Consolidating Snapshots and a virtual machine 2003R2

[vcptobe]

Issue with a virtual machine, esx4.0 and VMware tools not updated

Its a resource intensive 2003R2 SQL server and environment is in health sector so patching and updates is a constant problem as can be seen from above hardware version and tools status

It has 3 disks and none of them point to the parent .vmdk

Disks are 984MB, 26GB, and 100MB respectively

Any outline of a plan to remedy this in a best practice way?

Advice appreciated

[vcptobe]

We have a VMWare support contract but not sure if they will touch it as its 2003R2

[pwilk]

Windows Server 2003 has been out of support for years now. This OS is no longer receiving even the simplest of patches and having one of these in your environment is a huge security breach.

Similar story with the host - ESXi 4.0 has also been out of support for the while now.

At this point, I'd recommend starting fresh. Get a new server running ESXi 6.5 and create a Windows 2012 R2/2016 virtual machine and copy the files off the old VM to it. If your old server is also a domain controller, I'd recommend killing the domain and starting fresh. Migration from 2003 domain to even 2012 is a failure-prone process which might cause more downtime than a domain rebuild.

What's your version of SQL? If it's 8.0 (2005) or 9.0 (2009), you should also consider an upgrade. Here's a thread where it is explained how to migrate from version 8.0 to 11.0 (2012). I'd suggest you follow up on this as keeping SQL at version '03 leaves your data at risk. If you consider GDPR on the horizon, you should really start to be concerned about data security otherwise you risk huge fines if anything happens with the data you're storing.

Let me know if you'd need any further help.

[kishorenelvagal]

Hi ,

I have a few questions for you

1. Do you get any errors while consolidating snapshots
2. How many valid snapshots do you see in the snapshot manager?
3. Could you also list files in the VM folder.

Based on your output we can decide either to clone the disk or try to consolidate the disks manually .

Kishore V

[VishShah]

I would agree with the above advice also I would recommend you can convert the VM (V2V) using Standalone Converter.

Let me know if you need additional information 'or' have any other questions that I can help with.

[vcptobe]

The snapshots I mentioned don't show in snapshot manager

They only show when I browse to the datastore for the vm

Given the size of the snapshots and the fact they're not stale (they're in use with the disks)

I am being cautious with this going forward

[vcptobe]

Thanks yes I'm onsite with a team tasked to clean it up, we have 6.5 ready in the wings

Migrations of file servers\clusters are due to take place going forward

What would you recommend doing? I have a call logged with VMware support but see them pulling the 2003\4.0 angle-which i completely understand

[pwilk]

I wouldn't consolidate those disks as the danger of possible failure would be too great. As I wrote earlier, I recommend getting data off that server, migrating services to new VMs and then shutting down/erasing it.

You need to tread very carefully while dealing with outdated systems. In most cases the data is most important, so secure it first - even if you still decide to go ahead with the consolidation one way or another.

[kishorenelvagal]

This should help you

VMware Knowledge Base

[vcptobe]

Thanks Paul, yes I would agree with you 100% I'm seeing more or more places with multiple cases of 2003 servers surprising but the way it is

[AjayChanana]

The safest way is to clone the VM. if you don't want any change in original VM.

Please install vSphere converter 6.0 to have consolidated.

Download Link - Download Center for VMware Products

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Release Notes

[vcptobe]

Thanks I will look at that, i know its very important from SID point of view to clone readd on different network

Why do I need vSphere converter for it as well its not P2V

Thanks again

[Jitu211003]

Hi,

You can follow the below steps.

1. Take a new snapshot and then from the snapshot manager select delete all option [ it is a trick basically]

VMware Knowledge Base

sometimes, svmotion also works to remove the redo logs files.

2. If step 1 does not work, then run the consollidation.

3. If online consollidation does not work, then run offline consollidation [power off the vm first then run offline consolidation]

4. If all above steps does not work then there is the final step which involve risk also.

-----------------------------

Cloning a virtual machine disk with delta files or snapshots

To clone a virtual machine disk using the ESXi/ESX host terminal:

1. Log in to the ESXi/ESX host's terminal.
   
   
2. Navigate to the virtual machine's directory using the cd command. It is located at:
   
   /vmfs/volumes/source_datastore/virtual_machine/
   
   
3. Confirm the destination directory where the clone will be copied to. Create this directory, if required.
   For example, if this destination directory does not exist:
   
   /vmfs/volumes/destination_datastore/virtual_machine/
   
   Create the directory using this command:
   
   mkdir /vmfs/volumes/destination_datastore/virtual_machine/
4. Clone the virtual hard disk from its current snapshot delta point using the vmkfstools -i command.
   
   # vmkfstools -i /vmfs/volumes/Storage1/examplevm/examplevm-000003.vmdk /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/examplevm_clone.vmdk
   
   You see output similar to:
   
   Destination disk format: VMFS thick
   Cloning disk '/vmfs/volumes/Storage1 (3)/examplevm/examplevm-000003.vmdk'...
   Clone: 100% done.

---

Related Information

---

Additional steps for virtual machine disks with delta files or snapshots

The original virtual machine files are still intact without modifications. You may opt to either create a new virtual machine and attach the cloned disk file(s), or replace the existing disks attached to the virtual machine with the cloned copies. These steps encompass the latter option.

To replace the original virtual machine disk(s) and delta snapshot file(s) with the cloned copy or copies:

1. Detach the virtual hard disk from the virtual machine's configuration in the VMware vSphere or Infrastructure Client.
   
   
2. Attach the new (cloned) virtual hard disk, /vmfs/volumes/Storage2/examplevm_clone.vmdk to the virtual machine.
   
   
3. Rename the snapshot database (.vmsd) file for the virtual machine. At this time, it is no longer valid due to manipulation of the virtual machine's disk layout during troubleshooting:
   
   # mv examplevm.vmsd examplevm.vmsd.old
   
   
4. Power on the virtual machine and confirm the guest operating system can boot successfully. Verify data integrity and confirm data is not missing or corrupt.
   
   
5. With the virtual machine still powered-on, you may remove the original disk files to free datastore space. Files in use by the powered-on virtual machine cannot be removed by the VMware ESX server. This can be used as a safeguard.

VMware Knowledge Base

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Thanks

vmwarediary.com

[vcptobe]

Thanks for that, just had a look this morning the vmdks for the disks are different

-Hard Disk 1 points to parent [vm name].vmdk 11GB

Hard Disk 2 points to a snapshot but a different one [vm name]_1.vmdk 167GB

Hard Disk 3 points to a snapshot again a different one [vm name]_2.vmdk 20GB

Any idea why this is changing so much since Friday?

Is this the way it should look for 3 disks?

[vcptobe]

Must add that no work was done on it since