How to verify Windows Open File Backup operation using VSSADMIN and BPFIS before contacting Veritas Technical Support

Article: 100017566
Last Published: 2014-01-10
Ratings: 0 0
Product(s): NetBackup

Description

The NetBackup Support organization often receives Cases for VSS Open File Backup problems that are not directly attributed to NetBackup. Often, the problem is due to Volume Shadow Copy configuration, File Locking, an Operating System problem, a resource issue or a compatibility issue with another 3rd Party Vendor application.

Provided below are some tests to verify Open File Backup operation with NetBackup on Windows Server platforms prior to contacting Veritas Technical Support and confirm Microsoft VSS is working as expected.

Test #1 — Create, list & delete a Shadow Copy using VSSADMIN

This test verifies that Windows and the Volume Shadow Service is operating correctly.

  1. First, add the storage location for a volume using vssadmin command.

    C:\>
    vssadmin Add ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=D: /MaxSize=900MB
     
  2. Create a shadow using vssadmin command.

    C:\>
    vssadmin create shadow /for=C:
    vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
    (C) Copyright 2001 Microsoft Corp.
    Successfully created shadow copy for 'C:\'
    Shadow Copy ID: {c4695448-3cab-4bd5-a7ae-2af61c509dfd}
    Shadow Copy Volume Name: \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy1

     
  3. List the shadow using vssadmin command.

    C:\>
    vssadmin list shadows
    vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
    (C) Copyright 2001 Microsoft Corp.

    Contents of shadow copy set ID: {d0db889e-2e79-42f0-8716-605a5c18965f}
    Contained 1 shadow copies at creation time: 5/3/2006 11:36:20 AM
    Shadow Copy ID: {7f0bc357-1915-44d7-ab4c-c2988c9d1049}
    Original Volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{33c37ee9-d389-11da-a17d-806e6f6e6963}\
    Shadow Copy Volume: \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy2
    Originating Machine: client01
    Service Machine: client01
    Provider: 'Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0'
    Type: ClientAccessible
    Attributes: Persistent, Client-accessible, No auto release, No writers, Differential

     
  4. Delete the shadow using vssadmin command.

    C:\>
    vssadmin delete shadows /for=C:

    vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
    (C) Copyright 2001 Microsoft Corp.

    Do you really want to delete 1 shadow copies (Y/N): [N]? y
    Successfully deleted 1 shadow copies.

     
RESULT = SUCCESS
  • VSS appears to be working. Continue to Test #2
RESULT = FAILURE
  • Check for any File Locks on the volume being backed up
    • Open Computer Management > System Tools > Shared Folders > Open Files.
    • Verify that number of File Locks is zero. If there are file locks, investigate the cause to prevent the locks from occurring during backups.
  • Next, reboot the affected System out of hours and retry the VSSADMIN steps above as it may be a resource issue.
  • If a reboot fails to resolve the problem, VSS is not working correctly.

Veritas Technical Support recommends contacting Microsoft Support at this point because NetBackup has not been involved in the testing as yet.

 

Test #2 — Create, list & delete a snapshot using BPFIS and VSS

This test verifies that the NetBackup 'bpfis' process can communicate properly with Microsoft's Volume Shadow Service

  1. Create a VSS Snapshot using bpfis via the command line

    C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin>
    bpfis.exe create -owner NBU -fso -WOFB -fim VSS:prov_type=1,snap_attr=0,max_snapshots=1 -id test123 -nbu_version 12345 C:\
    INF - BACKUP START 15628
    INF - FIS_ID=test123
    INF - REMAP FILE BACKUP C:\ USING \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy72\ OPTIONS:ALT_PATH_PREFIX=C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\temp\_vrts_frzn_img_15628_1,FITYPE=MIRROR,MNTPOINT=C:\,FSTYPE=NTFS
    INF - EXIT STATUS 0: the requested operation was successfully completed

     
  2. Query the newly created VSS Snapshot with bpfis.

    C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin>
    bpfis.exe query -fq -id test123 -copy 1
    INF - BACKUP START 1936
    INF - Snapshot method: VSS
    INF - Snapshot image host  : LOCALHOST
    INF - Snapshot image owner : NBU
    INF - Time created       : 1481141732 -> Wed Dec 07 12:15:32 2016

    INF - REMAP FILE BACKUP C:\ USING \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy72\ OPTIONS:ALT_PATH_PREFIX=C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\temp\_vrts_frzn_img_15628_1,FITYPE=MIRROR,MNTPOINT=C:\,FSTYPE=NTFS
    INF - EXIT STATUS 0: the requested operation was successfully completed


    Note: Copy 1 is added to the end of the command to designate the copy number of the snapshot.
     
