can back up. This parameter affects the test query
results.
See “Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query
results” on page 71.

About selecting virtual machines by means of multiple

policies
If your virtual environment has many virtual machines with inconsistent naming
conventions, you may need multiple policies working in tandem. It may be difficult
to create a single policy that automatically selects all the virtual machines that you
want to back up.
For this situation, configure several policies so that each policy backs up a portion
of the environment. One policy backs up a particular set or group of virtual machines,
such as those that have host names. A second policy backs up a different group
of virtual machines that were not backed up by the first policy, and so forth. When
all the policies have run, all the virtual machines are backed up.
The following table describes the policies that are designed to back up the virtual
environment in three phases. Note that each policy relies on a different setting for
the Primary VM identifier parameter.

Table 5-9 Three policies that back up the virtual machines in phases

Policy Query Builder rules Backup result

First policy Notes IsSet This policy backs up all virtual machines that have a
host name and any Notes. Any virtual machines that
Primary VM identifier
do not have a host name and do not have Notes are
parameter: VM hostname
either excluded from the backup or listed as FAILED.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 60
Order of operations in queries (precedence rules)

Table 5-9 Three policies that back up the virtual machines in phases
(continued)

Policy Query Builder rules Backup result

Second policy NOT Notes IsSet This policy backs up all virtual machines that have a
display name, that are clustered, and that do not have
Primary VM identifier AND IsClustered Equal
any Notes. Any virtual machines that have Notes but
parameter: VM display name ‘TRUE’
are not clustered are excluded from the backup.

Third policy NOT Notes IsSet This policy backs up the virtual machines that were not
backed up by the first two policies. This policy selects
Primary VM identifier AND IsClustered NotEqual
the virtual machines that do not have any Notes and
parameter: VM GUID ‘TRUE’
are not clustered, but that do have a GUID.

More information is available on the Primary VM identifier parameter and its effect
on virtual machine selection.
See “Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query
results” on page 71.

Order of operations in queries (precedence rules)

The information in this topic is for advanced users who understand precedence in
programming languages. In the Query Builder, the order in which operations occur
can determine which virtual machines are selected and backed up.
The following table lists the order of operations, or precedence, from highest to
lowest (7 is the highest). For example, an operation with a precedence of 6 (such
as Contains) is evaluated before an operation with a precedence of 5 (such as
Greater).

Table 5-10 Order of operations

Operation Description Precedence

!x Produces the value 0 if x is true (nonzero) and 7

the value 1 if x is false (0).

x Contains y Does y exist somewhere in x 6

x StartsWith y Does x start with y 6

x EndsWith y Does x end with y 6

x AnyOf list Does x appear in list 6

x Greater y Is x greater than y 5

 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 61
Order of operations in queries (precedence rules)

Table 5-10 Order of operations (continued)

Operation Description Precedence

x GreaterEqual y Is x greater than or equal to y 5

x Less y Is x less than y 5

x LessEqual y Is x less than or equal to y 5

x Equal y Is x equal to y 4

x NotEqual y Is x not equal to y 4

Not x operator produces the value 0 if x is true 3

(nonzero) and the value 1 if x is false (0).

x And y True if both x and y are true 2

x OR y True if either x or y are true 1

Note the following:

■ AND has a higher precedence than OR.
In the Query Builder's Advanced Mode, you can use parentheses to change the
order of evaluation in the rules that use AND or OR.
See “Parentheses in compound queries” on page 62.
■ In the Query Builder's Advanced Mode, you can combine two or more operations
in a single rule without AND or OR to join them. Precedence determines the
order in which the operations are evaluated within the rule.
Example of a rule that includes three operations:

Displayname StartsWith “L” NotEqual Displayname contains “x”

This rule selects the following virtual machines:

Virtual machines with the names that start with L.
Virtual machines with the names that do not start with L but that do contain x.
Explanation: The StartsWith and Contains operations have a precedence of 6,
whereas NotEqual has a lower precedence of 3. Starting on the left, the
StartsWith operation is evaluated first and the Contains operation is evaluated
next. The last operation to be evaluated is Not Equal.
See “Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode” on page 55.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 62
Parentheses in compound queries

Parentheses in compound queries

You can use the Query Builder to make precise queries containing as many rules
as necessary to identify the appropriate virtual machines. In a query such as
powerstate Equal "poweredOn", the result of the query is easy to predict: only
the virtual machines that are turned on are included in the backup. But if several
rules are combined with AND and OR, the result may not be obvious. This kind of
query is called a compound query. Compound queries contain two or more rules,
joined by AND, AND NOT, OR, or OR NOT.
The order in which the Query Builder evaluates compound rules affects the outcome
of the query. Grouping the rules with parentheses can change the order of evaluation
and thus the outcome of the query.
The examples in the following table demonstrate how the Query Builder evaluates
compound queries with and without parentheses.

Note: Only the Query Builder's Advanced Mode supports the use of parentheses.

Table 5-11 Examples of compound queries with and without parentheses

Example query The following virtual machines are selected

HypervServer Equal "HV-serv1" OR All virtual machines in HV-serv1 (regardless of their power state), and any
IsClustered Equal TRUE AND virtual machines that are turned on in a clustered environment.
powerstate Equal ON
To select only the virtual machines that are turned on both in the Hyper-V
server and in clustered environments, use parentheses (see next example).

(HypervServer Equal "HV-serv1" OR All the virtual machines that are turned on in HV-serv1 and in clustered
IsClustered Equal TRUE) AND environments.
powerstate Equal ON

Query rules for virtual machine Notes that contain a

newline character
If the virtual machine's Notes contain a newline character, the Query Builder's folder
icon for browsing may not return the correct values. As a result, the query rule may
not select the VM for backup.
The following screen shows the folder icon for browsing for possible values:
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 63
Query rules for virtual machine Notes that contain a newline character

For example: If the VM's Notes contain the following words with a newline in between
them:

Server Location
Building A

Then the browsing icon returns “Server Location Building A”. The resulting query
rule is:

Notes Contains "Server Location Building A"

Since the newline character is not included in the query, the VM may not be backed
up. To include the VM in the backup, create the query manually without using the
browsing icon.
For this example, create the query: Notes Contains “Server Location” AND
Notes Contains “Building A”:
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 64
Query Builder field reference

Query Builder field reference

Table 5-12 describes the drop-down fields and options for creating rules in the
Query Builder.

Table 5-12 Query Builder drop-down options: Join, Field, Operator, Value(s)

Query Builder Description

drop-down fields

Join Selects a connector to join rules.

For the first rule, choices are blank (none) or NOT. After you add a rule,
the available connectors are AND, AND NOT, OR, OR NOT.

Field Selects a parameter on which to build the rule.

See Table 5-13 on page 65.

Operator Selects an operator.

See Table 5-14 on page 66.

Value(s) Specifies value(s) for the Field parameter.

The value(s) you enter must be enclosed in single quotes or double

quotes. You can specify multiple comma-separated values.

See Table 5-15 on page 68.

Allows browsing for values, depending on the selections that are made
in the other drop-down fields. Use the pop-up to select the value(s):

Adds the current drop-down selections to the Query pane as a new

rule.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 65
Query Builder field reference

Table 5-12 Query Builder drop-down options: Join, Field, Operator, Value(s)
(continued)

Query Builder Description

drop-down fields

Blanks out the drop-down fields.

Field (keywords)
Table 5-13 describes the keywords available in the Field drop-down. The table also
indicates whether the values for each keyword (in the Values field) are
case-sensitive.
Note that the Field keyword does not determine by itself the inclusion or exclusion
of virtual machines. Selection of virtual machines depends on the rule you construct:
the combination of Join, Field, Operator, and Value(s).

Table 5-13 Keywords in the Field drop-down

Field keyword Data type Description

Displayname Alphanumeric The virtual machine's display name.

string
Values are case-sensitive.

HypervServer Alphanumeric The name of the Hyper-V server.

string
Values are not case-sensitive.

IsClustered Boolean TRUE if the virtual machine resides in a Hyper-V server that is in a cluster.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 66
Query Builder field reference

Table 5-13 Keywords in the Field drop-down (continued)

Field keyword Data type Description

Notes Alphanumeric A note that was recorded about the virtual machine, in the virtual machine's
string Summary tab in Hyper-V Manager.

Values are case-sensitive.

To make entries in a virtual machine's Notes field: right-click on the virtual

machine, then click Settings > Management > Name.

Powerstate Alphabetic The state of the virtual machine.

Values are poweredOff, poweredOn, suspended, starting, offCritical.

Operators
Table 5-14 describes the operators available in the Operator drop-down.

Table 5-14 Operators in the Operator drop-down

Operator Description

AnyOf Matches any of the specified values in the Value(s) field.

For example: If the display names in the Value(s) field are "vm01","vm02","vm03", AnyOf matches
any VM that has one of those names. If the names of your VMs are not identical to any of the
specified values, no match occurs. A VM that is named "vm01A" is not a match.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 67
Query Builder field reference

Table 5-14 Operators in the Operator drop-down (continued)

Operator Description

Contains Matches the value in the Value(s) field wherever that value occurs in the string.
For example: If the Value(s) entry is "dev", Contains matches strings such as "01dev",
"01dev99", "devOP", and "Development_machine".

EndsWith Matches the value in the Value(s) field when it occurs at the end of a string.

For example: If the Value(s) entry is "dev", EndsWith matches the string "01dev" but not
"01dev99", "devOP", or "Development_machine".

Equal Matches only the value that is specified in the Value(s) field.

For example: If the display name to search for is "VMtest27", Equal matches virtual machine
names such as "VMTest27" or "vmtest27" or "vmTEST27", and so forth. The name "VMtest28"
is not matched.

Greater Matches any value that is greater than the specified Value(s), according to the ASCII collating
sequence.

GreaterEqual Matches any value that is greater than or equal to the specified Value(s), according to the ASCII
collating sequence.

IsSet Determines whether a value is returned for the Field keyword. Use IsSet with another rule as a
condition, to ensure that the query selects the appropriate virtual machines.

Note that you do not make an entry under Value(s) for a rule that uses IsSet.

See “The IsSet operator in queries” on page 58.

See “Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query results”
on page 71.

See “Test Query: Failed virtual machines” on page 70.

Less Matches any value that is less than the specified Value(s), according to the ASCII collating
sequence.

LessEqual Matches any value that is less than or equal to the specified Value(s), according to the ASCII
collating sequence.

NotEqual Matches any value that is not equal to the value in the Value(s) field.

StartsWith Matches the value in the Value(s) field when it occurs at the start of a string.

For example: If the Value(s) entry is "box", StartsWith matches the string "box_car" but not
"flat_box".

Value(s)
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 68
Test Query screen for Hyper-V

Table 5-15 describes the characters that can be entered in the Value(s) field. The
Field keyword determines case sensitivity.

Note: The character string you enter in the Value(s) field must be enclosed in single
quotes or double quotes.

Table 5-15 Characters you can enter for Value(s)

Character types String characters allowed

Alphanumerics A to Z, a to z, 0 to 9 (decimal), and the following special characters:

, ~ ! @ $ % ^ & * ( ) ` - _ = + [ ] { } | \ : ; , . < > / ?

Note: If the policy's Primary VM identifier option is set to VM display name, only the
following characters are supported in the virtual machine's display name: A to Z, a to z, 0 to
9, hyphen (-), period (.), underscore (_), plus sign (+), percent sign (%), left and right
parentheses (), spaces.

Wildcards * (asterisk) matches everything.

For example: "*prod*" matches the string "prod" preceded or followed by any characters.

? (question mark) matches any single character.

For example: "prod??" matches the string "prod" followed by any two characters.

Escape character \ (backslash) escapes the wildcard or meta-character that follows it.

For example: To search for a string that contains an asterisk (such as test*), enter "test\*"

Quotation marks Note: The characters you enter in Value(s) must be enclosed in single or double quotes.

To search for a string that contains quotation marks, either escape each quote (\") or enclose
the entire string in the opposite type of quotes.

For example: To search for a string that includes double quotes (such as "name"), enter
'"name"' (enclosing it in single quotes) or "\"name\"".

Test Query screen for Hyper-V

This screen lists the virtual machines that NetBackup discovered in your virtual
environment when you clicked Test Query. Later changes in the virtual environment
may affect which virtual machines match the query rules. For example: if virtual
machines are added, the test results may not be identical to the virtual machines
that are selected for backup when the backup runs.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 69
Test Query screen for Hyper-V

When the next backup runs from this policy, the following events occur: NetBackup
re-discovers virtual machines, consults the query rules, and backs up the virtual
machines that match the rules.
The list of backed up virtual machines is saved but the virtual machines are not
displayed in the policy's Clients tab. You can use the Activity Monitor to view the
virtual machine jobs, or you can run a Virtual Client Summary report in OpsCenter.

Note: An alternative to the Test Query screen is the nbdiscover command. For
more information, see the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.

The Test Query function runs in the background. You can continue to configure
the policy while the test runs. Any changes you make in the Query Builder however
are not included in the currently running test. You must re-initiate the test to see
the results of your Query Builder changes.

Table 5-16 Test Query screen fields

Field Description

Test query for Lists the rules in the Query Builder that were used in this test. The rules
policy are specified in the Query Builder on the policy Clients tab.

Test Query VM Name: Shows the display name of all discovered virtual machines.
Results
Selection: Lists the virtual machines that were discovered, as follows:

■ INCLUDED: The virtual machine matches the rules in the query.

■ EXCLUDED: The virtual machine does not match the rules in the query.
■ FAILED: The virtual machine cannot be selected for backup because
of a host name problem or other error. Also, the query cannot exclude
the virtual machine. An explanation appears at the bottom of the Test
Query screen. For example:

VM does not have a host name to use as a

client name, display name =

See “Test Query: Failed virtual machines” on page 70.

The operator IsSet can be used to filter out such virtual machines. More
information is available on IsSet.
See “The IsSet operator in queries” on page 58.

Included: The bottom of the screen gives a tally of how many virtual machines were
included, excluded, or failed in the test.
Excluded:

Failed:
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 70
Test Query: Failed virtual machines

Test Query: Failed virtual machines

If the query rules cannot exclude a virtual machine, and that virtual machine cannot
be selected for backup, it is marked as FAILED. The virtual machine is listed as
not run in the job details log.
For example: the virtual machine does not have the type of name specified by the
Primary VM identifier parameter (such as host name or display name). Or the
virtual machine name contains invalid characters. In any case, a virtual machine
that is listed as FAILED should be investigated: it may be one that you want to back
up.
To see the reason for the failure, click on the virtual machine in the Test Query
Results. An explanation appears at the bottom of the screen.
For example:

Explanation: The virtual machine Win%1 in the example does not have a host name.
In the NetBackup policy, on the Hyper-V tab, the Primary VM identifier parameter
may be set to VM hostname. In that case, NetBackup cannot refer to the virtual
machine by its host name and thus cannot back it up.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 71
Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query results

To fix this problem, use the Hyper-V Manager to configure a host name for the
virtual machine.
See “The IsSet operator in queries” on page 58.

Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on

Selection column in Test Query results
The NetBackup policy's Primary VM identifier parameter tells NetBackup how to
identify virtual machines. For example, if the parameter is set to VM hostname,
NetBackup identifies virtual machines by their host names. If they do not have a
host name, the policy cannot back them up.
The Primary VM identifier parameter has a direct effect on the query test results.
Note that for each virtual machine, the query test result is one of three possibilities:
INCLUDED, EXCLUDED, or FAILED.
If NetBackup cannot identify a virtual machine according to the Primary VM
identifier parameter, one of two test results can occur:
■ If the virtual machine is filtered out by the query rules, it is listed as EXCLUDED.
■ If the virtual machine is not filtered out by the query rules, it is listed as FAILED.
The following table gives the test query results from example combinations of
the Primary VM identifier parameter and a query rule.

Table 5-17 Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter and query rules on test
query results

Primary VM Query rule in Query Test query result

identifier setting on Builder
Hyper-V policy tab

VM hostname Displayname Contains INCLUDED: Any virtual machines that have a host name and
"VM" that have a display name that contains "VM".

EXCLUDED: Any virtual machines that do not have a display

name that contains "VM".

FAILED: Any virtual machines that have a display name that

contains "VM" but that do not have a host name. Since the
Primary VM identifier parameter is set to VM hostname,
NetBackup cannot select the virtual machine for backup.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 72
Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on VM Name column in Test query results

Table 5-17 Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter and query rules on test
query results (continued)

Primary VM Query rule in Query Test query result

identifier setting on Builder
Hyper-V policy tab

VM display name Displayname Contains INCLUDED: Any virtual machines with the display names that
"VM" contain "VM". Since the Primary VM identifier parameter tells
NetBackup to select the virtual machine by display name, it
can back up the virtual machines.

EXCLUDED: All other virtual machines.

Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on VM

Name column in Test query results
The policy's Primary VM identifier parameter affects the type of virtual machine
name that appears in the VM Name column of the Test Query screen, as follows:
■ If a virtual machine is EXCLUDED or FAILED, it is listed according to its virtual
machine display name. The Primary VM identifier parameter does not matter.
■ If a virtual machine is listed as INCLUDED, note: The name that appears under
VM Name is the type of name that is specified on the Primary VM identifier
parameter.
For example: If the Primary VM identifier parameter is VM hostname, the
included virtual machine is listed according to its host name. Even if the query
rule specified Display name (such as Displayname Equal "vm1"), the virtual
machine appears on the Test Query screen by its host name.

Restoring a VM that was backed up with a Hyper-V

Intelligent Policy and that has a pass-through disk
If a Hyper-V VM with a pass-through disk was backed up with a Hyper-V intelligent
policy (Query Builder), the restored VM may not start. The following message
appears:
An error occurred while attempting to start the selected virtual
machine(s).

