Backup VM with physical sharing SCSI for RDM

Question

Hello,

We are implementing a Commvault environnement and are trying to achieve the following :

Backup file system of VMs with RDM attached

We only want to backup virtual machine and FS. E.G the vmware object/config and the C:\ drive.
Our goal is to restore a VM like a normal one, without the RDM, then re-attach the RDM (or a new RDM and restore data from a file level backup.

It should work for standalone VM with RDM, as SCSI controller is in virtual compatibility mode.
But for clustered VMs with RDM, the SCSI is in physical compatibility mode, and it seems to prevent us from backup/restore thoses VMs.

What is the best practice for this type of backup/restore jobs ?

Thanks

Jos Meijer · Accepted Answer

Cluster nodes with shared disks aren't allowed to be snapshot due to the hypervisor restrictions. There will otherwise be a direct impact on the shared disk which is in use by the other node as well, possibly resulting in unforseen complications.

You need to use the FS Agent, then rebuild the VM and restore in place on file level, or restore via physical to virtual.

Quote: "Data You Cannot Back Up

Virtual machines that contain SCSI adapters that are configured for bus sharing (physical or virtual)"

Source:

https://documentation.commvault.com/2022e/expert/32255_backups_for_vmware.html