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Backup Software

Failed to prepare guest Veeam Guest Agent is not started

Brandon LeeFebruary 28, 2017
1 minute read
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If you run into the error in Veeam “Failed to prepare guest Veeam Guest AGent is not started”, often there is an issue with the VMware Tools service.  If VMware tools is in a bad state, when application aware is enabled, you will see issues with the backup job including the aforementioned error.

Failed to prepare guest Veeam Guest Agent is not started

When looking through the event logs of the server in question that had issues with the Veeam backup, I found errors in the event logs for VMware tools service.

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Notice on the backup job for this particular VM, we see the warning “VMware Tools are not running. Guest processing skipped” as well as the “Failed to prepare guest for hot backup. Error: Veeam Guest Agent is not started” error.

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A look at the AcePC Picobox MiniPC powered by the Intel N100. Can it run VMware ESXi? Check out the video as I go through my findings with the AcePC Picobox. Also, check out the special link below. Using the link, you can receive a discount on the AcePC Picobox. Discount link: https://sourl.cn/2LdYkp Check out the written writeup on the Picobox here: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/10/acepc-picobox-mini-pc-review-tiny-esxi-home-server/ ★ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxcWtpd1IGHG9RbD_9380A?sub_confirmation=1 ★ My blog: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com ★ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster ★ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-vht/ ★ Github: https://github.com/brandonleegit ★ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/VirtualizationHowto/100092747277326/ ★ Discord: https://discord.gg/Zb46NV6mB3 ★ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brandonleevht/ Introduction to a Black Friday deal - AcePC Picobox - 0:00 Thinking about Black Friday deals - 0:45 Talking about the Picobox specs - 1:10 Onboard network is Realtek based adapters - 1:40 Talking about using USB 3.0 ports for USB network adapters - 1:57 Looking at the physical overview of the Picobox - 2:40 Looking at the port configuration - 3:00 Small footprint - 3:24 Showing the Realtek USB network adapter - 3:55 Good as a starter home lab server - 4:18 Super quiet noise profile - 4:44 For a quiet, low-power mini PC used as a server, it is good - 5:00 The housing of the mini PC has a nice finish - 5:23 Looking at the VMware ESXi host client running virtual machines - 5:28 Intel N100 in VMware ESXi - 6:00 Running 8 virtual machines, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - 6:23 Looking at the CPU graph in the VMware ESXi host client - 6:30 2 CPUs and 1 GB of memory configured on each Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS virtual machine - 7:00 Connecting to the console and working with the VM, it is responsive - 7:08 Thoughts on having 16 GB of memory as opposed to 8 GB - 7:56 Wrapping up thoughts on the AcePC Picobox N100 - 8:14 Check out all of my home lab related posts here: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/category/home-lab/
AcePC Picobox N100 MiniPC: Can it run VMware ESXi?
YouTube Video VVVyeGNXdHBkMUlHSEc5UmJEXzkzODBBLm5QTGtYLVJPbXZJ
Introduction to Kubernetes and persistent storage - 0:00 A deep dive into NFS storage using a Synology NAS as a target for your Kubernetes workloads. Using an open-source NFS provisioner, we can attach to an NFS share on our NAS and then use this as a storage class in our K8s cluster that automatically provisions storage when we spin up pods. You can see the code examples here: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/nfs-subdir-external-provisioner-connect-your-nas-with-kubernetes/ ★ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxcWtpd1IGHG9RbD_9380A?sub_confirmation=1 ★ My blog: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com ★ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster ★ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-vht/ ★ Github: https://github.com/brandonleegit ★ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/VirtualizationHowto/100092747277326/ ★ Discord: https://discord.gg/Zb46NV6mB3 ★ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brandonleevht/ First steps when spinning up Kubernetes - 0:49 Hurdle of needing persistent storage - 1:09 Why persistent storage is important - 1:38 Introducing the NFS subdir external provider - 1:51 Introducing the first step, creating an NFS folder - 2:52 Walking through creating a shared NFS folder in Synology DSM - 3:29 NFS configuration - 4:38 Talking about testing connectivity to the new NFS share - 5:40 Installing NFS client tools to test connectivity - 6:00 Creating a directory for mounting the test NFS connection - 6:38 