The message includes the name of the VM, its virtual machine ID, and related
details.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 73
Restoring a VM that was backed up with a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy and that has a pass-through disk

Note: Although the VM does not start, the VM data (including the pass-through disk)
is successfully restored.

To start a VM that is in a Hyper-V cluster:

1 In the Failover Cluster Manager, under Actions click Configure Role….
2 In the Select Role screen, select Virtual Machine as the role.
3 In the Select Virtual Machine screen, select the VM to configure for high
availability.

Note: The VM was restored to a state of non high-availability.

When the restored virtual machine is set to high availability, it should start
normally.
4 Right-click on the VM and click Start.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 74
Restoring a VM that was backed up with a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy and that has a pass-through disk

To start a VM that is not in a Hyper-V cluster:

1 In the Hyper-V Manager, right-click the VM and click Settings.
2 Select the pass-through drive's IDE Controller (for Generation 1 VM) or the
SCSI Controller (for Generation 2 VM).
The pass-through disk appears under the controller, as Hard Drive Physical
drive Disk x.
For example:

3 In the right panel under Physical hard disk, click Remove.

4 Click Apply to commit the change.
5 Reselect the pass-through drive's IDE Controller or SCSI Controller.
6 Select Hard Drive and click Add.
Beneath the IDE Controller or SCSI Controller appears Hard Drive <file>. The
default selection in the Media panel on the right is Virtual hard disk.
 Configure Hyper-V Intelligent Policies 75
Restoring a VM that was backed up with a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy and that has a pass-through disk

7 To add the pass-through disk, click Physical hard disk.

8 Click Apply and then click OK.

9 Right-click on the virtual machine and click Start.
The virtual machine should start normally.
 Chapter 6
Windows Server 2008 and
2012 failover cluster
support
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ About virtual machines on Windows 2008 and 2012 failover clusters

■ Notes on CSV backup and restore

■ Creating a policy for virtual machines in a cluster

■ Location of the restored virtual machine in a cluster

■ Virtual machine maintenance after a restore

■ Hyper-V restore may fail if the VM was created on a CSV and the CSV is a
reparse point on the destination drive

About virtual machines on Windows 2008 and 2012

failover clusters
NetBackup support for failover clusters includes the following:
■ NetBackup can use a single policy to back up high availability (HA) and non-HA
virtual machines in the cluster.
■ NetBackup can back up a virtual machine even if it migrates to a different node
in the cluster.
■ NetBackup can restore the entire virtual machine to a cluster or to any Hyper-V
host.
 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster support 77
Notes on CSV backup and restore

Note: A NetBackup client must be installed on each node of the cluster.

When restoring a clustered virtual machine to its original location, note the following:
■ The restore destination depends on the following: The virtual machine's HA
status at the time of its backup and at the time of restore (if it still exists).
See “Location of the restored virtual machine in a cluster” on page 80.
■ Virtual machines are always restored to a state of non-high-availability. They
can be manually reset for high availability.
■ If the existing virtual machine has a status of highly available at restore time,
also note the following:
■ Its cluster resources are deleted during the restore.
■ Its cluster group is not deleted during restore. Removal of the cluster group
must be done manually.
See “Virtual machine maintenance after a restore” on page 81.

Notes on CSV backup and restore

The Windows Server 2008 R2 added a new feature for Hyper-V called Cluster
Shared Volumes (CSV). CSV allows multiple virtual machines to share volumes
(disk LUNs). CSV also allows live migration of a running virtual machine from one
Hyper-V server to another without user interruption.
Multiple virtual machines can be created on a single cluster-shared volume (CSV)
and owned by different nodes. (Hyper-V servers are configured as nodes in the
cluster.) All nodes can access the CSV simultaneously.
NetBackup can back up the virtual machines that are configured in cluster-shared
volumes.
Note the following:
■ During the backup, the cluster-shared volume (CSV) enters the online state
(“Backup in progress, Redirected access"). The cluster node that performs the
backup becomes the owner of the CSV.
■ On Windows versions before 2012, multiple nodes cannot back up a CSV
simultaneously. When a node backs up a virtual machine on a CSV, the attempt
by another node to back up the same virtual machine fails.

Note: On Windows server 2012, cluster nodes can back up the same CSV
simultaneously.
 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster support 78
Creating a policy for virtual machines in a cluster

For Windows versions before 2012: You can use the Cluster shared volumes
timeout option in the policy to adjust how long NetBackup waits for another
backup of the same CSV to complete.
See “Cluster shared volumes timeout (Hyper-V)” on page 34.
■ A single node containing two virtual machines can back up both virtual machines
simultaneously, even if they use the same CSV. As long as both virtual machines
reside on the same node, simultaneous backups are allowed.
■ For Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2: If a VM is on a CSV, restoring the VM
fails if the CSV is a reparse point that is specified as the restore destination.
NetBackup may incorrectly assume that the restore destination is not large
enough to contain the VM, and the restore does not start.
See “Hyper-V restore may fail if the VM was created on a CSV and the CSV is
a reparse point on the destination drive” on page 82.
■ For a successful backup of a virtual machine on a CSV, the virtual machine
must use CSV volumes only. If a local disk on the Hyper-V server (not a CSV
volume) is added to the virtual machine, the backup fails with status 156.
Reconfigure the virtual machine to use CSV volumes only, and retry the backup.

Creating a policy for virtual machines in a cluster

This procedure focuses on the configuration items that are unique to the virtual
machines that use a CSV. Broader details on creating a policy are available:
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility” on page 28.
To create a policy for the virtual machines that are in a CSV cluster
1 Select Hyper-V as the policy type.
2 Note the following options on the Hyper-V tab.

Enable offline backup Determines whether or not NetBackup is allowed to perform

for non-VSS VMs an offline backup of a virtual machine.

See “Enable offline backup for non-VSS VMs (Hyper-V)”

on page 34.

Cluster shared Determines how many minutes the backup job waits, in case
volumes timeout another node backs up the same shared volume(s) that this
backup requires.
Note: This option is not used if the cluster is on Windows
2012.

See “Cluster shared volumes timeout (Hyper-V)” on page 34.

 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster support 79
Creating a policy for virtual machines in a cluster

3 On the Clients tab, enter the name of the cluster in the Hyper-V server field.
4 On the Clients tab, click New.
Note: This procedure describes how to select virtual machines manually. For
automatic selection of virtual machines with a Hyper-V Intelligent policy, see
the following topics:
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy for automatic virtual machine selection”
on page 50.
See “Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon (vnetd.exe) to
the domain user account” on page 23.
5 You can enter the host name, display name, or GUID of the virtual machine to
back up, or click Browse and select Virtual Machine.

The cluster name and its nodes (Hyper-V servers) appear in the left pane,
under Hyper-V Manager. The virtual machines appear in the larger pane to
the right.
The High Availability column indicates whether the virtual machine is
configured as highly available in the cluster.
Note the following:
■ The host name or display name must appear in the list according to the
Primary VM identifier option on the Hyper-V tab. If you selected VM
hostname for the Primary VM identifier option, and a host name for the
virtual machine does not appear: The virtual machine cannot be added to
the Clients list.
The host name of a virtual machine is available only when the virtual
machine is in the running state. The display name and GUID are always
available. If the host name does not appear, make sure that the virtual
 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster support 80
Location of the restored virtual machine in a cluster

machine is turned on. To update the cache file and re-display virtual
machines, click the refresh icon to the right of the Last Update field.
■ If the right pane reads "Unable to connect," the highlighted node in the left
pane is down or the NetBackup client service is not running.

6 When you have selected virtual machines, click OK.

The selected virtual machine(s) appear on the Clients tab.

Location of the restored virtual machine in a cluster

When you restore a virtual machine to a cluster, you can restore to the original
location or to a different location. But for a virtual machine that failed over to another
node after the backup occurred, what is the original location? Is it the node (Hyper-V
server) where the virtual machine resided when it was backed up, or the node where
it now resides?
The following table is a decision chart for restore to original location in a cluster. It
indicates where the virtual machine is restored. The location depends on the virtual
machine's high availability (HA) state when it was backed up and when it was
restored.

Table 6-1 Decision chart for restore to original location in a cluster

Is the virtual Is the virtual Virtual machine is restored to this node (to non-HA state):
machine status HA machine status HA
at time of backup? at time of restore?

Yes Yes Restored to node that owns the virtual machine at the time of restore.

Yes No Restored to node on which the virtual machine resided at the time
of backup.

Yes Virtual machine does Restored to node on which the virtual machine resided at the time
not exist. of backup.

No Yes Restored to node on which the virtual machine resided at the time
of backup.

At the time of restore, if virtual machine resides on a different node

from where it resided when backed up, the restore fails.

No No Restored to node on which the virtual machine resided at the time

of backup.

No Virtual machine does Restored to node on which the virtual machine resided at the time
not exist. of backup.
 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster support 81
Virtual machine maintenance after a restore

Note: In all cases, the virtual machine is restored to the non-HA state.

Virtual machine maintenance after a restore

Note the following about restoring a virtual machine in a cluster:
■ Virtual machines are always restored to a state of non-high availability. To return
the virtual machine to high availability, use the Microsoft Failover Cluster
Manager and the High Availability Wizard. For instructions, refer to the
following Microsoft document:
Hyper-V: Using Hyper-V and Failover Clustering
■ If the existing virtual machine has a status of high availability and the restore
overwrites the virtual machine, note the following:
■ The existing virtual machine's cluster resources are removed during the
restore.
See “Removal of cluster resources during restore” on page 81.
■ The virtual machine's cluster group is not removed during restore. When two
or more virtual machines are created on the same cluster disks, the cluster
software places their resources in the same virtual machine group. Since
another virtual machine may share that group, NetBackup does not delete
the group.
Removal of the cluster group must be done manually. Refer to Microsoft
documentation for instructions.

Removal of cluster resources during restore

When a virtual machine is configured as highly available, the Microsoft Cluster
software creates a group for that virtual machine. The group contains various
resources, such as VM resource, VM configuration resource, and disk resource.
These resources are under the control of the group.
When a highly available (HA) virtual machine is restored to its original location, the
existing virtual machine at that location must be removed. As part of the restore,
the Microsoft Cluster software automatically removes the virtual machine's group
resources as well, as described in the following table.
 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster support 82
Hyper-V restore may fail if the VM was created on a CSV and the CSV is a reparse point on the destination drive

Table 6-2 Removal of cluster resources during restore: CSV-based vs.

non-CSV-based

Is the HA virtual machine These group resources are removed along with the
based on a CSV volume? existing virtual machine:

Yes VM resource, VM configuration resource, and disk

resource are removed.

No VM resource and VM configuration resource are

removed. The existing disk resource is retained as part
of the cluster group.

Hyper-V restore may fail if the VM was created on a

CSV and the CSV is a reparse point on the destination
drive
For Windows server 2008 and 2008 R2: NetBackup blocks the attempt to restore
a Hyper-V VM to an alternate location in the following case:
■ The VM was created on a Hyper-V Cluster Shared Volume (CSV),
■ The CSV is mounted as a reparse point on a local drive on the Hyper-V server,
■ The reparse point on the local drive is specified as the destination for the restore,
■ And the VM is larger than the space available on the local destination drive.
For example:
■ The CSV is a reparse point on local drive C (C:\ClusterStorage\Volume2). The
reparse point is specified as the destination for the restore.
■ The CSV has 50 GB of free space, but the C:\ drive has only 10 GB of free
space.
■ The VM to restore is 30 GB in size.
In this case, NetBackup identifies the 10 GB of free space on the Hyper-V C:\ drive.
It does not identify the 50 GB of free space on the CSV. NetBackup fails the
pre-recovery check and the restore job does not begin. In the NetBackup Restore
Marked Files dialog, the following message appears:

Data may not be restored successfully - there is not enough space

available in the destination directory.
 Windows Server 2008 and 2012 failover cluster support 83
Hyper-V restore may fail if the VM was created on a CSV and the CSV is a reparse point on the destination drive

Note: NetBackup 7.6.1 fixes this restore issue for VMs on Windows 2012 or later
Hyper-V servers. NetBackup examines the space available on the CSV; if sufficient
CSV space is available, NetBackup restores the VM.
For VMs on Windows 2008 R2 and earlier Hyper-V servers, do the following: For
the restore location, select a drive on the Hyper-V server that has free space at
least equal to the size of the VM.
 Chapter 7
Back up and restore
Hyper-V
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ Backing up Hyper-V virtual machines

■ Notes on individual file restore

■ Notes on full virtual machine restore

■ About the NetBackup lost and found directory on Linux

■ About restoring individual files

■ Restoring individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client

■ Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of individual files

■ Restoring individual files to a shared location on the virtual machine

■ Restoring the full Hyper-V virtual machine

■ Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V virtual machine

■ About restoring common files

■ The BAR interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse to restore
Hyper-V VM files

Backing up Hyper-V virtual machines

Virtual machine backups can be initiated from a NetBackup policy. You can start
the backup manually from a policy, or have it run automatically according to a
schedule that is defined in the policy.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 85
Backing up Hyper-V virtual machines

For further information on NetBackup policies and backup schedules, see the
chapter on creating backup policies in the NetBackup Administrator's Guide, Volume
I.
To create the policy, you can use the Policies option of the NetBackup
Administration Console, or you can use the Policy Configuration Wizard.
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility” on page 28.
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the Policy Configuration Wizard ” on page 27.
To back up a virtual machine manually from an existing policy
1 In the NetBackup Administration Console, click on Policies, select the policy
name, and click Actions > Manual Backup.
The Manual Backup dialog appears.

2 Select the type of schedule for the backup.

3 Select the clients (virtual machines) to back up.
4 Click OK to start the backup.
5 To watch the backup progress in the NetBackup Administration Console,
click Activity Monitor.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 86
Notes on individual file restore

Notes on individual file restore

Note the following:
■ If you are running antivirus protection on Hyper-V virtual machines, Symantec
recommends Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 Maintenance Release 4 (build
11.0.4000) or later. Restores of virtual machine files complete faster if the virtual
machine is running this version as opposed to an earlier version of Endpoint
Protection.
■ Cross-platform restore of individual files is not supported. You can restore
Windows files to Windows guest operating systems only, not to Linux. You can
restore Linux files to Linux guest operating systems only, not to Windows.
■ To restore files to a shared location on the virtual machine, note: Virtual machines
must be in the same domain as the NetBackup client and master and media
server.
■ To restore an individual file that is larger than approximately 2 GB, restore the
file to a host that has a NetBackup client. NetBackup for Hyper-V does not
currently support restores of large files by means of a shared location on the
virtual machine. This file size restriction does not apply to restore of an entire
virtual machine.
See “Restoring individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client” on page 92.
■ From a backup image that was made with the Enable file recovery from VM
backup option: If you select individual files to restore, the selected files must
have originally resided on the same virtual machine volume. If some files resided
on one volume and other files resided on a different volume, the restore fails.
■ To restore Windows encrypted files, the NetBackup Client Service must be
logged on as Administrator on the target host for the restore. Under services on
the control panel, change the logon for the NetBackup Client Services from
Local System Account to Administrator.
■ Files that use NTFS-file system features cannot retain those features if you
attempt to restore the files to a FAT or FAT32 file system.
Note the following:
■ Files that were compressed under NTFS are restored as uncompressed files
in a FAT or FAT32 file system.
■ Files that were encrypted under NTFS cannot be restored to a FAT or FAT32
file system.
■ Files that had NTFS-based security attributes are restored without those
attributes in a FAT or FAT32 file system.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 87
Notes on individual file restore

■ The restore fails with NetBackup status 2817 when the files that have
alternate data streams are restored to a FAT or FAT32 file system.

■ Windows Hyper-V provides no mechanism for quiescing file system activity on

Linux virtual machines. Therefore, at the time of backup, a snapshot of a Linux
virtual machine may be in an inconsistent state (sometimes called
crash-consistent). Note that the backup succeeds. For restore of inconsistent
Linux files from the backup, NetBackup creates a NetBackup.lost+found directory
for each Linux volume.
See “About the NetBackup lost and found directory on Linux” on page 90.
■ On a restore, NetBackup recreates the linking between a hard link and its original
file only if the link file and its target file are restored in the same job. If each file
is restored individually in separate restore jobs, they are restored as separate
files and the link is not re-established.
■ On a Linux virtual machine, a backup that was made with the Enable file
recovery from VM backup option may have file-mapping issues if the virtual
machine experiences heavy I/O. (Windows Hyper-V provides no mechanism
for quiescing file system activity on Linux virtual machines.)
See “Problems with restore of individual files” on page 128.
■ For Linux virtual machines, only the ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems are
supported for individual file restore. If a partition uses some other file system,
the backup succeeds but files in that partition cannot be individually restored.
Note: The "/" (root) partition must be formatted with ext2, ext3, or ext4 so that
NetBackup can present mount points in the Backup, Archive, and Restore
interface.
■ The Linux ext4 file system includes a persistent pre-allocation feature, to
guarantee disk space for files without padding the allocated space with zeros.
When NetBackup restores a pre-allocated file (to any supported ext file system),
the file loses its preallocation and is restored as a sparse file.
■ To migrate an ext2 or ext3 file system to ext4: See the instructions under
Converting an ext3 file system to ext4 on the following page of the Ext4 wiki:
https://ext4.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Ext4_Howto#Converting_an_ext3_filesystem_to_ext4
If you do not follow these instructions, data in a newly created ext4 file is not
promptly flushed from memory to disk. As a result, NetBackup cannot back up
the data of recently created files in the ext4 file system. (The NetBackup snapshot
captures the file as zero length.) As a workaround for the file systems that were
not correctly migrated, note: Run the Linux sync command on the ext4 file system
before starting each backup.
■ NetBackup supports backup of Linux FIFO files and socket files. Note however
that NetBackup does not support restoring FIFO files and socket files individually.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 88
Notes on full virtual machine restore

FIFO files and socket files can be restored along with the rest of the virtual
machine data when you recover the entire virtual machine.
■ For Linux virtual machines, NetBackup cannot restore individual files from
software RAID volumes. The files are restored when you restore the entire virtual
machine
■ NetBackup supports backup and restore of Linux LVM2 volumes, including
individual file restore from an LVM2 volume. Note however that NetBackup does
not support individual file restore from a snapshot that was created by means
of the snapshot feature in LVM2. If an LVM2 snapshot exists at the time of the
backup, the data in the snapshot is captured in the backup. The data can be
restored along with the rest of the virtual machine data when you recover the
entire virtual machine.
■ For VMs on a Windows 2012 R2 Hyper-V server, the BAR interface may list
Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse to restore VM files. In some cases,
the snapshot file data is not application consistent and the file should not be
restored.
To identify the snapshot file and to decide whether to restore it:
See “The BAR interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse to
restore Hyper-V VM files” on page 105.
■ For Linux, additional notes apply.
See “Notes on Linux virtual machines” on page 21.
■ NetBackup for Hyper-V does not support individual file restore by means of
ClientDirect Restore.

