Function Description

This section guides users through creating virtual machine (VM) snapshots. Two snapshot methods are supported: Storage Based Snapshot and Disk Based Snapshot.

For Version 6.10.0 and later, creating External Disk Based Snapshots for VMs is supported. The default type of Disk Based Snapshot is changed to External Disk Based Snapshot, and configuring the merge rate for external snapshot deletion is also supported.

External Disk Based Snapshots have advantages over Internal Disk Based Snapshots: after deleting an external snapshot, the snapshot space can be released, and the performance impact of the snapshot on the VM can be eliminated.

Prerequisites

None

Notes

1. Snapshots are commonly used in scenarios where data protection is required before high-risk operations (e.g., cloud host patch upgrades, software updates). If data backup is needed, it is recommended to use the backup function.
2. Tenant sub-accounts support creating and restoring snapshots for cloud hosts.
3. External Snapshots cannot coexist with Internal Snapshots, Storage Based Snapshots, or Memory Snapshots. A VM can only have one type of snapshot at a time.
4. For VMs upgraded to Version 6.10.0 that already have internal snapshots, the default type for new snapshots will be Internal Snapshots.
5. For new VMs or VMs without existing snapshots, the default type for new Disk Based Snapshots will be External Snapshots.
6. Deleting snapshots outside the fork point involves merging multiple snapshot chains. Since each snapshot contains incremental changes to the base disk, merging multiple chains may result in many data merging operations, which have a negative impact on system performance. Therefore, deleting snapshots outside the fork point is not supported.
7. Deleting an external snapshot takes longer than deleting an internal snapshot. This is because external snapshots include incremental changes made to the base disk and the index information of these changes. When deleting an external snapshot, these incremental changes need to be merged into the base disk to restore to the state when the snapshot was deleted, and this merging process may take a significant amount of time.

Create Snapshot Operation Steps

Step 1.In the virtual machine summary, select Snapshots, and click the Take Snapshot button to create a snapshot of the current virtual machine.

Step 2.After creating a snapshot, you can use the snapshot to recover the virtual machine or clone a new virtual machine.

Select all disks or some disks to recover the VM from the snapshot.