NVP-vProxy Triage Guide: NetWorker VMware Protection vProxy Triage and Log Overview

Summary: This KB is intended to aid backup administrators and support agents who are unfamiliar with the NetWorker VMware Protection (NVP) solution. It gives a general overview of vProxy components and logs, additional relevant articles are also provided. This KB can be used to perform initial diagnoses when engaging support to ensure that an accurate issue statement is provided. ...

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Instructions

GETTING STARTED

NVP-vProxy stands for NetWorker VMware Protection with the vProxy Appliance. This appliance is used to backup and restore virtual machines with NetWorker. Backup data is stored on the Data Domain target device. It can also be cloned to disk or tape devices.

This article outlines how to approach initial analysis of an issue with the NVP-vProxy solution.

NetWorker VMware Protection Overview
 

ISSUE DETAILS

In order to generate a complete problem description, address the following questions:

  • What operation is being attempted which is not working?
  • Is the issue consistent or intermittent?
  • If intermittent, is there a known trigger?
  • Did this work better before?
  • When did the issue first occur (and if known, what changed)?
  • What is the precise expected behavior and what is this expectation based on?
  • Times of occurrences and observed behavior trend
  • Does the issue happen only at times of heavy load on the backup environment or backups of a large group of Virtual Machines (VM)?
  • What is the scope of the issue (all policies or some policies, all VMs or some VMs)?
  • What has been tried so far to fix and what conclusions have been drawn from this?

ENVIRONMENT DETAILS
 

  • Full NetWorker server version+build and operating system platform.
  • vProxy appliance version (In NMC under Devices->VMware Proxies).
  • Overview of how many vProxies are in use.
  • ESXi and vCenter versions are in use.
  • Name of VM being backed up or recovered that is experiencing issues.
  • Target media for these backups; including device name and DDOS version.

PROXY HEALTHCHECK

The ProxyHC tool was developed to help diagnose and correct some issues which may be observed when using the NVP vProxy appliance:

NVP-vProxy: How to use health check tool ProxyHC on vProxy appliance


LOG COLLECTION

NOTE: See "Additional Info" section for enabling debug options on NVP vProxy. For most initial diagnosis debug is not required; however, debug may be requested if standard logging is determined to be insufficient.

Log collection processes are detailed in: NVP-vProxy: Log Collection Processes for VMware Protection Issues

VMware INVENTORYING ISSUES

The NetWorker server performs an inventory process (nsrvim) of the NetWorker Server Resource (NSR) Hypervisor resources added to the NetWorker server. This process completes:

  • Every 15 minutes (by default),
  • At the start of any VMware Protection policy
  • During any VM restore operation initiated from the NetWorker Management Console (NMC).
  • During a VMware View refresh operation from the NMC or NetWorker Web User Interface (NWUI)

The nsrvim process is logged in the NetWorker server daemon.raw:

Linux: /nsr/logs/daemon.raw
Window: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\daemon.raw

NetWorker: How to use nsr_render_log

Inventory processes are also logged in the following locations on the NetWorker server.

Log Path Purpose

Linux: /opt/nsr/vproxy/logs/nsrvisd/InventorySessions-####.log
Windows: C:\Program Files \EMC NetWorker\nsr\vproxy\logs\nsrvisd\InventorySessions-####.log

 Inventory session details.

Linux: /opt/nsr/vproxy/logs/nsrvisd/nsrvisd-daemon.log
Windows: C:\Program Files \EMC NetWorker\nsr\vproxy\logs\nsrvisd\nsrvisd-daemon.log

 nsrvisd service log.

vPROXY UPGRADE ISSUES

The following logs are only applicable when the vProxy is upgraded using the nsrvproxy_mgmt commands on the NetWorker server.

NVP vProxy: How To Upgrade the NVP vProxy Appliance Using nsrvproxy_mgmt

Log Path Purpose
Linux: /nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_mgmt/<job-uuid>.log
Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrvproxy_mgmt\<job-uuid>.log		 vProxy management job log is created during the redeployment of the associated vProxy.
Linux: /nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_mgmt/vproxy_upgrade_sessio n__< jobuuid>
Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrvproxy_mgmt\vproxy_upgrade_sessio n__< jobuuid>		 Associated nsrvisd log file is created during redeployment of the vProxy.
Linux: /nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_mgmt/ProxySessions- .log
Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrvproxy_mgmt\ProxySessions- .log		 Associated ProxySessions log file is created during redeployment of the vProxy.

When a vProxy is redeployed manually from VMware, these logs are not generated.


