Pre-freeze script never gets invoked on Linux VMs

[schistad]

While rolling out Symantec NetBackup 7.1 in our farm we have discovered an issue with our Linux guests.

In a nutshell, we need to ensure a consistent EXT2/3 filesystem in the snapshot of our guests. Symantecs solution for this is to install the SYMCquiesce utility in all NetBackup-protected VMs.

However, I've discovered that while SYMCquiesce does install /usr/bin/pre-freeze-script, which in turn points to /opt/SYMCquiesce/bin/freeze, VMware tools ignores this script even when explicitly requesting a quiesced snapshot.

Does anyone know what has changed in recent builds of VMware tools for Linux? The documentation indicates that the presence of /usr/bin/pre-freeze-script should make vmtoolsd run this, but it does not in fact happen.

Ideas, anyone?

[AndreTheGiant]

For the new name and location see: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006671 (for Linux the new one must be /etc/vmware-tools).

Andre

[schistad]

Hmm. That KB article only deals with windows VMs.

Are you saying that I need to create a script in /etc/vmware-tools? If so, do you know how it should be named?

[schistad]

Okay, I have dug a bit further into the issue.

It now looks as if you need to have fresh VMware tools installed; either that, or something was changed in a very recent build.

When requesting a quiesced snapshot in a VM that has tools from early 2011, hostd prints the following:

[2011-06-10 08:14:18.331 3BA66B90 info 'TaskManager' opID=9C76C293-00005469-e8] Task Created : haTask-32-vim.VirtualMachine.createSnapshot-40191
[2011-06-10 08:14:18.332 FFC49B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005469-e8] Create snapshot request received: TEST1, , false, true
[2011-06-10 08:14:18.332 FFC49B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005469-e8] Tools version status: oldTools
[2011-06-10 08:14:18.332 FFC49B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005469-e8] VMware Tools are current in guest: false
[2011-06-10 08:14:18.332 FFC49B90 info 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005469-e8] State Transition (VM_STATE_ON -> VM_STATE_CREATE_SNAPSHOT)
[2011-06-10 08:14:18.333 FFC49B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005469-e8] Createsnapshot request queued
[2011-06-10 08:14:19.348 3B940B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx'] No Upgrade required
[2011-06-10 08:14:19.369 FF911E80 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005469-e8] SnapshotInfo snapshot: displayName=TEST1 UID=1 parentUID=-1 isRoot=true powerState=0

After upgrading to the latest tools version, I did a second quiesced snapshot:

[2011-06-10 08:22:10.994 3BA25B90 info 'TaskManager' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Task Created : haTask-32-vim.VirtualMachine.createSnapshot-40311
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.994 3BA66B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Create snapshot request received: TEST2, , false, true
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.995 3BA66B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Tools version status: ok
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.995 3BA66B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] VMware Tools are current in guest: true
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.995 3BA66B90 info 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] State Transition (VM_STATE_ON -> VM_STATE_CREATE_SNAPSHOT)
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.996 3BA66B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Createsnapshot request queued
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.996 3BDE2B90 info 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Trying quiesced snapshot via backup agent...
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.996 3BDE2B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Tools version status: ok
[2011-06-10 08:22:10.996 3BDE2B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] VMware Tools are current in guest: true
[2011-06-10 08:22:11.667 3BA25B90 verbose 'ResourcePool ha-root-pool'] Root pool capacity changed from 36912MHz/134602MB to 36912MHz/134603MB
[2011-06-10 08:22:11.999 3BDE2B90 info 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Trying quiesced snapshot via SYNC driver...
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.000 3BDE2B90 info 'DictionaryOptionsProvider(Config.GlobalSettings.)' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Set called with key 'Config.GlobalSettings.guest.commands.sharedPolicyRefCount' value '1'
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.009 3BDE2B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Logging into guest.
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.010 FF911E80 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Dummy foundry callback #0
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.010 3BDE2B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] About to run script: /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script all
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.071 FFC08B90 verbose 'App'] Looking up object with name = "firewallSystem" failed.
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.073 3B940B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Dummy foundry callback #1
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.073 3BDE2B90 info 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Script /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script not found in VM.
[2011-06-10 08:22:12.093 3BA25B90 verbose 'vm:/vmfs/volumes/4c529100-bc45ac4c-5a37-00238bbdc55c/DELETEME-OLEAND/DELETEME-OLEAND.vmx' opID=9C76C293-00005507-e4] Dummy foundry callback #2

So this time it did check for /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script.

This means that the path remains unchanged.

Okay, so the big question now is: Can it really be true that a quiesced snapshot of Linux guests is only ever attempted if you are running the very latest build of VMware tools? And that if you upgrade the ESX server you lose this functionality until you upgrade tools again?

[AndreTheGiant]

Usually it does not depends by VMware Tools or hosts versions.

But you will see in Release Notes if a new host update/upgrade will change something on it.

Andre