Veritas NetBackup™ for VMware Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.1.1)
  1. Introduction
    1.  
      About NetBackup for VMware
    2.  
      Updates to this guide for NetBackup 8.1.1
    3.  
      About the virtual machine backups that include database data
    4.  
      About the NetBackup appliance as a VMware backup host
    5.  
      NetBackup for VMware components
    6.  
      Appliance as backup host: component overview
    7.  
      Media servers as backup or discovery hosts
    8.  
      Overview of the VMware backup process
    9.  
      NetBackup for VMware license requirement
    10.  
      NetBackup for VMware terminology
  2. Required tasks: overview
    1.  
      Overview of VMware tasks
    2.  
      Overview of NetBackup tasks
  3. Notes and prerequisites
    1.  
      NetBackup for VMware prerequisites
    2.  
      NetBackup for VMware: notes and restrictions
    3.  
      Notes on VMware Virtual Volumes (VVols)
    4.  
      NetBackup IPv6 parameter required for backups in VMware IPv6 environments
    5.  
      NetBackup for VMware: notes on Linux virtual machines
    6.  
      Notes on the NetBackup appliance as a VMware backup host
    7.  
      NetBackup for VMware support for SAN multi-pathing
    8.  
      NetBackup for VMware support for fault tolerant VMs
    9.  
      NetBackup character restrictions for the Primary VM identifier
    10.  
      In the policy Query Builder, display names, resource pool names, and vApp names are case-sensitive
    11.  
      Notes on the hotadd transport mode
    12.  
      Notes and limitations for tag usage in VMware Intelligent Policy queries
    13.  
      Notes and limitations for the backup and restore of VMware tag associations
  4. Configure NetBackup communication with VMware
    1.  
      Adding the VMware backup host to NetBackup
    2. Adding NetBackup credentials for VMware
      1.  
        Using the VMware Managed Object Browser to verify the server name
    3.  
      Changing the host name of a VMware server in NetBackup
    4.  
      Setting privileges for posting events to vCenter
    5.  
      Authentication token for the NetBackup vSphere Web Client plug-in
    6.  
      Setting global limits on the use of VMware resources
  5. Configure NetBackup policies for VMware
    1.  
      Configuring a VMware policy from the Policy Wizard
    2.  
      Configuring a VMware policy from the Policies utility
    3.  
      Limit jobs per policy on the Attributes tab (for VMware)
    4. VMware backup options
      1.  
        VMware backup host
      2.  
        Optimizations options (VMware)
      3.  
        Primary VM identifier options (VMware)
      4.  
        Existing snapshot handling options (VMware)
      5.  
        Transport modes options (VMware)
      6.  
        Application protection options (VMware)
      7.  
        VMware - Advanced Attributes dialog
      8.  
        About the Post vCenter events option (VMware Advanced Attributes)
    5. Exclude Disks tab
      1.  
        About the exclude disk options for virtual disk selection
      2.  
        Exclude disks from backups: an example to avoid
      3.  
        Restoring data from the backups that excluded the boot disk or data disks
    6.  
      Browse for VMware virtual machines
    7.  
      Limiting the VMware servers that NetBackup searches when browsing for virtual machines
    8.  
      Virtual machine host names and display names should be unique if VMs are selected manually in the policy
    9.  
      Primary VM identifier option and manual selection of virtual machines
    10.  
      About incremental backups of virtual machines
    11.  
      Configuring incremental backups
    12.  
      Storage Foundation Volume Manager volumes in the virtual machine
  6. Configure a VMware Intelligent Policy
    1.  
      About automatic virtual machine selection for NetBackup for VMware
    2.  
      Support and use of VMware tag associations
    3.  
      The basics of a NetBackup query rule
    4.  
      Important notes on automatic virtual machine selection
    5.  
      NetBackup requirements for automatic virtual machine selection
    6.  
      Automatic virtual machine selection: Task overview
    7.  
      Options for selecting VMware virtual machines
    8.  
      Configuring automatic virtual machine selection
    9.  
