# Managing VM Group Content for Proxmox

For an existing VM group, you can add virtual machines or modify the content selections.

## Go to the VM Group

1. From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > Virtual machines.

   The Overview page appears.

2. On the VM groups tab, click the VM group.

   The VM group page appears.

## Modify the VM Group Content

When you modify the content of an existing VM group, you can add and remove content, and you can exclude content using filters.

1. On the Content tab, in the Content area, click the edit button .

   The Manage content dialog box appears.

2. To modify the Type, click in the Actions column of the row for the Name and then select Edit Rule.

   1. To include instances that match all rules, select all. To include instances that match any of the rules, select any.

   2. In the criteria list select a search criterion from the menu, such as Virtual machine name or pattern or Node or Storage.

   3. In the operators, list define the rule by selecting an operator from the list, such as Equals or Starts with.

   4. To add a value, enter a text string or specify a text pattern using wildcards (for example, Test* to identify instances for which the instance name begins with "Test") that appear in the criteria you selected.

   5. To add more content for the rule, click the folder icon and select a value from the list.

   6. Click Save.

3. To remove a virtual machine, click in the Actions column of the row for the VM and select Delete.

4. To select VMs manually, do the following:

   1. Click Add, and then select Content.

      The Add content dialog box appears.

   2. From the Browse and select VMs list, select one of the following:

      - Server View

      - Folder View

      - Storage View

      - Pool View

      - Tag View

   3. Select the VMs to add to the VM group.

   4. Click Save.

5. To see the VMs that are selected for the VM group, click Preview.

6. Click Save.

### Define VM Filters

To exclude some of the content that you added, you can filter virtual machines based on specific criteria.

Note

VMs added directly using Add > Content in the Content area take precedence over exclusion rules. If you exclude such a VM using filters, it will still be backed up.

1. On the Content tab, in the VM filters area, click the edit button .

   The Manage VM filters dialog box appears.

2. To discover virtual machines automatically:

   1. Click Add, and then select Rule.

      The Add rule dialog box appears.

   2. To include instances that match all rules, select all. To include instances that match any of the rules, select any.

   3. In the criteria list select a search criterion from the menu, such as Virtual machine name or pattern or Node, Storage or Tag.

   4. In the operators list, define the rule by selecting an operator from the list, such as Equals or Starts with.

   5. To add a value, enter a text string or specify a text pattern using wildcards (for example, Test* to identify instances for which the instance name begins with "Test") that appear in the criteria you selected.

   6. To add more content for the rule, click the folder icon and select a value from the list.

   7. Click Save.

3. To edit a rule, click in the Actions column of the row for the VM and then click Edit rule.

   1. In the Edit rule dialog box, make the required changes.

   2. Click Save.

4. To see the VMs that are selected for the VM group, click Preview.

5. Click Save.

## Allow the VM Group to Have No Content

If you want backups of the VM group to complete successfully even if no VMs are discovered to back up, enable the Allow empty content toggle key.

For more information, see Allowing a VM Group to Have No Content.

## Staging Directory for Thick LVM Storage

The QEMU snapshot staging directory is where snapshots will be created for backup jobs. It should be a location accessible from the local access node performing the backup. This directory can be set on local storage or a mounted shared directory like NFS or SMB for efficient access.

For Proxmox VE 8.x or 9.x environments that use RAW format disks on thick LVM storage:

- You must configure a staging directory in the VM group settings.

- The QEMU version of the VM must be version 9.x or earlier.

To configure the staging directory path, do the following:

1. On the Configuration tab, in the Settings tile, click the edit button for snapshot staging directory.

2. Enter the staging directory path.

3. Select the Enable check box, and then click Save.

## View Virtual Machines

The Virtual machines tab displays the VMs associated with this VM group.

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