Running the command to mount the NFS share - 6:52 Overview of the steps to install the NFS provisioner - 7:34 Adding the helm repo - 7:50 Installing the NFS provisioner - 8:05 Looking at storage classes in the Kubernetes cluster after installation - 8:45 Changing the default storage class configuration - 9:13 Setting the other storage class as not the default - 9:55 Overview of testing the NFS provisioner - 10:36 Creating the YAML file for the new pod - 10:54 Running the kubectl command to use the YAML file - 11:39 Checking the persistent volume claims - 12:05 Wrapping up NFS targets with Kubernetes - 12:25 Check out other posts you may like: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/top-home-server-ideas-for-2024-projects-to-start/ Docker Host disk space cleanup: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/docker-overlay2-cleanup-5-ways-to-reclaim-disk-space/
Connect Kubernetes to your Synology NAS NFS share
YouTube Video VVVyeGNXdHBkMUlHSEc5UmJEXzkzODBBLnVQdDNWS1FPTUJz
We take a look at the Acemagician AD15 Core i7-11800H processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. I will show you guys how well it runs Proxmox and home lab workloads, including 32 Ubuntu VMs with 16 GB of memory! ★ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxcWtpd1IGHG9RbD_9380A?sub_confirmation=1 ★ My blog: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com ★ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster ★ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-vht/ ★ Github: https://github.com/brandonleegit ★ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/VirtualizationHowto/100092747277326/ ★ Discord: https://discord.gg/Zb46NV6mB3 ★ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/brandonleevht/ Introduction to Core i7 mini PC - 0:00 Introduction to Acemagic and mini PCs - 0:45 Looking at the Core i7-11800H processor and TDP, etc - 1:09 Talking about the Realtek network adapter - 1:40 Other hardware features of the AD15 - 2:05 Comparing the Ryzen 7 5800U and the Core i7-11800H - 2:40 Going over the PC Mark values for each processor - 2:54 Talking about idle time and running VMs, etc - 4:14 Looking at the physical overview of the Acemagic AD15 - 4:48 Front of the AD15 - 5:15 Overview of the back I/O configuration - 5:25 Realtek is 1 gig connection and not 2.5 Gbps - 5:34 Not a fan of the flaring of the case on the bottom - 6:00 Looking at how you get access for hardware upgrades - 6:39 Logged into Proxmox and viewing virtual machines running - 7:19 Looking at CPU usage - 8:00 Generating some CPU load with updates - 8:15 Running a couple of Docker containers as well - 8:35 Was actually running on 16 GB of memory instead of 64 GB - 9:00 Looking at the configuration of the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS VMs - 9:35 It runs all the normal processes that most will be interested in for the home lab - 10:00 Summing up my thoughts on the Acemagician AD15 Core i7-11800H mini PC - 10:15 Concluding thoughts - 11:51 Written review of the Acemagician Mini PC - AD15 Core i7-11800H home server: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/10/acemagician-mini-pc-ad15-core-i7-11800h-home-server/ Intel NUC Alternative: GMK Nucbox K10 Ryzen 7 Home Server: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/intel-nuc-alternative-gmk-nucbox-k10-ryzen-7-home-server/ Things to know before you buy a mini PC: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/mini-pc-server-things-to-know-before-you-buy/ Beelink SER5 Mini PC with the Ryzen 7 5700U processor: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/beelink-ser5-mini-pc-amd-ryzen-7-home-server/
Acemagic AD15 Mini PC Review as Proxmox Home Lab Server
YouTube Video VVVyeGNXdHBkMUlHSEc5UmJEXzkzODBBLklrUzYxdkVTSExv
I had a lot of comments about mini pcs that are compatible with VMware ESXi. The GMKtek Nucbox K10 sports the Ryzen 7 5800U process with 16 threads and also has the Intel i225 2.5 Gbps network adapter, making it fully compatible with ESXi, at least from a consumer hardware/home lab perspective. This video takes a look at the GMKtek Nucbox K10 and running workloads that I had ran on an old Supermicro Xeon-D 1541-based host. ★ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxcWtpd1IGHG9RbD_9380A?sub_confirmation=1 ★ My blog: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com ★ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster ★ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-vht/ ★ Github: https://github.com/brandonleegit ★ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/VirtualizationHowto/100092747277326/ ★ Discord: https://discord.gg/Zb46NV6mB3 Introduction - 0:00 Discussing the mini PC market and VMware options - 0:32 Utilizing onboard networking with VMware - 0:56 i225 or i226 option s- 1:11 Introducing the GMKtek Nucbox K10 - 1:19 It runs the i225 network adapter - 1:49 How viable is this to replace my old Xeon-D 1541? 