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Offhost backup requires that the VSS providers and the volumes that are to be transported are set up correctly. Not all arrays are supported with the Advanced Disk-based Option.
You can find a list of compatible devices at the following URL:
http://entsupport.symantec.com/umi/V-269-2
In order to troubleshoot offhost backup issues, Symantec recommends that you use the tools that are available from the VSS provider to verify the setup that is required for offhost backup.
The minimum setup requirements are as follows:
Volumes are shared between the remote computer and the media server.
For example, when using Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows (VSFW) as the provider, you can use the Veritas Enterprise Administrator (VEA) to verify snapshots of the volumes, split the snapped volumes into a different Disk Group (DG), deport the DG from the remote computer and import it to the media server. All providers will have similar administration console or command-line tools that will allow you to take a snapshot of volumes, and deport and import volumes.
It is also required that an offhost backup job contain only volumes that can be transported to the media server for backup. Please read the requirements section carefully.
See Requirements for offhost backup.
See Requirements for offhost backup when using the Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows Provider.
Other factors to consider are as follows:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2008 must be installed on both the media server and the remote computer. Both computers must have the most recent Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS) patches.
Microsoft XML Core Services (MSXML4) must be installed and running on both the media server and the remote computer.
Troubleshooting offhost backup issues depends to an extent on the VSS provider used for the snapshots, but the following setup issues that are common to all providers may cause offhost backup to fail:
For offhost backup to work, all volumes must reside on disks that are shared between the remote computer and the Backup Exec media server. It is the backup administrator's responsibility to confirm this. If the volumes are not shared, the import operation will fail, and you may need to clean up the snapshots and resynchronize the volumes manually.
The provider used for snapshot must be installed on both the media server as well as on the remote computer. If the provider is not installed on the media server, the import operation will fail, and you may need to clean up the snapshots and resynchronize the volumes manually.
All volumes are not transportable
All volumes selected for backup must be transportable to the media server. If Microsoft SQL or Exchange, or other database applications are selected for backup, make sure that the databases and log files reside on transportable volumes.
In addition to being transportable, all volumes selected for backup must be snappable by the same provider. It is the backup administrator's responsibility to ensure that all volumes in a backup job are supported by the same VSS provider.
Log files created by the provider or by its supporting application during normal snapshot operation should not reside on any of the volumes being snapped. This prevents VSS from flushing the write buffers, and the snapshot will time-out. Change the log path to another volume.
Provider or VSS services not started
Make sure that the provider service is running and make sure that the Microsoft Windows "Volume Shadow Copy" service has not been disabled.
Make sure that the machine-level credentials used for the job are the same on both the media server and the remote computer. Incorrect credentials will cause snapshots or the backup to fail.
Central Admin Server Option (CASO) environment
If a backup job is configured in a CASO environment, you must target the job to media servers on which the selected VSS provider is installed rather than allowing the job to be delegated by the central administration server. Otherwise, the job could be delegated to a media server that does not have offhost capability.
When performing an offhost backup in a Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) or Veritas Cluster Server environment, the media server and the remote computer must not be in the same cluster group. The cluster applications cannot support devices' logical unit numbers (LUNs) that have duplicate signatures and partition layouts; therefore, the snapshots containing the LUNs must be transported to a media server that is outside the cluster in which the host cluster resides.
See How Backup Exec works in a Microsoft Cluster Server.
If you are using an Hitachi 9970 and attempt to protect a Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) resource using the Advanced Disk-based Backup Option (ADBO), you may receive the following error message:
The job failed with the following error: A failure occurred querying the Writer status.
To correct this problem, ensure that the RM Shadow Copy Provider for Volume Snapshot Service is present and running. If the service is not running, run RMVSSPRV.exe from c:\horcm\tool. If the service is still not running, contact Hitachi for support.