What is the syntax for vmware-cmd createsnapshot?

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides the syntax and options for the vmware-cmd createsnapshot command, used for creating virtual machine snapshots on ESX 3.x from the Service Console command-line.

Environment

VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x

Resolution

The syntax of the vmware-cmd createsnapshot command is:

/usr/bin/vmware-cmd /path/to/virtualmachine/configuration/file.vmx createsnapshot "SnapshotName" "SnapshotDescription" QuiesceFilesystem IncludeMemory


All arguments are required:

• The absolute path to the virtual machine's .vmx configuration file is specified.
  
  
• SnapshotName is the user-visible name which will be displayed in the Snapshot Manager UI. The name need not be unique.
  
  
• SnapshotDescription is the user-visible description of the snapshot which will be displayed in the Snapshot Manager UI.
  
  
• QuiesceFilesystem is a boolean property, and can be 0 or 1. If set to 1, and the virtual machine is powered on when the snapshot is taken, VMware Tools is used to quiesce the file system in the virtual machine. This assures that a disk snapshot represents a consistent state of the guest file system(s).
  
  
• IncludeMemory is a boolean property, and can be 0 or 1. If set to 1, the memory state of the virtual machine is included in the snapshot as a file on disk. This allows the virtual machine to be resumed in a running state when reverting to the snapshot. Memory snapshots additional space and take longer to create.