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Virtual Machine is unavailable and will be skipped from processing.  

KB ID: 1299
Product: Veeam Backup & Replication | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12.1 | 12.2
Published: 2011-10-15
Last Modified: 2024-08-14
Languages: IT | FR | ES
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Challenge

One or more virtual machines in a VMware Backup job fails with the following error:

Virtual Machine <VMname> is unavailable and will be skipped from processing.
Image showing what the error looks like in the Veeam GUI

Cause

This error occurs when a virtual machine's Managed Object Reference ID (MORef-ID) changes within the virtual infrastructure or the virtual machine is deleted. The virtual machine (VM) is still added to the Backup Job, and when the job starts, the job queries the vSphere infrastructure, attempting to find a VM with the MORef-ID that was recorded for that VM when it was first added to the job.

Note: The most common events that cause a VM MORef-ID to change are:

  • A VM is removed from inventory and then added back to inventory.
  • In rare cases, a host crash, which prompts the host to be removed and added back to the vCenter, may cause the VMs on that host to get new MoRef-IDs.
  • Reinstallation or creating a new vCenter server where the old database is not reused will cause all objects managed by the vCenter to receive new unique identifiers.
    Customers are encouraged to utilize the vCenter's native file-based backup to protect and restore the configuration, ensuring unique reference IDs are preserved.

 

Solution

Scenario 1: The VM No Longer Exists

If the VM was removed from the infrastructure and no longer exists, remove it from the backup job.

Scenario 2: The VM Still Exists

New MoRef-ID is treated as New VM
Veeam Backup & Replication tracks every VMware VM by its unique MoRef-ID. If the MoRef-ID for a machine changes, it is treated by Veeam Backup & Replication as a different machine. If the VM is added to a job where it was backed up previously, the existing restore point chain will not continue with the re-added VM because the VM now has a different MoRef-ID.

If the VM still exists in the environment, and the job displays the error "Virtual Machine is unavailable and will be skipped from processing." The VM must be re-added to the Backup job as demonstrated below:

  1. Edit the Job.
Edit job option in context menu
  1. Navigate to the Virtual Machines tab.
  2. Select the VM whose MORef-ID has changed.
  3. Click Remove.
On Virtual Machines tab vm selected, click remove Note that the VM having this issue will be listed with 0 B in the size column. 
  1. Click Add...
Clicking add..
  1. Click Refresh (Infrastructure information is cached, so the refresh function must be used when resolving this issue.)
  2. Add the VM removed in step 4.
Refresh and readd the VM
  1. Click [Finish] to save the Job settings.
Click finish to complete the editing of the job

More Information

  • The resolution can be confirmed without running the job. Edit the job, navigate to the "Virtual Machines" tab, and click the [Recalculate] button. Note that the VMs whose MORef-IDs changed now report as having the correct size.
  • Please be aware that VMs are tracked by their unique MoRef ID. When the MoRef changes, the VM is considered an entirely different VM. As such, Veeam Backup & Replication will treat them accordingly and create a Full restore point for the "new" VM.
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