Understand the common limitations and known issues of the IBM® Storage Defender Copy Data Management application before you start using it.
Common limitations and known issues
The catalog backup procedure does not complete successfully when the Exclude File Analytics option is enabled
Description
When the user enables the Exclude File Analytics option and runs the catalog backup, the backup fails without generating an error message.
Figure 1. Exclude File Analytics
Workaround
Run the catalog backup procedure without enabling the Exclude File Analytics option.
Catalog backup may not complete in an air-gapped environment
Description
In an air-gapped environment, catalog backup may not complete if an invalid DNS is configured by using the search option in the /etc/resolv.conf file.
Workaround
Complete the following steps:
On the Copy Data Management appliance, edit the /etc/resolv.conf file and remove the search option.
SSH to the Copy Data Management appliance with root access and issue the following commands:
Log in to AdminConsole UI and rerun the catalog backup.
Running multiple backup or restore jobs in parallel for the same application is not supported
Description
Do not schedule or manually run multiple backup or restore jobs for the same application in parallel.
Workaround
None
Incremental FlashCopy is not supported for Local and Global Mirror backups of applications deployed virtually on VMs
Description
Using the incremental FlashCopy option within the IBM Storage Virtualize snapshot SLA can lead to issues when the application is deployed in a virtual environment. If the application is deployed virtually and has its data and logs on virtual disks (VMDKs), the incremental option does not work properly.
Workaround
Do not use FlashCopy Incremental for FlashCopy or Global Mirror in the SLA for backups of any applications (InterSystems, SAP HANA, Oracle, or SQL) on VMs. On VMs, the disks are considered as VMDKs.
Cancelling the job before inventory completion can lead to inconsistent or hung job state
Description
When you cancel a job before inventory completion the inventory completion can lead to an inconsistent and hung state of the job.
Workaround
None
Do not use the same SLA policy for multiple backup jobs
Description
The use of the same SLA policy with multiple backup jobs could result in empty consistency groups on IBM Storage FlashSystem when the flash copies are condensed by the Copy Data backup job.
Workaround
Manually remove the empty flash copy mappings, along with the associated jobs and SLA policy. Then, create a new SLA policy and a backup job with one-to-one mapping between the SLA policy and the backup job.
Ignore warning message - Failed to add <DeviceName> to LVM devices file (['Devices file not enabled.'])
Description
When performing backup or restore operations for LVM-based applications, you may encounter the following message in the job log:
Failed to add <DeviceName> to LVM devices file (['Devices file not enabled.'])
This is just a warning message and does not affect the successful completion of the job.
Workaround
None
The Eligible for Protection column displays red alerts in the Application Configuration report for certain applications
Description
When generating the Application Configuration report from the Reports section with Application Type as All, the report displays unexpected red alerts under the Eligible for Protection column for the following applications:
SAP HANA (registered as a physical server)
ORACLE (registered as physical server)
IRIS-RHEL (registered as virtual server)
Workaround
None
Downloading some reports in the “Word format” is not supported
Description
You can download following reports only in the pdf, html, and excel format. Downloading these reports in Word format is not supported.
Job report
Application RPO Compliance report
File System RPO Compliance report
IBM Storage Virtualize RPO Compliance report
IBM Storage Virtualize Pools report
IBM Storage Virtualize Volumes report
IBM Storage Virtualize for Snapshot Pools report
IBM Storage Virtualize for Snapshot Volumes report
VMware Orphaned LUNs report
VMware Orphaned Datastores report
VMware LUNs report
VMware Datastores report
Workaround
None
MongoDB connection script fails on PowerPC deployments
In environments where IBM Defender Copy Data Management (CDM) is deployed on PowerPC systems, the connect-mongodb.sh script located at /opt/scdm/tools/db/connect-mongodb.sh fails to establish a connection to the MongoDB database.The script expects the MongoDB client binary at /usr/bin/mongo, which is not present on PowerPC deployments. As a result, the script execution fails with the following error:
Connecting to MongoDB at <IP_address>:27017 as user 'ecxadmin'... /opt/scdm/tools/db/connect-mongodb.sh: line 154: /usr/bin/mongo: No such file or directory
This issue prevents users from connecting to MongoDB using the provided script.
