Hi,
I've got a newly built Windows Server 2012 R2 box out in the field. We're using a 3rd party backup solution (Arcserve Backup Manager) which leverages VSS to take a snapshot during the first phase of the backup. We've seen an issue with this effectively right
from the start. During the first full backup, Backup Manager would get stuck on "Taking snapshot". I reached out to N-Able, and they gave me a few things to try which included restarting the Volume Shadow Copy service (which wouldn't stop) and running
the command "vssadmin list writers" - which wouldn't display a result - to check for writer errors. After a reboot, the command line displayed the list of VSS writers - all of which had no errors - and the first full backup completed successfully.
When the second backup/first incremental backup started, it displayed the same symptoms again; I couldn't list VSS writers, and the backup was getting stuck at "Taking Snapshot". After another reboot, the backup completed successfully again.
We're at the point now where it seems to be a Microsoft issue, more than an Arcserve issue. I added the Windows Server Backup feature (before the first full backup) to try and secure a backup at least, but that's never worked. I've now been advised to remove
the Windows Server Backup feature in case there's a possible conflict, but for some reason it's now greyed-out and I can't remove it.
Obviously it's not viable to reboot the server every day for the sake of securing a backup. Has anybody seen this type of behavior from VSS, and perhaps have a solution or workaround for me please?
I appreciate your help