Notes on full virtual machine restore

Note the following:
■ A backup of the full virtual machine can be restored only to Windows Server
2008 or later with the Hyper-V role enabled.
■ By default, the NetBackup client on the Hyper-V server does not have Windows
Administrator privileges. You can restore a full virtual machine from the
NetBackup server. You cannot restore a full virtual machine from a NetBackup
client that does not have Administrator privileges.
■ For the virtual machines that are configured in a volume GUID with a differencing
disk in another volume GUID, redirected restores are not supported.
See “Restored virtual machine fails to start” on page 126.
■ When you restore the virtual machine to its original location with the Overwrite
virtual machine option, note: The same virtual machine on the Hyper-V server
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 89
Notes on full virtual machine restore

is automatically turned off and deleted before the restore. The vhd or vhdx files
of the virtual machine on the Hyper-V server are overwritten by the vhd or vhdx
files from the backup image. If any new vhd or vhdx files were created after the
backup, those files are not removed.
■ When you restore the virtual machine to a different location on the original
Hyper-V server or to a different server, note: The same virtual machine (if it
exists) on the Hyper-V server is automatically turned off and deleted before the
restore if you choose the Overwrite virtual machine option. The .vhd or .vhdx
files of the deleted virtual machine, however, are not deleted. You must delete
those files.
■ When you restore the virtual machine to a Hyper-V server that has a virtual
machine of the same GUID, you must select the Overwrite virtual machine
option. Otherwise, the restore fails.
■ If you restore a virtual machine without the Overwrite virtual machine option,
note: You must remove the current virtual machine and its vhd or vhdx files from
the destination server before you start the restore. If you remove the virtual
machine but leave one or more of its vhd or vhdx files on the destination server,
the vhd or vhdx files from the backup are not restored.
■ (This item is a limitation in VSS and the Hyper-V writer, not in NetBackup.) If
the virtual machine contains Hyper-V snapshot files (avhd or avhdx files),
NetBackup cannot restore the virtual machine to a different location or to a
different Hyper-V server.
Note the following:
■ This issue has been fixed in Windows Server 2008 R2 (restore server).
■ This restriction does not apply in either of the following cases: When you
restore the virtual machine to its original location on the original Hyper-V
server, or when you restore to a staging location.
Note that NetBackup does not create Hyper-V snapshot files (avhd or avhdx).
■ (This item is a limitation in VSS, not in NetBackup.) Immediately after a full virtual
machine is restored, the virtual machine volume may be larger than it was when
the virtual machine was backed up. The increase is normal: After the restore,
snapshot-related cache files remain on the volume. After about 20 minutes, the
cache files are automatically removed and the volume returns to its original size
Note: A new backup of the restored virtual machine could fail if the virtual
machine volume contains insufficient space to create a snapshot for the backup.
According to Microsoft, this situation should not occur as long as the virtual
machine volume has at least 10 to 15% free space.
■ In the following case a race condition may result:
■ You attempt to do a full restore of two virtual machines at the same time.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 90
About the NetBackup lost and found directory on Linux

■ The two virtual machines also share a virtual hard disk (vhd or vhdx file) that
both restore jobs have selected to restore.
The two jobs may simultaneously attempt to access the same vhd or vhdx file,
but only one job gains access to the file. The other job is denied access, and
that job may fail with error code 185.
See “NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V” on page 117.
■ If you restore a virtual machine to a different Hyper-V server, the original Hyper-V
server and the target server must have the same number of network adapters
(NICs). You must configure the network adapter(s) for the restored virtual
machine on the target server.
See “Restored virtual machine fails to start” on page 126.
■ A restore of a virtual machine to an alternate location fails if any of its virtual
disks has an ampersand (&) in its path. As a workaround, restore the virtual
machine to its original location, or restore to a staging location and register the
virtual machine manually.

■ Windows Hyper-V provides no mechanism for quiescing file system activity on

Linux virtual machines. Therefore, at the time of backup, a snapshot of a Linux
virtual machine may be in an inconsistent state (crash-consistent). Note that
the backup succeeds. For restore of inconsistent Linux files from the backup,
NetBackup creates a NetBackup.lost+found directory for each Linux volume.

About the NetBackup lost and found directory on

Linux
Windows Hyper-V provides no mechanism for quiescing file system activity on Linux
virtual machines. As a result, a snapshot of a Linux virtual machine may be in an
inconsistent state (crash-consistent). In that case, the snapshot data is equivalent
to the state of a file system after an abrupt, uncontrolled shutdown. If the system
is restarted, a file system consistency check (fsck) reports the inconsistencies that
need repair.
To handle inconsistent data from backups of crash-consistent Linux virtual machine
snapshots, NetBackup creates a NetBackup.lost+found directory for each Linux
volume. This directory is not a physical directory on the volume but a virtual directory
in the NetBackup catalog. Any inconsistent directories or files are linked to the
NetBackup.lost+found directory. The names of the inconsistent directories and files
cannot be determined. The items in the NetBackup.lost+found directory are therefore
assigned the names that represent the inode numbers of the original directories or
files.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 91
About restoring individual files

If a NetBackup.lost+found directory already exists on the virtual machine, NetBackup

appends numbers to the new NetBackup.lost+found directory names, to keep them
unique. The directories are named NetBackup.lost+found.1, NetBackup.lost+found.2,
and so forth.

Note: The NetBackup.lost+found directory is not the same as the standard Linux
lost+found directory that Linux maintains in case of an abnormal system shutdown.

The following Backup, Archive, and Restore screen shows an example of an

inconsistent file in a NetBackup.lost+found directory. This example also shows the
standard Linux lost+found.

In the NetBackup Backup, Archive, and Restore interface, you can search the
NetBackup.lost+found directory for any inconsistent files and restore them. Symantec
recommends that you restore them to an alternate location (not to the original virtual
machine). You can then examine their contents to determine their original names.
Any metadata that was captured at the time of the backup may be helpful in
identifying the inconsistent files or directories. Examples of such metadata are file
size, file owner, and file creation and modification dates.

About restoring individual files

If the Enable file recovery from VM backup option was enabled, you can restore
the files and folders that existed on that virtual machine at the time of the backup.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 92
Restoring individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client

If the Enable file recovery from VM backup option was not enabled, you can
restore the full virtual machine only.
See “Restoring the full Hyper-V virtual machine” on page 99.
More information is available on the Hyper-V backup options.
See “Creating a Hyper-V policy from the NetBackup Policies utility” on page 28.
You can set up a configuration to restore individual files in any of the following ways:
■ Install a NetBackup client on another computer. Create a share on the virtual
machine to allow that computer to access the virtual machine. (The virtual
machine does not require a NetBackup client.) Specify the UNC path as the
destination for the restore. More information is available on this option:
See “Restoring individual files to a shared location on the virtual machine”
on page 97.
See “Setting up NetBackup Client Service for restore to a shared location on
the virtual machine” on page 98.
■ Install a NetBackup client on the virtual machine where you want to restore the
files. Restore the files to the virtual machine in the same manner as restoring
to any NetBackup client.
See “Restoring individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client” on page 92.
■ Install a NetBackup client on another computer. Restore the files to that computer
and then copy the files to the virtual machine.
To restore encrypted files, you must install a NetBackup client on the virtual
machine and restore the files directly to the virtual machine.
See “Restoring individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client” on page 92.
You can use the NetBackup Backup, Archive, and Restore interface to restore files
and folders from NetBackup for Hyper-V backups.
Important notes on Hyper-V restore are also available.
See “Notes on full virtual machine restore” on page 88.
See “Notes on individual file restore” on page 86.

Restoring individual files to a host that has a

NetBackup client
Use the following procedure to restore individual files to a host that has a NetBackup
client.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 93
Restoring individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client

To restore individual files to a host that has NetBackup client

1 Start the NetBackup Backup, Archive, and Restore interface on a NetBackup
client.
2 Click Files > Specify NetBackup Machines and Policy Type.
Select the following.

Server to use for backups Enter the NetBackup master server that performed the
and restores Hyper-V backup.

Source client for restores Enter the Hyper-V virtual machine that was backed up.
(or virtual client for
backups)

Destination client for Enter a physical host or a virtual machine. The host or
restores virtual machine must contain a NetBackup client.

You must use a different procedure to restore the files to

a virtual machine that does not have a NetBackup client.

See “Restoring individual files to a shared location on the

virtual machine” on page 97.

Policy type for restores Enter Hyper-V.

Date / time range The time period within which to search for backups.

3 Click OK.
4 Click Select for Restore > Restore from Normal Backup.
5 Under All folders and Contents, select the files to restore.
6 Click Actions > Restore.
7 Make your selections in the Restore Marked Files dialog box.
Note the following:
■ Restore everything to its original location
Select this option to restore the files to their original paths or folders on the
destination client. If the original volume at the time of backup (such as E:\)
does not exist on the destination client for this restore, the restore fails.
■ Restore everything to a different location (maintaining existing
structure)
Select this option to restore the files to a different path or folder on the
destination client. Specify the folder in the Destination field.
If the original volume at the time of backup (such as E:\) does not exist on
the destination client for this restore, the restore fails.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 94
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of individual files

Use a different procedure to restore the files to a virtual machine that does
not have a NetBackup client:
See “Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of individual files” on page 94.
See “Restoring individual files to a shared location on the virtual machine”
on page 97.
■ Restore individual folders and files to different locations
Select this option to restore files to particular locations. Each item you
selected to restore appears in the Source column. Double-click on an item
to enter or browse for a restore destination.

8 Click Start Restore.

Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of individual

files
Select from the following options on the Restore Marked Files dialog.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 95
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of individual files

Table 7-1 Options for individual file restore on the Restore Marked Files
dialog box

Option Description

Restore Destination Select from the following options.

Choices

Restore everything to Restores the folders and files to the location where they resided
its original location when the backup occurred.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 96
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of individual files

Table 7-1 Options for individual file restore on the Restore Marked Files
dialog box (continued)

Option Description

Restore everything to Restores the folders and files with their original hierarchy, but to a
a different location different location.
(maintaining existing
Use the Destination field to enter the restore location.
structure)
Click Browse to browse to the restore location.

If the original volume at the time of backup (such as E:\) does not
exist on the destination client for this restore, the restore fails.

Restore individual Restores the folders and files to individually designated locations.
folders and files to To designate a restore destination for each source folder, double
different locations click on its row.
(double-click to
modify)

Create and restore to This option is not implemented.

a new virtual hard
disk file

Restore options Most of these options do not apply to the restore of a Hyper-V virtual
machine.

Overwrite existing If any of the files to restore already exist at the restore destination,
files the restore overwrites the existing files.

Do not restore the file If any of the files to restore already exist at the restore destination,
the restore does not overwrite those files. Restores only the files
that do not already exist at the destination.

Override default job Determines the restore job's priority for restore resources. A higher
priority priority means that NetBackup assigns the first available drive to
the first restore job with the highest priority. Enter a number
(maximum 99999). The default for all restore jobs is 0, the lowest
priority possible. Any restore job with a priority greater than zero
has priority over the default setting.

Media Server You can use this option to select a media server that has access
to the storage unit that contains the backup image. An example of
such an environment is a Media Server Deduplication Pool (MSDP)
with multiple media servers.
Note: If the storage unit that contains the backup image is not
shared with multiple media servers, this option is grayed out.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 97
Restoring individual files to a shared location on the virtual machine

Restoring individual files to a shared location on the

virtual machine
You can restore virtual machine files to a Hyper-V virtual machine that does not
have a NetBackup client installed on it.
To restore individual files to a virtual machine that is not a NetBackup client
1 Install a NetBackup client on a physical host.
The host must be in the same domain as the virtual machine that you want to
restore the files to. This host can be a Hyper-V server or another computer.
2 Create a share to allow the host that contains the NetBackup client to access
the virtual machine. The share must allow write access.
For example: \\virtual_machine1\share_folder
In this example, virtual_machine1 is the ultimate destination for the restored
files. The host with the NetBackup client acts as a conduit for the restore.
3 Start the NetBackup Backup, Archive, and Restore interface on the NetBackup
client.
4 Click Files > Specify NetBackup Machines and Policy Type.
Select the following.

Server to use for backups Specify the NetBackup master server that performed the
and restores Hyper-V backup.

Source client for restores Specify the Hyper-V virtual machine that was backed up.
(or virtual client for
backups)

Destination client for Select the host that has the NetBackup client. The virtual
restores machine to which you want to restore must have a share
for this host.

Do not specify the virtual machine in this field.

Policy type for restores Specify Hyper-V.

Date / time range The time period within which to search for backups.

5 Click OK.
6 Click Select for Restore > Restore from Normal Backup.
7 Under All folders and Contents, select the files to restore.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 98
Restoring individual files to a shared location on the virtual machine

8 Click Actions > Restore.

9 In the Restore Marked Files dialog box, click Restore everything to a
different location (maintaining existing structure).
In the Destination: field, enter the UNC path name that refers to the shared
drive or folder on the destination virtual machine.
For example, to restore files to E:\folder1 on virtual_machine1, enter the
following:
\\virtual_machine1\share_folder\

NetBackup restores the files to the shared location on the virtual machine.
10 You may have to change the logon for the NetBackup Client Service.
See “Setting up NetBackup Client Service for restore to a shared location on
the virtual machine” on page 98.

Setting up NetBackup Client Service for restore to a shared location

on the virtual machine
To restore individual files to a Windows virtual machine that has a shared drive,
note: the NetBackup Client Service must be logged on as the domain administrator
account. It must not be logged on as the Local System account. The Administrator
account allows NetBackup to write to the directories on the virtual machine to which
the data is restored.
If you try to restore files while the NetBackup Client Service is logged on as the
Local System account, the restore fails.
To log on the NetBackup Client Service as Administrator
1 In Windows Services on the host that has a share to the virtual machine,
double-click the NetBackup Client Service.
2 Check the Log On tab: if the service is not logged on as Administrator, stop
the service.
3 Change the logon to the Administrator account, in the domain in which both
the virtual machine and the host that has a share reside.
4 Restart the service.
5 Retry the restore.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 99
Restoring the full Hyper-V virtual machine

Restoring the full Hyper-V virtual machine

You can restore the entire virtual machine to the original Hyper-V server or to a
different Hyper-V server.
For important notes on restoring the full virtual machine, see the following:
See “Notes on full virtual machine restore” on page 88.
To restore the entire Hyper-V virtual machine
1 Start the NetBackup Backup, Archive, and Restore interface.
2 Click File > Specify NetBackup Machines and Policy Type.
Select the following.

Server to use for Enter the NetBackup master server that performed the Hyper-V
backups and restores backup.

Source client for Enter the Hyper-V virtual machine that was backed up.
restores (or virtual
client for backups)

Destination client for This field is ignored when you restore an entire virtual machine.
restores
A later step in this procedure explains how to restore to a
different Hyper-V server.

Policy type for Select Hyper-V.

restores

Date / time range The time period within which to search for backups.

3 Click OK.
4 Click File > Select Files and Folders to Restore > From Virtual Machine
Backup.
A restore window displays the backups available for restore.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 100
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V virtual machine

5 Select the backup of the virtual machine that you want to restore.

In the NetBackup History pane, click on the Hyper-V backup, then click the
check box under All Folders. You must select the entire virtual machine.
6 Click the Start Restore of Marked Files icon.

7 Select restore options and the restore destination on the Restore Marked
Files dialog.
See “Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V virtual machine”
on page 100.
8 Click Start Restore.
When the restore is complete, the restored virtual machine is placed in the
Saved or Off state. The state after restore depends on its state at the time of
the backup and the type of Hyper-V backup that occurred.
See “About Hyper-V online and offline backups” on page 133.

Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V

virtual machine
Select from the following options on the Restore Marked Files dialog box.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 101
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V virtual machine
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 102
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V virtual machine

Table 7-2 Options on the Restore Marked Files dialog box

Option Description

Hyper-V virtual Shows the Hyper-V GUID (globally unique identifier) of the virtual machine that was backed up.
machine GUID Use this value to verify that this backup represents the virtual machine that you want to restore.
The GUID is a unique string for a virtual machine in addition to the host name.

Restore Options See the following fields.

