TimeMachine does not backup everything!

[fryke]

The argument goes something like this: Anytime you even *boot* the virtual machine, the 5 GB (or much larger!!!) file is changed. You don't really *want* to add 5 GB (or much more in some cases) every hour, every day. It just doesn't make good sense.

[aicul]

Point taken Fryke but wouldn't you say that when someone activates TimeMachine it is for an obvious reason : To get backups done - whatever the archive disk capacity maybe.

By de-activating TimeMachine backups, VMware is actually tampering with my system setup WITHOUT any form of warning.

So my point is : I can understand all the logic about size, stability, ..., but I cannot understand someone overriding fundamental setups of my system without telling me.

I think it is plain bad programming quality and also a disregard of users on VMwares part.

[VirtualTracy]

Does this help any?

[aicul]

Hello VirgilTracy,

It helps and confirms other input by Mikuro. Seems the only way today is to setup a script that forcibly removes what VMware imposes.

Although the script is easy to write, it is quite impractical because a user should run it every time he closes a virtual machine and before TimeMachine kicks in.

Frankly I can understand Fryke's cmment. But I don't think VMware though it through because all the components are available to them:

1. use the file attributes to inhibit TimeMachine backup when a virutal machine is running. This implies setting them at machine start and removing them at machine stop.

2. for those that do not want, or think virtual machines will use too much archive disk, they can use the TimeMachine functionality of not saving specific folders (in preferences/timemamchine/options).

I really don't see where VMware thought their solution was sufficient. It purely ensures virtual machine stability and lets users discover for themselves that backups are not blocked.

[Mikuro]

I just had a funny idea: what if you put VMWare's disk image inside a 'sparsebundle' dmg? Apple made sparsebundles specifically to work with Time Machine, I think — they're just like regular sparse disk images (which grow as needed), except that the data is split into many smaller files inside a package. That way you don't have the problem of a single enormous file being altered for every single change.

I assume Apple's disk image manager has some way or preventing corruption in these cases as well. But I really can't say for sure. Don't test it without first making backups, of course.