Replication job to VMware Virtual Volumes (VVols) fails with VDDK error: 7 (A file access error occurred on the host or guest operating system)

Article Applicability

The issue documented in this article is caused by a VMware-level issue and as such, affects every version of Veeam Backup & Replication.

Challenge

A Replication job targeting a VVOL fails with the error:

Error: VDDK error: 7 (A file access error occurred on the host or guest operating system). Value: 0x0000000000000007

Cause

This error occurs when attempting to replicate a VM to a VVOL datastore.

Solution

Due to a change starting in ESXi 6.0 Update 1, replication and quick migration to VVol datastores is not possible with either Veeam or vSphere replication.[1][2][3]

More Information

[1] <https://www.veeam.com/veeam_backup_11_a_release_notes_rn.pdf&gt; p23
[2] <https://www.veeam.com/veeam_backup_12_release_notes_rn.pdf&gt; p24
[3] <https://www.veeam.com/veeam_backup_12_1_release_notes_rn.pdf&gt; p25

VMware VDDK Release Notes:

Avoid creating snapshots for restore on VVol datastores. Due to Virtual Volume (VVol) implementation in the vSphere 6.0 release, VMware recommends against creating a snapshot (then reverting and deleting it) when restoring files on a VVol datastore. This is because writing to a non-leaf disk (such as a snapshot backing file) is considered a layering violation and throws an error on many VVol storage devices. Writing to the leaf disk of the snapshot is not a layering violation. The restore snapshot remains mandatory for SAN transport, which is not supported on VVol datastores anyway.

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