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PowerProtect Data Manager 19.11 Virtual Machine User Guide

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Snapshot freeze scripts and thaw scripts for virtual-machine backups

You can use custom scripts to back up a Windows or Linux virtual machine which runs an application that PowerProtect Data Manager does not directly support. These scripts run before and after the snapshot to place the virtual machine and application into a state where you can perform a backup.

NOTE Use of these scripts is not supported for virtual machines with the Transparent Snapshot Data Mover (TSDM) protection mechanism enabled.
Table 1. Script descriptions and related termsScript descriptions and related terms
Script Related terms Description
Freeze Quiesce Pre-freeze This script runs before the snapshot initialization to quiesce the virtual machine and place the application in a frozen state. Quiescing ensures that the data within the guest file system is in a consistent state that is appropriate for backups.
Thaw Unquiesce Post-thaw This script runs after the snapshot finalization to unquiesce the virtual machine, thaw the application, and then return the virtual machine to normal operation.

PowerProtect Data Manager uses the VMware Tools package to quiesce the virtual machine. The VMware documentation provides more information. Before you deploy the freeze and thaw scripts, install the latest version of the VMware Tools package on the virtual machine.

The freeze and thaw scripts are specific to each application. If the freeze script returns a nonzero exit code, snapshot creation fails.

After you create your custom scripts, deploy the scripts to the correct location on the virtual machine, as specified in the following tables.

Table 2. Script locations for Windows virtual machinesScript locations for Windows virtual machines
ESXi version Freeze script location Thaw script location
ESXi 6.5 or later

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\backupScripts.d\

All scripts are invoked in ascending alphabetical order with freeze as the first argument.

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\backupScripts.d\

All scripts are invoked in descending alphabetical order with thaw or freezeFail as the first argument.
Table 3. Script locations for Linux virtual machinesScript locations for Linux virtual machines
ESXi version Freeze script location Thaw script location
ESXi 6.5 or later /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script /usr/sbin/post-thaw-script

For Linux virtual machines, set the script ownership and permissions after you deploy the scripts:

  • sudo chown root:root /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script /usr/sbin/post-thaw-script
  • sudo chmod 0700 /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script /usr/sbin/post-thaw-script

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