Removing Stuck VMDK’s from the Veeam Proxy

Challenge

A VM that was processed by Veeam is found to require consolidation, yet consolidation attempts fail.

or

A VM that was processed by Veeam is found to have an orphaned snapshot.

Cause

This can occur when Virtual Appliance Mode (HOTADD) is used due to:

• The command to release the virtual machines's disk from the proxy is not processed by VMware.
• The Veeam server crashes while processing a virtual machine.
• Jobs running within Veeam are forced to stop, and those jobs were using Virtual Appliance Mode (HOTADD).
• A backup or replication job creating a snapshot on the backup proxy while the proxy is being used by another job. (Note: It is advised to build dedicated Proxies, and not backup or replicate them) 

Solution

Before beginning ensure that all jobs have stopped. This way the only disks that will be found attached to proxies will be the proxy's own disks and ones that need to be removed.
Identify Problem VMs

1. Using a vSphere Client find any virtual machines which are displaying a warning that consolidation is needed.
   
    
2. Perform consolidation, and note which virtual machines continue to have a warning regarding consolidation.
   
   
   

Find Stuck HOTADDed Disks

Review the settings of each Veeam Proxy looking for any disks which match the following:

• Name of VMDK does not match the proxy, and matches a VM identified in the previous section.
• Disk has a Disk Mode of [Independent - NonPersistent]
  Note: If the proxy is used as a Target Proxy for replication, the replica disks will be attached as Dependant.
  
  

Release Stuck HOTADDed Disks

Once you have found a disk HOTADDed to a proxy which needs to be released perform the following steps to release it.

1. Click the ⦻ symbol to select the disk for removal.
   
   Note: Do not check the box to delete files from datastore!
   
2. Click [OK] to Confirm removal.
3. After the disk is released from the proxy, attempt Consolidation again.

More Information

If you find that a specific proxy continues have issues with disks becoming stuck HOTADDed to it, please review: https://www.veeam.com/kb1882

For more information regarding orphaned snapshots please read: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1005049