Enter the password obtained in Step 1 when prompted.
Access the required database:
use ECDB_master
show collections
IBM Storage Virtualize for Snapshot specific limitations
Recovery points are not visible for restore when mixed retention policies exist on same volume
Description
When two backup jobs are created for the same volume, one by using retention by count and the other by using retention by days, and neither job is scheduled, with only one backup each, an issue can occur. If the day-based retention job creates its backup after the count-based job, then once the day-based recovery points expire, the recovery points for the count-based job does not appear when creating a restore job, even though they still exist in the catalog. The issue does not occur if either job is scheduled and has at least one unexpired recovery point.
Workaround
Execute the backup job with retention by day and take a new backup to ensure that recovery points for the other backup job are visible when creating a restore job.
Incomplete Application RPO compliance report
Description
You may see an incomplete or invalid Application RPO compliance report for IBM Storage Virtualize for Snapshot.
Workaround
None
IBM Power specific limitations
IBM Storage Defender Copy Data Management installation or upgrade fails occasionally in air-gapped environment
Description
Installation or upgrade of IBM Storage Defender Copy Data Management occasionally fails in an air-gapped environment.
Workaround
Verify that the PowerPC Linux host where IBM Storage Defender Copy Data Management is deployed has active internet connectivity and that all network configurations, including DNS and default gateway, are configured correctly.
IBM Storage Defender Copy Data Management installation may fail on IBM Power with "provided IP is already allocated" error
Description
When the user installs IBM Storage Defender Copy Data Management installation on IBM Power, it may fail due to "provided IP is already allocated" error, leading to pod failures in installation. The installation logs may show below error message:
Error: Service "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx" is invalid: spec.clusterIPs: Invalid value: []string{"X.X.X.X"}: failed to allocate IP X.X.X.X": provided IP is already allocated
Workaround
Uninstall and then reinstall IBM Storage Defender Copy Data Management to complete the installation successfully. If the issue persists, contact IBM Support.
Policy-based high availability (PBHA) specific limitations
Any create or delete operation is supported only on the AMS node
Description
For PBHA, any create or delete operation must be performed on the AMS node. Revert of volume from a snapshot is only allowed on the current AMS node. Therefore, to revert a volume from a snapshot, you must choose the backup that is created on the node which is currently acting as AMS.
PBHA backups are first cataloged on the primary site, then on secondary site
Description
For PBHA backup, first snapshots are taken and cataloged on the primary site. Subsequently, snapshots are cataloged on the secondary site. Any errors encountered with failed or partially failed volumes are recorded.
Workaround
None
For PBHA backup of storage volumes, the consistency group option is ignored
Description
For PBHA storage volume backups, the consistency group option is disregarded. If the volumes belong to different volume groups, they are grouped by their respective volume groups. Individual snapshots are taken for each volume group.
Workaround
None
All selected databases must be in the same volume group for application backup
Description
For backup of application (database) volumes, all selected databases must be in the same volume group.
Workaround
None
The database restore operation on a SQL database from a remote copy is not supported
Description
Restoring a SQL database from a remote copy is not supported when the backup is created by using a PBHA policy. Only local disk-based restores are permitted. Even if the database resides on a host with access to both primary and disaster recovery (DR) site storage, the snapshot is taken at the DR site is considered a remote copy for the host.
Workaround
This limitation is due to an existing Microsoft SQL database limitation. No workaround is available for this limitation. You can use the revert volume functionality in case you want to restore the database. The revert volume functionality replaces the original volume with the data from the selected snapshot.
Database restore for SAP is not supported on original as well as alternate server when backup is created by using a PBHA policy
Description
When a backup is created by using a PBHA policy, you cannot use it to do database restore. Restore cannot be performed on either the original or alternate server.
Workaround
This limitation is due to IBM FlashSystem design. You can use the revert volume functionality in case you want to restore the database. The revert volume functionality replaces the original volume with the data from the selected snapshot.
