Is there a primer on Snapshots?

[macpiano]

I do not know where to start on best practices.

Is it used on a regular basis for backups?

While not usually a problem I would like to snapshot the DHCP and print servers. I was thinking of keeping like a 4 day rotation.

Should it be used on a regular basis for ciritcal servers?

Is it OK to use for SQL servers?

Do they take up much space?

What else should I know?

[AureusStone · Accepted solution]

I am sure there are whitepapers online some where.  I will try to answer your questions.

Is it used on a regular basis for backups?

No.  The larger the snapshot becomes the larger the performance impact.  Also if you don't have vSphere 5 you can not vMotion a server with snapshots.

While not usually a problem I would like to snapshot the DHCP and print  servers. I was thinking of keeping like a 4 day rotation.

I wouldn't.

Should it be used on a regular basis for ciritcal servers?

No

Do they take up much space?

Every change you make is written to the snapshot.  I have seens gigantic snapshots before.  Usually people take a snapshot, do a change, then commit the snapshot.

What else should I know?

Snapshots are not great for backups.  They work, but they decrease performance and can grow out of control.  I would recommend backup software.  If you want free easy backup I would recommend Ghetto VCB

http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8760

Otherwise there are plenty of vendors that offer backup software designed for VMware.  For instance Veeam or vDR.

http://www.vmware.com/products/data-recovery/overview.html

http://www.veeam.com/

[macpiano]

Thanks for your concise answers. I have Backup Exec and their VMware agent so I will start there.