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#1 2021-05-16 22:35:49
- herrep
- Member
- From: Munich
- Registered: 2019-07-08
- Posts: 107
XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
Hi,
when executing XSIBackup-DC 1.5.0.3 with action -replica=cbt for ctk-enabled VMs, --options=R appears to be without function.
This is the command I executed right after having enabled cbt for the VM named vm:
"/vmfs/volumes/hdd1/XSIBackup-DC/xsibackup" \
--replica=cbt \
"VMs(vm)" \
"root@nas:22:/volume1/backup" \
--options=R \
--exclude="data[-.].*vmdk" \
--check=full \
--quiesce \
--config-backup \
--mail-to="<mail-recipient>" \
--use-smtp="1" \
--description="replica hot" \
--backup-how=hot \
--remote-path="/usr/bin/xsibackup"I would expect that the vmx file at the target disk contains a VM name that is appended by _XSIREP and that the replicated VM is registered at the ESXi host. In the past, I used a similar setup where XSIBackup-Pro OneDiff resulted in replicated VMs. The corresponding VM names were automatically appended by _XSIBAK and registered at the ESXi host. The only change was that I now use XSiBackup-DC instead of XSIBackup-Pro.
However, the expected behavior does not take place. The files of the VM get copied, but there is no registration and also not alteration of the replicated VM name with an appaended _XSIREP. The first run of the above-shown command shows the following output in xsibackup.log:
Performing --replica action
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item number 1 in this job
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
vm Hardware Version is: 14
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All snapshots were removed, as vm is engaged in a CBT job
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virtual Machine Name: vm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creating snapshot VM : vm (powered on)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Snapshot was successfully created ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remote target dir is empty, full sync will be performed
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virtual Machine: vm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Backup start date: 2021-05-16T22:15:32
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2021-05-16 22:15:32 | Backing up 29 files, total size is 96.46 GB
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NUMBER FILE SIZE PROGRESS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/29 vm.vmx 3.45 KB | Done 0.00%
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2/29 vm-flat.vmdk (CBT 1 full) 64.00 GB | Done 0.00%
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3/29 vm.vmdk 583.00 B | Done 66.35%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4/29 vm.vmsd 540.00 B | Done 66.35%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5/29 vm.nvram 8.48 KB | Done 66.35%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6/29 vm.vmxf 150.00 B | Done 66.35%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7/29 vm-aux.xml 142.00 B | Done 66.35%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8/29 vmware-162.log 319.17 KB | Done 66.35%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/29 vmx-vm-2040435808-2.vswp 94.00 MB | Done 66.35%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/29 vmware-161.log 244.02 KB | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/29 vmware-163.log 382.70 KB | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/29 vmx-vm-2040435808-1.vswp [open excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13/29 vmware.log 220.79 KB | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14/29 vmware-164.log 237.37 KB | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15/29 vm.vmx.lck [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16/29 vmware-165.log 254.22 KB | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17/29 vmware-166.log 438.32 KB | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18/29 vm.vmx~ 3.44 KB | Done 66.44%
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19/29 vm-flat.vmdk___hash 82.00 B | Done 66.44%
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20/29 vm-799e9460.vswp [open excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21/29 vm-ctk.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22/29 vm.vmsd.tmp 45.00 B | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23/29 vm.vmx.tmp 3.44 KB | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24/29 vm-Snapshot662.vmsn 28.25 KB | Done 66.44%
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25/29 vm.vmdk.extents 8.63 KB | Done 66.44%
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26/29 vm-000001-sesparse.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27/29 vm-000001.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28/29 vm-000001-ctk.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29/29 vm-quiesce_manifest662.xml 120.00 B | Done 66.44%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total size: 64.09 GB | Done 100.00%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Snapshot was removed ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Backup end date: 2021-05-16T22:22:43
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time taken: 00:07:11 (431 sec.)
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Total time: 431 sec.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full file speed: 152.28 mb/s
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real data speed: 163.36 mb/s
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item backup completed without errors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What needs to be done that _XSIREP is appended to the VM name of the replicated VM and that the replicated VM is registered?
Best regards,
Peter
Last edited by herrep (2021-05-17 09:44:05)
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#2 2021-05-17 09:21:39
- admin
- Administrator
- Registered: 2017-04-21
- Posts: 2,072
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
Please, provide both the full command and its associated output every time.
Just make sure that you have written a well formed job command any run the CBT replica again, you are just reporting a first full copy.
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#3 2021-05-17 09:54:19
- herrep
- Member
- From: Munich
- Registered: 2019-07-08
- Posts: 107
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
The original post is now updated so that it also shows the full command in addition to the already provided xsibackup log output.
From the log output, the CBT cycles appear to work, as after a second and now a third run, I can see more or less the same output as for the first run, but instead of "CBT 1 full" I can see "CBT 3".