      Editing an existing query in Basic Mode
    10.  
      Using the Query Builder in Advanced Mode
    11.  
      AND vs. OR in queries
    12.  
      Examples for the NetBackup Query Builder
    13.  
      The IsSet operator in queries
    14.  
      About selecting virtual machines by means of multiple policies
    15.  
      Order of operations in queries (precedence rules)
    16.  
      Parentheses in compound queries
    17.  
      Query rules for resource pools
    18.  
      Query rules for datacenter folders (host folder)
    19.  
      Query rules for duplicate names
    20.  
      Query rules for tags
    21.  
      Query Builder field reference
    22.  
      Test Query screen for VMware
    23.  
      Test Query: Failed virtual machines
    24.  
      Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query results
    25.  
      Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on VM Name column in Test query results
    26.  
      Refreshing the display of virtual environment changes in the Query Builder
  7. Reduce the size of backups
    1.  
      About reducing the size of VMware backups
    2.  
      Block-level backup (BLIB): full vs incremental
    3.  
      Deleting a vSphere Client snapshot
  8. Back up virtual machines
    1.  
      Backing up virtual machines
    2.  
      Using the Activity Monitor to monitor virtual machine backups
    3.  
      Restarting jobs individually in the Activity Monitor
    4.  
      Viewing NetBackup activity in vSphere Web Client
    5.  
      Using OpsCenter to report on virtual machine backups
  9. Use Accelerator to back up virtual machines
    1.  
      About the NetBackup Accelerator for virtual machines
    2.  
      Accelerator: full vs. incremental schedules
    3.  
      How the NetBackup Accelerator works with virtual machines
    4.  
      Accelerator notes and requirements for virtual machines
    5.  
      Accelerator forced rescan for virtual machines (schedule attribute)
    6.  
      Accelerator requires the OptimizedImage attribute
    7.  
      Accelerator backups and the NetBackup catalog
    8.  
      Accelerator messages in the backup job details log
    9.  
      NetBackup logs for Accelerator with virtual machines
    10.  
      About reporting the amount of Accelerator backup data that was transferred over the network
    11.  
      Replacing the Accelerator image size with the network-transferred data in NetBackup command output
  10. Restore virtual machines
    1.  
      Restore notes and restrictions
    2.  
      Restore notes and restrictions on Linux
    3. Restoring the full VMware virtual machine
      1. Virtual Machine Recovery dialog boxes (restore to original location)
        1.  
          Recovery Destination dialog box
        2.  
          Recovery Options dialog box
        3.  
          Virtual Machine Options dialog box
        4.  
          Perform Recovery dialog box
      2. Virtual Machine Recovery dialogs boxes (restore to alternate location)
        1.  
          Recovery Destination dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        2.  
          Recovery Options dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        3.  
          Select ESX server dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        4.  
          Select Folder dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        5.  
          Select Datastore or Datastore Cluster dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        6.  
          Storage Destination dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        7.  
          Network Connections and Other Recovery Options dialog box (restore to alternate location)
        8.  
          Perform Recovery dialog box (restore to alternate location)
    4.  
      About VMware virtual machine disk restore
    5. Restoring VMware virtual machine disks by using Backup, Archive, and Restore
      1.  
        Select Virtual Disks panel
      2.  
        Recovery Destination panel
      3.  
        Virtual Disk Destination panel
      4.  
        Storage Destination panel
      5.  
        Recovery Summary panel
    6. Restoring VMware virtual machine disks by using NetBackup commands
      1.  
        Determining the backup image ID from which to restore a VMware virtual machine disk
      2.  
        Creating the VMware virtual machine disk restore file
