In my vSphere 5.0 environment, I want to take a snapshot of a Windows 2008 E vm as a temporary backup. Then, on Saturday, I want to boot the running W2008 E vm to a Windows 2008 R2 iso and reinstall the operating system.
Note: I have to bypass the upgrade wizard and do a full installation.
Anyway, I am checking with pros here in case my plan is an ill-fated one. Could I restore the snapshot to Windows 2008 E if I couldn't get the R2's apps to work before the Monday buzzer rings? I have used snapshots in the past as assurance for developers who were making website changes or upgrading Visual Studio, and things like that. But I have never used a snapshot in this manner or in this way. So, I wanted to check before making this leap.
Note 2: Sadly, I am in an environment that does not have backups. Also, I realize what I am describing here is not Best Practice, but it is a long story.
I read the documentation on Snapshots in the pubs.vmware.com documentation, but I didn't see my worry addressed directly.
Thanks in advance,
Rich
Assuming the VM has only default virtual disks (i.e. no pass-through RDMs and no independent virtual disks, which are excluded from snapshots) a snapshot will preserve the current state of the VM and you can revert to this state at any time. However, in case the new server will have the same name, you'll need to re-join the "old" server to the domain after reverting to the snapshot, since the new installation will overwrite the machine account in the AD.
In any case, ensure you do have sufficient free disk space on the datastore and create the snapshot with the VM powered off.
I think there's no comment necessary for Note 2!?
André
Assuming the VM has only default virtual disks (i.e. no pass-through RDMs and no independent virtual disks, which are excluded from snapshots) a snapshot will preserve the current state of the VM and you can revert to this state at any time. However, in case the new server will have the same name, you'll need to re-join the "old" server to the domain after reverting to the snapshot, since the new installation will overwrite the machine account in the AD.
In any case, ensure you do have sufficient free disk space on the datastore and create the snapshot with the VM powered off.
I think there's no comment necessary for Note 2!?
André
Awesome! Thanks for typing out all the notes in your reply, Andre.
