Acronis vs VMsnapshots

[blarg]

I'm getting familiar with a VMware ESX 3.5 server I inherited. The last admin was adament that the only good way to back up the VM's was to do acronis images. Wouldn't it be much faster and easier to manage to just do snapshots from the Infrastructure client?

 

[lopoetve]

Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup
Snapshot != Backup

VMware snapshots are similar to oracle or SQL transaction logs. To writ - once taken, all changes to the disks, at the block level, are stored in a delta (change) file (log). As such, they grow very rapidly and indefinitely, and if you DO run out of space, can be totally corrupted. Without the base disk, the snapshot is useless - it only contains block level changes. Without the snapshot, now the base disk is useless, as it is from whenever you took the snap, with nothing since. They're for patching, updates, code tests, etc - NOT for production, and they're not a copy of the VM so they're not a backup.

Make sense?

Now then, you CAN use VCB/etc to leverage snapshots to back up a VM - when we write to a delta file, we no longer have the base disk read/write locked, so it can be copied off safely. This is what VCB, Veem, vRanger, etc all use. I suggest VCB of the 3. Far better than acronis images that converter hates anyway.

 

[Taco]

If you want revenge on your place of business do a snapshot "backup" on your last day .