Restore to Hyper-V Restores the virtual machine to its original location on the original Hyper-V server.
server

Restore to different Restores the virtual machine to a different location on the original Hyper-V server, or restores
locations on same it to a different Hyper-V server.
/ different Hyper-V
server

Restore to staging Restores the virtual machine files to the staging location on the server that you specify under
location Hyper-V server and Restore everything to different directory. Use this option if:

■ You do not want to restore an entire virtual machine

■ You do not want NetBackup to start the virtual machine after the restore

For instance, you can use this option to add restored files as a vhd or vhdx volume to a virtual
machine other than the one from which they were backed up.

Overwrite virtual If you selected Restore to Hyper-V server or Restore to different locations on same / different
machine Hyper-V server, note the following:
(If you selected ■ If a virtual machine with the same GUID exists at the destination server, that virtual machine
Restore to staging is removed with its configuration files and snapshot files. Any existing vhd or vhdx files for
location, this option the virtual machine on the destination server are overwritten. The virtual machine that you
is Overwrite selected to restore is restored from the backup.
existing files) ■ If the Overwrite virtual machine option is not selected and a virtual machine with the same
GUID exists on the destination server, the restore fails.
■ If the Overwrite virtual machine option is not selected and vhd or vhdx file(s) for the virtual
machine still exist on the destination: The vhd or vhdx file(s) from the backup are not restored.
See “Problems with restore of the full virtual machine” on page 129.
If you selected Restore to staging location, note the following:

■ If the vhd or vhdx file already exists on the destination server in the specified restore location,
that file on the destination server is overwritten.
■ If the Overwrite existing files option is not selected and any file you want to restore already
exists in the restore location, the file is not overwritten. Any other files that are selected for
restore are restored. The restore is reported as a partial success.

Restore See the following fields.

Destinations
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 103
Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of the Hyper-V virtual machine

Table 7-2 Options on the Restore Marked Files dialog box (continued)

Option Description

Hyper-V server If you selected Restore to Hyper-V server (to restore to the original location), note: the restore
destination is the name of the Hyper-V server from which the virtual machine was backed up.
In this case, the destination cannot be changed.

For the other restore options (restore to a different location, or restore to a staging location),
enter the destination Hyper-V server for the restore.

List of backed up Lists the Hyper-V virtual machine files as they existed when the virtual machine was backed
files (Source) up. By default, all listed files are selected for restore.

If you do not want the restore to replace certain files on the current virtual machine on the
destination server, uncheck those files. Leave a check mark next to the files that you want to
restore. The files that are not checked are not restored. Note that the following virtual machine
configuration files are not de-selectable in restores other than staging restores:

xml, vsv, and bin files, and avhd or avhdx files.

Caution: Replacing common files with earlier versions can be problematic for the virtual machines
that rely on the common files. If you do not want to overwrite the common files on the Hyper-V
server, uncheck the common files that you do not want to restore.

See “About restoring common files” on page 104.

Note the following about the listed files:

■ If you do not select any vhd or vhdx files, NetBackup tries to find them in their original location.
If they are absent from the original location, the restore fails. If a parent vhd or vhdx file was
in E:\myVhds\ on the original virtual machine and is not selected during restore, NetBackup
looks for the parent file in E:\myVhds\ on the target virtual machine. If the file does not exist,
the restore fails.
■ For Restore to Hyper-V server or Restore to different locations on same / different
Hyper-V server, you can uncheck any vhd or vhdx files in this list. All other files are
pre-checked and cannot be unchecked.
■ For Restore to staging location, you can uncheck any files in the list.
■ Configuration files (such as xml, bin, vsv, and snapshot files) are always restored when you
restore the full virtual machine.

Restore everything This field is disabled if you selected Restore to Hyper-V server.
to different
For restore to a different location or to a staging location: Enter the path on the server or other
directory
computer that you specified under Hyper-V server or Staging machine name. NetBackup
creates the appropriate subdirectories.

View Paths Displays the directories on the destination server in which the Hyper-V files are to be restored.
You must specify a destination path in the Restore everything to different directory field.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 104
About restoring common files

Table 7-2 Options on the Restore Marked Files dialog box (continued)

Option Description

Override default Determines the restore job's priority for restore resources. A higher priority means that NetBackup
job priority assigns the first available drive to the first restore job with the highest priority. Enter a number
(maximum 99999). The default for all restore jobs is 0, the lowest priority possible. Any restore
job with a priority greater than zero has priority over the default setting.

Media Server You can use this option to select a media server that has access to the storage unit that contains
the backup image. An example of such an environment is a Media Server Deduplication Pool
(MSDP) with multiple media servers.
Note: If the storage unit that contains the backup image is not shared with multiple media
servers, this option is grayed out.

About restoring common files

You can save disk space by creating a Hyper-V virtual hard disk that contains the
files that a number of virtual machines require. Instead of copies of the same vhd
or vhdx file existing in several places, multiple virtual machines can share a single
file. Two or more virtual machines (each called a child) can access that virtual disk.
The parent vhd or vhdx file is called a common file, because more than one virtual
machine uses it.
The files unique to each virtual machine are maintained on differencing virtual disks.
These virtual disks are in a child relationship to the parent disk. The parent and
child virtual disks may be on the same physical drive or on different physical drives.
For example, the base version of Windows XP can be installed as a read-only image
on a virtual hard disk (parent). Two or more virtual machines can run the same XP
system files from the base image on the parent virtual hard disk. Applications that
are unique to a virtual machine are not included in the common files. Instead they
are on the vhd or the vhdx files that are specific to the virtual machine.

Caution: Use care when restoring common files. If you restore an earlier version of
the common files (overwriting the current version), the virtual machines that rely on
those files may experience problems.

When restoring common files, note the following:

■ Before you restore common files, make sure the virtual machines that use the
common files are in the Off or Saved state. Otherwise, a virtual machine may
have a lock on the common files and the restore fails.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 105
The BAR interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse to restore Hyper-V VM files

■ To keep the common files that are currently on the server, uncheck the common
vhd files or vhdx files on the Restore Marked Files dialog box under List of
backed up files. The restore does not replace the files on the destination
Hyper-V server that are not selected in the Restore Marked Files dialog box.
■ To overwrite the existing common files, check all the vhd files or vhdx files from
the List of backed up files. However, if the common files are in use on the
destination server, the restore fails. For the restore to succeed, the virtual
machines that use the common files must be in the Off or Saved state.
■ To restore common files without overwriting any common files that exist on the
destination server: Specify a different location on the Restore Marked Files
dialog box under Restore everything to different directory.

The BAR interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files

when you browse to restore Hyper-V VM files
On Windows 2012 R2 Hyper-V servers, the NetBackup Backup, Archive, and
Restore interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse to restore VM
files.
For example:

In this example, apvm-AutoRecovery.avhd is a Hyper-V snapshot file (apvm.vhd

is the parent vhd file).
NetBackup automatically uses or ignores the snapshot data as appropriate when
you restore the VM to its original location or to a different location.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 106
The BAR interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse to restore Hyper-V VM files

However, in the following case you must decide whether to restore the Hyper-V
snapshot file or to exclude it from the restore:
■ In the BAR interface you select Restore from Virtual Machine Backup.
■ And on the Restore Marked Files dialog, you select Restore to staging
location.

In this case, use the following criteria (based on Hyper-V server version) to identify
the snapshot file and to decide whether to restore it:

On a Windows 2012 R2 Hyper-V server

For VMs with a Windows 2003/2008 or Linux guest OS: The Hyper-V snapshot file
is ChildVhd.avhd or ChildVhd.avhdx. The data in this snapshot is not application
consistent. In most instances it is best not to restore this file.

Note: If you select Restore to Hyper-V server or Restore to different locations

on same / different Hyper-V server, NetBackup automatically excludes the
snapshot file.

Note: In the snapshot’s parent file (apvm.vhd in the example) and in the other VM
files, the data is complete. To restore the VM data, you should restore those files.
 Back up and restore Hyper-V 107
The BAR interface may list Hyper-V snapshot files when you browse to restore Hyper-V VM files

On a Windows 2012 R2 Hyper-V server with the 2012 R2 update

of April 2014
For VMs with a Windows 2003/2008 or Linux guest OS: The Hyper-V snapshot file
is named vmname_guid.avhd or vmname_guid.avhdx. The data in this snapshot is
not application consistent. In most instances it is best not to restore this file.

Note: If you select Restore to Hyper-V server or Restore to different locations

on same / different Hyper-V server, NetBackup automatically excludes the
snapshot file.

Note: In the snapshot’s parent file (apvm.vhd in the example) and in the other VM
files, the data is complete. To restore the VM data, you should restore those files.

On a Windows 2012 R2 Hyper-V server with or without the

2012 R2 update of April 2014
For VMs with a Windows 2008 R2/2012/2012 R2 guest OS: The Hyper-V snapshot
file is AutoRecovery.avhd or AutoRecovery.avhdx. The data in this snapshot is
application consistent. To restore the VM data, you should restore this file along
with the parent vhd(x) file.

Note: If you select Restore to Hyper-V server or Restore to different locations

on same / different Hyper-V server, NetBackup automatically incorporates the
snapshot data in the restore.
 Chapter 8
Best practices and more
information
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ Best practices

Best practices
Symantec recommends the following for NetBackup for Hyper-V:
■ For a more efficient backup, the NetBackup media server should be installed
on the same host as the Hyper-V server. In an off-host configuration, install the
NetBackup media server on the same host as the alternate client. In this
configuration, the backup data can be sent to storage without traveling over the
network.
■ When creating virtual machines, use the same name for both host name and
display name. If the NetBackup policy's Primary VM identifier option is changed,
the existing entries on the policy Clients tab still work.
See “Primary VM identifier option (Hyper-V)” on page 33.
More information is available on NetBackup and Hyper-V.
■ For a list of supported Hyper-V servers, see the Symantec NetBackup Enterprise
Server and Server 7.7 - 7.7.x OS Software Compatibility List available from the
following location:
NetBackup Master Compatibility List
■ A wide variety of information is available at Microsoft TechNet.
For example, refer to the Hyper-V Getting Started Guide:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732470.aspx
 Chapter 9
Troubleshooting
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ NetBackup logs and how to create them

■ Errors during policy creation

■ Increasing the client connect timeout value

■ NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V

■ Backup job hangs for multiple virtual machines

■ Viewing or resizing Windows NTFS shadow storage

■ The Hyper-V integration component is not installed

■ LDM volumes and status code 1

■ Hyper-V snapshots (avhd or avhdx files) and status code 1

■ Unable to log in to the NetBackup Administration Console

■ When backing up the virtual machines that reside on the same CSV, Windows
warning 1584 can be ignored

■ Problems with alternate client backup

■ Restored virtual machine fails to start

■ Problem with a restart of a restored virtual machine: Why did the computer shut
down unexpectedly?

■ Problems with restore of individual files

■ Problems with restore of the full virtual machine

■ Linux VMs and persistent device naming

 Troubleshooting 110
NetBackup logs and how to create them

NetBackup logs and how to create them

For log messages about NetBackup for Hyper-V backup or restore, see the following
NetBackup log folders.

Table 9-1 NetBackup logs that pertain to Hyper-V backup and restore

Log folder Contains the messages on Resides on

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bpbrm Backup and restore NetBackup master or media

server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bptm Backup and restore NetBackup media server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bpcd Snapshot creation, backup, and NetBackup client on the

restore Hyper-V server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bpfis Snapshot creation and backup NetBackup client on the

Hyper-V server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bpbkar Backup NetBackup client on the

Hyper-V server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bprd Restore NetBackup master server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\tar Restore NetBackup client on the

Hyper-V server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bpVMreq Restore NetBackup master or media

server, and NetBackup client on
the Hyper-V server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\bpVMutil Policy configuration and on NetBackup client on the

restore Hyper-V server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\nbproxy Policy configuration NetBackup master or media

server

install_path\NetBackup\logs\vxms File mapping during backup and NetBackup client on the

VxMS APIs. Hyper-V server

This folder also contains the

vhd log, which describes the
format of the virtual machine's
vhd files. NetBackup support
can use the vhd log to
reproduce a customer's virtual
machine environment for
troubleshooting purposes.
 Troubleshooting 111
NetBackup logs and how to create them

Table 9-1 NetBackup logs that pertain to Hyper-V backup and restore
(continued)

Log folder Contains the messages on Resides on

\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Snapshot creation and VSS NetBackup client on the
Shared\VxFI\4\logs\ APIs. Hyper-V server

See “Enabling VxFI logging”

on page 111.

Note: These log folders must already exist in order for logging to occur. If these
folders do not exist, you must create them.

To create most of these log folders, run the following command on the NetBackup
servers and on the Hyper-V server:
Windows:
install_path\NetBackup\logs\mklogdir.bat

UNIX (on master or media servers):

/opt/openv/netbackup/logs/mklogdir

For more detail on snapshot-related logs, logging levels, and the required folders,
see the NetBackup Snapshot Client Administrator’s Guide.
A broader discussion of NetBackup logging is available in the NetBackup
Troubleshooting Guide.

Enabling VxFI logging

By default, VxFI logging occurs at the error level. You can increase the logging
verbosity by changing the log configuration file for the appropriate provider.
 Troubleshooting 112
NetBackup logs and how to create them

To increase the VxFI logging level

1 On the Windows desktop of the Hyper-V server where the NetBackup client is
installed, go to the following location:
\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\VxFI\4\ConfigFiles\
This folder contains a configuration file for each provider, such as vss.conf
and emcclariionfi.conf. These files are generated after a successful load
of VxFI providers, usually during NetBackup policy validation.
2 Edit the .conf file for the appropriate provider, as follows:
Change the TRACELEVEL entry to the following:
"TRACELEVEL"=dword:00000006

The default TRACELEVEL value is 00000001.

Note that VSS and WMI provider logs are relevant to Hyper-V.

Configuring VxMS and vhd logging

The following procedure describes how to configure VxMS logging.
Except as noted in this topic, you can also use the Logging Assistant (in the
NetBackup Administration Console) to configure VxMS logging. For details on the
Logging Assistant, see the NetBackup Administrator's Guide, Volume I.
The following topic describes the format of VxMS log file names:
See “Format of the VxMS core.log and provider.log file names” on page 115.

Note: VxMS logging may require significant resources on the Hyper-V server.
 Troubleshooting 113
NetBackup logs and how to create them

To configure VxMS and vhd logging on the Hyper-V server

1 Create the VxMS log directory:
install_path\NetBackup\logs\vxms

Note: For logging to occur, the VxMS folder must exist.

Note: If you have run the NetBackup mklogdir.bat command, the VxMS log
directory already exists.
See “NetBackup logs and how to create them” on page 110.

2 In the Windows registry, create the DWORD registry entry VXMS_VERBOSE in

the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Veritas > NetBackup >
CurrentVersion > Config
 Troubleshooting 114
NetBackup logs and how to create them

3 To configure the logging level, set the numeric value of VXMS_VERBOSE to 0 or

greater. Larger numbers result in more verbose logs.

0 No logging.

1 Error logging.

2 Level 1 + warning messages.

3 Level 2 + informative messages.

4 Same as level 3.

5 Highly verbose (includes level 1) + auxiliary evidence files (.mmf, .dump,

VDDK logs, .xml, .rvpmem).

You can set the logging level for the VDDK messages.

6 VIX (VMware virtual machine metadata) dumps only.

7 VHD (Hyper-V virtual machine metadata) dumps only.

>7 Full verbose + level 5 + level 6 + level 7.

Note: Log levels higher than 5 cannot be set in the Logging Assistant.

Note: Log levels higher than 5 should be used in very unusual cases only. At
that level, the log files and metadata dumps may place significant demands
on disk space and host performance.

4 To change the log location:

■ Open regedit and go to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Veritas > NetBackup >
CurrentVersion
■ Create the registry entry vxmslogdir with a string value (REG_SZ). For the
string value, specify the full path to an existing folder.

Note: You can use NTFS compression on VxMS log folders to compress the
log size. The new logs are written in compressed form only.

Note: If the VxMS log location is changed, the Logging Assistant does not
collect the logs.
 Troubleshooting 115
Errors during policy creation

Format of the VxMS core.log and provider.log file names

For the log files core.log and provider.log created by default during VxMS
logging, the NetBackup administrator's user name is inserted into the log file name.
Table 9-2 describes the format of the log file names.

Table 9-2 Format of VxMS core.log and provider.log file names

Platform VxMS log-file-name format

Windows VxMS-thread_id-user_name.mmddyy_tag.log

For example:

VxMS-7456-ALL_ADMINS.070214_core.log

VxMS-7456-ALL_ADMINS.070214_provider.log

UNIX, Linux VxMS-thread_id-user_name.log.mmddyy_tag

For example:

VxMS-27658-root.log.081314_core

VxMS-27658-root.log.081314_provider

See “Configuring VxMS and vhd logging” on page 112.

Errors during policy creation

The following errors may occur when you attempt to create a policy:
■ cannot connect on socket (25)

■ Error Validating Hyper-V machine name

Connect to Hyper-v server <name> failed (25)

In either case, the NetBackup client service is not running on the current owner
(node) of the cluster. Start the NetBackup client service on the cluster node and
create the policy again.

NetBackup policy validation failed

NetBackup policy validation may fail in the following cases:
■ No host name entry for the virtual machine exists in the DNS server or in the
Windows hosts file on the Hyper-V server:
Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
 Troubleshooting 116
Increasing the client connect timeout value

Create a virtual machine name entry in either the DNS server or in the hosts
file of the Hyper-V server.
■ A firewall is enabled and no port entry exists for the master server.
Add a port entry for the NetBackup master server.
See the NetBackup Administrator's Guide.

