9.11. Snapshots

9.11.1. Creating a Snapshot of a Virtual Machine

Summary

A snapshot is a view of a virtual machine's operating system and applications on any or all available disks at a given point in time. Take a snapshot of a virtual machine before you make a change to it that may have unintended consequences. You can use a snapshot to return a virtual machine to a previous state.

Note

Live snapshots can only be created for virtual machines running on 3.1-or-higher-compatible data centers. Virtual machines in 3.0-or-lower-compatible data centers must be shut down before a snapshot can be created.

Procedure 9.35. Creating a Snapshot of a Virtual Machine

  1. Click the Virtual Machines tab and select a virtual machine.
  2. Click Create Snapshot to open the Create Snapshot window.
    Create snapshot

    Figure 9.10. Create snapshot

  3. Enter a description for the snapshot.
  4. Select Disks to include using the check boxes.
  5. Use the Save Memory check box to denote whether you wish to include the virtual machine's memory in the snapshot.
  6. Click OK to create the snapshot and close the window.
Result

The virtual machine's operating system and applications on the selected disk/s are stored in a snapshot that can be previewed or restored. The snapshot is created with a status of Locked, which changes to Ok. When you click on the snapshot, its details are shown on the General, Disks, Network Interfaces, and Installed Applications tabs in the right side-pane of the details pane.

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