However, due to the use of --options=R I would expect that the replicated VM is registered under the name vm_XSIREP. But this does not happen although the ESXi host can access the backup directory (NFS mount). It already worked fine with XSIBackup-Pro. I can also not see that the replicated vm.vmx includes a VM name that has been appended by _XSIREP. It is still a copy of the original VM.
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#4 2021-05-18 09:34:59
- admin
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- Registered: 2017-04-21
- Posts: 2,072
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
We'll revise that and continue the post
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#5 2021-05-18 15:26:55
- admin
- Administrator
- Registered: 2017-04-21
- Posts: 2,072
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
We can't reproduce your issue. Our local --replica=cbt VMs are indeed registered and can be switched on.
There are still some limitations that we will waive in next minor releases, like not being able to switch the _XSIREP VM on when you --exclude some disk, as the remains of the disk are still present in the replica .vmx file. We will need to add extra logic to remove those config lines in case of excludes.
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#6 2021-05-18 15:49:19
- herrep
- Member
- From: Munich
- Registered: 2019-07-08
- Posts: 107
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
I understand that using --exclude might cause issues. However, I already re-run the command on other VMs where I did not need to exclude anything so that I could omit --exclude. So the issue does not appear to be related to the --exclude option.
As already reported, I had absolutely no issues with XSIBackup-Pro and --backup-prog=Onediff. The replica were written, the display name in the replicated vmx file got appended by _XSIBAK and verything worked fine. The only change I applied was activating ctkEnable and using XSIBackup-DC 1.5.0.3. Everything else remained untouched.
Please let me know whether I can provide any further log files.
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#7 2021-05-19 11:01:49
- admin
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- Registered: 2017-04-21
- Posts: 2,072
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
We aren't saying that using --exclude will cause issues. We are saying that it's not compatible with --options=R, which a different thing.
We can't introduce comparisons with other editions that have nothing to do with the issue. We know how Pro worked, still it's different software.
What we are stating is that we have revised the software and that we are indeed getting an _XSIREP replica with no issue and that we can't reproduce your problem.
So, please, simplify your job to the extreme, remove any unnecessary options and add --options=R at the end of the job from the command line.
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#8 2021-05-19 12:30:32
- herrep
- Member
- From: Munich
- Registered: 2019-07-08
- Posts: 107
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
In the mean time, I simplified the backup command as follows:
"/vmfs/volumes/hdd/XSIBackup-DC/xsibackup" \
--replica=cbt \
"VMs(ups-vm)" \
"root@nas:22:/volume1/backup" \
--options=RPrior to backup, I emptied the vm directory at the target. However, the result was unchanged. The backup as such was reported as successful, but when analyzing the replicated vmx-file, I noticed that it is still unchanged, i.e. no _XSIREP appended. There is also no registration on the ESXi host. Here is the xsibackup.log:
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
||-------------------------------------------------------------------------------||
||| (c)XSIBackup-DC 1.5.0.3: Backup & Replication Software |||
||| (c)33HOPS, Sistemas de Informacion y Redes, S.L. | All Rights Reserved |||
||-------------------------------------------------------------------------------||
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
(c)Daniel J. Garcia Fidalgo | info@33hops.com
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
System Information: ESXi, Kernel 6 Major 7 Minor 0 Patch 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
License: 000306E40000000000000000d89d67195a68 | (c)XSIBackup-DC
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remote system: Linux
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PID: 34570689, Running job as: root
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remote xsibackup binary found at: /bin/xsibackup
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c)XSIBackup-DC replicating data to /volume1/backup
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Performing --replica action
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item number 1 in this job
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ups-vm Hardware Version is: 14
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All snapshots were removed, as ups-vm is engaged in a CBT job
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virtual Machine Name: ups-vm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creating snapshot VM : ups-vm (powered on)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Snapshot was successfully created ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virtual Machine: ups-vm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Backup start date: 2021-05-19T11:34:43
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2021-05-19 11:34:43 | Backing up 26 files, total size is 11.20 GB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUMBER FILE SIZE PROGRESS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/26 ups-vm.vmx 2.86 KB | Done 0.00%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2/26 ups-vm-flat.vmdk (CBT 17) 10.00 GB | Done 0.00%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
::: detail ::: 100.00% done | block 10240 out of 10240 | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3/26 ups-vm.vmdk 596.00 B | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4/26 ups-vm.vmsd 455.00 B | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5/26 ups-vm-aux.xml 13.00 B | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6/26 vmx-ups-vm-1802602466-2.vswp [open excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7/26 ups-vm.vmx.lck [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8/26 vmware-617.log 219.98 KB | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9/26 vmware-618.log 263.72 KB | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10/26 ups-vm.nvram 8.48 KB | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11/26 vmware-619.log 223.89 KB | Done 89.27%
