Problem Description
Disk exclusion may fail to apply during VMware VM backups, causing excluded virtual disks (VMDKs) to be added to the backup job unexpectedly. This results in unnecessary data upload, extended job completion times, and increased cloud storage consumption.
The VM disk file path might appear correctly excluded within the backup policy configuration, but the job logs show that the target disk is still processed during execution.
Traceback
Cause
Path Formatting Issues: Incorrect or incomplete datastore paths added to the exclusion list (e.g., missing spaces or incorrect use of wildcards).
Console Save Failure: The exclusion entry was not registered in the Druva Console (e.g., the administrator did not press Enter or click add after pasting the path string).
Active Manual Snapshots: The presence of manual or third-party snapshots on the VM can alter the active disk path definitions, interfering with Druva's exclusion matching logic.
Stale Metadata: Outdated virtual machine hardware or storage metadata cached on the backup proxy.
Disk Type Restrictions: Inconsistent snapshot chains or unsupported disk layouts on the vSphere side.
Traceback
Review the backup job progress logs for the following indicators:
Adding disk: [datastore] vmname/vmdkfile.vmdk Estimation completed, total data to upload: XX TB
(Note: If the exclusion fails on all paths or results in no remaining disks, the job may throw a VMWARE8 error code: No disk found in VM for backup. [All disks are excluded by user from exclude pattern(s)])
Symptoms
Backup jobs include VMDKs that were explicitly set to be skipped.
The job size estimation phase reports a significantly larger data payload than expected.
Backup logs explicitly reference the forbidden paths:
Plaintext
Adding disk: [datastore] vm-folder/vmname.vmdk
Jobs may fail, time out, or be manually cancelled due to unexpected data volume over restricted bandwidth windows.
Resolution
Execute the following steps sequentially to resolve the issue:
Verify and Sanitize the Exclusion Path: * Ensure the format strictly follows:
[datastore_name] directory_name/vmdk_name.vmdk.Tip: Copy the exact disk path directly from the vSphere Web Client > VM Edit Settings > Disk File field. Paste it into Notepad first to scrub any hidden formatting characters or unintended trailing spaces.
Commit the Console Entry:
When adding paths in the Druva Management Console under the backup policy, ensure you press Enter to convert the text string into an active tag before saving the policy.
Consolidate Snapshots:
Check the target VM in vCenter. If manual snapshots exist, perform a Delete All snapshot consolidation to bring the disk chain back to its base pointer.
Refresh VM Metadata:
If paths were recently modified or renamed on the host, force an environment refresh by clicking Refresh on the vCenters/ESXi infrastructure page inside the Druva Console.
Rerun Backup: * Kick off a manual Backup Now schema to verify the estimation block no longer counts the excluded VMDK.