#1 Global Leader in Data Protection & Ransomware Recovery

RHV Backup warning: "Unable to enabled ovirt incremental backups for disk. Full scan backups will be performed."

KB ID: 4208
Product: Veeam Backup for Red Hat Virtualization
Published: 2021-10-07
Last Modified: 2021-10-07
mailbox
Get weekly article updates
By subscribing, you are agreeing to have your personal information managed in accordance with the terms of Veeam's Privacy Notice.

Cheers for trusting us with the spot in your mailbox!

Now you’re less likely to miss what’s been brewing in our knowledge base with this weekly digest

error icon

Oops! Something went wrong.

Please try again later.

Challenge

A backup job for a Red Hat Virtualization VM was unable to enable incremental backup support. The following warning occurs:
Unable to enabled ovirt incremental backups for disk '':. Full scan backups will be performed. Please see KBxxxxx for more information

Solution

Here are the two most common causes of this issue and how to resolve them.

Cause: Incremental Backup Support is disabled at the system level

After upgrade Red Hat Virtualization from older versions, incremental backup support may be disabled at the system level.

Solution:

  1. Connect to the ovirt-engine system via ssh
  2. Execute the following commands:
engine-config -s "IsIncrementalBackupSupported=true"
systemctl restart ovirt-engine

Cause: VM Disk created without Incremental Backup support

When creating a VM disk, if the option for 'Enable Incremental Backup' is not enabled, the disk will be created in RAW format and won't support incremental backups. After the disk has been created, the 'Enable Incremental Backup' option will be greyed out and cannot be enabled.

Solution:

There are two methods to resolve this limitation.

  1. (Recommended) Create a snapshot of the VM. Then, edit the disk and enable the Incremental Backup option.

    Note: The snapshot must remain in place. If it is removed, the Incremental Backup option will become disabled. In the long term, you should rebuild the VM/disk to have Incremental Backup enabled on the disk at the time of creation.

  2. Convert the disk from RAW to QCOW2 using the qemu-img utility.
    Please use official documentation
    https://qemu.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tools/qemu-img.html.
    This method is not recommended as the conversion process can be time-consuming, and there is a risk of data loss.
To submit feedback regarding this article, please click this link: Send Article Feedback
To report a typo on this page, highlight the typo with your mouse and press CTRL + Enter.

Spelling error in text

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Thank you!

Thank you!

Your feedback has been received and will be reviewed.

Oops! Something went wrong.

Please try again later.

You have selected too large block!

Please try select less.

KB Feedback/Suggestion

This form is only for KB Feedback/Suggestions, if you need help with the software open a support case

By submitting, you are agreeing to have your personal information managed in accordance with the terms of Veeam's Privacy Notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Verify your email to continue your product download
We've sent a verification code to:
  • Incorrect verification code. Please try again.
An email with a verification code was just sent to
Didn't receive the code? Click to resend in sec
Didn't receive the code? Click to resend
Thank you!

Thank you!

Your feedback has been received and will be reviewed.

error icon

Oops! Something went wrong.

Please try again later.