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Forticlient EMS 7.4.4 backup issues with Veeam

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
November 6, 2025
17 replies
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We migrated from Forticlient 7.2.13 to 7.4.4. ESXi VM appliance
We backup our VMs with Veaam.
We have the following settings for most backup jobs.

But I'm getting the following error with the Forticlient EMS 7.4.4 server.

If the "Enable application-aware processing" option is deselected, the backup completes successfully.

Regarding Postgres, I thought it wise to check the "Enable application-aware processing" option.

Is a VM backup without this option a reliable restore?

FortiClient EMS

Best answer by AEK

Hi Steve

EMS 7.4.5 is now available and you can schedule backups.

https://docs.fortinet.com/document/forticlient/7.4.0/new-features/3047/ems-scheduled-backup-support-7-4-5

AEK

SuperUser

I think you are right about the risk of DB consistency (and I guess for FS as well).

As this feature needs an agent I don't think this is possible for EMS 7.4.4 VM mode (installed from OVA image). But technically it should be possible if it was installed in standalone mode (EMS binary installed on Ubuntu server that you prepared before).

So I think there are some possible solutions:

1. Install EMS server and DB on different servers. Ref: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/forticlient/7.4.4/install-and-migration-guide/169245/installing-ems-with-standalone-remote-db-without-docker

This will allow you manage the DB and back it up with regular methods.

2. Deploy EMS in standalone mode (EMS binary installed on Ubuntu), then you can install Veeam's PostgreSQL agent. But even if it should work I can't tell if this is officially supported by Fortinet, since I think I read in some EMS doc that nothing else should be installed on the VM. You may open a ticket to get official response.

3. Use backup from EMS software in addition to VM backup, so in case the VM restores gives an inconsistent DB you can restore the DB from the regular backup. You can also automate the backup using CLI (via scheduled SSH from remote server). Ref: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/forticlient/7.4.4/ems-cli-reference/715436/emscli-execute-backup

Hope it helps.

AEK

SteveJWAuthor

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Thanks for the reply AEK.

This year was a Forticlient EMS journey. Without any initial knowledge, upgrading/migrating from 6.4 to 7.4.4 took a few months.
We're a Windows oriented, and our Linux knowledge is minimal. That's why we opted for the OVA image.
Finally, everything is now migrated and up and running. We only need to upgrade the workstations and servers from 7.2.11 to 7.4.4.

So, I don't think management will appreciate carrying out points 1 or 2.
Point 3 seems like the best option in our situation.
I need to figure out how to automate daily or weekly backups using SSH plink

AEK

SuperUser

You can do it from a Linux client using crontab (old school method) using this command.

ssh ems@x.x.x.x execute backup --remote.ip y.y.y.y --remote.user bkpuser ...

You may also need to install "sshpass" to enter the password in the CLI (be careful with this), or passworless method by copying the ssh key to EMS (I don't know if EMS supports this).

Or I guess there are some modern tools on Windows that can do it more easily.

The was my opinion. So you may also open a p4 ticket to ask for the recommended ways to schedule EMS backup.

AEK

SteveJWAuthor

New Member

I've created a check with Fortinet and received the following response:

We're not aware of the Veaam backup process, so it would be best for you to check it with your backup software support.

Not the response I expected.
This isn't a standard Ubuntu OS.
This ESXi appliance is a stripped-down Linux OS with only EMSCLI commands.

But I'll give it another try.
Keep you updated.

AEK

SuperUser

Thanks for sharing.

Then a simple question to ask TAC support:

Is snapshot backup supported, given that the EMS' PostgreSQL DB is running so the snapshot can give an inconsistent backup.

Meanwhile you can protect your EMS DB by performing a regular backup from EMS GUI or CLI, as mentioned before.

AEK

SteveJWAuthor

New Member

See Fortinet's response below regarding the question about snapshot support.

It's not a regular Ubuntu VM, so it cannot support this feature.
We recommend using GUI db backup in addition to snapshots.

We don't want to do manual backups via the GUI every day or week.
I've asked if there's a way to automate the backup in EMS every day or week.

But I think the answer is clear, given the limited options you have with emscli execute backup [flags].
I don't see any way to automate this within EMS, so I'll have to come up with something creative.
https://docs.fortinet.com/document/forticlient/7.4.4/ems-cli-reference/715436/emscli-execute-backup

But I'm waiting for Fortinet's response.