2:10 Advanced look at the hardware in the GMKtek Nucbox K10 - 3:05 K10 comes with other features you can use for desktop replacement - 3:52 Looking at the GMKtec Nucbox K10 in my vCenter Server inventory - 4:33 Talking about the workloads thrown at the Nucbox K10 - 5:30 Looking at the 2.5 Gbps LAN adapter on the K10 - 6:40 CPU utilization - 7:00 Discussing some of the downsides of the K10 when thinking of it as a server - 7:19 What types of ESXi hosts I think the K10 is good for - 8:40 Concluding thoughts about the GMKtek Nucbox K10 - 8:55 Read the written writeup of the GMKtek Nucbox K10 here: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/intel-nuc-alternative-gmk-nucbox-k10-ryzen-7-home-server/ Things to know before you buy a mini PC as a server: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/mini-pc-server-things-to-know-before-you-buy/
ESXi Mini PC Server with the GMKtek Nucbox K10
YouTube Video VVVyeGNXdHBkMUlHSEc5UmJEXzkzODBBLkRYRWFmSnExS1NR
I try out the Beelink SER5 with the Ryzen 7 5700U processor. This is an 8 core, 16 thread, low-power processor that is a great value. Check out my thoughts on making this little mini PC a home server in the home server lab. ★ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxcWtpd1IGHG9RbD_9380A?sub_confirmation=1 ★ My blog: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com ★ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster ★ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-vht/ ★ Github: https://github.com/brandonleegit ★ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/VirtualizationHowto/100092747277326/ ★ Discord: https://discord.gg/Zb46NV6mB3 Introduction to a Ryzen 7 mini PC to run a home lab - 0:00 Overview of trying out different mini PCs 0:29 Introducing the Beelink SER5 with 5700U processor - 0:42 Max memory is 64GB of DDR4 memory - 1:08 2280 NVMe slot and a 2.5 inch SSD - 1:29 The problem with many mini PCs and network adapters - 2:05 VMware will not detect the Realtek network adapter - 2:30 Less than desirable to have a LAN port you can't use - 2:42 I wanted to run all hypervisors, the Beelink falls short in this area - 3:00 Beginning the physical overview of the Beelink SER5 5700U - 3:27 Front of the unit - 4:00 Back of the unit - 4:10 Beelink makes their mini PCs to take apart and upgrade - 4:55 Looking at Proxmox 8 console - 5:33 Proxmox overview of CPU details and memory - 5:40 Looking at workloads - 6:12 Talking about cloning Ubuntu Server template - 6:49 Even with a number of VMs, just a bit of CPU usage - 7:00 Talking about the hardware configuration of the virtual machines - 7:28 Opening the console to a virtual machine - 7:47 Thinking about real world home lab workloads - 8:15 No issues interacting with VMs - 9:00 Concluding thoughts on the Beeink SER5 with the Ryzen 7 5700U, is it worth it? 9:37 The written write up of the Beelink SER5 5700U mini pc: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/beelink-ser5-mini-pc-amd-ryzen-7-home-server/ XCP-ng home server build with the Citrix Hypervisor: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/xcp-ng-home-server-build-with-citrix-hypervisor/ Mini PC - things to know before you buy one for a home server: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/mini-pc-server-things-to-know-before-you-buy/
Beelink SER5 - Ryzen 7 Mini PC Home Server
YouTube Video VVVyeGNXdHBkMUlHSEc5UmJEXzkzODBBLmlod29FWUpYeXJv
If you are looking for a power efficient server with a low TDP value, high core count, and 2.5 Gbps networking, the Beelink EQ12 Pro may just be the little mini PC for you. With the i226 network adapters it can run either VMware vSphere or Proxmox, XCP-ng, etc. In this video we take a look at the unit, the processing power, RAM capacities, and running virtual machines using VMware vSphere 8! ★ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxcWtpd1IGHG9RbD_9380A?sub_confirmation=1 ★ My blog: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com ★ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster ★ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-vht/ ★ Github: https://github.com/brandonleegit ★ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/VirtualizationHowto/100092747277326/ ★ Discord: https://discord.gg/Zb46NV6mB3 Introduction to power efficient mini pc for Home Server - 0:00 Introduction to the Beelink EQ12 Pro - 0:30 Intel N305 processor with 8 cores and 8 threads - 00:45 Comparing to the N100 - 0:56 DDR5 memory - 1:13 Talking about the documented 16 GB Max memory - 1:20 Talking about installing 32 GB of memory - 1:30 Talking about the NVMe 2280 slot - 2:33 Intel i226 controller with dual 2.5 Gbps network - 3:30 Physical look at the Beelink EQ12 - 4:00 Looking at the EQ12 Pro in VMware vSphere - 5:15 Talking about TPM errors and warnings with the EQ12 in vSphere - 5:43 Looking at the variety of servers running on the EQ12 Pro - 6:15 Looking at the performance monitor in the vSphere Client - 6:57 Talking about the responsiveness of the unit - 7:15 Talking about the N305 running virtual machines - 7:44 Concluding thoughts on the Beelink EQ12 Pro with the i3 N305 processor - 8:06 Written write up of the Beelink EQ12 Pro: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/beelink-eq12-pro-cheap-home-server-with-8-cores-and-32-gb-ram/ 5 Tips to install ESXi on a Mini PC: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/08/5-tips-to-install-esxi-on-a-mini-pc/ Looking for a Ryzen 7-based mini PC? Check out my write up of the Beelink SER5 here: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/beelink-ser5-mini-pc-amd-ryzen-7-home-server/