  3. List the Snapshot using vssadmin command.

    C:\>
    vssadmin list shadows
    vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
    (C) Copyright 2001-2013 Microsoft Corp.

    Contents of shadow copy set ID: {3842044b-3065-498b-99e3-b395c9af0c80}
       Contained 1 shadow copies at creation time: 12/7/2016 12:15:39 PM
          Shadow Copy ID: {6199feb7-74f6-4ea1-8eef-836ba913c947}
             Original Volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{769fe827-7bd2-11e6-80b5-806e6f6e6963}\
             Shadow Copy Volume: \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy72
             Originating Machine: sclnbu5400-01.labs.veritas.com
             Service Machine: sclnbu5400-01.labs.veritas.com
             Provider: 'Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0'
             Type: ApplicationRollback
             Attributes: Persistent, No auto release, Differential

     
  4. Check that the config file for the snapshot matches vssadmin output

    C:\>
    type "C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\online_util\fi_cntl\bpfis.fim.test123.1.0" | findstr "fs_name fi_args fi_fs_name vss_prov_type"
    FSDEV-fs_name=C:\
    FSDEV-fi_host_fs_name=
    FSDEV-fi_args=prov_type=1,snap_attr=0,max_snapshots=1
    FSDEV-fi_fs_name=\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy72
    HDEF-vss_prov_type=1

     
  5. Test Snapshot deletion and clean up using bpfis.

    C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin>
    bpfis delete -id test123 -copy 1
    INF - BACKUP START 9592
    INF - EXIT STATUS 0: the requested operation was successfully completed


    Note: Copy 1 is added to the end of the command to designate the copy number of the snapshot.
     
  6. Verify the snapshot removal with vssadmin command.

    C:\>
    vssadmin list shadows
    vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
    (C) Copyright 2001 Microsoft Corp.

    No items found that satisfy the query.

 

RESULT = SUCCESS
  • BPFIS and VSS appear to be working correctly
RESULT = FAILURE
  • Check the Microsoft website for available hot-fixes for VSS
  • Verify that the system is not low on disk or memory resources.
  • Verify in Task Manager that the Peak Commit memory does not exceed physical memory. If it does or has in the past, the server requires more RAM. Microsoft's VSS filter driver requires a certain amount of physical memory to quiesce the filesystem and create the Shadow. A shortage of available physical memory will result in a failed VSS snapshot.
  • Confirm that sufficient Shadow Storage has been allocated to the volume and that schedule snapshots have not used up the available limit.
  • Last, reboot the Server out of production hours and try the snapshot test creation process immediately after reboot.
  • If the reboot resolves the problem, then a there may be an application memory leak and Microsoft should be engaged to debug the issue further.

 

What To Gather When Contacting Veritas Technical Support for Open File Backup Issue

When contacting Veritas Technical Support for a Windows Open File Backup issue, please gather the following information for the call:

  1. Enable Client Logs

    Open the Backup, Archive and Restore Console.
    Select File NetBackup Client PropertiesTroubleshooting tab
    Set General Level = 2 and VERBOSE = 5
    Open a Command Prompt, change to the NetBackup\logs directory, & create the following log directories:

    cd install_path\NetBackup\logs
    mklogdir bpfis bpcd bpbkar


    Then retry the Snapshot Backup operation that is failing and collect the logs for Veritas Technical Support.
     
  2. Gather NetBackup Support Utility (NBSU) Output

    Open a Command Prompt and navigate to install_path\NetBackup\bin\support
    Execute the nbsu.exe Support Tool to gather information about the client.

    Example:
    cd "\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\support"
    nbsu


    The tool will save the output to a Microsoft CAB file in the path from which the command was ran.

    Example:
    C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\support\<hostname_nbu-role_date_time>.cab
     

Note: If the NetBackup client software is installed in a different path, adjust where to locate the output according to the install path used on the client.

 

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