Policy-based replication (PBR) specific limitations
Consistency group requires unified grouping
Description
If consistency group is enabled for PBR backup of storage volumes, all volumes must be in the same volume group.
Workaround
None
Creating a single SLA policy with two sub-policies is not supported
Description
If you need snapshots at both the primary and disaster recovery (DR) sites in PBR setup, you cannot create an SLA policy with two sub-policies, one for primary site and another for DR site.
Workaround
When setting up a backup job in a PBR setup, if you need snapshots at both the primary and DR sites, you must create two separate SLA policies, one for the primary site, and another for the DR site.
The database restore operation on a SQL database from a remote copy is not supported
Description
Restoring a SQL database from a remote copy is not supported when the backup is created using a PBR policy, which is the only available option in a PBR setup. Only local disk-based restores are permitted. Even if the database resides on a host with access to both primary and DR) site, the snapshot is taken at the DR site is considered a remote copy from the host.
Workaround
This limitation is due to an existing Microsoft SQL database limitation. No workaround is available for this limitation.
Dell PowerMax Storage specific limitations
The revert operation from a remote copy is not supported
Description
For Dell PowerMax Storage arrays, the revert operation from a remote copy is not supported.
Workaround
If the user selects a remote copy from the available options for the revert operation, the restore job will fail. No workaround is available for this limitation.
Note: If you reattempt a revert by using a local copy after previously attempting a revert from a remote copy (which is not supported), subsequent attempts to perform a revert may fail.
Maintenance jobs may fail to delete snapshots from Dell PowerMax Storage arrays if source volumes are with identical names
Description
For Dell PowerMax Storage, maintenance jobs may fail to delete snapshots from the storage arrays as expected after the retention period ends if the source volumes (i.e., volumes for which snapshots are taken) have identical names across multiple arrays managed under the same Unisphere instance. The naming conflict may result in incorrect volume resolution during snapshot deletion, causing the cleanup process to fail.
Workaround
Manually delete the snapshots after their retention period ends.
Restore of Oracle database fails on Dell PowerMax, if restore with additional parameters like putting database in read-only or noarchivelog mode is selected
Description
During the restore of Oracle database deployed on Dell PowerMax or Dell PowerFlex Storage, if user selects to configure database in read-only mode or noarchivelog mode using Advanced options, restore job fails to complete with error that it failed to run additional parameters.
Workaround
None. User should avoid using these advanced options to restore Oracle database on Dell Storage platform.
VMFS datastore restore conflicts due to storage group level snapshots
Dell PowerMax performs snapshots at the Storage Group level rather than at individual VM or datastore levels. When multiple VMware VMs across different VMFS datastores are protected within the same Storage Group, all recovery points are grouped together during backup. During restore, PowerMax attempts to present and import all VMFS datastores in the recovery point, which can cause datastore signature and UUID conflicts in ESXi due to duplicate metadata, potentially leading to restore failure. This is a known limitation of the current Storage Group–based protection model.
Workaround
Configure VMware protection with one VM per backup set, ensuring each VM resides on a single VMFS datastore. Perform backup and restore operations on this isolated VM datastore pair to prevent datastore signature and UUID conflicts. This approach ensures a more reliable and successful restore process.
Dell PowerFlex Storage specific limitations
The revert operation from a remote copy is not supported
Description
For Dell PowerFlex Storage arrays, the revert operation from a remote copy is not supported.
Workaround
If the user selects a remote copy from the available options for the revert operation, the restore job will fail. No workaround is available for this limitation.
Remote snapshot and restore require higher privileges in Dell PowerFlex due to a known limitation in PowerFlex Manager 4.6.1
Description
You can successfully execute remote snapshot and restore workflows only when the associated Dell PowerFlex Storage arrays are registered with super-user–level Dell PowerFlex credentials in the Copy Data Management appliance.
Workaround
None
Remote replication backup job does not fail when RCG volumes are still syncing
Description
When a Remote Replication backup job is initiated while the Replication Consistency Group (RCG) volumes are still syncing, the job is expected to fail, but it does not.