Increasing the client connect timeout value

You can use the Browse for Virtual Machines dialog box in the policy to search
for virtual machines and add them to the policy. If the virtual machines are in a
cluster and a cluster node is not accessible, note: A default timeout may prevent
listing the virtual machines in the dialog box. Use the following procedure to resolve
this problem by increasing the client connect timeout value.
To increase the client connect timeout value
1 Open the appropriate configuration file on the NetBackup master server, as
follows:
UNIX
/usr/openv/netbackup/bp.conf

Windows
In regedit, go to the following:
My computer > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Veritas >
NetBackup > Current Version > Config
2 Set the CLIENT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT value to 30 seconds.
Add the following:
CLIENT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT=30

where 30 designates 30 seconds.

When this string is added to the configuration file, the clustered virtual machines
should appear in the Browse for Virtual Machines dialog box, as follows:
■ Browsing continues for 30 seconds.
■ The Hyper-V cluster nodes are listed beneath the Hyper-V cluster name.
■ Downed cluster nodes are displayed as unable to connect to client.
■ All virtual machines are listed beneath the owner node, including migrated
virtual machines.
 Troubleshooting 117
NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V

NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V

The following table describes the NetBackup status codes that are related to
Hyper-V.

Table 9-3 NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V

NetBackup status Explanation and recommended action

code

1, the requested The problem may be one of the following:

operation was
■ The problem may involve a virtual disk that is configured for Logical Disk Manager (LDM)
partially successful
volumes.
See “LDM volumes and status code 1” on page 122.
■ A snapshot of the virtual machine (*.avhd or *.avhdx file) was created while the backup
was in progress.
See “Hyper-V snapshots (avhd or avhdx files) and status code 1” on page 123.
■ The virtual machine is configured with pass-through disks. NetBackup for Hyper-V does
not back up pass-through disks. If all of the virtual machine's disks are pass-through, note:
Only the configuration files (such as XML, bin, vsv) that represent the virtual machine are
backed up.
To back up pass-through disks, see the following:
See “About Hyper-V pass-through disks with NetBackup” on page 136.

42, network read The Windows shadow storage for the volume may have insufficient space to hold all required
failed snapshots. A larger shadow storage area may be required.

See “ Viewing or resizing Windows NTFS shadow storage ” on page 121.

48, client hostname The problem may be one of the following:

could not be found
■ The NetBackup master server cannot communicate with the virtual machine.
■ The host name of the virtual machine is not available.
The NetBackup job details log contains the following message:

Error bpbrm(pid=8072) Nameuse [0], VM [<vm name>]

not found on any node. Is either powered off or does
not exist.

The virtual machine is either not running, or it is starting up. Make sure that the virtual
machine is running and then rerun the backup.

156, snapshot error See “Snapshot error encountered (status code 156)” on page 118.
encountered
 Troubleshooting 118
NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V

Table 9-3 NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V (continued)

NetBackup status Explanation and recommended action

code

185, tar did not find If you attempt to do a full restore of two VMs at the same time, note: If the two VMs share a
all the files to be virtual hard disk that contains a file that both restore jobs must restore, a race condition may
restored result. The two jobs may simultaneously attempt to access the same file, but only one job gains
access to the file. The other job is denied access, and that job may fail with status code 185.

After the first restore job successfully completes, retry the second job.

2817 The problem may be one of the following:

Hyper-V policy ■ In a full virtual machine restore, the Overwrite virtual machine option was not selected:
restore error A virtual machine with the same GUID exists on the destination server. If a virtual machine
with the same GUID exists on the destination server, you must select Overwrite virtual
machine.
■ For individual file restore through a shared location on the destination virtual machine, one
or more of the files is larger than 2 GB. Restore such files to a virtual machine that has a
NetBackup client. (This issue does not apply to recovery of the full virtual machine.)
■ In a restore of common files, the virtual machines that use the common files were in the
Running or Paused state. The virtual machines that use the common files must be in the
Off or Saved state. Otherwise, a virtual machine may have a lock on the common files.
■ The virtual machine is highly available (HA). But the node that owns the virtual machine is
not the restore server (the node that performs the restore).
See “Problems with restore of the full virtual machine” on page 129.
■ The virtual machine restore job fails but the virtual machine is nonetheless registered in the
Hyper-V server.
See “Problems with restore of the full virtual machine” on page 129.
■ A redirected restore failed because the virtual machine had *.avhd or *.avhdx file(s)
when it was backed up. The restore system is earlier than Windows Server 2008 R2.
The tar log contains the following:

Redirected restore of VM having [.avhd] files is

not supported on this platform. It is supported on
[Windows server 2008 R2] onwards.

■ A redirected restore failed because the virtual machine is configured in a volume GUID and
its differencing disk is configured in another volume GUID.
See “Restored virtual machine fails to start” on page 126.

Snapshot error encountered (status code 156)

The following table describes the Hyper-V issues that relate to NetBackup status
code 156.
 Troubleshooting 119
NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V

Table 9-4 Possible causes of status code 156

Causes of status Description and recommended action

code 156

The virtual A mismatch may exist between the virtual machine names that are specified on the policy Clients
machine name is tab and the actual names on the Hyper-V server. Check the actual names as listed in the Hyper-V
incorrectly Manager on the Hyper-V server.
specified in the The following are the recommended actions:
NetBackup policy.
■ In the NetBackup policy, the virtual machines must be specified as fully qualified names.
■ In the NetBackup policy, the virtual machine name may have been entered incorrectly.
If you browsed for the virtual machines on the Clients tab and selected names from the list,
the list may be out of date. (The list is derived from a cache file.) Refresh the list by clicking
on the icon next to the Last Update field.

Volumes on the Volumes on the virtual machine do not have enough free space for the snapshot. Microsoft
virtual machine are recommends that at least 10% of the virtual machine volume is available for the snapshot.
almost full.
Recommended action: create more space on the volume.

The Hyper-V The Hyper-V integration component is not properly installed in the virtual machine.
integration
Recommended action:
component is
absent. See “The Hyper-V integration component is not installed” on page 122.
 Troubleshooting 120
NetBackup status codes related to Hyper-V

Table 9-4 Possible causes of status code 156 (continued)

Causes of status Description and recommended action

code 156

The VSS The following application error event may be written to the virtual machine during backup:
framework in the
virtual machine Event Type: Error
does not work Event Source: VSS
properly Event Category: None
Event ID: 12302
Date: 1/8/2009
Time: 1:36:21 AM
User: N/A
Computer: ARTICTALEVM8

Description:

Volume Shadow Copy Service error: An internal inconsistency was

detected in trying to contact shadow copy service writers.
Please check to see that the Event Service and Volume Shadow
Copy Service are operating properly.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Recommended action: Run the vssadmin list writer command.

If no writer is listed in the output and a similar error is logged, refer to the following to resolve this
issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940184

A CSV timeout The bpfis log contains the following:

occurred
VssNode::prepareCsvsForBackup: CSV TimeOut
expired, Not all required CSV available in required
state.

One or more or the required cluster shared volumes (CSV) cannot be prepared in the specified
timeout period. A current backup that started from another node needs one or more of the same
CSVs.

Increase the Cluster shared volumes timeout period and rerun backup, or try the backup at
another time.

See “Cluster shared volumes timeout (Hyper-V)” on page 34.

 Troubleshooting 121
Backup job hangs for multiple virtual machines

Table 9-4 Possible causes of status code 156 (continued)

Causes of status Description and recommended action

code 156

A local disk has For a successful backup of a virtual machine on a CSV, the virtual machine must use CSV
been added to a volumes only. If a local disk on the Hyper-V server (not a CSV volume) is added to the virtual
VM that is on CSV machine, the backup fails.

Reconfigure the virtual machine to use CSV volumes only, and rerun the backup.

The Enable offline The bpfis log contains the following:

backup for
non-VSS VMs VssNode::prepare Backup type of VM [<VM GUID>]
option is disabled will be OFFLINE and configuration parameter
allowOfflineBackup] is not set. To backup
this VM, set [allowOfflineBackup] configuration
parameter.

NetBackup is not allowed to perform an offline backup of the virtual machine, because the Enable
offline backup for non-VSS VMs option is disabled.

Enable the Enable offline backup for non-VSS VMs option.

See “Enable offline backup for non-VSS VMs (Hyper-V)” on page 34.

Backup job hangs for multiple virtual machines

If the policy specifies multiple virtual machines, and the storage unit "Maximum
concurrent jobs" option is set to 2 or more, the backup may hang. If you have
Symantec Endpoint Protection on your Hyper-V server, make sure that it is at version
11.0 Maintenance Release 4 (build 11.0.4000) or later. Backups of multiple virtual
machines with multiple concurrent jobs may experience this backup problem with
earlier versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection.

Viewing or resizing Windows NTFS shadow storage

For the backups that are made with the System Provider Type (for a block-level
copy-on-write snapshot), note: Windows shadow storage for a volume on a Hyper-V
host must have enough space to hold all required snapshots. If too little space is
available, the backup fails with status code 42, "network read failed." In that case,
a larger shadow storage area is required. Refer to Microsoft documentation for
recommendations on shadow storage size. For example, refer to the following:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc728305.aspx
 Troubleshooting 122
The Hyper-V integration component is not installed

If additional space is not available for shadow storage, reschedule backups so they
do not occur at the same time.
To view or resize Windows NTFS shadow storage
1 To list the current shadow storage settings, run the following on the virtual
machine:
vssadmin list shadowstorage

2 To resize shadow storage, run the following:

vssadmin resize shadowstorage

Refer to your Microsoft Windows documentation for more details.

The Hyper-V integration component is not installed

Make sure the proper version of the Hyper-V virtual machine integration component
is installed on the virtual machine. Otherwise, the backup fails with status code 156.
For details on the proper versions, see "Hyper-V online backups require proper
version of Hyper-V integration services in the VM" in the following Symantec
document:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH127089

LDM volumes and status code 1

If a virtual disk has been configured for Logical Disk Manager (LDM) volumes, and
the NetBackup policy specifies the Enable file recovery from VM backup option,
note: in certain cases a backup of the virtual machine may not complete. The
NetBackup job may issue status 1, "the requested operation was partially
successful." This error can occur if the controller type of the .vhd disk was SCSI
when the disk was formatted but the controller type was later changed to IDE (or
vice versa).
In this case, the NetBackup progress log may contain the following message:

ERR - Unable to retrieve volumes from virtual machine, error = 1

You must restore the controller type of the .vhd disk to the controller type originally
assigned before the LDM volume was created. Then retry the backup.
 Troubleshooting 123
Hyper-V snapshots (avhd or avhdx files) and status code 1

Hyper-V snapshots (avhd or avhdx files) and status

code 1
If a snapshot of the virtual machine (avhd or avhdx file) is created while a NetBackup
backup of the virtual machine is in progress, the backup may be only partially
successful. A message similar to the following appears in the bpbkar log:

5:02:54Hyper-V snapshot.570 PM: [10948.8980] <2> tar_base::V_vTarMsgW: INF - VxMS

Error message 1 = translate_to_virtual_extent: ERROR Unable to locate MAP file = \\?\
GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy89\VM1\testvm2.veritas.com\TestVM1_diffVM1k
_8275A265-BD90-4E61-94C8-C347B7228E95.avhd

Retry the backup.

Note that NetBackup does not create Hyper-V avhd or avhdx files. NetBackup
creates its own snapshots when it backs up virtual machines.

Unable to log in to the NetBackup Administration

Console
For a policy that automatically selects VMs in a Hyper-V cluster, the NetBackup
master server should not reside on any Hyper-V nodes in the cluster. If the master
server resides on one of the nodes, you cannot log in to the NetBackup
Administration Console.
Use a master server that is not installed on a Hyper-V cluster node.

When backing up the virtual machines that reside on

the same CSV, Windows warning 1584 can be ignored
In a simultaneous backup of virtual machines that reside on the same Cluster Shared
Volume (CSV), the following Windows warning event (1584) may be issued:

A backup application initiated a VSS snapshot on Cluster Shared

Volume Volume1 (Cluster Disk 8) without properly preparing the volume for
snapshot. This snapshot may be invalid and the backup may not be usable for
restore operations. Please contact your backup application vendor to verify
compatibility with Cluster Shared Volumes.
 Troubleshooting 124
Problems with alternate client backup

For this case, Microsoft has acknowledged that message 1584 is a false alarm. For
NetBackup backups of the virtual machines that reside on the same CSV, this
warning can be safely ignored.

Problems with alternate client backup

Note the following potential problems:
■ If the snapshot job fails, check the detailed error messages in the bpfis logs on
the primary client and alternate client.
■ If the bpfis log shows VSS errors, check the VxFI VSS provider logs for details:
\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\VxFI\4\logs\
Note the following strings in the VxFI VSS provider logs:
■ VSS_E_PROVIDER_VETO
■ VSS_E_NO_SNAPSHOTS_IMPORTED
This string indicates that the snapshot resources are not available. Check
the Windows event logs and the VSS hardware provider logs.
The snapshot device that the VSS hardware provider creates is not visible
to the primary client or alternate client. Check the Windows event logs and
the VSS hardware provider logs. Use the vshadow command to rule out any
configuration issues.
See “Verifying support for transportable snapshots by using the vshadow
command” on page 124.

Verifying support for transportable snapshots by using the vshadow

command
The vshadow command is a VSS test tool supplied with the Windows VSS SDK.
The following procedure describes how to verify support for transportable snapshots.

Note: To use the following procedure, only vshadow.exe needs to be copied to the
host. You do not have to install the VSS SDK.
 Troubleshooting 125
Problems with alternate client backup

To verify support for transportable snapshots

1 On the primary host, create a snapshot with the transportable option.
Snapshot information is maintained as part of a Backup Components Document
(.xml file).
For example: If the virtual machine to be backed up resides on volumes M:\
and N:\, do the following:
Use the vshadow command to create a hardware snapshot (plex) for M:\ and
for N:\ with the Hyper-V writer:
vshadow -p -ap -t=c:\bcd1.xml M:\ N:\

This command creates a bcd.xml file in the location that the -t option specifies.
The following is example output:

...

Select explicitly included components ...

* Writer 'Microsoft Hyper-V VSS Writer':
- Add component \276E8343-33A9-4122-88EA-51646ACB7F50
Creating shadow set {c63b0a96-5952-4f48-a6d7-33162f1def74} ...
- Adding volume \\?\Volume{1c5150b9-0249-11de-b47c-001aa03ba298}\ [M:\] to the
shadow set...
- Adding volume \\?\Volume{1c5150b3-0249-11de-b47c-001aa03ba298}\ [N:\] to the
shadow set...
...

Shadow copy set successfully created.

The important lines in the output are shown in italics, for emphasis:
The * Writer line should include Microsoft Hyper-V VSS Writer.
The Add component line should show the virtual machine GUID.
More information is available about the vshadow command:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb530725%28VS.85%29.aspx
2 Copy the generated bcd.xml file from the primary to the alternate client.
 Troubleshooting 126
Restored virtual machine fails to start

3 Import the snapshot to the alternate client.

For example:
vshadow -I=c:\bcd1.xml

where c:\bcd1.xml specifies the location of the bcd.xml file on the alternate
client.
If these vshadow commands run successfully on the primary client and alternate
client, the VSS snapshot provider supports transportable snapshots with the
Hyper-V writer.

Restored virtual machine fails to start

The following issues may prevent a restored virtual machine from starting:
■ If you restore a virtual machine to a different Hyper-V server, and the original
Hyper-V server and the target server do not have the same number of network
adapters (NICs), note: You must configure the network adapter(s) for the restored
virtual machine on the target server. Otherwise, the attempt to start the restored
virtual machine fails and a message similar to the following appears:

Microsoft Synthetic Ethernet Port (Instance ID {C549AG45-5925-49C0-

ADD2-218E70A4A1EA}): Failed to power on with Error 'The system
cannot find the path specified.' (0x80070003). (Virtual machine
5412BD43-DC85-31CB-A688-1B29CE2C57C8)

■ The restored virtual machine may fail to start if all of the following are true:
■ The virtual machine resided on a Hyper-V Server 2008 when the virtual
machine was backed up.
■ At the time of backup, the virtual machine was not in the Off state.
■ The virtual machine is restored to a Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.
A Hyper-V message states

An error occurred while attempting to start the selected virtual

machine(s). <virtual machine name> could not initialize.
Saved state file version is incompatible.

