PBS not picking up tmpdir in /etc/vzdump.conf

[seanpe]

Hello! I have been running into some issues backing up a larger server, so I mounted a spare disk and asked vzdump to use it as a temporary directory

pbs:/# cat /etc/vzdump.conf
tmpdir: /mnt/pbs-datastore

but PBS doesn't seem to pick up that I defined that. I've tried restarting PBS just to see if maybe that would help, but still is not using it. Am I doing something wrong here?

 

[Impact]

This is a PVE side thing. You configure it on the PVE node that actually does the backup to PBS.
You only need this if your storage/backup isn't "optimally" configured, by the way. For example if you can't do snapshots or use suspend mode.
Maybe you can share more information so we can make it not needed?

 

[seanpe]

This is a PVE side thing. You configure it on the PVE node that actually does the backup to PBS.
You only need this if your storage/backup isn't "optimally" configured, by the way. For example if you can't do snapshots or use suspend mode.
Maybe you can share more information so we can make it not needed?

Thanks, that makes sense.

It's not optimally configured; PBS running in a VM on one of the hosts, backing up to a NAS. Research suggested it was workable if I was able to add in a tmp dir, but I now assume that each host that is going to back stuff up will need one. Is that right?

 

[Impact]

Maybe. Depends on the guests you back up and their storage setup.

 

[seanpe]

They are all Windows guests, with VM data storage on ceph. I was able to just trigger a backup from the host itself and that went through, I guess pushing it out to the NAS through PBS is a little different.

Seems like I'm going to have to add a "scratch" disk to each of the hosts and use it as a tempdir. I know that backing up straight to the NAS is not PBS best practice, nor is running PBS in a VM, but that's what I've got to work with at the moment.

 

[Impact]

I'd need to see the backup task log and the VM config(s). Tmpdir is not related to the PBS storage.

 

[fiona]

Hi,
the tmpdir setting does not apply to VM backups (except for configuration files). It only applies to suspend-mode container backups. But you could enable backup fleecing: https://pve.proxmox.com/pve-docs/chapter-vzdump.html#_vm_backup_fleecing

 

[seanpe]

Thank you for that information. I will check that out when I am back at my desk.

I will also post the backup log and one of the VM configs from a failing server.