Hyper-V: Configure guest operating systems for VSS-based backups to enable application-consistent snapshots for Hyper-V Replica

This article is intended to provide more information about a specific issue that can be identified by running a Best Practices Analyzer scan for Hyper-V. It also can be used without running a scan, as general troubleshooting and best practice information to help you configure your server appropriately. If you have troubleshooting steps or information that would improve this article, please add it. For instructions on how to edit a TechNet Wiki article, see Wiki: How to Use the Editor.

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Note: The following sections provide details about the specific issue. Italics indicates UI text that appears in the Best Practices Analyzer tool for the specific issue.

Issue

Application-consistent snapshots requires that Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS) is enabled and configured in the guest operating systems of virtual machines participating in replication.

Impact

Even if application-consistent snapshots are specified in the replication configuration, Hyper-V will not use them unless VSS is configured. This impacts the following virtual machines: <list of virtual machines>

Resolution

Use Virtual Machine Connection to install integration services in the virtual machine.

Additional references