REGISTRATION ISSUES:

Start on the NetWorker server daemon.raw:

Linux: /nsr/logs/daemon.raw
Window: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\daemon.raw

NetWorker: How to use nsr_render_log

On the vProxy appliance: /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/vrapid/vrapid-engine.log

COMMUNICATION ISSUES

The following KB can be used to identify port requirements for NetWorker VMware Protection and provides troubleshooting procedures for testing port connectivity in the environment:

NVP vProxy: Troubleshooting Network Connectivity For Backup and Restore Operations


BACKUP ISSUES:

Start on the NetWorker server with the policy logs:

Linux: /nsr/logs/policy/policy_name
Window: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\logs\policy\policy_name

vProxy Backup (log overview):

  • /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/vbackupd
  • /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/recycle/vbackupd/DATE (logs moved here after job has completed or failed)
Log Name Function
 <session-uuid>.log Backup Session Log
<daemon>-engine.log vbackupd service engine log
<daemon>-snapmgr.log VMware Snapshot Manager log
<daemon>-boost.log DD Boost session log
<daemon>-vddk.log VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) session log

Troubleshooting Common Backup Errors:

RECOVERY ISSUES:

On the NetWorker server:    

Log Path Purpose
Linux: /nsr/logs/recover/SessionName_Date.log 
Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\recover\SessionName_Date.log 		 Saved recover session logs from NMC recover wizard.

Linux:
/nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_flr
/nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_flr_browse
/nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_flr_recover

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrvproxy_flr
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrvproxy_flr_browse
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrvproxy_flr_recover

 FLR mount, browse, and recover session logs when the FLR is performed from the Dell Data Protection Restore Client (DPRC).
Linux: /nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_flr_app_recover
Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\adhoc\nsrvproxy_flr_app_recover		 MSVMAPPAGENT (SQL) restores performed from the Dell Data Protection Restore Client (DPRC).
Linux: /nsr/logs/restapi/restapi.log
Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\restapi\restapi.log		 NetWorker REST Application Programming Interface (API) log
Linux: /nsr/authc/logs/flr-server.log 
Windows: \nsr\authc-server\tomcat\logs\flr-server.log		 Dell Data Protection Restore Client (DPRC) logs

On the vProxy appliance used for recovery (log overview):

  • /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/vrecoverd/
  • /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/recycle/vrecoverd/DATE (logs moved here after job has completed or failed)
  • /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/vflrd
  • /opt/emc/vproxy/runtime/logs/recycle/vflrd/DAT (logs moved here after job has completed or failed)
Log Name Function
<daemon>-engine.log vrecoverd or vflrd service log.
<daemon>-boost.log DD Boost session log
 <daemon>-vddk.log VMware VDDK session log
mountsessionnumber.log FLR Mount session log
browsesessionnumber.log  FLR Browse session log

Target VM Logs:

Linux:/opt/emc/vproxyra/logs/vflragentd/vflragentd-agent.log
Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\EMC\vProxy FLR Agent\logs\vflragentd\vflragentd-agent.log
 

MSVMAPPAGENT LOGS:

The following section provides location information for all logs associated with SQL application-consistent data protection.

In order to increase the debug level for SQL application-consistent virtual machine (MSVMAPPAGENT) backups, use dbgcommand, For example, dbgcommand -p <nsrd-pid> Debug=9.
Once the debugging session completes, reset the debug level of nsrd to zero by running dbgcommand <nsrd-pid> Debug=0.

MSVMAPPAGENT (VM) logs:

Logs related to MSVMAPPAGENT operations are found in the following locations on the SQL VM:

Log Path Purpose
C:\Program Files\DPSAPPS\MSVMAPPAGENT\logs\msvmagent_discovery.log  Discovery log
C:\Program Files\DPSAPPS\MSVMAPPAGENT\logs\msvmcatsnap.log  FULL backup
C:\Program Files\DPSAPPS\MSVMAPPAGENT\logs\msvmagent_appbackup.log  Transaction log backup
C:\Program Files\DPSAPPS\MSVMAPPAGENT\logs\msvmagent_snapshotrestore.log Restore of FULL backup.
C:\Program Files\DPSAPPS\MSVMAPPAGENT\logs\msvmagent_apprestore.log  Restore of Transaction log backup.

Logs on the NetWorker server:

/nsr/logs/adhoc/nsrvproxy_flr_app_recover Dell Data Protection Restore Client (DPRC).

NETWORKER SERVER LOGS:

NetWorker: How to Use the NSRGet NetWorker Data Collection Tool

Additional Information

Affected Products

NetWorker

Products

NetWorker Family
Article Properties
Article Number: 000022016
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 13 Mar 2025
Version:  12
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