SnapshotVM reports timeout when backup sortware initiates a snapshot via VDDK

[Raudi]

Hello,

we use ARCserve 15 SP1 to backup some virtual machines on 2 ESX 4.1U1 hosts. ARCserve uses the VDDK 1.2.1. If we want to backup 2 virtual machines at the same time the creation of the 2nd snapshot take a litte bit longer and we got a timeout.

This happens:

ARCserve reports:

3/20/11  3:22:28  [38.144] Calling SnapshotVM module ...

The VCenter server starts at the same time with the creation of the snapshot and was finished at 03:24:11.

But ARCserve reports this a few seconds earlier:

3/20/11 3:24:09 [38.144] SnapshotVM returned -110.

3/20/11 3:24:09 Err_code: -110 SnapshotVM: Exception Raised - Timeout für Vorgang überschritten
3/20/11 3:24:09 [38.144] An unexpected error occurred while creating snapshot for the VM having UUID 42224d2a-fb43-04f1-7f30-288f893c4c6a.
3/20/11 3:24:09 [38.144] DoSnapshotVM : Exception raised - 42224d2a-fb43-04f1-7f30-288f893c4c6a

It seems that the SnapshotVM in the VDDK a 100 second timeout has.

How can we modify this timeout? Or who defines this timeout?

Best regards

Stefan

[Joschi75]

Hi Stefan,

i have the same probleme using ArcServe 15 SP1 and VMWare 4.1 U1. Do you have a solution?

Regards Jochen

[yannbizeul]

This error is usually related to a service in the OS not handling VSS snapshot request in time.

For the backup system to save consistant data, most backup software use quiesced snapshots on a Windows VM, so that VSS can signal processes and wait for the different IOs to be flushed to disk.

Unfortunately, sometimes, processes fail to do this and the snapshot times out.

You can investigate further why processes can't take a full VSS snapshot, by testing inside the OS, or you may be able to disable quiesced snapshots, but backups won't be "safe" anymore (i.e. it would be equal to brutally shuting down a server)

[Joschi75]

Hi Yann,

i don't think that the problem is VSS, because i have the same behaviour on Linux VM. The Backup Software interacts with vCenter to make the Snapshot. But the creation of the snapshot trough vCenter takes some time and if this operation takes too mutch, the backup software receive a timeout and don't backup the VM.

Regards

Jochen

[Raudi]

Hi,

the problem in my case was a timing problem. The error i got only when i backup 2 virtual machines at the same time. The snapshot of the first is successful and the second takes to much time and i got the timeout. After changing the Backup-Job to use only one stream the problem was gone.

Best regards

Stefan