      3.  
        Modifying the virtual machine disk restore file
      4.  
        Validating the virtual machine disk restore file
      5.  
        Restoring the virtual machine disk or disks by using the nbrestorevm command
      6.  
        VMware virtual machine disk restore file
    7.  
      About restoring individual VMware files
    8. Restoring individual VMware virtual machine files
      1.  
        Setting up NetBackup Client Service for VMware restores to a Windows shared virtual machine drive
      2.  
        Restore Marked Files dialog for restore of VMware files
    9.  
      How NetBackup handles VMware tag associations at restore
    10. Browse and search virtual machines for restore
      1.  
        Search Virtual Machines for Restore dialog
      2.  
        Browse the vCloud or vSphere view for virtual machine clients
      3.  
        Search results dialog
    11.  
      If the recovery host is not at the same NetBackup release level as the backup host
  11. Restore virtual machines with Instant Recovery
    1.  
      About Instant Recovery for VMware
    2.  
      Task overview for Instant Recovery for VMware
    3.  
      Performance recommendations for Instant Recovery for VMware
    4.  
      Requirements for Instant Recovery for VMware
    5.  
      Notes on Instant Recovery for VMware
    6.  
      Restarting the Client for NFS service on a Windows restore host
    7.  
      Instant Recovery options on the nbrestorevm command
    8.  
      Restoring a virtual machine with Instant Recovery for VMware
    9.  
      Restoring a virtual machine to a different location with Instant Recovery for VMware
    10.  
      Restoring individual files with Instant Recovery for VMware while the current virtual machine is running
    11.  
      Job types for Instant Recovery for VMware
    12.  
      Reactivating a restored virtual machine with Instant Recovery for VMware
  12. Use NetBackup for vCloud Director
    1.  
      About NetBackup for vCloud Director
    2.  
      Notes on creating a NetBackup policy for vCloud
    3.  
      Notes on restoring virtual machines into vCloud Director
    4.  
      Restoring virtual machines into vCloud Director
    5.  
      Reducing the time required for VM discovery in a large vCloud environment
    6. Virtual machine recovery dialog boxes for vCloud Director
      1.  
        Recovery Destination dialog box (vCloud Director)
      2.  
        Recovery Options dialog box (vCloud Director)
      3.  
        Recovery vApp Options for vCloud Director dialog box (restore to original location)
      4.  
        Virtual Machine Options dialog box for vCloud Director
      5.  
        Perform Recovery dialog box for vCloud Director
      6.  
        Recovery Options dialog box for vCloud Director (restore to alternate location)
      7.  
        Recovery vApp Options for vCloud Director dialog box (restore to alternate location)
      8.  
        Select a vApp dialog box
      9.  
        Recovery Destination Options for vCloud Director dialog box (restore to alternate location)
      10.  
        Virtual Machine Options (restore to alternate location)
      11.  
        Network connections (restore to alternate location)
      12.  
        Perform Recovery dialog box for vCloud Director (restore to alternate location)
  13. Best practices and more information
    1. NetBackup for VMware best practices
      1.  
        NetBackup for VMware with deduplication
    2.  
      Best practices for VMware tag usage
    3.  
      Further assistance with NetBackup for VMware
  14. Troubleshooting
    1.  
      Notes on troubleshooting NetBackup for VMware
    2.  
      Beware of unsupported backup host
    3.  
      How to determine the ESX network that NetBackup used for the backup or restore
    4.  
      NetBackup logging for VMware
    5.  
      Configuring VxMS logging
    6.  
      Format of the VxMS core.log and provider.log file names
    7.  
      Configuring the VDDK logging level
    8.  
      Preventing browsing delays caused by DNS problems
    9.  
      Changing the browsing timeout for virtual machine discovery
    10.  
      Changing timeout and logging values for vSphere
    11.  
      Credentials for VMware server are not valid
    12.  
      Snapshot error encountered (status code 156)
    13.  