In this case, you must delete the virtual machine's saved state file after the
restore and then start the virtual machine. In the Hyper-V Manager interface,
right-click on the restored virtual machine and select “Delete Saved State.”
■ After a redirected restore of the virtual machine on Windows 2008 SP2 and
Windows 2008 R2, the virtual machine unexpectedly enters the Saved state. It
 Troubleshooting 127
Restored virtual machine fails to start

also fails to start. If the virtual machine was backed up in the Online state, the
expected state after restore is Off. But due to a Hyper-V error, the virtual machine
incorrectly enters the Saved state.
During the restore, the Hyper-V-VMMS writes the event ID 12340. The following
is a sample message:

'Saved State' cannot read key '/configuration/_ba8735ef-e3a9-

4f1b-badd-dbf3a5909915_/VideoMonitor/State' from the repository.
Error: %%2147778581'(7864368). (Virtual machine ID
0AD7DFCC-BDC0-4218-B6DF-7A3BC0A734BF)

In the Hyper-V Manager, you must delete the virtual machine's saved state after
the restore and then start the virtual machine.
■ For the virtual machines that are configured in a volume GUID with a differencing
disk in another volume GUID, redirected restores are not supported. Note that
redirected restores are supported if the virtual machine's vhd or vhdx file is
configured in a drive-letter volume rather than a volume GUID.
A virtual machine restore to an alternate location may fail in the following case:
■ The virtual machine's vhd or vhdx file is in a GUID-based volume, and
■ A differencing disk for the same vhd or vhdx is in another GUID-based
volume.
In this case, the attempt to restore the virtual machine to an alternate location
fails. The cause of the failure is in the Microsoft Hyper-V Writer. The vhd or vhdx
files and other configuration files are restored to the correct location, but
registration of the virtual machine fails. As a result, Hyper-V is unable to start
the restored virtual machine. A Hyper-V writer event log similar to the following
may appear:

Failed to update the path of the parent disk for virtual

hard disk 'E:\restore123\Volume{D2CC1448-BCFD-11CE-96DD-
001EC9EEF3B2}\test1\diff.vhd' for virtual machine 'test':
The system cannot find the path specified. (0x80070003).
The disk may not work properly. If you cannot start your virtual
machine, remove the disk and try again.(Virtual machine ID <id>)

After the restore, you must configure a new virtual machine and attach the
restored vhd or vhdx files to the new virtual machine. The restored .xml file
contains information on the original configuration of the virtual machine.
■ When a virtual machine is restored to a different Hyper-V server: The location
of a virtual CD or DVD drive may prevent the virtual machine from restarting.
The problem occurs in the following case:
 Troubleshooting 128
Problem with a restart of a restored virtual machine: Why did the computer shut down unexpectedly?

■ The original virtual machine had a CD ISO image that is attached to a virtual
CD or DVD drive.
■ On the Hyper-V server where the virtual machine was restored: The ISO
image is not on the same path as on the original Hyper-V host during backup.
For example: The virtual machine originally had E:\cd1.iso attached to its
virtual DVD drive. But E:\cd1.iso does not exist on the target Hyper-V host,
or it exists at a different location, such as F:\cd1.iso. In either case, the
restored virtual machine does not turn on.

To solve the attached CD/DVD problem

1 In the Hyper-V Manager, click on the restored virtual machine.
2 Click Settings.
3 Under the appropriate IDE Controller, click DVD drive.
4 In the Media pane, specify the correct location of the CD, or select None.

Problem with a restart of a restored virtual machine:

Why did the computer shut down unexpectedly?
An unexpected shutdown message is displayed when a restored Windows virtual
machine is started.
When you start a restored virtual machine, the system may display the message
"Why did the computer shut down unexpectedly?" It may prompt you to enter a
problem ID. This message and prompt occur if the virtual machine was in the
Running state when the backup was initiated.
When a Windows system starts up, a bit is set indicating that the system did not
shut down gracefully. If the system is shut down gracefully, the bit is cleared.
However, when an online backup of a running virtual machine is performed, the
unexpected shutdown bit remains set in the backed-up image. When the restored
virtual machine is started, the bit is detected and the unexpected shutdown message
is displayed.

Problems with restore of individual files

When you restore individual files (not the entire virtual machine), the restore may
fail in certain cases. The following table describes the problems and recommended
actions for the restore of individual files.
 Troubleshooting 129
Problems with restore of the full virtual machine

Table 9-5 Problems with restore of individual files

Cause of the problem Description and recommended action

Files are selected from For example: The original virtual machine had two drives (C:\ and D:\), and files from each
multiple drives (volumes) drive are selected in the same restore operation. Messages similar to the following appear
on the virtual machine. in the job progress log:

13:26:05 (86.001) (86.001) INF - Skipping to next file header...

13:26:05 (86.001) (86.001) INF - TAR EXITING WITH STATUS = 0
13:26:05 (86.001) (86.001) INF - TAR RESTORED 11368 OF 11463 FILES
SUCCESSFULLY
13:26:05 (86.001) (86.001) INF - TAR KEPT 0 EXISTING FILES
13:26:05 (86.001) (86.001) INF - TAR PARTIALLY RESTORED 0 FILES

13:26:15 (86.001) Status of restore from image created 7/21/2008

2:55:05 PM = the requested operation was partially successful

Select files from a single drive at a time. Selecting files from multiple drives is not supported.

You have attempted to Restore the files by means of a shared location on the virtual machine (with a UNC path)
restore the files into a rather than by means of a mapped drive.
mapped drive on the
See “Restoring individual files to a shared location on the virtual machine” on page 97.
virtual machine. The
restore fails with
NetBackup status code
185.

The snapshot contains Windows Hyper-V provides no mechanism for quiescing file system activity on Linux virtual
invalid inodes. machines. As a result, invalid inodes may be present in the snapshot. A backup that was
made with the Enable file recovery from VM backup option may have file-mapping failures
if the virtual machine experiences heavy I/O. The failures are reported in the NetBackup
Administration Console in this form:

ERR - Unable to read metadata for index: 379023, VFM error = 6.

Note that the backup succeeds, but any files with metadata errors cannot be restored
individually.

For the backups that enable individual restore of all files, schedule the backup when the
I/O activity is lower. If metadata errors persist, shut down the virtual machine during the
backup.

Problems with restore of the full virtual machine

Restores of a full virtual machine may fail in the following cases:
 Troubleshooting 130
Problems with restore of the full virtual machine

■ The Overwrite virtual machine option was not selected and vhd or vhdx file(s)
for the virtual machine still exist on the destination. In that case, the vhd or vhdx
file(s) from the backup are not restored. You must select Overwrite virtual
machine for the restore, or remove the current virtual machine and vhd or vhdx
files from the destination server before you start the restore. If you remove the
virtual machine but leave one or more vhd or vhdx files at the destination, the
vhd or vhdx files from the backup are not restored.
■ The virtual machine restore job fails but the virtual machine is nonetheless
registered in the Hyper-V server. The Hyper-V-VMMS writes the following
warnings in the events log:
Event ID: 10127, sample event log message:

Unable to repair the network configuration for virtual machine'Virtual Machine

Display Name'. The virtual machine may not have the same network connectivity as
it did when the backup was taken. Inspect the network settings and modify them
as necessary. (Virtual machine ID 0AD8DFCC-BDC0-4818-B6DF-7A1BA0A735BF)

Event ID: 10104, sample event log message:

One or more errors occurred while restoring the virtual machine from backup.
The virtual machine might not have registered or it might not start. (Virtual
machine ID "0AD8DFCC-BDC0-4718-B6DF-7A3BA2A735BF ")

The Hyper-V writer encountered a Network configuration error. The restored

virtual machine can be started after you change the Network Adaptor
configuration in the virtual machine settings.
■ The virtual machine is highly available (HA), but the node that owns the virtual
machine is not the restore server. (It is not the node that performs the restore.)
The tar log contains a message similar to the following:

VssNode::doRestore: Current owner of VM .[<VM name> {<VM guid>}] is

[<current owner>] not this [<restore server>], To perform this restore either move
VM to this host [<restore server>] or Delete VM from Cluster, or perform redirected
restore at current owner.

Note the following explanations:

■ For a restore to the original location: When the backup took place, the virtual
machine was not HA, but now the virtual machine is HA. However, the node
that owns the virtual machine is not the node from which the virtual machine
was backed up.
■ For a redirected restore: The virtual machine is HA but the node that owns
the virtual machine is not the restore server (the node that performs the
restore).
 Troubleshooting 131
Problems with restore of the full virtual machine

See the recommended actions in the tar log message.

■ A redirected restore of a volume-GUID-based virtual machine fails if the virtual

machine was backed up from a previous redirected restore.
Note: In a redirected restore, the virtual machine is restored to a different location
on the original Hyper-V server or to a different Hyper-V server. It is not restored
to its original location on the original server.
A virtual machine may be configured on a Windows volume GUID. The following
is an example of a Windows volume GUID:

\\?\Volume{1a2b74b1-1b2a-11df-8c23-0023acfc9192}\

If you perform a redirected restore of a volume-GUID-based virtual machine

and you back up the restored virtual machine, note: An attempt to do a redirected
restore from the backup may fail. For example, consider a virtual machine that
is configured on the following volume GUID:

\\?\Volume{1a2b74b1-1b2a-11df-8c23-0023acfc9192}\

The virtual machine is then restored to a different volume GUID, such as:

\\?\Volume{2a3b70a1-3b1a-11df-8c23-0023acfc9192}\

If the restored virtual machine is backed up and you do a redirected restore from
the backup, the restore may fail.
To avoid this problem in a redirected restore, restore the virtual machine to a
subdirectory of the volume GUID, such as to the following:

\\?\Volume{1a3b70a1-3b1a-11df-8c23-0023acfc9192}\REDIR_subdirectory\

■ NetBackup cannot perform a redirected restore of a virtual machine to a Hyper-V

2008 R2 server if the virtual machine contains a compressed vhd or vhdx file.
The NetBackup job Detailed Status tab contains a message similar to the
following:

12/11/2009 17:35:58 - started process bpdm (pid=2912)

...
the restore failed to recover the requested files (5)
12/11/2009 17:47:06 - Error bpbrm (pid=1348) client restore EXIT STATUS 185: tar
did not find all the files to be restored

A message similar to the following appears in the eventvwr.msc file:

Failed to update the configuration with the new location of virtual hard disk
'F:\REDIR_VM\f\ADD_VHD\IDE_1_DISK.vhd' for virtual machine
 Troubleshooting 132
Linux VMs and persistent device naming

'<virtual_machine_name>': The requested operation could not be

completed due to a virtual disk system limitation. Virtual disks are only
supported on NTFS volumes and must be both uncompressed and unencrypted.
(0xC03A001A). Remove the disk from the virtual machine and then attach the disk
from the new location. (Virtual machine ID <virtual_machine_ID.)

This issue is due to a Microsoft limitation. See the following Microsoft link for
more information:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd440865.aspx

Linux VMs and persistent device naming

For Linux VMs without persistent device naming, multiple disk controllers (such as
IDE, SCSI, and SATA) may complicate the recovery of individual files. This issue
occurs because non-persistent device naming, such as /dev/sda and /dev/sdb,
may cause unexpected mount point changes after a restart. If the VM has a SCSI
disk and SATA disk, the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface may show incorrect
mount points for the VM's files. For example, the files originally under /vol_a might
appear under /vol_b when you browse to restore them. The restore is successful,
but the restored files may not be in their original directories.
As a workaround, search for the files on the restored VM and move them to the
proper locations.
To prevent this issue on Linux VMs with multiple disk controllers, Symantec
recommends a persistent device-naming method for mounting the file systems.
When persistent naming is in place, device mounting is consistent and this issue
does not occur when you restore files from future backups.
For persistent device naming, you can mount devices by UUIDs. The following is
an example of the /etc/fstab file that contains the devices that are mounted by
UUIDs:

UUID=93a21fe4-4c55-4e5a-8124-1e2e1460fece /boot ext4 defaults 1 2

UUID=55a24fe3-4c55-4e6a-8124-1e2e1460fadf /vola ext3 defaults 0 0

To find the device UUIDs, you can use either of the following commands:
blkid

ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid/

Note: NetBackup also supports the by-LABEL method for persistent device naming.
 Appendix A
Hyper-V online and offline
backups
This appendix includes the following topics:

■ About Hyper-V online and offline backups

■ Conditions that determine online vs. offline backup

■ Additional notes on offline backups

About Hyper-V online and offline backups

A Hyper-V virtual machine can be in any of the following states: Running, Saved,
Paused, or Off.
In addition, Microsoft provides the following two types of Hyper-V virtual machine
backups:

Online Specifies that a virtual machine that is in the Running state is briefly quiesced
for the backup. User access during the backup continues without interruption.

Offline Specifies that a virtual machine that is in the Running or Paused state is
rendered temporarily inactive. It is returned to its original state before the
backup completes. User access during the backup is interrupted.

Note: Type of backup (online or offline) is a Microsoft designation and is not

configured in NetBackup.

The following table shows the possible combinations of virtual machine state and
the type of backup.
 Hyper-V online and offline backups 134
Conditions that determine online vs. offline backup

Table A-1 State of virtual machine before and after restore

State at the time of backup Type of backup State after restore

Running Online Off

Running Offline Saved

Saved Offline Saved

Paused Offline Saved

Off Offline Off

Conditions that determine online vs. offline backup

A Hyper-V online backup can be performed with no downtime on a running virtual
machine when all of the following conditions are met:
■ The Hyper-V integration services are installed and the VSS integration service
is enabled.
■ All virtual machine disks are configured within the guest operating system as
NTFS-formatted basic disks. If the virtual machine uses dynamic disks or the
FAT or FAT32 file system, an online backup cannot be performed.
Note that "dynamic" disks are not a type of virtual hard disk (vhd or vhdx format).
Dynamic disks and basic disks are disk types defined by Microsoft for certain
Windows operating systems.
■ Each virtual machine volume must specify itself as the storage location for its
shadow copies. For example, the shadow copy storage for C:\ must be configured
on the C:\ volume. The shadow copy storage for D:\ must be on D:\, and so
forth.
If these conditions are not met, the backup is performed offline. An offline backup
results in some downtime on the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is in the
Running or Paused state, it is put in a Saved state as part of the offline backup.
After the backup is completed, the virtual machine is returned to its original state.

Additional notes on offline backups

When an offline backup is performed on a virtual machine that is currently in the
Running state, note: the virtual machine briefly enters the Saved state during the
backup and then returns to its original state.
For a virtual machine in the Running state at the start of the backup, the type of
backup is offline in the following circumstances:
 Hyper-V online and offline backups 135
Additional notes on offline backups

■ The VSS integration component of Hyper-V is not running in the virtual machine.
The VSS integration component is part of the Hyper-V integration services that
are installed in the virtual machine.
■ The virtual machine is running an operating system that does not support
Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).
■ The storage configuration of the virtual machine is not compliant.
Any of the following can result in a non-compliant storage configuration:
■ The virtual machine has one or more disks that are configured as dynamic
disks in the operating system. Note that dynamic disks are not a type of
virtual hard disk. Dynamic disks and basic disks are disk types defined by
Microsoft for certain Windows operating systems.
■ The virtual machine has the volumes that do not support Volume Shadow
Copy Service (VSS).
If the virtual machine has a non-NTFS formatted volume (such as FAT or
FAT32), the virtual machine enters the Saved state during the backup.
 Appendix B
Hyper-V pass-through disks
This appendix includes the following topics:

■ About Hyper-V pass-through disks with NetBackup

■ Configurations for backing up pass-through disks

■ Requirements for backing up Hyper-V pass-through disks

■ Restrictions for Hyper-V pass-through disks

■ Configuring a local snapshot backup of Hyper-V pass-through disks

■ About alternate client backup of pass-through disks

■ Configuring an alternate client backup of Hyper-V pass-through disks

■ Important note on VSS and disk arrays

About Hyper-V pass-through disks with NetBackup

This topic describes how to use NetBackup to back up Hyper-V pass-through disks.
Hyper-V pass-through configuration allows a virtual machine to directly access
physical disks. With pass-through access, a virtual machine can use large storage
devices such as disk arrays. Access to a pass-through disk is faster than to a fully
virtualized disk (vhd or vhdx file). A pass-through disk can be locally attached to
the Hyper-V server or configured on a Fibre Channel SAN.
For assistance in setting up pass-through devices, refer to your Microsoft
documentation.
The devices that NetBackup supports for pass-through are the same as for a physical
(non-hypervisor) environment: the device vendor however must support the device
in a virtual environment.
 Hyper-V pass-through disks 137
Configurations for backing up pass-through disks

Note: The NetBackup for Hyper-V feature and Hyper-V snapshot method (as
described in other chapters of this guide) do not back up pass-through disks.

Configurations for backing up pass-through disks

You can use either of the following NetBackup configurations to back up Hyper-V
pass-through disks:
■ Without Snapshot Client.
Install a NetBackup client on the virtual machine. You can configure NetBackup
to back up virtual machine data as if the client was installed on a physical host.
Note that without Snapshot Client software on the virtual machine, the features
of Snapshot Client are not available.
■ With Snapshot Client (explained in this appendix).
Install a NetBackup client on the virtual machine, as well as a license for
Snapshot Client. Configure either a local snapshot backup or an alternate client
backup.
To use a VSS hardware provider for the disk array, the off-host alternate client
method is required.

Requirements for backing up Hyper-V pass-through

disks
Note the following requirements:
■ Consult your Microsoft documentation for pass-through configuration
requirements.
■ Consult your VSS provider documentation for snapshot preconfiguration
requirements. For example, the disk array clones or mirrors must be synchronized
with the disk array source device before the backup is started.
■ NetBackup may require certain OS and array configuration, depending on the
guest OS and the array. For details, see the disk arrays chapter of the NetBackup
Snapshot Client Administrator's Guide.
■ For backups using a VSS provider type of Hardware, pass-through disks should
be added as SCSI disks.
■ NetBackup client software must be installed on the virtual machine.
■ To use Snapshot Client for local snapshot or alternate client backup, Snapshot
Client must be licensed on the virtual machine.
 Hyper-V pass-through disks 138
Restrictions for Hyper-V pass-through disks

■ For alternate client backup, the virtual machine and alternate client must be
running the same operating system, volume manager, and file system. For each
of these I/O system components, the alternate client must be at the same level
as the primary client, or higher level.
For complete requirements on alternate client backup, refer to the Policy
configuration chapter of the NetBackup Snapshot Client Administrator's Guide.

Note: The requirements for the NetBackup for Hyper-V feature do not apply to
backups of the disk arrays that are configured as pass-through disks. The NetBackup
for Hyper-V feature (using the Hyper-V snapshot method as described in other parts
of this guide) does not back up pass-through disks.