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12/26 ups-vm-flat.vmdk___hash 82.00 B | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13/26 vmware.log 333.84 KB | Done 89.27%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14/26 ups-vm.vmx~ 2.85 KB | Done 89.28%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15/26 ups-vm.vmsd.tmp 45.00 B | Done 89.28%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16/26 ups-vm.vmx.tmp 2.85 KB | Done 89.28%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17/26 vmware-614.log 220.84 KB | Done 89.28%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18/26 vmware-616.log 358.92 KB | Done 89.28%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19/26 vmware-615.log 220.83 KB | Done 89.28%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20/26 ups-vm-6b7187e2.vswp [open excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21/26 vmx-ups-vm-1802602466-1.vswp 80.00 MB | Done 89.28%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22/26 ups-vm-ctk.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23/26 ups-vm-Snapshot536.vmsn 19.48 KB | Done 89.98%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24/26 ups-vm-000001-sesparse.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25/26 ups-vm-000001.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26/26 ups-vm-000001-ctk.vmdk [skipped excluded]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total size: 10.08 GB | Done 100.00%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Snapshot was removed ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Backup end date: 2021-05-19T11:35:37
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time taken: 00:00:54 (54 sec.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total time: 54 sec.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full file speed: 191.15 mb/s
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real data speed: 104.84 mb/s
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item backup completed without errors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final checksum: 110351964 bytes were sent and confirmed to have been written remotely
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data processing completed successfully
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removed host <tmp> dir OK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removed prog <tmp> dir OK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unlocked backup OK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------After this test, I run --reset-cbt, deleted the directory of that vm at the target and started again. Besides that now a CBT 1 full cycle was started, I had the same result of no changed vm name and no registration.
As the xsibackup.log is entirely silent about what is going on, is there any option to increase verbosity to see what is indeed happening?
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#9 2021-05-19 15:23:04
- admin
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- Registered: 2017-04-21
- Posts: 2,072
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
What a conundrum!
It has to be something really simple.
We'll increase verbosity on that part, which BTW is quite trivial from a programmatic point of view.
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#10 2021-05-19 17:52:59
- admin
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- Registered: 2017-04-21
- Posts: 2,072
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
OMG!, we just realized that you aren't backing up to an (c)ESXi server, but some sort of NAS.
How do you expect a VM to be registered in a NAS device?
This is just an imaginary issue.
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#11 2021-09-25 20:43:33
- herrep
- Member
- From: Munich
- Registered: 2019-07-08
- Posts: 107
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
I got the point that a backup destination specified on a remote host having no ESXi functionality cannot lead to a registration of a replicated VM. However, in my setup, the backup destination is also accessible as an NFS drive at the ESXi host.
Of course, I continued in the present case by replacing the remote destination by a local path which results in storing the replicated VM on the same location as previously, but with the ability of being registered afterwards. Now I wonder whether there is a way of optimizing this setup.
I would prefer transferring the VM data via the remote path with xsibackup remotely executed on the NAS. And then, once the data are over there, I would like to register the replicated VM, but of course over the local path. Would this be somehow possible, e.g. bei running --options=R separately or whatever?
Or would this be a new feature request resulting in an option to specify the local path?
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#12 2021-09-26 11:33:09
- admin
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- Registered: 2017-04-21
- Posts: 2,072
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
It's all simpler than that.
You want to register the VM to some (c)ESXi host?: no problem.
Replicate to some (c)ESXi host that has the NFS volume attached to it as a datastore.
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#13 2021-09-26 12:59:12
- herrep
- Member
- From: Munich
- Registered: 2019-07-08
- Posts: 107
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
If I understood you correctly, you suggest to replicate the VM to the NAS by addressing the NAS destination by its NFS volume that is configured as datastore at the local ESXi host. This is exactly what I did.
However, my question was a kind of optimization: I understand that using xsibackup remotely on the NAS reduces load on the ESXi host so that a replication using the remote address of the NAS would increase performance. Therefore, my question arose whether it would be possible to use the remote address for the copy part and as soon as --options=R will result in VM registration, a local path of the NFS volume is specified so that the remotely stored VM will nevertheless be registered at the local ESXi host.
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#14 2021-09-26 16:16:18
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- Registered: 2017-04-21
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Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
You have to make too many assumptions to achieve that. You depend on the NAS type, not all Linux distros/flavours use compatible shells. We don't see it feasible. That should be left to an implementation development from part of the client, as it would be highly dependent on the set up.
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#15 2021-09-27 12:27:40
- herrep
- Member
- From: Munich
- Registered: 2019-07-08
- Posts: 107
Re: XSIBackup-DC --replica=cbt: --options=R appears to be without function
I believe that there is still some room for discussion with regard to --options=R (registration) in conjunction with a remote path. I will describe the situation in a new post so that we can close the thread here.
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