      The origin of the snapshot failure: NetBackup or VMware?
    14.  
      Conflict between NetBackup and VMware Storage vMotion with vSphere 5.0 or later
    15.  
      Incremental backups of the VM may fail if the NTFS file system in the guest OS is corrupted and the backup uses MSDP storage
    16.  
      The restore fails when you restore individual files to a virtual machine that has NetBackup client software
    17.  
      Backup or restore job hangs
    18.  
      VMware SCSI requirements for application quiesce on Windows
    19.  
      Mount point missing on a restored Windows virtual machine
    20.  
      Mount points not available when restoring files from a Linux virtual machine
    21.  
      Invalid client error when you restore files using NetBackup BAR interface installed on the virtual machine
    22.  
      VMware virtual machine does not restart after restore
    23.  
      A restored VM may not start or its file system(s) may not be accessible
    24.  
      NetBackup job fails due to update tasks on the VMware server
    25.  
      The vSphere interface reports that virtual machine consolidation is needed
    26.  
      The Enable file recovery from VM backup option does not work if a volume disk set contains a mixture of disk types
    27.  
      Linux VMs and persistent device naming
    28.  
      For a VMware virtual machine with Windows dynamic disks, a restore from incremental backup fails with a Windows restore host and the hotadd transport mode
    29.  
      Simultaneous hotadd backups (from the same VMware backup host) fail with status 13
    30.  
      Troubleshooting VMware tag usage
    31.  
      Ensuring that guest customizations can be restored in vCloud Director
    32.  
      Troubleshooting vmdk restore to existing VM
  15. Appendix A. NetBackup commands to back up and restore virtual machines
    1. Using NetBackup commands to create a VMware policy
      1.  
        Notes on creating a VMware policy for vCloud Director
      2.  
        VMware policy: bpplinfo options and keywords
      3.  
        bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in a VMware policy
    2.  
      Using the nbdiscover command to search the virtual environment
    3.  
      Using the nbrestorevm command to restore virtual machines into vSphere
    4.  
      Using the nbrestorevm command to restore virtual machines into vCloud Director
    5.  
      Using the nbrestorevm command to restore virtual machine disks
    6.  
      The nbrestorevm -R rename file for restoring virtual machines
    7.  
      Logs for troubleshooting the nbrestorevm command
    8.  
      Query format and examples for searching virtual machine backups
    9.  
      Allowing other servers or clients to restore virtual machines
  16. Appendix B. Configuring services for NFS on Windows
    1.  
      About installing and configuring Network File System (NFS) for Granular Recovery Technology (GRT)
    2. About configuring services for NFS on Windows 2012 or 2016 (NetBackup for VMware)
      1.  
        Enabling Services for Network File System (NFS) on a Windows 2012 or 2016 media server (NetBackup for VMware)
      2.  
        Enabling Services for Network File System (NFS) on a Windows 2012 or 2016 restore host (NetBackup for VMware)
    3. About configuring services for NFS on Windows 2008 and 2008 R2 (NetBackup for VMware)
      1.  
        Enabling Services for Network File System (NFS) on Windows 2008 or 2008 R2 (NetBackup for VMware)
    4.  
      Disabling the Server for NFS (NetBackup for VMware)
    5.  
      Disabling the Client for NFS on the media server (NetBackup for VMware)
    6.  
      Configuring a UNIX media server and Windows backup or restore host for Granular Recovery Technology (NetBackup for VMware)
    7.  
      Configuring a different network port for NBFSD (NetBackup for VMware)
  17. Appendix C. The Reuse VM selection query results option
    1.  
      About the Reuse VM selection query results option
    2.  
      The effect of virtual machine discovery on vCenter
  18. Appendix D. Backup of VMware raw devices (RDM)
    1.  
      About VMware raw device mapping (RDM)
    2.  
      Configurations for backing up RDMs
    3.  
      About alternate client backup of RDMs
    4.  
      Requirements for alternate client backup of RDMs
    5.  
      Configuring alternate client backup of RDMs

