Independent disks are virtual disks that are excluded from snapshots and VM-level backups. Prior to allowing full VM backups in UT-V "classic", secondary disks were typically provisioned as independent disks to facilitate the old backup standards. When UT-V classic moved to the opt-out backup policy, communications encouraged customers to request remediation of any "partial" VM backups (i.e. independent disks). However, there are still a number of VMs with independent disks.

Reverting to a VM snapshot leaves independent disks alone. Depending on your application and file systems, this may leave your application in an inconsistent state. File system volumes that span virtual disks should be on only dependent or independent disks but not a mix. Independent disks may be desirable for certain applications – like some databases that are backed up with other methods and do not handle VM snapshots well.

Checking for Independent Disks

1) Log into the the appropriate vCenter web client (see Interfaces and Logging In )

2) Using the search field at the top, search for your VM and click its name in the results. You can also browse for it via vCenter->VMs and Templates in the left panel.

3) From the Actions Menu, choose Edit Settings

4) Expand the hard disk and scroll down to "Disk Mode". The options will be grayed out but you can see which mode the disk is in.

Dependent disks will be included in snapshots and backups if you have not opted out. Independent disks will not be included. 

Requesting Changes

If you have any questions or would like to change the disk mode of any of your virtual disks, contact the ITS Help Desk at help@its.utexas.edu. You'll need to coordinate a shutdown of the VM with the UT-VMG team in order to make changes.