This is an archive version of the document. To get the most up-to-date information, see the current version.

VMware Tools Quiescence

In this article

    To create transactionally consistent backups and replicas for VMs that do not support Microsoft VSS (for example, Linux VMs), you must enable VMware Tools quiescence for the job. In this case, Veeam Backup & Replication will use the VMware Tools to freeze the file system and application data on the VM before backup or replication.

    VMware Tools quiescence is enabled at the job level for all VMs added to the job. By default, this option is disabled.

    VMware Tools Quiescence 

    VMware VSS Component

    To quiesce VMs, Veeam Backup & Replication uses the VMware VSS component in VMware Tools. Starting from vSphere 3.5 U2, VMware Tools support Microsoft VSS. To use the VMware VSS component in VMware Tools, the VM must run one of the following OSes:

    • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 32-bit or 64-bit.

    All latest updates and patches must be installed on the VM guest OS. Microsoft Windows 2003 SP1 at minimum is recommended.

    • Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit or 64-bit
    • Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 32-bit or 64-bit
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Microsoft Windows 2016

    Supported quiescence features differ depending on the type of the VM guest OS:

    • For VMs running Windows Vista and Windows 7, the VMware VSS component does not use application writers. As a result, the created VSS snapshots are file-system consistent.
    • For VMs running Microsoft Windows Server 2003, the VMware VSS component uses application VSS writers. As a result, the created VSS snapshots are application-consistent.
    • For VMs running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and later, the VMware VSS component may or may not use application writers, depending on the VM platform and state. The created VSS snapshots can be file-system or application-consistent.

    For more information about VMware Tools quiescence, see VMware documentation: http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/topic/com.vmware.vddk.pg.doc/vddkBkupVadp.9.6.html