Query Builder field reference

This topic applies to policy configuration for NetBackup for VMware. You can use the Query Builder to enter rules for the automatic selection of VMware virtual machines for backup.

Table: Query Builder drop-down options: Join, Field, Operator, Value(s) describes the drop-down fields and options for creating rules in the Query Builder.

Table: Query Builder drop-down options: Join, Field, Operator, Value(s)

Query Builder drop-down fields

Description

Join

Selects a connector to join rules.

For the first rule, choices are blank (none) or NOT. After you add a rule, the available connectors are AND, AND NOT, OR, OR NOT.

Field

Selects a parameter on which to build the rule. Select one from the list (scroll down for additional parameters).

You can type the first character to speed up selection. For example, on entering "d", the list moves to first entry starting with "d". Another entry of "d" moves through the list to the next entry starting with "d". The selected entry is automatically filled in.

See Table: Keywords in the Field drop-down .

Operator

Selects an operator. The available operators depend on the parameter that is selected for Field.

See Table: Operators in the Operator drop-down.

Value(s)

Specifies a value for the Field parameter.

The Value field allows manual entry. It may also be a drop-down, depending on the selections that are made in the other fields.

For manual entry, you can specify multiple comma-separated values.

See Table: Characters you can enter for Value(s).

Allows browsing for specific values, depending on the selections that are made in the other drop-down fields.

Adds the current drop-down selections to the Query pane as a new rule.

Blanks out the drop-down fields.

Field (keywords)

Table: Keywords in the Field drop-down describes the keywords available in the Field drop-down. The table also indicates whether the values for each keyword (in the Values field) are case-sensitive.

Note that the inclusion or exclusion of virtual machines is not determined by the Field keyword alone, but depends on the rule you construct: the combination of Join, Field, Operator, and Value(s).

Table: Keywords in the Field drop-down

Field keyword

Data type

Description

Annotation

Alphanumeric string

The text that is added to virtual machine annotations in vSphere Client.

Values are case-sensitive.

Cluster

Alphanumeric string

The name of the cluster (a group of ESX servers) that the virtual machine is configured in.

Values are not case-sensitive.

Note:

A virtual machine may be assigned to an ESX server that is not in a cluster.

Note also that in VMware, a cluster name need only be unique within a datacenter path.

Datacenter

Alphanumeric string

The name of the VMware datacenter.

Values are not case-sensitive.

DatacenterPath

Alphanumeric string

The folder structure that defines the path to a datacenter. Use this option if the datacenter name that you want to filter on is not unique in your environment.

Values are case-sensitive.

Datastore

Alphanumeric string

The name of the datastore.

Values are case-sensitive.

Note:

Multiple ESX servers can share access to the same datastore. Also, a datastore name can be duplicated between multiple ESX servers. Use DatacenterPath or ESXserver to uniquely identify the datacenter.

DatastoreCluster

Alphanumeric string

The name of the datastore cluster that contains the datastores.

Values are not case-sensitive.

DatastoreFolder

Alphanumeric string

The name of the folder that contains the datastores.

Values are not case-sensitive.

DatastoreNFSHost

Alphanumeric string

The name of the datastore's NFS host.

Values are not case-sensitive.

DatastoreNFSPath

Alphanumeric string

The folder structure that defines the path to an NFS datastore. Use this option if the NFS host name of the datastore that you want to filter on is not unique in your environment.

Values are not case-sensitive.

DatastoreType

Alphanumeric string

The type of the datastore. Values are NFS, NFS41, VMFS, vsan, and VVOL.

Values are not case-sensitive.

Displayname

Alphanumeric string

The virtual machine's display name.

Values are case-sensitive.

ESXserver

Alphanumeric string

The name of the ESX server.

Values are not case-sensitive.

The ESX host name must match the name as defined in the vCenter server.

HostFolder

Alphanumeric string

The folder path between the datacenter level and a cluster, ESX hosts, or a subfolder.

If an ESX cluster is not contained within a folder and you click the browse for values button, note: The ESX cluster name appears in the Select From List dialog.

Values are not case-sensitive.

See Query rules for datacenter folders (host folder).

Network

Alphanumeric string

The name of the network switch (on an ESX server) or distributed switch.

Values are not case-sensitive.

NetworkFolder

Alphanumeric string

The name of the folder that contains the network.

Values are not case-sensitive.

Powerstate

Alphabetic

The power state of the virtual machine.

Values are poweredOff, poweredOn, suspended.

Resourcepool

Alphanumeric string

The name of the resource pool. (A resource pool is similar to a vApp.)

Values are case-sensitive.

If a resource pool contains other resource pools (sub-pools), the choice of Operator determines whether virtual machines in the sub-pools are included.

See Query rules for resource pools.

Tag

Alphanumeric string

The name of the tag.

Values are case-sensitive.

When NetBackup uses tags to select virtual machines, the selection is based only on tag names. The selection is independent of the category.

See Query rules for tags.

Template

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine is a virtual machine template.

vApp

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vApp.

Values are case-sensitive.

A vApp is a collection of virtual machines. vApps can also contain resource pools and other vApps. vApps are components of standalone ESX servers or of clusters.

Like vSphere Client, NetBackup refers only to the top level of a vApp that contains sub vApps.

