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What does this mean "use no snapshot for more than 24-72 hours"

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All,

 

We use snapshots for testing a lot. I am trying to justify the use of snapshots for our case. I have seen the best practices and understand the negative impacts of snapshots.

Best practices: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1025279

 

The best practices says "Use no single snapshot for more than 24-72 hours. Snapshots should not be maintained over long periods of time for application or Virtual Machine version control purposes". My understanding of the above is that we do not run or keep the VM running or use it on a particular snapshot for more than 24-72 hours, and it is okay to create a snapshot and keep it for periods longer than 72 hours, so that we can revert to it. Is this correct?

 

For example, there are two snapshots in a VM at the same level not nested.

 

VM1

- TestSnapShot1

- TestSnapShot2

 

For testing purposes developers revert to either TestSnapShot1 or TestSnapShot2 and do their testing. Most of the time the VM is used for just a day or two in its current state, after which the VM is reverted again for testing. The snapshots themselves are retained a lot longer weeks/months.

 

Running the VM for more than 72 hours could result in more changes from the original and the delta disks increasing in size, reverting the VMs to the snapshot will reset the delta disk to the same size as it was when it was created. So it minimizes the delta disk growing out of control if we do not run it for long periods on a snapshot.

This is how we are currently using snapshots.

 

Is my understanding correct, or should we not even retain a snapshot for a long period of time.

 

thanks

--karthik


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