Restrictions for Hyper-V pass-through disks

Note the following:
■ For pass-through disks, Instant Recovery point-in-time rollback is not supported
for the backups that were made with a VSS hardware provider.
Note that point-in-time rollback is supported with a VSS provider type of System.
You can use VSS Provider Type of System for a local snapshot backup, but not
for alternate client backup. Note also that copy back restore from an Instant
Recovery backup is supported with both provider types of System and Hardware.
■ A pass-through disk must not be assigned by means of an IDE controller. If an
IDE controller is used to assign a pass-through disk, NetBackup cannot create
a snapshot of the disk using a hardware provider type.

Configuring a local snapshot backup of Hyper-V

pass-through disks
To create a policy for local snapshot backup of a pass-through disk
1 Start the NetBackup Administration Console.
2 Click on Policies and create a new policy.
3 On the policy Attributes tab, select the MS-Windows policy type or
FlashBackup-Windows policy type.
4 Click Perform snapshot backups.
5 Optional: click Retain snapshots for instant Recovery.
6 Click Options.
 Hyper-V pass-through disks 139
About alternate client backup of pass-through disks

7 Select the VSS snapshot method.

The Hyper-V method does not apply.
The array may require additional OS and NetBackup configuration as described
in the disk arrays topic of the NetBackup Snapshot Client Administrator's Guide.
8 Specify snapshot options for VSS.
Select the following:
■ Provider Type: You can select 1-system or 2-software. 3-hardware is
not supported for local backup.
See “Provider Type configuration parameter” on page 35.
See “Restrictions for Hyper-V pass-through disks” on page 138.
■ Snapshot Attribute: The selection depends on your VSS hardware provider.
Supported snapshot methods and hardware types are described in the
following document:
NetBackup 7 Snapshot Client Compatibility
■ Maximum snapshots (Instant Recovery only): This option sets the
maximum number of Instant Recovery snapshots to be retained at one
time.
For more information on this option, refer to the topic on the Maximum
Snapshots parameter in the NetBackup Snapshot Client Administrator's
guide.

9 In the policy Clients tab, select the virtual machine that has a pass-through
disk configured.
10 In the policy’s Backup Selections tab, specify the pass-through disk that you
want to back up. Or specify the files or volumes that reside on the pass-through
disk.

About alternate client backup of pass-through disks

Alternate client backup of pass-through disks consists of the following:
■ The disk array contains the data to be backed up. Another host containing
NetBackup client software and Snapshot Client software must have access to
the disk array. That host is the alternate client. (In this configuration, the virtual
machine is called the primary client.)
■ A snapshot of the data is created on the disk array and is mounted on the
alternate client. The alternate client creates a backup image from the snapshot,
using original path names, and streams the image to the NetBackup media
server.
 Hyper-V pass-through disks 140
Configuring an alternate client backup of Hyper-V pass-through disks

■ The alternate client handles the backup I/O processing; the backup has little or
no effect on the virtual machine. The media server reads the snapshot data from
the alternate client and writes the data to storage.

Configuring an alternate client backup of Hyper-V

pass-through disks
To create a policy for alternate client backup of a pass-through disk
1 Start the NetBackup Administration Console.
2 Click on Policies and create a new policy.
3 On the policy Attributes tab, select the MS-Windows policy type or the
FlashBackup-Windows policy type.
4 Click Perform snapshot backups.
5 Optional: click Retain snapshot for Instant Recovery or SLP management.
6 Click Perform off-host backup.
7 In the Use field pull-down list, select Alternate Client.
8 For Machine, enter the name of the host that is configured as an off-host
backup computer (the alternate client).
The following shows the Snapshot Client panel of the policy Attributes tab.
 Hyper-V pass-through disks 141
Configuring an alternate client backup of Hyper-V pass-through disks

9 Click Options.
The Snapshot Options dialog box appears.
10 Select the VSS snapshot method.
The Hyper-V method does not apply to alternate client backup and is not
available in the list.
The array may require additional OS and NetBackup configuration as described
in the disk arrays chapter of the NetBackup Snapshot Client Administrator's
Guide.
11 Specify snapshot options for VSS.
Select the following:
■ Provider Type: For disk arrays, select 3-hardware as the provider type.
Depending on your array and on the snapshot attribute you select, certain
preconfiguration of the array may be required. In the NetBackup Snapshot
Client guide, see the chapter on snapshot methods for disk arrays, for the
appropriate topic for your disk array and the VSS method.
For pass-through disks, note: Instant Recovery point-in-time rollback is not
supported for the backups that were made with a hardware provider (VSS
provider type of 3-hardware). Copy back restore is supported.
See “Provider Type configuration parameter” on page 35.
See “Restrictions for Hyper-V pass-through disks” on page 138.
See “Important note on VSS and disk arrays” on page 142.
■ Snapshot Attribute: Select 1-differential (for a copy-on-write type of
snapshot) or 2-plex (for a clone type or mirror type of snapshot). The choice
depends on the hardware provider that is used with the disk array.
■ Maximum snapshots (Instant Recovery only): This option sets the
maximum number of Instant Recovery snapshots to be retained at one
time.
For more information on this option, refer to the topic on the Maximum
Snapshots parameter in the NetBackup Snapshot Client Administrator's
guide.

12 On the Clients tab, specify the virtual machine that has a pass-through disk
configured.
13 On the Backup Selections tab, specify the pass-through disk that you want
to back up, or the files or volumes that reside on the pass-through disk.
 Hyper-V pass-through disks 142
Important note on VSS and disk arrays

Important note on VSS and disk arrays

To back up a Windows client with the VSS method, please note the following about
snapshot parameter values:
■ For Provider Type of 3-hardware and Snapshot Attribute of 2-plex, you must
configure an appropriate number of clones or mirrors in the disk array.
■ You must also synchronize the clones or mirrors with the disk array source
device before starting the backup. If the clones or mirrors are not synchronized
before the backup begins, VSS cannot select a clone or mirror on which to create
the snapshot. As a result, the backup fails.
 Appendix C
NetBackup commands to
back up and restore
Hyper-V virtual machines
This appendix includes the following topics:

■ Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V policy

■ Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

■ bpplinfo options for Hyper-V policies

■ bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in Hyper-V policies

■ Examples of nbrestorevm for restoring VMs to Hyper-V

■ The nbrestorevm -R rename file for Hyper-V

■ Notes on troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command for Hyper-V

■ Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command

Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V

policy
This topic describes how to use NetBackup commands to create a policy that backs
up virtual machines through manual selection. For a policy that automatically selects
virtual machines through a query rule, see the following:
See “Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy” on page 145.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 144
Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V policy

For examples of the nbrestorevm command to restore Hyper-V virtual machines,

see the nbrestorevm man page or the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.
The NetBackup commands for policy creation are in the following directory:
Windows:
install_path\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\admincmd

UNIX or Linux:
usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd

Run these commands on the NetBackup master server.

Note: To run virtual machine backups, a NetBackup client must be installed on the
Hyper-V server.

To use NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V policy

1 Create a policy.
bppolicynew policyName

For example:
bppolicynew HVpolicy1

2 Set the policy attributes.

To accept the default attributes, enter the following:
bpplinfo policyName -set -pt Hyper-V -use_virtual_machine 2
-hyperv_server "hyper-v_server" -fi 1 -snapshot_method Hyper-V_v2

To specify additional options, enter the following:

bpplinfo policyName -set -pt Hyper-V -use_virtual_machine 2
-hyperv_server "Hyper-V_server" -fi 1 -snapshot_method Hyper-V_v2
-offhost_backup value -use_alt_client value -alt_client_name
"client_name" -discovery_lifetime value in seconds
-snapshot_method_args keyword=value,keyword=value,...

If you include the -snapshot_method_args option, it must be specified with all

parameters. Otherwise, the snapshot job fails. -snapshot_method_args is a
comma-delimited list of keywords that define the Hyper-V snapshot and policy.
The keywords and values for snapshot_method_args are described in a
separate topic:
See “bpplinfo options for Hyper-V policies” on page 149.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 145
Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

3 Create a policy schedule.

bpplsched policyName -add sched_label -st sched_type

For the -st option, the available schedule types are FULL (full), INCR (differential
incremental), or CINC (cumulative incremental).
For example:
bpplsched policy1 -add Full -st FULL

4 Select the virtual machines to back up.

bpplclients policyName -add VM_to_back_up

On this command, specify one virtual machine at a time. Specify the virtual
machine's display name, host name, or GUID. You can use the Hyper-V
management console to obtain the display name or GUID.
For example:
bpplclients policy1 -add prodvm1.acme.com

In this example, prodvm1.acme.com is the virtual machine to back up, including

all of its local drives. Note: The backup selection is automatically set to
ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES. ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES is the only option that is available
for the Hyper-V policy type.
5 Validate the policy.
bpclient -policy policyName -validate –fi

If the policy successfully validates, no output appears. Otherwise, the following

error occurs:
Error code 48 : client hostname could not be found

6 Use the bpbackup command to start the backup.

For details on bpbackup, see the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.

Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V

Intelligent Policy
This topic describes how to use NetBackup commands to create a policy to back
up virtual machines automatically through a query rule.
For examples of the nbrestorevm command to restore Hyper-V virtual machines,
see the nbrestorevm man page or the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.
The NetBackup commands for policy creation are in the following directory:
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 146
Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

Windows:
install_path\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\admincmd

UNIX or Linux:
usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd

Run these commands on the NetBackup master server.

Note: To run virtual machine backups, a NetBackup client must be installed on the
Hyper-V server.

To use NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V policy for auto selection of VMs
1 Create a policy.
bppolicynew policy_name

For example:
bppolicynew p1_auto_select_VMs

2 Set the policy attributes.

bpplinfo policy_name -set -pt Hyper-V -use_virtual_machine 2

-hyperv_server "Hyper-V_server" -fi 1 -application_discovery 1
-snapshot_method Hyper-V_v2 -snapshot_method_args
Virtual_machine_backup=value,nameuse=value,allow_offline_backup=
value,csv_timeout=0,prov_type=0,snap_attr=0

Note that -snapshot_method_args is a comma-delimited list of keywords that

define the Hyper-V snapshot and policy. The keywords are described in a
separate topic:
See “bpplinfo options for Hyper-V policies” on page 149.
For example:

bpplinfo p1_auto_select_VMs -set -pt Hyper-V -use_virtual_machine 2

-hyperv_server hyperv_server_3 -fi 1 -application_discovery 1
-snapshot_method Hyper-V_v2 -snapshot_method_args
Virtual_machine_backup=1,nameuse=1,allow_offline_backup=1,
csv_timeout=0,prov_type=0,snap_attr=0

This example allows offline backup of the virtual machines if an online backup
cannot be performed. The following are some of the options used in the
example:
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 147
Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

■ Virtual_machine_backup=1
The full virtual machine can be recovered from the backup, but not individual
files.
Note that Virtual_machine_backup=2 enables individual file recovery.
■ nameuse=1
When browsing to restore from the backup, you must use the VM's display
name to identify the backup image. Other options are available: nameuse=0
uses the VM host name to identify the backup image. nameuse=2 uses the
VM GUID to identify the backup image.
■ allow_offline_backup=1
Allows the offline backup of any non-VSS virtual machine.

3 Create a policy schedule.

bpplsched policy_name -add sched_label -st sched_type

For the -st option, the available schedule types are FULL (full), INCR (differential
incremental), or CINC (cumulative incremental). For example:
bpplsched p1_auto_select_VMs -add Full -st FULL

4 Specify the host that is to perform virtual machine discovery.

■ To specify a Hyper-V server:
bpplclients policy_name -add Hyper-V_server
Hyper-V_server_hardware_type Hyper-V_server_OS

■ To specify a Hyper-V cluster:

bpplclients policy_name -add Hyper-V_cluster

Note: To allow the policy to search all nodes of the cluster, you must set
the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon to the domain user account.
See “Changing the NetBackup Legacy Network Service logon (vnetd.exe)
to the domain user account” on page 23.

For example, to specify a Hyper-V server:

bpplclients p1_auto_select_VMs -add hvserver3 Windows-x64 Windows

To find the hardware type and operating system for your server, run the
following on the NetBackup master server:
bpplclients

For further information, see "Examples" under bpplclients in the NetBackup

Commands Reference Guide.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 148
Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy

5 Create a query rule to select virtual machines automatically.

bpplinclude policy_name -add "hyperv:/?filter=query_rule”

For example:
bpplinclude p1_auto_select_VMs -add "hyperv:/?filter=Displayname
Contains 'Production'”

In this example, the query rule "hyperv:/?filter=Displayname Contains

'Production'” selects the virtual machines with the display names that contain
the word Production. Contains means that other characters can also appear
in the display names.
For the filter options that you can use in a Hyper-V query rule, refer to the Field
keywords in the following:
See “Query Builder field reference” on page 64.
Note: The bpplinclude command has options for modifying the query rules in
an existing policy.
See “bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in Hyper-V policies”
on page 151.
6 Validate the policy.
bpclient -policy policy_name -validate –fi

If the policy successfully validates, no output appears. Otherwise, the following

error occurs:
Error code 48 : client hostname could not be found

7 Use the bpbackup command to start the backup.

For details on bpbackup, see the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.
For a policy that lets you select virtual machines manually:
See “Using NetBackup commands to create a Hyper-V policy” on page 143.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 149
bpplinfo options for Hyper-V policies

To test the bpplinclude query rule (hyperv:/?filter) before you run the backup
◆ Run the following:
Windows:
install_path\NetBackup\bin nbdiscover -noxmloutput -policy
policy_name -noreason

UNIX, Linux:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin nbdiscover -noxmloutput -policy
policy_name -noreason

A + sign appears before the virtual machines that the query rule selects for the
backup: these virtual machines are included in the backup when the policy
runs.
The virtual machines to be excluded from the backup appear with a - sign.
The -noreason option omits explanations as to why the query excluded a
virtual machine or why the query failed. For explanations, do not include
-noreason.
For more details on most of the command options, see the man page or the
NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.

bpplinfo options for Hyper-V policies

Table C-1 describes the options that are available on the bpplinfo command.

Table C-1 bpplinfo options for Hyper-V

Option Values Required? Navigation in policy editor of

Administration Console

-use_virtual_machine 2 Y

-hyperv_server name of Hyper-V server Y Clients tab > Hyper-V server

-application_discovery 0 disabled, 1 enabled N (only for Clients tab > Select

automatic automatically through Hyper-V
selection of VMs Intelligent Policy query
through a query
rule)

-snapshot_method Hyper-V_v2 Y
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 150
bpplinfo options for Hyper-V policies

Table C-1 bpplinfo options for Hyper-V (continued)

Option Values Required? Navigation in policy editor of

Administration Console

-offhost_backup 0 No off-host backup (default) N Attributes tab > Perform

off-host backup
1 Use off-host backup method (for
alternate client)

-use_alt_client 0 No alternate client Y (with Attributes tab > Perform

offhost_backup off-host backup > Use
1 Use an alternate client
option)

alt_client_name name of alternate client Y (with Attributes tab > Perform

use_alt_client) off-host backup > Machine

snapshot_method_args keyword=value,keyword=value,... N

Table C-2

Table C-2 describes the keywords for -snapshot_method_args.

Table C-2 Keywords and values for snapshot_method_args

Keyword Values Navigation in policy editor

of Administration Console

Virtual_machine_ 1 disable file-level recovery Hyper-V tab > Enable file

backup= recovery from VM backup
2 enable file-level recovery

nameuse= 0 Use VM host name to identify backup image Hyper-V tab > Primary VM
identifier
1 Use VM display name to identify backup image

2 Use VM GUID to identify backup image

allow_offline_ 0 Do not allow offline backup of non-VSS virtual machines Hyper-V tab > Enable offline
backup= backup of non-VSS VMs
1 Allow offline backup of non-VSS virtual machines
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 151
bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in Hyper-V policies

Table C-2 Keywords and values for snapshot_method_args (continued)

Keyword Values Navigation in policy editor

of Administration Console

csv_timeout= Determines how many minutes the backup job waits, in case Hyper-V tab > Cluster
another node in the cluster backs up the same shared volume shared volumes timeout
at the same time.

The default is 180 (wait for 3 hours). A wait of 3 hours is

recommended if you have multiple virtual machines on one CSV.
The Windows 2008 R2 cluster node owns the CSV for the entire
duration of the backup.

If you do not want NetBackup to wait for another backup to

release the shared volume, set the value to 0. If at the same
time another node in the cluster backs up a shared volume that
this backup requires, the backup fails with status 156.
Note: On Windows server 2012, cluster nodes can back up the
same CSV simultaneously. As a result, NetBackup does not use
this option if the cluster is on Windows 2012.

prov_type= 0 Automatic selection of provider. Allows VSS to use the best Hyper-V tab > Advanced >
possible provider for the snapshot. Provider Type

1 Use system provider

2 Use software provider

3 Use hardware array provider

snap_attr= 0 (default) Hyper-V tab > Advanced >

Snapshot Attribute
1 Differential. Use copy-on-write snapshot method.

2 Plex. Use clone or mirror snapshot method.

bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in

Hyper-V policies
The bpplinclude command has options for modifying the query rules in an existing
policy.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 152
bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in Hyper-V policies

Table C-3 bpplinclude options for modifying query rules

Option Description

-addtoquery query_string ... Adds the specified query string to the end of the policy query rules, or creates a query
if none exists.

Quotes (") must be escaped (\).

Examples:

To add vm17 to the list of values in the query rules of policy1:

bpplinclude policy1 -addtoquery ,\"vm17\"

To create a query in a policy that does not have a query:

bpplinclude policy1 -addtoquery hyperv:/?filter=Displayname

AnyOf \"grayfox7\",\"grayfox9\"
Note: Each quote (") is escaped with a backslash (\).

-addtoquery -f file_name Adds the entries to the query rules from the specified file, or creates a query if none
exists.

