louyo wrote: If you are running on a Windows host, an easy way would be to use Robocopy from a script run as a chron job.
On a Linux Host, it would be a cron job. On a Windows Host, it would be as a scheduled task using Task Scheduler! 
louyo wrote:
You are, by far, the best spell checker I have ever had.. :smileylaugh: Thank you.
(although a chronometer is a time keeper)
A cron job is a cron job, doesn't matter what the OS is.
grumble, grumble.
Lou
I was not spell checking as the proper tern is cron not chron, so grumble all you want however Windows Users typically have never heard of cron much less a cron job and by the way chron is not an accepted abbreviation for chronometer so that (chronometer statement) doesn't bolster your argument. My post was meant to be strictly informative and I can't help it if you choose to take it personally, as I posted what I did so as to avoid any confusion for Windows Users. Additionally many Windows users are not that familiar with Task Scheduler!
Well, you can copy the files without stopping the guests (at least that is my experience with Linux host), but the copy you make is probably similar to what you would have if you just powered off the VM. That is, any files that were open in a program would not get saved prior to the copy. I tested that a while back, when I copied a Linux VM, while running, and a file opened in an editor was not saved (no big surprise and a vote for programs that auto save). Programs that journal stuff would probably be OK, but I would be leery of critical applications. Best to suspend or shut down.
We run our 24/7 VM's in ESX and use specialized software (read $) to do scheduled backups (note the avoidance of the word cron 
).
Depending on the VM's OS, you can always use the built in backup software to make images.
Lou