That's a great question, and one that we hear a lot unfortunately. The worst part is, there's not a simple answer. Here's a list of some of the most common answers:
- The machine is taking longer than the 30 minute maximum timeout to fully boot
- The hard-coded resources provided to the test VM aren't sufficient
- There are driver issues with the VM
- The hypervisor you're using is supported by SPX VirtualBoot, but not by ImageManager
- The VM is booting to the Lock Screen, which then turns off the virtual display in 1 minute, resulting in a blank screenshot
- Mercury is in retrograde
- A butterfly flapped it's wings on the other side of the world
Obviously, I'm exaggerating a bit, but the unfortunate truth is that there are so many things that can go wrong with the automatic screenshot verification process, and most of them have nothing to do with the ability to actually VirtualBoot or restore your customers backups. That's why Servosity does not recommend using the Screenshot Verification feature as a means to check if a backup is valid. Instead, we suggest that you set up the automatic Volume Integrity Checking. It's a much more stable feature, and more reliable as well, for several reasons:
- It validates the data integrity on the entire drive, not just the OS files and boot configuration.
- It will verify all volumes, not just the boot volume.
- It uses the Microsoft Chkdsk tool to verify a mounted image, so no Hypervisor or virtualization is required.
- It can be run in a Single-Server environment, directly on the machine being backed up.
- An automated Virtualboot is less reliable than a manual one, offers no configuration options, and nearly all boot errors are easily repairable so long as the data is intact, which the chkdsk will ensure.
Screenshot verification is still useful to periodically verify that the virtualization environment is working properly, so Servosity will support automatic screenshot verifications, with the following conditions:
- We will only support screenshot verification running on a dedicated BDR. Chkdsk verification is a much better tool to confirm a backup is valid. Screenshot verification should only be used to verify the recovery environment.
- We will not troubleshoot a failing screenshot verification if a manual VirtualBoot is successful.
- If a screenshot is sent, that means the recovery environment is working properly. If the screenshot shows an unexpected result, such as a blank screen, chkdsk, or blue screen of death, we will help troubleshoot these on request, as long as the chkdsk verification for that volume shows no errors
- If a verification email is sent, but shows errors, that indicates a problem with the virtualization environment, and we will be happy to help troubleshoot those errors.
- If verification is enabled but no emails are being delivered to CheckCentral, we will of course help fix those issues.
If you'd like to know more about what the "Check Volume Integrity" option does, and how to enable it, check out this KB article: Setting up ImageManager automatic Volume Integrity Checking