Best practices for using VMware snapshots in the vSphere environment

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VMware vSphere ESXi VMware vCenter Server

This article provides best practices for using the VMware snapshot feature.

Follow these best practices when using VMware snapshots in a vSphere environment:

Do not use VMware snapshots as backups. The snapshot file is only a change log of the original virtual disk, it creates a placeholder disk (virtual_machine-00000#-delta.vmdk) to store data changes made since the snapshot was created. If the base disks are deleted, the snapshot files alone are not sufficient to restore a virtual machine.
A maximum of 32 snapshots are supported in a chain. However, for better performance, use only 2 to 3 snapshots.
Do not retain a single snapshot for more than 72 hours. The snapshot file continues to grow in size the longer it is kept. This can cause the storage location to run out of space and impact system performance.
When using third-party backup software, ensure that snapshots are deleted after a successful backup.
Note: Snapshots taken by third-party software (via API) may not appear in the Snapshot Manager. Routinely check for snapshots using the command line.
Virtual machine disks cannot be increased in size while snapshots exist, regardless of whether the virtual machine is powered on or off. Increasing the size of VMDK disks running on a snapshot should never be attempted, even using the CLI.
Ensure that there are no snapshots before increasing the size of a virtual machine disk or virtual RDM, as doing so can cause snapshot corruption and data loss.
Do not cancel a running deletion/consolidation task, as it can lead to data corruption.

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