Creating virtual machine snapshots
Often, we have situations where we need to preserve a specific state, virtual machine snapshots provide such a functionality. To be more precise, a snapshot can even preserve a running state of a virtual machine. This comes in handy in development use cases and in general, is a more reliable known good configuration state. Furthermore, the ability to take snapshots also aids in other extended features such as linked clones and enables backup capabilities for use with vSphere Data Protection or other third-party solutions.
Getting ready
You will need to log in to vCenter with the relevant privileges to be able to take snapshots. Snapshots do not work with:
- Virtual machines with RDMs in physical mode
- Virtual machines with PCI vSphere Direct Path I/O devices attached
- Virtual machines with Bus sharing enabled
Most importantly, snapshot do not replace backups. While it's advantageous in the short term, snapshots should not be allowed to prolong more than 72 hours...
