VMware snapshots are not optimized for performance and can slow down your VM disk access.
So use them only when you really need and remove as soon is possible.
For backup use backup solution.
For versioning, consider other products, like Lab Manager or similar.
Storage snapshots instead are usually optimized for performance, in this case you can use them also as a "recovery point" for a last good state.
But they works on the entire datastore and (to be consident) they require some kind of intergration with ESX/ESXi or vCenter.
Andre
Andre | http://about.me/amauro | http://vinfrastructure.it/ | @Andrea_Mauro
