Avamar: Slow VM Backup Due to Contention With VMware vShield Endpoint / Trend Micro Deep Security

Summary: Avamar Virtual Machine (VM) backups finish as PARTIAL and miss the window because VMware vShield Endpoint and Trend Micro Deep Security scan files, causing I O contention that slows the backup. ...

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Symptoms

  • Guest‑based VM backups run significantly slower than expected.
  • Backup does not complete within the allocated window and ends as PARTIAL:
2014-11-28 03:00:10 avtar Info <5157>: PARTIAL Backup #494 timestamp 2014-11-28 03:00:10, 2,839,250 files, 224,573 folders, 2,589 GB (123 files, 1.724 MB, 0.00% new)
---8<--- SNIP--- 8<---
2014-11-28 03:00:13 avtar Info <5314>: Command failed (2 warnings, exit code 10019: externally cancelled by Administrator)
  • avtar summary and statistics show:
    • Moderate number of files and folders
    • Moderate dataset size
    • Low change rate
    • Low to moderate CPU usage
  • Observed performance is lower than the typical ~1 million files per hour achievable with rotational disk workloads.
  • Dataset consists mostly of static .jpg and .tiff files (low churn).

Cause

VMware vShield and Trend Micro Deep Security for ESXi were enabled.
These services intercept file operations for scanning, which creates additional I/O contention during the backup. This contention delays processing by Avamar, increases total runtime, and leads to backups exceeding the available window.

Resolution

Disabling VMware vShield and Trend Micro Deep Security improved performance and reduced the backup runtime to under five hours.

If disabling is not feasible, configure Trend Micro Deep Security to exclude Avamar processes from real‑time scanning.

Trend Micro Deep Security Exclusion Steps

Navigate to: Console → Computer → Antimalware → General → Real‑Time Scan → Malware Scan Configuration → Edit

Then:

  1. Select the Second Tab → Exclusions
  2. Open Process Image File List
  3. Add the following Avamar processes:
    • avtar.exe
    • avagent.exe
    • avvsc.exe
    • avscc.exe
    • Any plug‑ins invoking avtar.exe

For more information on Deep Security exclusions, refer to Trend Micro documentation:
Understanding the difference between File List and Process Image File List in Deep Security (External Link)

 
Note:
  • It is suggested to approach the vendor for instructions on how to prevent Deep Security (DSA) from scanning processes so that Avamar ones can be excluded.
  • Ensure exclusions are applied consistently across all protected ESXi hosts and VM guest agents.
  • If backup performance remains slow after exclusions, gather updated avtar logs and confirm no additional security tools are intercepting disk or filesystem operations.,

Affected Products

Avamar

Products

Avamar, Avamar Client
Article Properties
Article Number: 000046240
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 10 رمضان 1447
Version:  6
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