How to Configure Druva Agent to take live Backup as a workaround for VSS Issues

Overview

By default, the Phoenix agent relies on Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to take consistent backup snapshots. If VSS encounters errors, backups will fail until the service issue is resolved on the host server.

Because fixing VSS issues often requires system reboots or configuration changes that cannot be performed immediately, you can temporarily configure the Phoenix agent to perform a live backup instead.

⚠️ Important Considerations

Temporary Workaround: Druva strongly recommends using Microsoft VSS whenever possible. Use live backup only until you can resolve the underlying VSS error.
Skipped Files: Files that are open or being modified during a live backup will be skipped. Consequently, the backup job status will complete as "Successful with errors."

Step 1: Stop the Volume Shadow Copy Service

Open the Run dialog (Win + R), type services.msc, and press Enter.
Locate Volume Shadow Copy in the list and check its current status.
Double-click Volume Shadow Copy to open its properties.
On the General tab, click Stop if the service is running, then click OK.

Step 2: Configure the Agent Configuration File

To force live backups, you must set an invalid VSS Provider GUID in the agent's configuration file. When the backup runs, VSS initialization will fail and the agent will automatically fall back to live backup.

Locate the Configuration File

Agent v6.x.x (Windows 2008 / 2012):
C:\ProgramData\Phoenix\FS\Phoenix.cfg
Agent v7.x.x and later:
C:\ProgramData\Druva\EnterpriseWorkloads\Config.yaml
- C:\ProgramData\Druva\EnterpriseWorkloads\fs\Config.yaml

Option A: Force Live Backup for All Drives

Stop the Hybrid Workloads Agent Client service.
Open the configuration file in a text editor.
Add the VSS_PROVIDER_ID parameter with a dummy/invalid GUID:
YAML
```
VSS_PROVIDER_ID = '{12345678-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}'
```
(Ensure there are no spaces between the curly braces and quotation marks.)
Save the configuration file.
Start the Hybrid Workloads Agent Client service.

Option B: Force Live Backup for Specific Drives

Stop the Hybrid Workloads Agent Client service.
Open the configuration file in a text editor.

Add the VSS_PROVIDER_ID_VOLUMES parameter specifying the target drive letters with an invalid GUID:

YAML

VSS_PROVIDER_ID_VOLUMES = {"C:\\": "{12345678-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}", "D:\\": "{12345678-7b9f-4925-af80-51abd60b20d5}"}

Save the configuration file.
Start the Hybrid Workloads Agent Client service.