For the following rule:

vApp Equal "vapp1"

if vapp1 has a sub vApp named "vapp2", any virtual machines in vapp1 or vapp2 are included. You cannot make a rule that refers specifically to vapp2.

vCDCatalog

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vCloud Director catalog.

Values are not case-sensitive.

vCDIsExpired

Alphabetic

Expired if the vCloud Director vApp or vApp template is expired.

Possible values are Expired, Not Expired, and Unknown. Unknown indicates that an error occurred between vCloud Director and the vSphere environment. Examples are errors in provisioning or in a deletion operation.

vCDIsvAppTemplate

Boolean

TRUE if the vCloud Director vApp is a template.

vCDOrg

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vCloud Director organization.

Values are not case-sensitive.

vCDOrgvDC

Alphanumeric string

The name of the organization virtual datacenter in vCloud Director.

Values are not case-sensitive.

vCDServer

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vCloud Director server.

Values are not case-sensitive.

vCDvApp

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vCloud Director vApp.

Values are not case-sensitive.

vCenter

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vCenter server.

Values are not case-sensitive.

The vCenter name that is specified in the Query Builder must match the name as entered in the Administration Console for NetBackup credentials. (Media and Device Management > Credentials > Virtual Machine Servers.)

Note that a fully qualified domain name is recommended.

vCenterVersion

Alphanumeric string

The version of the vCenter Server. For example: 5.1.0, 5.5.0, 6.0.0

The possible values of this field are automatically updated and populated based on the environment. Only the versions of the vCenter servers that are registered with NetBackup are shown.

VMDNSName

Alphanumeric string

The virtual machine DNS name in vSphere Client.

Values are not case-sensitive.

VMFolder

Alphanumeric string

The name of the VM folder (within a datacenter), including the path to the folder that contains the VMs.

Values are not case-sensitive.

For example, assume the following VM folders containing a total of 65 VMs:

vm\VM_backup_prod1   (contains 5 VMs)
vm\VM_backup_prod1\cluster1   (contains 10 VMs)
vm\VM_backup_prod2  (contains 50 VMs)

To include the VMs in vm\VM_backup_prod1 but not the VMs in cluster1 or in any other folder:

VMFolder Equal "vm\VM_backup_prod1"

To include the VMs in vm\VM_backup_prod1 and in its subfolder cluster1:

VMFolder Equal "vm\VM_backup_prod1"
OR VMFolder StartsWith "vm\VM_backup_prod1\\"

Note:

The first backslash is an escape character that causes the following backslash to be interpreted as a literal character.

To include all 65 VMs:

VMFolder StartsWith "vm\VM_backup_prod"

Note:

Any VM that is in a path that begins with vm\VM_backup_prod is included.

VMGuestOS

Alphanumeric string

The virtual machine guest OS type that is recorded in vSphere Client.

Values are case-sensitive.

VMHasIDE

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine has IDE drives.

VMHasMDS

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine has multiple datastores.

You can use this keyword to select any virtual machine that is configured to use more than one datastore.

VMHasNVME

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine has NVMe drives.

VMHasRDM

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine uses Raw Device Mapping (RDM).

VMHasSATA

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine has SATA drives.

VMHasSnap

Boolean

TRUE if a VMware snapshot of the virtual machine is currently active.

VMHasVDSName

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine has a display name that is valid for use as the host name.

VMHostName

Alphanumeric string

The virtual machine name that is derived from a reverse lookup of its IP address.

Values are not case-sensitive.

VMIsConn

Boolean

TRUE if the virtual machine is connected and available.

For example: If a virtual machine's ESX server is down, that virtual machine is not connected.

VMVersion

Alphanumeric string

The VMware version of the virtual machine.

Values are case-sensitive.

For example: vmx-04, vmx-07, vmx-08.

VMXDatastore

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vmx datastore (sometimes called the vmx directory or configuration datastore).

Values are case-sensitive.

More information on the vmx datastore is available.

See NetBackup for VMware terminology.

VMXDatastoreFolder

Alphanumeric string

The name of the folder that contains the vmx datastores.

Values are not case-sensitive.

VMXDatastoreNFSHost

Alphanumeric string

The name of the vmx datastore's NFS host.