Workaround
Rerun the job after the RCG volumes have completed syncing.
Remote replication backup job does not fail when RCG is not configured
Description
In virtual app environments, if the user initiates a Remote Replication backup job without configuring a Replication Consistency Group (RCG) for remote replication, the job is expected to fail, but it goes into RESOURCE ACTIVE state.
Workaround
Create a new backup job after configuring RCG for remote replication.
Dell PowerStore Storage specific limitations
The revert operation from a remote copy is not supported
Description
For Dell PowerStore Storage arrays, the revert operation from a remote copy is not supported for workloads including all database applications and VMWare.
Workaround
If the user selects a remote copy from the available options for the revert operation, the restore job will fail. No workaround is available for this limitation.
SAP HANA database specific limitations
For SAP HANA alternate hosts, the restore operation is not supported
Description
For SAP HANA alternate hosts, the restore (Instant Disk and Instant Database) operation is not supported. You need to restore it on the same source host.
Workaround
None
The Copy Data Management UI displays the "Identity cannot be deleted as it is in use" error when you try to delete both keys and credentials for an unregistered SAP HANA database
Description
If an SAP HANA database is registered with SSH keys and database credentials, unregistering it successfully still does not allow you to remove the associated keys and database credentials. When you try to delete, the Copy Data Management UI displays the "Identity cannot be deleted as it is in use" error.
Workaround
Create new identity and private key for SAP HANA registration.
Oracle database specific limitations
The revert operation can only be used for backups that are created by using the IBM Storage Virtualize for Snapshot and Dell PowerMax Storage SLA policies
Description
For Oracle database applications, the revert operation is only available for the backups that are created by using the IBM Storage Virtualize for Snapshot and Dell PowerMax Storage SLA policies.
Workaround
None
Microsoft SQL Server specific limitations
Microsoft SQL database restore operations to a remote SQL server are not supported
Description
Microsoft SQL database restore operations to a remote SQL server are not supported due to an existing limitation of Microsoft SQL Server.
Workaround
None
The revert operation is not supported for SQL Server Failover Clustering and AlwaysOn configuration for Microsoft SQL databases registered as virtual in the Copy Data Management appliance
Description
The revert operation is not supported for SQL Server Failover Clustering and AlwaysOn configuration for Microsoft SQL databases registered as virtual in the Copy Data Management appliance.
Workaround
None
VMware specific limitations
The restore operation to an older snapshot is not supported if a new snapshot is used for mirror replication
Description
You cannot restore to an older snapshot if you have used a new snapshot for mirror replication.
Workaround
None
The revert operation is not supported for individual VMs of VMware hypervisor
Description
The revert operation is available only for datastores and not supported for individual VMs of VMware hypervisor.
Workaround
None
Sentinel specific limitations
Orphaned volumes on AIX proxy server with Sentinel
Description
During the scanning of AIX-based workloads, the file system unmount operation on the AIX proxy server may exceed the expected time limit and fail to complete.
Workaround
As a workaround, you can follow one of the following methods, either on the Copy Data Management appliance or the AIX proxy server:
Copy Data Management side workaround:
Manually clean up the stale volume groups from the AIX proxy server.
Increase the unmount command timeout in the protection.application.AIX.proxy.unmount.timeout.seconds system property, which is available in the com.syncsort.dp.xsb.serviceprovider.properties properties file.
AIX side workaround:
Coordinate with the AIX team to identify the AIX version where the unmount command hang issue has been fixed.
Malware signature file upload fails with an RPM installation error
Description
When users download malware signature files and tries upload them through the UI, the upload operation fails with the following error message:
Message: Something went wrong during upgrade: zypper reported error installing rpm. RPM package of software upgrade: ransomsigdb-20251128-01
Workaround
None
Sentinel scanning jobs may fail for Physical LVM database workloads during volume group import
Description
Sentinel scanning jobs for Oracle, IRIS, and SAP HANA physical LVM database workloads may fail during the scan process when importing cloned LVM volume groups. These failures are associated with errors in the vgimportclone command, causing the Sentinel scan job to terminate.