In the file, quotes (") do not need to be escaped.

Example:

To create a query in a policy that does not have a query:

bpplinclude policy1 -addtoquery -f qfile1

where the contents of qfile1 are:

hyperv:/?filter=Displayname Contains "VM" AND HypervServer

Contains "ROS"
Note: The values "VM" and "ROS" are not escaped.

Note: You can place entries on multiple lines in the file. All entries are added to the
end of the query (if a query already exists).
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 153
Examples of nbrestorevm for restoring VMs to Hyper-V

Table C-3 bpplinclude options for modifying query rules (continued)

Option Description

-deletefromquery query_string Deletes the specified query string from the policy query rules.
...
Examples:

To delete vm27 from the list of values in the query rule of policy1:

bpplinclude policy1 -deletefromquery \"vm27\"

This example also deletes the comma preceding vm27 if such a comma exists in the
query rules.
Note: The -deletefromquery option deletes a comma if: the phrase in the query_string
does not begin or end with a comma and the character preceding the deleted string
is a comma.

To delete an entire query from the policy:

bpplinclude policy1 -deletefromquery hyperv:/?filter=Displayname

AnyOf "grayfox7","grayfox9"

-deletefromquery -f file_name Deletes the file entries from the query rules.

Example:

To delete a query from a policy:

bpplinclude policy1 -deletefromquery -f qfile1

where the contents of qfile1 are:

hyperv:/?filter=Displayname Contains "VM" AND HypervServer

Contains "ROS"
Note: The values "VM" and "ROS" are not escaped.

Note: paths that contain wildcards must be enclosed in quotes.

Examples of nbrestorevm for restoring VMs to

Hyper-V
To restore VMs, you can use the nbrestorevm command on the master server or
on the recovery host. The command is located in the following directory:
Windows
install_path\NetBackup\bin\nbrestorevm.exe

UNIX and Linux:

/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/nbrestorevm
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 154
Examples of nbrestorevm for restoring VMs to Hyper-V

The following nbrestorevm options are used in the examples in this topic:
■ –vmhv
Indicates a restore to the original location.
■ -vmhvnew
Indicates a restore to a different location (instead of –vmhv).
■ -vmhvstage
Indicates a restore to a staging or temporary location.
■ -vmncf
For a VM that uses files in common with other VMs, this option restores the VM
but does not restore the common files.
■ -C virtual_machine_to_restore
Identifies the VM to restore. The VM name must match the type of name that
was selected in the Primary VM identifier option of the backup policy. For
example, if the VM was backed up by its VM display name, use the VM's display
name on the -C option.

Note: Spaces in the VM name must be represented as %20 on the -C option.

If the VM's name is acme vm1, enter acme%20vm1.

■ -R absolute_path_to_rename_file
For a restore to a different location, describes the path to a text file (the rename
file) that contains directives for restoring the VM's files. The rename file specifies
the original paths and the new paths for the restored VM files (xml, bin, vsv,
vhd). The rename file must specify paths for all four VM file types.
See example E in this topic.
Further notes are available on the rename file:
See “The nbrestorevm -R rename file for Hyper-V” on page 156.
■ -vmserver Hyper-V_server
Specifies a different server as the target for the restore. The default is the
Hyper-V server that backed up the VM. To restore to the Hyper-V server that
backed up the VM, omit this option.
■ –S master_server
Specifies the master server that made the backup (if different from the current
master).
■ -O
Overwrites the VM and the associated resources if they already exist. This option
is required if the VM exists in the target location.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 155
Examples of nbrestorevm for restoring VMs to Hyper-V

■ -w [hh:mm:ss]
The nbrestorevm command waits for completion of the restore before it returns
to the system prompt.
Without the -w option, nbrestorevm initiates the restore and exits. You can check
the job completion status in the Activity Monitor of the NetBackup Administration
Console.
■ -L progress_log_file [-en]
Specifies an existing file to contain debug information about the restore. If the
server where you run nbrestorevm is configured for a non-English locale, the
-en option creates an additional log file in English.

Following are examples for nbrestorevm.

A. Restore to the original location and overwrite the VM

nbrestorevm –vmhv –C VM_to_restore –O

The -O option overwrites the existing VM. This option is required if the VM already
exists.

B. Restore to the original location, overwrite the VM, and create

a progress log
nbrestorevm –vmhv –C VM_to_restore –O -L progress_log_file

C. Restore to the original location, overwrite the VM, but do

not restore the common files
nbrestorevm -vmncf –C VM_to_restore –O

D. Restore to the original location from a VM backup that a

different master server made, and overwrite the VM
nbrestorevm –vmhv –C VM_to_restore –S master_server –O

The –S option identifies the server that made the backup.

E. Restore to a different location on the same Hyper-V server

nbrestorevm -vmhvnew –C VM_to_restore –R absolute_path_to_rename_file

On the -R option, enter the full path to a text file that contains the following kinds
of entries:

change /original_VM_GUID.xml_path to /new_VM_GUID.xml_path

change /original_VM_GUID.bin_path to /new_VM_GUID.bin_path
change /original_VM_GUID.vsv_path to /new_VM_GUID.vsv_path
change /original_VM.vhd_path to /new_VM.vhd_path
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 156
The nbrestorevm -R rename file for Hyper-V

Make sure to include all four change entries to specify locations for the VM's files
(xml, bin, vsv, vhd). If any of the VM file paths are omitted, the restore may not
succeed.

Note: Each change line must end with a carriage return.

Note: If the –R option is omitted, the VM is restored to its original location.

See “The nbrestorevm -R rename file for Hyper-V” on page 156.

F. Restore to a different Hyper-V server, and wait for

completion status from the server before returning to the
system prompt
nbrestorevm -vmhvnew –C VM_to_restore –R absolute_path_to_rename_file
-vm_server Hyper-V_server -w

The -vm_server option specifies the target server for the restore.
See example E for a description of the rename file.

G. Restore the VM to a staging location

nbrestorevm -vmhvstage –C VM_to_restore –R
absolute_path_to_rename_file -vm_server staging_server

The -vm_server option specifies the host for the staging location.
See example E for a description of the rename file.

The nbrestorevm -R rename file for Hyper-V

The -R rename file is a text file that uses change directives to specify file paths for
restore to a different location. The change directives specify the original paths of
the VM's files (xml, bin, vsv, vhd) and the paths to the files when they are restored.

Note: The -R option and rename file are not required when you restore the VM to
its original location with all its original settings.

Note the following about restoring the VM to a different location:

■ You must use the -vmhvnew option on nbrestorevm (instead of the –vmhv option).
■ The -R option must specify the absolute path to the rename file.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 157
Notes on troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command for Hyper-V

■ Each change directive in the -R rename file must end with a carriage return.
■ The change directives can be in any order in the rename file.
■ The change directives take the following form:
change /original_VM_file_path to /target_VM_file_path
Use forward slashes (/) in the paths. See Table C-4.
■ Unlike the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface, nbrestorevm does not validate
its command options and rename file directives before the restore job begins.
Make sure to include all required options and rename file change directives.

Table C-4 Change directives for the -R rename file

-R rename file directives Description and notes

change /original_VM_GUID.xml_path to The path to the VM's original .xml file and to the restored
/new_VM_GUID.xml_path .xml file.

change /original_VM_GUID.bin_path to The path to the VM's original .bin file and to the restored
/new_VM_GUID.bin_path .bin file.

change /original_VM_GUID.vsv_path to The path to the VM's original .vsv file and to the restored
/new_VM_GUID.vsv_path .vsv file.

change /original_VM.vhd_path to The path to the VM's original vhd file and to the restored
/new_VM.vhd_path vhd file.

Notes on troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command

for Hyper-V
This topic describes NetBackup status codes relating to the nbrestorevm command
for Hyper-V.

Table C-5 NetBackup status codes on nbrestorevm and Hyper-V

NetBackup Explanation and recommended action

status code

2821, The VM already exists at the restore location.

Hyper-V
On nbrestorevm, include the -O option to overwrite the existing VM.
policy
restore
error
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 158
Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command

Table C-5 NetBackup status codes on nbrestorevm and Hyper-V (continued)

NetBackup Explanation and recommended action

status code

23, socket The time span that is specified on the –w option is earlier than the time
read failed of the restore.

You can use -w without time values. The nbrestorevm job waits for the
restore to complete and then exits.

135, client The media server or recovery host where you are running nbrestorevm
is not is not allowed to access the NetBackup master server.
validated to
Add the media server or recovery host to the master server's Additional
perform the Servers list. In the NetBackup Administration Console, click Host
requested Properties > Master Servers > double-click the master server > Servers.
operation

144, invalid One or more required options were omitted on nbrestorevm.

command
For example, nbrestorevm requires either –vmhv (restore to original
usage
location) or -vmhvnew (restore to different location).

See the nbrestorevm man page or the NetBackup Commands Reference

Guide for more details.

190, found A name or value that is supplied with nbrestorevm does not match the
no images or VM's actual name or value.
media
The VM name as specified on nbrestorevm must match the type of name
matching the that was selected in the Primary VM identifier option of the backup
selection policy. For example, if the VM was backed up by its VM display name,
criteria use the VM's display name on the -C option.
Note: Spaces in the VM name must be represented as %20 on the
nbrestorevm -C option. For example, if the VM's name is acme vm1,
enter acme%20vm1 on the -C option.

Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command

The following logs may contain helpful messages on nbrestorevm.
 NetBackup commands to back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines 159
Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command

Table C-6 Logs with messages on nbrestorevm

Log directory Contains the messages on Resides on

Windows The restore operation, such Master server

as for status code 2821.
install_path\NetBackup\logs\bprd

Linux, UNIX

/usr/openv/netbackup/logs/bprd

install_path\NetBackup\logs\tar The restore operation, such Recovery host

as for status code 2821. (Hyper-V server)

Windows Incorrect usage of the Host where

nbrestorevm command, such nbrestorevm is run
install_path\NetBackup\logs\nbrestorevm
as omission of a required
Linux, UNIX option.
/usr/openv/netbackup/logs/nbrestorevm
 Index

A backups
administrator tasks Hyper-V online and offline 133
NetBackup 16 Basic Mode
Advanced Mode edit rule in Query Builder 55
Query Builder 55 Query Builder 50
alternate client backup basic phases
issues 124 in NetBackup backup of a Hyper-V virtual
of pass-through disks 139 machine 14
of virtual machines best practices 108
prerequisites 38
alternate client backup of pass-through disks C
configuring 140 cached names
alternate client backup of virtual machines for virtual machine backup 37
configuring 38 client connect timeout value
AND vs OR 60 increase 116
Join field in Query Builder 56 Clients tab
automatic selection of virtual machines automatic selection of virtual machines 48
about 42 description of fields for queries 64
Advanced Mode 55 cluster resources
Basic Mode 50 removal during restore 81
Clients tab 48 Cluster Shared Volume (CSV)
examples 42, 57 backup of virtual machines that reside on same
notes on 44 CSV 123
Query Builder fields 64 Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV)
requirements 46 backup and restore 77
task overview 47 common files
testing 68 restore 104
with multiple policies 59 compound query rules 62
conditions
B that determine online vs offline backup 134
backing up pass-through disks configuration
configurations 137 of auto selection of virtual machines 48, 50
requirements 137 configurations for backing up pass-through disks 137
restrictions 138 configuring
backup a Hyper-V policy 28
Hyper-V virtual machines 84 alternate client backup of virtual machines 38
backup and restore an alternate client backup of pass-through
Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) 77 disks 140
backup job hangs local snapshot backup of pass-through disks 138
for multiple virtual machines 121 Cumulative Incremental Backup 29
 Index 161

D Hyper-V policy tab 29

dialog box (Hyper-V) Hyper-V snapshots (avhd or avhdx files)
Restore Marked Files 100 and status code 1 123
Differential Incremental Backup 29 Hyper-V terminology
related to backup 15
Hyper-V virtual machines
E backup 84
edit rules in Query Builder 55 browse 36
enable
VxFI logging 111
environment I
NetBackup for Hyper-V 12 increase
errors client connect timeout value 116
during policy creation 115 individual files
escape character restore 91
use of in Query Builder 68 restore problems 128
individual files to a host that has a NetBackup client
restore 92
F individual files to a shared location on the virtual
failed virtual machines machine
in test query 70 restore 97
failure Intelligent Policy 42
NetBackup policy validation 115 introduction
file restore Hyper-V 11
individual 86 IsSet operator examples 58
full virtual machine
restore 88, 99
restore problems 129 J
Join field in Query Builder 56
G
grouping rules in Query Builder 55, 62 K
keywords
in Query Builder 65
H
Hyper-V
introduction 11 L
notes and restrictions 19 LDM volumes
pass-through disks 136 and status code 1 122
prerequisites 18 Linux
related NetBackup status codes 117 NetBackup lost and found directory 90
Hyper-V backups NetBackup lost+found directory 90
online and offline 133 Linux virtual machines
Hyper-V configuration parameters notes 21
Provider Type 35 local snapshot backup of pass-through disks
Snapshot Attribute 36 configuring 138
Hyper-V integration component location of virtual machine
is missing or not properly installed 122 restored in a cluster 80
Hyper-V Intelligent Policy 42 logging
Hyper-V policy VxMS 112
creating from the Policies utility 28 lost+found directory 90
 Index 162

M P
maintenance after a restore parentheses
virtual machine 81 for grouping rules in Query Builder 55
multiple policies for rules in Query Builder 62
for auto selection of VMs 59 pass-through disks
multiple virtual machines alternate client backup 139
backup job hangs 121 Hyper-V 136
policy
N configure for auto VM selection 50
multiple, for auto VM selection 59
nbdiscover command 69
Policy Configuration wizard
to test a query 45, 47, 50
creating a backup policy 27
NetBackup
policy creation
administrator tasks 16
errors 115
NetBackup backup of a Hyper-V virtual machine
for virtual machines in a cluster 78
basic phases 14
with the Policies utility 28
NetBackup client
with the Policy Configuration wizard 27
inside the virtual machine 40
Policy dialog box 28
NetBackup for Hyper-V
precedence 60
environment 12
prerequisites
NetBackup logs
Hyper-V 18
creating 110
Primary VM identifier parameter
NetBackup lost and found directory
and IsSet operator 58
on Linux 90
and multiple policies 59
NetBackup policies
and testing query rules 70–71
more information 84
and VM Name column in Test query 72
NetBackup policy validation
Provider Type
failed 115
configuration parameter 35
NetBackup status codes
related to Hyper-V 117
NetBackup.lost+found 90 Q
notes Query Builder
Linux virtual machines 21 and Primary VM identifier parameter 71
notes and restrictions configuration in Advanced Mode 55
Hyper-V 19 configuration in Basic Mode 50
description of fields 64
O edit rule in 55
enter rules manually 55
offline backups
escape character 68
additional notes 134
examples 57
online vs offline backup
IsSet operator examples 58
conditions 134
keywords 65
operators
operators 66
in Query Builder 66
order of operations 60
order of operations
quotation marks 68
Query Builder 60
testing rules for 68, 70
rules in Query Builder 55
to select virtual machines for backup 42
values 68
wildcards 68
with multiple policies 59
 Index 163

quick reference S
troubleshooting 17 select automatically through query
quotation marks virtual machines 42
use of in Query Builder 68 setting up NetBackup Client Service
for restore to a shared location on the virtual
R machine 98
requirements snapshot
for backing up Hyper-V pass-through disks 137 in inconsistent state 90
restart Snapshot Attribute
of a restored virtual machine configuration parameter 36
unexpected shutdown message 128 snapshot error encountered
restore status code 156 118
common files 104 snapshot parameter values
full virtual machine 88, 99 VSS and disk arrays 142
individual file 86 status code 1
individual files 91 and Hyper-V snapshots (avhd or avhdx files) 123
individual files to a host that has a NetBackup and LDM volumes 122
client 92 status code 156
individual files to a shared location on the virtual snapshot error encountered 118
machine 97
problems with full virtual machine 129 T
problems with individual files 128 terminology
removal of cluster resources 81 Hyper-V terms related to backup 15
setting up NetBackup Client Service to a shared Test Query screen 68
location on the virtual machine 98 and Primary VM identifier parameter 71–72
Restore Marked Files failed virtual machines 70
dialog box (Hyper-V) 100 nbdiscover as alternative 45, 47, 50
restored timeout occurs when browsing for virtual machines
virtual machine location in a cluster 80 if cluster nodes not accessible 116
restored virtual machine troubleshooting
fails to start 126 quick reference 17
restart 128
restrictions
for backing up pass-through disks 138
V
rules in Query Builder values
about 43 in Query Builder 68
configuring 50 verifying support for transportable snapshots
editing 55 using the vshadow command 124
examples 43 view or resize
examples with parentheses 62 Windows NTFS shadow storage 121
IsSet operator examples 58 virtual machine
manual entry of 55 maintenance after a restore 81
order of evaluation 55 NetBackup client inside 40
order of operations 60 virtual machine backup
testing 68 cached names 37
testing failued 70 virtual machines
alternate client backup 38
backup on the same CSV 123
configure for auto selection of 50
 Index 164

virtual machines (continued)

notes on query builder 44
on Windows 2008 failover clusters 76
requirements for auto selection 46
select automatically through query 42
testing auto selection of 68
virtual machines in a cluster
creating a policy 78
VM Name column in Test Query screen 72
vshadow command
to verify support for transportable snapshots 124
VSS and disk arrays
snapshot parameter values 142
VxFI logging
enable 111
VxMS logging 112

W
wildcards
use of in Query Builder 68
Windows 2008 failover clusters
virtual machines on 76
Windows NTFS shadow storage
insufficient space for snapshots 121