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NVP-vProxy: Cannot create snapshot of VM: VM configured using device that prevents snapshot operation: Device is a SCSI controller with bus-sharing

Summary: The NetWorker VMware Protection (NVP) integration is configured with the vProxy appliance. Particular virtual machines (VMs) consistently fail. Review of the Full Log in the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) shows that the VM has a SCSI controller with bus-sharing enabled. This is common when working with Raw Device Mapping (RDM) volumes. ...

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Symptoms

The NetWorker VMware Protection (NVP) integration is configured with the vProxy appliance. Particular virtual machines (VMs) consistently fail. Review of the Full Log in the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) shows that the VM snapshot creation failed as it has a SCSI controller with bus-sharing enabled. This configuration is common when the VM has Raw Device Mapping (RDM) volumes. 
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR: [@(#) Build number: 163] Failed to get status of create snapshot task: Virtual machine is configured to use a device that prevents the snapshot operation: Device '' is a SCSI controller engaged in bus-sharing.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR: [@(#) Build number: 163] Failed to create snapshot.
YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS ERROR: [@(#) Build number: 163] Unable to create snapshot of virtual machine: Failed to create snapshot.

Cause

The failure is due to a VMware Snapshots limitation due to the VM configuration. The following VM configurations do not support VMware Snapshots:

  • Bus-sharing
  • PCI Pass-through (PCI vSphere Direct Path I/O) devices
  • Raw disks, Physical Mode RDMs, or iSCSI initiator disks
  • Powered on VMs with independent disks

The VMware Documentation "Snapshot Limitations" section contains further limitation information:

Resolution

Option 1
If the VM is configured with bus-sharing and it is required to perform vProxy backups, the bus-sharing must be disabled for the VM.

Option 2
Backup the VM with traditional NetWorker Client software

Additional Information

For more information about snapshots and bus-sharing, see VMware article 1006392 below.

Unable to use Snapshots or perform a backup on virtual machines configured with bus-sharing (1006392)
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1006392  This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies.

NVP vProxy: Troubleshooting VMware Snapshot Issues during NetWorker backups.

Affected Products

NetWorker

Products

NetWorker
Article Properties
Article Number: 000044837
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 07 Oct 2025
Version:  4
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