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usr345
Contributor
Contributor
‎06-20-2011 11:48 AM
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Snapshot

Hello,

Is there a recommendation from vmware regarding how long you can keep snapshots without any issues.

ESXi 4.1

Thanks

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vmroyale
Immortal
Immortal
‎06-20-2011 11:59 AM
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Hello.

There is some guidance in kb 1025279, but a lot of it depends on how many writes (changes) are going on.  I personally don't like to leave them on longer than a few days or so.  They become another thing to have to worry about otherwise.

Good Luck!

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com

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vmroyale
Immortal
Immortal
‎06-20-2011 11:59 AM
Jump to solution

Hello.

There is some guidance in kb 1025279, but a lot of it depends on how many writes (changes) are going on.  I personally don't like to leave them on longer than a few days or so.  They become another thing to have to worry about otherwise.

Good Luck!

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com
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DSTAVERT
Immortal
Immortal
‎06-20-2011 12:00 PM
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Snapshots
Best Practice http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1025279
Understanding http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1015180

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator
admin
Immortal
Immortal
‎06-22-2011 05:33 AM
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Snip of Best practice copied from KB.

Best practices

  • Snapshots are not backups. As the snapshot file is only a change log of the original virtual disk, do not rely upon it as a direct backup process. The virtual machine is running on the most current snapshot, not the original vmdk disk files.
  • The maximum supported amount in a chain is 32. However, VMware recommends that you use only 2-3 snapshots in a chain.
  • Use no single snapshot for more than 24-72 hours.
    • This prevents snapshots from growing so large as to cause issues when deleting/committing them to the original virtual machine disks. Take the snapshot, make the changes to the virtual machine, and delete/commit the snapshot as soon as you have verified the proper working state of the virtual machine.
    • Be especially diligent with snapshot use on high-transaction virtual machines such as email and database servers. These snapshots can very quickly grow in size, filling datastore space. Commit snapshots on these virtual machines as soon as you have verified the proper working state of the process you are testing.|

  • If using a third party product that takes advantage of snapshots (such as virtual machine backup software), regularly monitor systems configured for backups to ensure that no snapshots remain active for extensive periods of time.
    • Snapshots should only be present for the duration of the backup process.
    • Snapshots taken by third party software (called via API) may not show up in the vCenter Snapshot Manager. Routinely check for snapshots via the command-line.

  • An excessive number of snapshots in a chain or snapshots large in size may cause decreased virtual machine and host performance.