Existing snapshot handling

Note:

This option applies only to backups that use VMware vStorage. It does not apply to backups that use VMware VCB.

After it creates a snapshot, NetBackup usually deletes the snapshot when the backup has succeeded. If snapshots are not automatically deleted (whether created by NetBackup or not), the performance of the virtual machine may eventually be affected.

Note also that the existence of undeleted snapshots can cause restore failures due to lack of disk space. If the virtual machine was configured on multiple datastores and a leftover snapshot existed on the virtual machine when it was backed up, NetBackup tries to restore all .vmdk files to the snapshot datastore. As a result, the datastore may not have enough space for the .vmdk files, and the restore fails. (For a successful restore, you can restore the virtual machine to an alternate location. Use the Storage Destination dialog in the Virtual Machine Recovery dialogs to select a datastore for the .vmdk files.)

The Existing snapshot handling parameter specifies what action NetBackup takes when a snapshot is discovered before creating a new snapshot for the backup.

Ignore	NetBackup ignores any existing virtual machine snapshots (including snapshots previously created by NetBackup) and proceeds with snapshot creation and the backup.
Abort	If any snapshot exists on the virtual machine, NetBackup aborts the job for that virtual machine only.
Remove NBU	If a virtual machine snapshot exists that a NetBackup vStorage or VCB backup previously created: NetBackup removes the old snapshot, creates an updated snapshot, and proceeds with the virtual machine backup. (This option is the default.)