wbadmin error "Inconsistent shadow" win 2008 geo-cluster w/exchang

Greetings,

While attempting to backup the passive node of a Windows 2008 geo-cluster
that supports Exchange 2007, WBADMIN errors out. The following is the command
issued, please note that we are NOT attempting to backup the Exchange
databases with this command:

wbadmin start backup -backuptarget:\\fsrecc01\srv2k8_backups$ -include:c:,e:
-quiet -vssfull

The following error is returned:

Backup stopped before completing.
Detailed Error:
ERROR - Volume Shadow Copy Service operation error (0x800423f0)
the shadow-copy set only contains only a subset of the
volumes needed to correctly backup the selected components
of the writer.

This error appears to be directly related to Exchange, as the following is
reported by vssadmin:

vssadmin list writers

Writer name: 'Microsoft Exchange Writer'
Writer Id: {76fe1ac4-15f7-4bcd-987e-8e1acb462fb7}
Writer Instance Id: {a0b185ec-5cb4-4a77-8581-3091c97ee2d4}
State: [8] Failed
Last error: Inconsistent shadow copy

One last point... we are able to successfully issue the wbadmin command
above on the ACTIVE node of the cluster.

Does anyone have a clue to how to clear the inconsistent copy and more
importantly, how to make a successful copy on this node using WBADMIN?

Thanks in advance.
....rtn

--
Richard T. Narum
Duluth, MN

Hello Richard,

Thank you for posting in newsgroup.

According to the description, you tried perform backup on 2 node exchange
cluster on Windows Server 2008 the cluster resources.

You have encountered the issue that you can back up the Active node of the
Exchange cluster, however when you use wbadmin command line to back up the
Passive node of Windows Server 2008 clustering, the error message
"Inconsistent shadow copy" occurs and it fails.

If I have any misunderstanding, please feel free to let me know.

Analysis:
=========

Based on the experience, it has been reported a similar issue likes this
case. In that case, the customer reside the exchange database and log files
via mount point on the passive node. He received exactly the same error as
what you have viewed when he tried to run a backup of the system state
using wbadmin on the passive node. When Windows server backup tried to take
backup, the mount point will not be included and thus cause the
Inconsistent shadow copy error.

Detailed Error:

ERROR - Volume Shadow Copy Service operation error (0x800423f0)
the shadow-copy set only contains only a subset of the volumes needed to
correctly backup the selected components
of the writer.

Vssadmin list writers

Writer name: 'Microsoft Exchange Writer'
Writer Id: {76fe1ac4-15f7-4bcd-987e-8e1acb462fb7}
Writer Instance Id: {a0b185ec-5cb4-4a77-8581-3091c97ee2d4}
State: [8] Failed
Last error: Inconsistent shadow copy

From the result of the " Vssadmin list writers", this indicates that there
is no problem with the VSS infrastructure itself. However, the backup fails
because VSS is not able to take a correct snapshot.

Information needed:
======================

1. Could you please check how the Exchange server is configured to store
the database and log files without mount point?

2 .Are they being stored on different disks?

3. is the Exchange application installed on the Shared Disk?

4. What is the OS version of the Windows Server 2008 in the case? 32bit or
64bit?

Suggestion:
=================

Please check there are no mount points connect with Exchange database and
log files on both the active and the passive node.

Please check this out, and then test if you can back up the passive node
properly.

If the issue still exist, please run the MPS report (PFE version) on the
server for the analyzing. The MPS Reporting Tool is utilized to gather
detailed information regarding a systems current configuration. The data
collected will assist you with fault isolation.

1. Please download MPS Reporting Tool (MPSRPT_PFE.EXE) from the following
link:
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...0eac-720f-4441
-9ef6-ea9f657b5c2f&DisplayLang=en)

Please note: The link may be truncated when you read the E-mail. Be sure to
include all text between '(' and ')' when navigating to the download
location.

2. Right click MPSRPT_PFE.EXE and select Run as Administrator to run this
tool, and you will see a Command Window start up.

3. Please type Y with the message of <Include the MSINFO32 report?
(Defaults to Y in 15 seconds)[Y,N]?

4. When the tool is done you will see an Explorer Window opening up the
%systemroot%\MPSReports\Setup\Reports\cab folder and containing a
<Computername>MPSReports.cab file.

Please send the report to

Thanks for the co-operation.

David Shen
Microsoft Online Technical Support

Hello Richard,

I'd like to check how things are going. Did you have the chance to collect
the requested information? If you have any other questions, please do not
hesitate to let me know. I look forward to future updates.

David Shen
Microsoft Online Technical Support

David,
I am facing this same issue. We are unable to get scheduled System State Backups of our Passive node in the cluster. The VS writer indicated the Microsoft Exchange Writer is in an inconsistent shadow copy state. I noticed that this topic fizzled out. I would appreciate assistance regarding it.

Thanks,

Troy



Posted as a reply to:

RE: wbadmin error "Inconsistent shadow" win 2008 geo-cluster w/exchang

Hello Richard,

I'd like to check how things are going. Did you have the chance to collect
the requested information? If you have any other questions, please do not
hesitate to let me know. I look forward to future updates.

David Shen
Microsoft Online Technical Support

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