Values are not case-sensitive.

VMXDatastoreNFSPath

Alphanumeric string

The folder structure that defines the path to a vmx NFS datastore. Use this option if the NFS host name of the datastore that you want to filter on is not unique in your environment.

Values are not case-sensitive.

VMXDatastoreType

Alphanumeric string

The type of the vmx datastore. Values are NFS or VMFS.

Values are not case-sensitive.

[vSphere custom attributes]

Alphanumeric string

The value of a custom attribute that is set in vSphere Client for one or more virtual machines.

Note: in vSphere Client, the attribute must have a value for at least one virtual machine. The attribute type must be Virtual Machine.

The values are case-sensitive.

Custom Attribute based disk exclusion requires that you enter in NetBackup the credentials for the vCenter server or servers that host the VMs. ESXi server credentials are not sufficient.

See Adding NetBackup credentials for VMware.

Operators

Table: Operators in the Operator drop-down describes the operators available in the Operator drop-down.

Table: Operators in the Operator drop-down

Operator

Description

AnyOf

Matches any of the specified values in the Value(s) field.

For example: If the ESX servers in the Value(s) field are "ESX01","ESX02,"ESX03", AnyOf matches any ESX server that has one of those names. If the names of your servers are not identical to any of the specified values, no match occurs. A server named ESX01A is not a match.

Contains

Matches the value in the Value(s) field wherever that value occurs in the string.

For example: If the Value(s) entry is "dev", Contains matches strings such as "01dev", "01dev99", "devOP", and "Development_machine".

EndsWith

Matches the value in the Value(s) field when it occurs at the end of a string.

For example: If the Value(s) entry is "dev", EndsWith matches the string "01dev" but not "01dev99", "devOP", or "Development_machine".

Equal

Matches only the value that is specified in the Value(s) field.

For example: If the display name to search for is "VMtest27", Equal matches virtual machine names such as VMTest27 or vmtest27 or vmTEST27, and so forth. The name VMtest28 is not matched.

Greater

Matches any value that is greater than the specified Value(s), according to the UTF-8 collating sequence.

GreaterEqual

Matches any value that is greater than the specified Value(s), according to the UTF-8 collating sequence.

IsSet

Determines whether a value is returned for the Field keyword. Use IsSet with another rule as a condition, to ensure that the query selects the appropriate virtual machines.

Note that you do not make an entry under Value(s) for a rule that uses IsSet.

See The IsSet operator in queries.

See Effect of Primary VM identifier parameter on Selection column in Test Query results.

See Test Query: Failed virtual machines.

Less

Matches any value that is greater than the specified Value(s), according to the UTF-8 collating sequence.

LessEqual

Matches any value that is greater than the specified Value(s), according to the UTF-8 collating sequence.

NotEqual

Matches any value that is not equal to the value in the Value(s) field.

StartsWith

Matches the value in the Value(s) field when it occurs at the start of a string.

For example: If the Value(s) entry is "box", StartsWith matches the string "box_car" but not "flatbox".

Value(s)

Table: Characters you can enter for Value(s) describes the characters that can be entered in the Value(s) field. The Field keyword determines case sensitivity.

Note:

The character string you enter in the Value(s) field must be enclosed in single quotes or double quotes.

Table: Characters you can enter for Value(s)

Character types

String characters allowed

Alphanumerics

A to Z, a to z, 0 to 9, - (minus sign), and special characters.

Note:

Decimal numbers only.

Wildcards

* (asterisk) matches everything.

For example: "*prod*" matches the string "prod" preceded or followed by any characters.

? (question mark) matches any single character.

For example: "prod??" matches the string "prod" followed by any two characters.

Escape character

\ (backslash) escapes the wildcard or meta-character that follows it.

For example: To search for a string that contains an asterisk (such as test*), enter "test\*"

Quotation marks

Note: The characters you enter in Value(s) must be enclosed in single or double quotes.

To search for a string that contains quotation marks, either escape each quote (\") or enclose the entire string in the opposite type of quotes.

For example: To search for a string that includes double quotes (such as "name"), enter '"name"' (enclosing it in single quotes) or "\"name\""