Quiesced Snapshots Option Removed?

[GrantBrunton]

I have a server that has been failing to snapshot while quiescing the file system during it's backup.

I think I have fixed the issue on a clone of the server but I'm having trouble testing the process.

It seems  a quiesced snapshot will be taken if I clone the server or perform a backup of it but I am unable to use the quiesce option for just a direct snapshot.

I have tried all these methods:

1. Taking a snapshot from the vCentre web interface has the quiesce option greyed out.

2. Using the vSphere Client allows me to tick the quiesce option but does not actually quiesce

3. Using New-Snapshot -Quiesce also performs the snapshot without actually quiescing the file system.

For both 2 & 3 above the vmware.log file for the server shows "SnapshotVMX_TakeSnapshot start: 'test', deviceState=1, quiesced=0" whereas during a clone activity the snapshot task shows quiesced=1 and then there are further messages showing the changing quiesce state.

It seems like the quiesce option for snapshots has been removed in vSphere 6 or something...?

Any idea why I can't do this directly with a snapshot?

[conyards]

Quiesced snapshots are still available as an option in vSphere up to and including the latest versions..

Understanding VM snapshots in ESXi / ESX (1015180) | VMware KB < provides a quick overview of how snapshots work with some detail around quiescing.

You don't mention the operating system of the VM you are trying to quiesce, there are some documented issues with Windows and VSS services;

Failed to quiesce snapshot of the Windows 2008 R2 virtual machine (1031298) | VMware KB

Troubleshooting Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) quiesce related issues (1007696) | VMware KB

Those articles might perhaps be useful.  There is also the thread below which runs through some issues with VMware Snapshot Provider service;

Unable to take quiesced snapshot​

Thanks

Simon

[GrantBrunton]

No, it's not a problem with quiescing failing, the problem is that I don't seem to have the ability to create a quiesced snapshot manually.

From the web interface the option is greyed out and using the vSphere client or Powercli the snapshot is taken without actually enabling quiescing.

If I clone the server or perform a VADP backup, that creates a quiesced snapshot successfully, but I want to do it by just creating a snapshot directly.

[conyards]

What troubleshooting steps have you taken?

What OS is this VM running?

Have you confirmed that VMtools is up to date?

Have you tried a VMotion to another host and running the snapshot there?

The vmware.log file entries that have been shared don;t display anything unusual, what about the logs on the ESXi host where the VM is running (hostd/vpxa/syslog)?

Have you confirmed that the option is 'greyed out' across multiple browsers (IE/Chrome/Firefox)?

Across multiple workstations?

Are you able to Quiesce any other VMs when taking a snapshot?

Is there anything unique about this VM or how it was deployed?

[cyberpaul]

Hi Grant,

Simon has pointed out some great tips. I would also suggest to check your user's privileges. Silly, I know, but it just might be the case 🙂

Regards, Pavel

[aschrock]

I am having the same problem - the option for a Quiesced Snapshot is greyed out. This is true for different browers in vcenter or directly in vsphere to the host. Also with flex or HTML5. I am running the latest patch off 6.7 (both vcenter and vsphere). I saw this option with the vsphere client before, but with the web interfaces I am not seeing this option at all since upgrading to 6.7 on any of my hosts. All of my other hosts are backing up OK (with Nakivo) but this is giving me quiescing errors. One of the troubleshooting techniques is to try and quiesce manually but it isn't allowing it for some reason. I tried to mount VMWare tools and reinstall but that didn't make a difference.  Any other thoughts? This vm was migrated from an esxi 6.0 host - before then it was working OK for the backups but did complain as I tried to migrate it so it could also be something with the vm itself, but it would be good to know why this option is greyed out everywhere.

Thanks

Alan