Beelink EQ12 Pro: Low Power High Core Home Server!
YouTube Video VVVyeGNXdHBkMUlHSEc5UmJEXzkzODBBLm5GcGZxU1QwWEdR
In testing and playing around with a lot of Mini PCs in the lab envirnoment lately, this video showcases the Beelink Mini S12 Pro which I think will make a great little Proxmox micro server for running a few workloads, containers, virtual machines, and other tasks as a home server. Check out my thoughts and review of the hardware for this type of use case. ★ Subscribe to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrxcWtpd1IGHG9RbD_9380A?sub_confirmation=1 ★ My blog: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com ★ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vspinmaster ★ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-vht/ ★ Github: https://github.com/brandonleegit ★ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/VirtualizationHowto/100092747277326/ ★ Discord: https://discord.gg/Zb46NV6mB3 Introduction - 0:00 Introduction to the Beelink Mini S12 Pro - 0:37 Hardware specs of the Beelink Mini S12 Pro - 0:51 Overview of the Intel N100 CPU - 1:04 Describing the efficiency of the CPU - 1:22 DDR5 memory and configuration of the S12 Pro - 1:41 NVMe 2280 slot for storage - 2:09 Describing the networking of the Beelink S12 Pro - 2:34 Realtek incompatibility with VMware - 2:51 Talking about the experiment to see what this class fo hardware can run - 3:26 Overview of the Proxmox installation, LXC containers, and virtual machines - 3:48 System resource overview - 4:16 Responsiveness of the unit and running updates in containers for workloads - 4:23 No torture tests but real-world tasks being ran - 4:55 Idle time is desirable for home labs for power efficiency - 5:13 Very good fit for home lab workloads - 5:33 Talking about perhaps spinning up even more workloads - 5:57 RAM is most likely the bottleneck with 16 GB of memory and the N100 - 6:12 What is the sweet spot for this class of hardware in the home lab? 6:43 Why run a hypervisor instead of bare metal on this type of hardware? 7:04 Concluding thoughts on the Beelink Mini S12 Pro - 7:33 Write up of the home server review of the Beelink Mini PC S12 Pro: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/09/beelink-mini-pc-s12-pro-proxmox-home-server/ 5 Tips to install ESXi on a Mini PC: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/08/5-tips-to-install-esxi-on-a-mini-pc/ Mini Server for the Home lab: GMKtec Nukbox G2: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/08/mini-server-for-home-lab-gmktec-nucbox-g2/
Proxmox Mini Server: Beelink Mini PC S12 Pro
YouTube Video VVVyeGNXdHBkMUlHSEc5UmJEXzkzODBBLnhBX25uR083SHpB
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Resolution

The resolution to the issue above for me was to restart the VMware tools service.  When I attempted in this case to restart the VMware tools service, it failed to start in a timely fashion.  However, manually attempting to start it was successful.

Restart-Service "VMware Tools"

If you run into an instance where you can’t stop a service and it is hung in the stopping state, you can find the PID the service is using and then kill the process which will kill the service as well.  Find the PID number using the command below and then kill it.

 

 

sc queryex VMTools

taskkill /f /pid <PID number>

Other troubleshooting VMware tools may also be uninstalling VMware Tools and then reinstalling.

Thoughts

If you run into the error Failed to prepare guest Veeam Guest Agent is not started, looking at services and especially VMware Tools state is a great place to start.  Once you have made sure VMware Tools is in a good state – service is running, no errors in event viewer, you should be able to kick off the affected backup job and it should complete successfully with application aware settings turned on.

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Brandon LeeFebruary 28, 2017
1 minute read
Photo of Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee is the Senior Writer, Engineer and owner at Virtualizationhowto.com and has over two decades of experience in Information Technology. Having worked for numerous Fortune 500 companies as well as in various industries, Brandon has extensive experience in various IT segments and is a strong advocate for open source technologies. Brandon holds many industry certifications, loves the outdoors and spending time with family.

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