Backing Up Non-VSS-Aware Applications

Product version: 9.0

Last modified: 19 September 2019

Question

I have an important application that does not integrate with VSS.
Can I create a reliable backup of this application with NAKIVO Backup & Replication?

Answer

We recommend using application-aware mode in conjunction with VSS for backing up live applications.
If your application has a transactional database and does not support VSS, use one of the following options:

Using custom scripts

  1. Enable application-aware mode in job settings.

  2. Use a pre-freeze script to gracefully stop the application.

  3. Use a post-thaw script to restart the application.

When using custom scripts, the application is gracefully stopped before the snapshot is taken and restarted right after the snapshot is taken.

Information on using custom quiescing scripts can be found in VMware KB 1006671.

Backing up a powered-off VM

  1. Power off the VM during non-business hours.

  2. Back up the powered off VM.

Using third-party tools

You can search for third-party tools that:

  • can be invoked by scripts

  • can temporarily pause transactions in your application